Rattlesnake museum opens in Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY – Cowboy hat and boot stores in Oklahoma City’s historic stockyards district have some new neighbours: rattlesnakes and other reptiles.

KGOU reports the OKC Rattlesnake Museum opened to visitors this week. It’s home to 35 venomous reptiles, including a Gila monster a 5-foot, 22-pound eastern diamondback named “Big Girl.”

Museum founder and owner Carl Sandefer says he hopes visitors will learn to identify different types of snakes with up-close looks. He says rattlesnakes could be coiled up on a back porch, so it helps to have a little knowledge about them.

Sandefer has a background in biology and has worked at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

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Information from: KGOU-FM, http://www.kgou.org