Burmese Python

Python molurus bivittatus

Reptiles Alive Names: “Sunshine, Moonlight, and Starlight”

Hissstory: Sunshine was abandoned at a carpet warehouse in Sterling, VA in 2000.  The store owner called us to come and get her, and she was in pretty bad shape.  We spent about a year rehabilitating her back to health.  She has been healthy and growing ever since!  Moonlight was rescued by the Virginia Reptile Rescue from a pet store that was closed down and we adopted him in 2009.  Starlight was abandoned  as an unwanted pet at the Alexandria Animal Welfare League where we adopted him in 2009.

RA Diet: Two or three frozen and then defrosted triple extra large rats every 2-4 weeks.

Range: India, Burma, and Southeast Asia.

Habitat: Pythons live in rain forests, farmlands, and fields.

Natural Diet: Burmese pythons will eat just about any mammal or bird they can fit into their stomach.

Size: Burmese pythons are one of the biggest snakes in the world.   Their average length is 9-13 feet, but the record length is 23 feet.  They can weigh over 200 pounds.

Lifespan: Burmese pythons can live over 40 years.

Reproduction: Female Burmese pythons can lay up to 100 large eggs, but typically lay 12-36. Unlike most snakes,  mother pythons will coil around eggs and twitch their body to raise the temperature and help incubate the eggs. She will not leave the eggs until they hatch.

Conservation: Burmese pythons  have become an invasive exotic species in southern Florida.  People keeping pythons as pets either illegally released their unwanted animals into the wild or the snakes escaped improper caging.  Either way, no one knows for sure the impact these giant snakes will have on the south Florida ecosystem as they reproduce and consume native animals, including alligators.

Cool Facts: Sunshine, Moonlight, and Starlight are all albinos, born without the black or brown pigment called melanin. The brilliant yellows and whites you see on our albino pythons would otherwise be covered over by the brown and black pigments  found on normally patterned snakes.

Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake

Elaphe guttata

Reptiles Alive Name: “Indiana”

Hissstory: Indiana was an unwanted pet that came to us from a reptile rescue group in 2009.

RA Diet: Indiana likes to dine on frozen mice that have been warmed up.  Yum!

Natural Diet: In the wild, corn snakes will eat mice and other rodents, birds, eggs, and sometimes, bats.

Range: Corn snakes can be found from New Jersey to Florida and west to New Mexico and Colorado.  They are very rare in some parts of their range, and even listed as endangered in certain states.

Habitat: These gorgeous snakes like to hide in woodlands, meadows, and along springs.  They spend most of their time hidden underground or in rock crevices.

Size: Corn snakes average a length of 24-48 inches, the record is 72 inches long.

Lifespan: Corn snakes can live over 20 years old.

Reproduction: Corn snakes breed from March to May. Females lay 3-21 eggs in May to July. Babies will hatch in late summer to early fall.

Conservation: Due to their beautiful colors and patterns, corn snakes are a popular snake pet.  Because of this, many of them are captured each year to be sold as pets.  The over-collection of corn snakes combined with the urbanization of much of their range  has caused them to become a threatened species in many areas.
Cool Facts: Corn snakes don’t eat corn – in fact, no snake eats vegetables.  All snakes on Earth are carnivores.  So why name a snake after corn?  It is due to the “corny” pattern on their belly.

Kenyan Sand Boa

Eryx colubrinus loveridgei

Reptiles Alive Name: “Tremors”

Hissstory: A friend of Caroline’s donated Tremors to Reptiles Alive in March of 1997.

RA Diet: Defrosted frozen mice.

Natural Diet: Sand boas eat small mammals and lizards.  When food is scarce, sand boas may live over a year without any food at all.

Range: Kenyan sand boas are found in Northeast Africa.

Habitat: Sand boas are found in hot, dry deserts.

Size: Sand boas are some of the smallest boa species on Earth.  They typically grow only 1-2 feet long.

Reproduction: Sand boas give live birth to 7-10 young after a gestation period of about four months.

Lifespan: Sand boas can live over 15 years.  Tremors was born in 1997 – and he is still in great shape!

