Glass Prisons: How Snakes Suffer at Roadside Zoos

Imagine never being able to stretch your body out or feel the sun on your skin. Snakes at roadside zoos live this reality every day. They struggle trapped in barren glass tanks, unable to hide, keep warm, or escape stress.

Conditions for snakes and other reptiles aren’t regulated under the federal Animal Welfare Act, so they are often overlooked and left to suffer in unthinkable conditions without federal oversight.

Here’s how roadside zoos fail snakes—and what you can do to help.

They give snakes no room.

Pythons and boas—the most common snakes seen at roadside zoos—can grow to be 16 feet long or more. In nature, Burmese pythons roam across 7 square miles. But roadside zoos often confine them to cramped enclosures where they can’t even fully stretch out.

Snakes in inadequate enclosures often hiss, rapidly jerk their bodies, attempt to escape by pushing up against the boundaries of their enclosures, and exhibit other abnormal behaviors. The chronic stress from confinement can weaken their immune systems, leading to diseases, infections, obesity, and even death. 

Roadside zoos often house multiple large snakes in enclosures that are too small for even a single snake, which can lead to aggression and fighting over territory and food. Many snakes suffer from injuries or emaciation due to competition over resources.

Many facilities claim that snakes don’t need room to stretch out or explore or that they are sedentary animals, but research has shown that being able to fully stretch out is a basic need and fundamental to their health and welfare. Snakes are active animals who require space to exhibit normal behaviors and locomotion.

They don’t let snakes avoid humans.

Snakes are sensitive, often solitary animals who, in nature, avoid interacting with humans. Roadside zoos put them on display all day, often in desolate enclosures where they can’t burrow underground or camouflage themselves in foliage to escape gawking visitors. These shy animals likely constantly feel anxious and agitated with no opportunities to escape perceived threats—like noisy crowds and flashing cameras. Snakes are particularly sensitive to noise and vibrations, so these environments can be very disturbing.

Some facilities even force snakes into unnatural, direct-contact encounters with humans, which are dangerous for everyone involved. These cruel public interactions are highly stressful for the animals and leave them prone to illness and injury. Ball pythons—who are often exploited for public handling—use a defense mechanism called “balling,” in which they form a tight ball around their heads. This is a threat response, not because they want to be held.

They force snakes to languish in barren enclosures.

Some species of snakes live in tree canopies in nature, while others are aquatic or semi-aquatic and live near water banks or wetlands. When free, snakes can do all kinds of things—like swimming, slithering up trees, or climbing on rocks—often impossible in barren enclosures at roadside zoos. Without adequate conditions, these active animals can suffer from physical and mental distress.

Additionally, roadside zoos often only provide snakes with small water bowls. Aquatic snakes like anacondas spend most of their time in the water in nature—but at these facilities, they rarely have a water tub large enough to submerge their entire bodies, let alone swim.

Snakes also require a moist environment to help shed their skin, so the lack of an adequate water source can make this process incredibly painful and lead to infections.

They often fail to regulate enclosure temperatures and humidity.

In nature, snakes warm themselves in the sun and burrow underground to cool off—in other words, they use their environment to regulate their body temperature. Captive snakes, however, depend on artificial heat sources to stay warm and require specific humidity ranges to be healthy. They need enough space to move away from the heat source to cool down. Roadside zoo operators often don’t give them either, which can lead to hypothermia, impaired immune function, and even death. Snakes may also be burned when heat sources are not placed in a secure location.

They deny snakes adequate veterinary care.

Snakes may suffer from painful health issues like mouth rot, infections, parasites, burns, and wounds. Because snakes don’t cry or express pain in other ways that humans can easily recognize, their suffering often goes unnoticed. Most roadside zoos skip regular vet checkups or fail to provide treatment until it’s too late.

What YOU Can Do to Help Snakes

Snakes are complex individuals who can feel pain and fear—they do not want to spend their lives in a glass box. Please stay far away from roadside zoos and other facilities that exploit animals.

If you witness neglect or abuse, speak up! 

• Report violations to local law enforcement or Animal Control.
• Contact PETA.
• Call out the roadside zoo publicly. Share photos, leave reviews, and demand better conditions.