EVERETT – At least for now, the Reptile Zoo in Monroe will remain open.
Since owner Isaac Petersen announced the zoo’s closure on Facebook on Aug. 11, the facility has been flooded with visitors.
The surge has been enough for Petersen to have a change of heart.
“We’ve made enough money that we could stay for a year,” he said Monday.
Petersen had decided to close the attraction because visitors had dropped to a trickle. He had run the zoo at 22715 Route 2 for the last 13 years.
Petersen had blamed the zoo’s closure on inflation and an uncertain economy, which he said had caused customers to think twice about spending the $11.95 admission fee on Saturdays, $9.95 during the week.
The zoo’s last day was supposed to be Oct. 18 unless someone purchased it for the asking price of $385,000 by Sept. 15. Petersen said there were no takers.
He was also offering individual animals for sale, but only after the zoo closed.
Petersen said zoo attendance has tripled since the August shutdown notice.
On Saturdays, upward of 1,000 patrons a day come to see the zoo’s animal feedings, he said. During the week, Petersen said, visitors can number as high as 300.
A Wagler’s Pit Viper named Ekans rests on a stick in an enclosure at the Reptile Zoo on Aug. 19, 2025 in Monroe, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Petersen took over the zoo in 2012 from his father, Scott Petersen.
The older Petersen started the zoo in Gold Bar in 1996 and soon became known as “The Reptile Man” for his animal shows in area schools.
In 2006, Scott Petersen moved the attraction to the larger location in Monroe, where the zoo now sits.
The former car garage has two rooms containing dozens of snake cages and several outdoor areas. Isaac Petersen said adult visitors, many of whom visited the zoo as children and now have their own kids, have urged him to stay open.
“I have been getting a lot of support from guests,” he said. “People have fond memories of the z00.”
Petersen said he will close the zoo temporarily, starting Oct. 19 to do some deep-cleaning and rearranging, and will reopen on Nov. 15.
The zoo will now open three days a week: Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Monday and Tuesday hours have been eliminated.
Petersen said this will give him more time to maintain the zoo during his 70-hour work week.
A two-headed Red Eared Slider named Pete and Repete rests on a rock in their enclosure at the Reptile Zoo on Aug. 19 in Monroe. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
While work weeks are long, Petersen said the large attendance numbers have made him realize that many in the community love the zoo.
Petersen said working with reptiles has been a passion since he was a young child, and the attendance surge has convinced him that continuing his business is the right option.
Motorcyclist Todd Dusenberry from Bellingham was one visitor in late August. He said he came to visit the attraction for one last time.
The 55-year-old said he first discovered the zoo four or five years ago and liked viewing the animals. But he said the atmosphere made the 7,000-square-foot attraction one of a kind.
“It’s kind of kitschy. It’s not like you’re going to a zoo where everything is uniform,” he said. “It’s a roadside attraction, and they are disappearing.”
Randy Diamond: 425-339-3097; randy.diamond@heraldnet.com
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