Arizona Zoo and Conservation Center

17/06/2026

Happy hump day all you wonderful people!
Today we would like to share a little inspiration!
If anyone out there has a dream and you feel like it’s dying in your chest because you’re too scared to chase it for one reason or another or it doesn’t feel like the right time…

DO IT!
Fly by the seat of your pants!
Take the risk! Risk it all!
Anything worth doing is worth over doing and it won’t be easy, you may fail, but when you’re old and grey, will you regret never doing it? Or will you be glad you gave it everything you had even if you failed at it?

For us personally, it’s a huge risk to build a zoo, it was a silly dream for a long time but we felt it tugging at our hearts every single day. We sat with this dream in our chests for years and we always said that someday we’d be ready, we’d be financially stable enough to try but honestly, with all the craziness in the world we never felt “safe” enough to go for it.
One day my wife and I were sitting on the couch after a long day at the zoo with our kids and we looked at each other and said, “we can do so much for so many people and animals if we had our own zoo” and we both decided that, come hell or high water, we were going to try even if it seemed crazy to everyone else. Sometimes it feels crazy even to us but we’re always making a little progress!
I’m glad we started when we did. I wish we had started a few years earlier to be honest.
The point is, chase your dreams now, don’t wait anymore, because tomorrow isn’t promised, life is never just gonna hand you your dreams without sacrifice. Make it happen even if it seems impossible or crazy to you and everyone else around you, especially then.

Now, quit reading this post, look at that dream and find the first step, start it today!!!

We want to hear from you all. What is your dream? No matter how silly or crazy or weird it sounds, drop it in the comments and let’s help each other get that next step done!

16/06/2026

Good morning everyone, we’ve been sitting on a little info.
We recently were given a very healthy and slightly spicy banana ball python named “Butters”. Butters was very loved, very well taken care of and it was very difficult for the owner to surrender him to the zoo. The reason for his donation was that the owner was going to college where they aren’t allowed to have reptiles in the dorm. They made the difficult decision to bring him to us. Since then he has been a great eater. So far he has taken a week old frozen/thawed chick and a hopper rat. He is a little spicy but we’ve been working with him every day and even in just the short time we’ve had him he has mellowed out quite a bit.

Sometimes animals will change temperament for all kinds of reasons, sometimes they get bored or stressed, sometimes it can be a smell like a change in perfume, touching certain foods like fish or chicken or petting a dog that can set off your animal. If they end up biting you out of the blue the best thing to do is stay calm, wash your hands thoroughly, and don’t be afraid to handle them afterwards. If they don’t receive any handling after an incident they become grumpy and go “ feral “ and you have to re-socialize them.

Welcome to the Arizona Zoo family butters!

After his 30 day quarantine and adoption evaluation he may be up for adoption. We will keep you all updated.

(Pics are of the day he arrived, he has since been moved into a quarantine setup)

16/06/2026

GOOD MORNING AZCC FAMILY!

We have a special announcement today!
Today we are setting out on a small adventure into creating, what we hope will be, one of the corner stones of Arizona Zoo!

As most of you already know, we are aiming to be as self sufficient as possible and that includes raising all of our own feeders and other food items here at the zoo for our animals. No sourcing from other places when it can be helped. We already raise our own:

Crickets
Lobster roaches
Dubia roaches
Hissing roaches
Bell peppers
Lettuce
Rhubarb
Various herbs and grasses
And a couple small fruit trees like fig and apple

But that doesn’t really help with animals like snakes, monitors, larger skinks or specialty critters that eat eggs.

So, we won’t delay the news any longer.

We are introducing the new “Q.U.A.I.L initiative”
Where we will be raising and breeding our own flocks of various kinds of quail starting with “Coturnix” quail.

These little quail are insanely hardy, lay eggs almost every day like chickens but about 1/5 the size. These eggs will be used to feed some of our special animals like egg eating snakes, skinks, monitor lizards, and yes, we will be harvesting some birds as well to feed our larger animals like the reticulated pythons, Savana monitors, and eventually any crocodilians, birds of prey or other carnivorous animals we hope to have here, will also enjoy these birds.

That all being said, in the next few months we will be opening up egg sales for people to purchase as well for their animals at home. We hope to also start selling “hatching eggs” for people who want to incubate and start their own flocks at home.
Selling eggs, chicks, and birds to people for their animals will open up a brand new stream of revenue for Arizona Zoo and will bring much needed funds in that we will be using to acquire the land necessary to start building out the zoo properly! Our new “QUAIL initiative” ( Quail Utilizing Avian Income for Land ) is set to go live in 90 days! If any of you are interested in purchasing eggs, chicks, or birds in general from us please like this post and comment below so when the time comes we are able to reach out to directly.
Thank you all so much for being a part of our AZCC family and supporting our zoo! We can’t wait to hear from you!

Coturnix quail facts:

Coturnix quail are fast growing birds that can begin laying eggs in as little as 6–8 weeks and produce up to 250–300 eggs per year. Their small size, high reproduction rate, and efficient feed conversion make them one of the most practical birds to raise for meat, eggs, and feeder production. As reptile feeders, quail provide a natural whole prey option rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and beneficial bone-to-meat ratios. They are commonly fed to larger snakes, monitor lizards, birds of prey, and other carnivorous animals as part of a varied diet.

13/06/2026

Goooooooood morning Arizona Zoo!!!

We still have 3 Leo’s looking for forever homes!

Grimace our little juvi male

Judy the b***y our big plump female Leo

and finally,

Jack wagon, our adult male Leo who is slowly warming up to being handled.

$50 adoption fee this weekend for each of them.

11/06/2026

Well folks, Happy “Friday-Eve” everyone! We would like to welcome all of our new followers and invite everyone to check out both our adoptions and the new online store. All proceeds will be going to vet bills stacking up and to hopefully get our zoo truck back up and running. If you’re interested then please look back on some of our previous postings and either comment or message us with any questions.

If you follow the link below you will be brought to our Zelle donation link or donate under 623-377-2149. If you feel inclined to donate we would be incredibly grateful. Also check out the online shop for neat merchandise.

10/06/2026

New item drop in the online store! Just follow the link below and see what all we have available so far!

The Closed-Back Structured Cap offers a sleek, sturdy look with maximum comfort. Made from a durable 63% polyester, 34% cotton, and 3% spandex twill blend, i...

09/06/2026

Patiently waiting for people’s feedback about our online store items….

09/06/2026

Who here has checked out our online store and who has purchased one of our items?
We’re curious to see what you guys think of the company we’re using to do all these products and would like some direct feedback.

08/06/2026

We may be a little over a week late for this but HAPPY “GREAT OUTDOORS MONTH”!
Great outdoors month was created in 1998 and in 2019 it was solidified as a month long celebration of the great outdoors.
So,
Get outside, do a nature walk, go camp, bird watch, take amazing pictures of local wildlife, spend time with family and friends, sleep out under the stars or climb a tree. There’s a million things to do outside!
Share your pictures in the comments below of any wildlife you see this month!

07/06/2026

Being partial to bats in Arizona, we would like to share this group’s post. They do amazing work. Give them a look

Issue Bats are clean, gentle and intelligent, they are vital to the ecosystem, and they enhance our lives in many ways. Fruit and nectar bats bring us approximately 450 commercial products and over 80 different medicines through seed dispersal and pollination. Up to 98% of all rainforest regrowth co...