Anyone who likes seeing the reptiles and amphibians at the Toledo Zoo might want to take one last look before the month is out.
After that, it’ll be more than a year before the zoo’s Reptile House will be open again.
The Toledo Zoo will start making major updates to the Reptile House on Jan. 1, which is the first time the zoo has had major renovations done since the 1990s, said John Chastain, general curator of ectotherms for the zoo.
“Some of the construction has actually already begun,” Mr. Chastain said.
The $14.5 million renovations, which are expected to be completed in mid to late 2026, will address general wear-and-tear issues but will mostly involve enlarging exhibits in the Reptile House like the crocodile exhibit, which is getting a new event center, Mr. Chastain said.
“Some of the center exhibits in the Reptile House will have better surround viewing, allowing for underwater viewing opportunities as well,” Mr. Chastain said. “It’ll be a nice, bright centerpiece for us.”
One of the last renovations the Reptile House underwent was when the Toledo Zoo added extra storage space and a curator office in the 1990s, Mr. Chastain said.
The last major renovation the Toledo Zoo made was to its aquarium, he said.
“One of the big advantages, too, is we’ll be having air conditioning added to the entire building,” he said of the renovations. “In the past, on hot summer days, it was a hotter summer day in the building. It’ll be a nice refuge for people to get away on those hot summer days.”
Kent Bekker, senior vice president and chief mission officer for the Toledo Zoo, said the zoo realized it has a lot of visitors that go through the house to not only view the different reptiles and amphibians but also during events like Lights Before Christmas.
Mr. Bekker said any effort to maintain the building and increase the visitor experience in the Reptile House is “a huge win for us.”
“The Toledo Zoo is very proud of the historic buildings that we have and with the Reptile House being one of those, we’re really excited for this project breathing just a lot more additional life into a very important, historic, meaningful building to us,” Mr. Bekker said.
First Published December 22, 2024, 2:09 p.m.
