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Scales not so scary

Cat people clean clumps of feline feces from litter boxes on a weekly basis. Dog people take their furry friends for a walk every day with plastic baggies at the ready to package up their pups' poopy business. Snake people have it pretty easy.
Robyn Hansman of Paradise Pet Centre cradles a Nigerian yellow uromastyx in her hand at the St. Albert store.
Robyn Hansman of Paradise Pet Centre cradles a Nigerian yellow uromastyx in her hand at the St. Albert store.

Cat people clean clumps of feline feces from litter boxes on a weekly basis. Dog people take their furry friends for a walk every day with plastic baggies at the ready to package up their pups' poopy business.

Snake people have it pretty easy. Snakes have intensely slow digestion so they only eat and eliminate once a week.

"Basically you check its water every day, clean its dish once a week, you feed it once a week. That's how often it goes to the bathroom," says Adrian Theroux, general manager at Paradise Pet Centre.

The 33-year-old has been with the store since he was 16 years old, more than half his life. So he knows which animals are easiest to care for, and reptiles are near the top.

"For someone who's eight, nine, 10 years old, that's perfect responsibility for them. They can still play with their friends, video games … and still have time for their pet."

Pet care and maintenance is a requirement of having any pet, though the amount of work involved varies greatly on the type of animal. Ever an animal lover, Theroux went through the common childhood experience of finding a floater in the aquarium.

"I kept pets as a kid. I found it somewhat frustrating keeping fish."

He says that more people should consider reptiles, and for several reasons. They aren't cost prohibitive and they can be as friendly as any other creature. And they're hardier than hamsters.

He's observed a growing popularity for reptiles as pets and he equates it to the ease of care. Leopard and fat-tailed geckos are the most popular varieties out there for novice reptile owners.

"There are so many kids out there that are allergic to fur, dander … that kind of stuff. Reptiles have been picking up speed, I'd say probably the last five to eight years, just because they're mostly low maintenance animals. There's no allergies."

Theroux concedes some lizards have higher demands than others and some of the start-up costs for a terrarium are enough to make some leery. Some species, like the bearded dragon, require specific care like ultraviolet light to replicate a desert environment.

Reptiles, everywhere reptiles

But if you're really interested in reptiles and the array of species, then the Edmonton Reptile and Amphibian Society's Spring Show and Sale next month could be just for you.

The show displays species of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates, many of which will be for sale by local breeders like Michelle and Rick McClinton.

The Morinville couple breeds ball pythons, a fairly docile, wandering type of critter, says Michelle.

"There are huge misperceptions about them," she says. Snakes are not slimy, nor do they chomp at the bit at the sight of humans.

"People have to get it out of their heads that they're vicious things like they've portrayed in the movies like Snakes on a Plane. They're not like that. My nine-year-old walks around carrying them."

"You give'em food, you give'em water … they're done."

Depending on how you treat them there shouldn't be any threat of being bitten, she says, though it does happen, but it's usually when the snake is scared or hungry.

"They don't do it for entertainment purposes. They're no different than looking after a dog."

They weren't her first choice of houseguests either but she's grown to accept them.

"I'm a dog person! It doesn't bother us anymore. It never did bother us. All my kids love it."

Snakes of a different colour

"The quest for the new."

That's how Rick describes his initial fascination with snakes and the adaptable ball python.

"If you took a green snake and you put it with a red snake, you'd get a purple snake. You take that purple snake and put it back with the red one, you'd get a pure white one. It's amazing. I think there's over 700 morphs of ball pythons."

His business, Ball Python Hobbyists, has about 15 colours of the animal. The business has kept him pretty busy at home and not just for reasons of sales. Recently, he even had to fight a proposed bylaw in Morinville that raised concern about keeping exotic pets in the house. That bylaw was eventually amended to allow snakes, but not zebras or elephants.

Rick balks at the notion snakes are in the same class of animal as that.

"We were taken back by that. [The town] just blanketed all those exotic pets. There's some mockery in the town … there's big signs that say 'Elephant crossing,'" he laughed.

"They did fine-tune what they were talking about, what species were allowed and not allowed. We can't have a panda."

What Rick would like is for people to have an open mind about snakes. They're great pets and you can develop a strong bond with them just like a cat or a dog.

Theroux feels the same.

"A lot of people love the lizards," he says, "but they don't want crickets or worms in their house. That's something that typically the parents have to get around."

He added that it often doesn't take long for people to get over it, too, even when feeding time involves dead mice.

The s-s-show

The McClintons are busy getting ready for the annual show and sale. Eager novice and experienced herpetologists can learn about various species from around the world including how to care for them in the home.

The event takes place next weekend, May 14 and 15, at the Sands Hotel located at 12340 Fort Road in Edmonton. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for teens 12 to 17, and $4 for children four to 11. Kids three and under and society members get in for free.

Call 780-474-5476 or visit www.edmontonreptiles.com/showandsale.html for more information.


Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

About the Author: Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ecology and Environment Reporter at the Fitzhugh Newspaper since July 2022 under Local Journalism Initiative funding provided by News Media Canada.
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