Cool Facts: The eyes and nostrils of the sand boa are on the top of the head so they can breath and search the surface for prey while the rest of their body lies hidden beneath the sand.

Nelson’s Milk Snake

Lampropeltis triangulum nelsoni

Milkshake the Milk Snake

Reptiles Alive Name: “Milkshake”

Hissstory: We received Milkshake from a reptile rescue group in 2004.

RA Diet: Milkshake does not actually drink milkshakes.  He much prefers defrosted frozen mice.

Natural Diet: Milk snakes have a varied diet including birds, small mammals, lizards, and other snakes – even venomous snakes!

Range: Nelson’s milk snakes are found in Mexico and Central America.

Habitat: Nelson’s milk snakes live in dry woodlands and rocky areas.  They spend most of their time hiding underground in burrows or rock crevices.

Size: Nelson’s milk snakes can grow 14-18 inches long.

Life Span: Milk snakes can live 15 years or more.

Reproduction: Female milk snakes lay 3-8 eggs in July.  The eggs typically begin hatching in September.

Cool Facts: Only mammals drink milk, so why name a snake a “milk snake?”  No one knows for sure how the milk snake got its name, but some people believe that when the first Europeans began settling in the eastern United States a farmer saw a snake biting the udder of a cow.  It is physically impossible for a snake to milk a cow. Perhaps the cow had stepped on the snake and the snake was trying to get the cow to move.

The milk snakes include species and sub-species living throughout North, Central, and South America.  They range in color, but most have a “tri-color” pattern of red, black, and yellow or white bands around their body.  Although this pattern makes them similar in appearance to the venomous coral snakes, milk snakes are completely harmless to humans.

Giant Madagascar Hognose Snake

Leioheterodon madagascariensis

Mr. Leo Heterodon the Giant Madagascar Hognose Snake

Show Name: “Mr. Leo Heterodon”

Hissstory: Mr. Leo was a pet in Chincoteague, VA until his owner did not want him anymore.  He was sent to a reptile rescue group in western Virginia where, in 2002, we adopted him.

Touchable in our shows: YES.

Zoo Diet: Mr. Leo loves to dine on frozen and then defrosted medium to large sized rats.  Delicioussssssssssss!

Natural Diet: Madagascar hognose  snakes in the wild will eat small mammals, amphibians, and possibly small birds.

Range: Madagascar

Habitat: Madagascar hognose snakes are found in mountain forests at low altitudes, coastal areas, and grasslands often near water and human habitation.  They spend most of their time hiding in shallow burrows or rocky crevices.

Size: Madagascar hognose snakes can grow over 5 feet long and are very heavy-bodied.

Life Span: Madagascar hognose snakes can live over 20 years.

Reproduction: The females snakes lay 6-12 eggs.  The young hatch in 60-80 days and are about 12 inches long.

Conservation: Habitat loss is a major threat to most animals found in Madagascar.

Cool Facts: Giant Madagascar hognose snakes are opistoglyphous, which means they have fangs in the back of their mouth.  Their mild venom is not dangerous to humans, but it helps them catch their prey.  When Madagascar hognose snakes are threatened, they hiss loudly and can flatten their neck – like a cobra!

Desert Kingsnake

Lampropeltis getula californiae

Show Name: “Reno” and “Tahoe”

Hissstory: Reno was found slithering down a street in Annandale, VA – not his natural habitat!  He was either an escaped or abandoned pet, so we gave him a home.  Our albino desert kingsnake Tahoe was an unwanted pet that we adopted.

Touchable in our Shows? Yes.

Reno the Desert Kingsnake

Zoo Diet: We feed our kingsnakes delicious and nutritious frozen and defrosted mice.

Natural Diet: Kingsnakes eat snakes, lizards, birds, eggs and rodents.

Range: Desert kingsnakes are found in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Oregon.

Habitat: Desert kingsnakes may be found in rocky outcrops and clumps of vegetation in chaparral or desert environments.

Size: Desert kingsnakes grow 24-60 inches long.

Tahoe, the Albino Desert Kingsnake

Lifespan: Kingsnakes can live to be over 20 years old.

Reproduction: Females lays 2-24 eggs which hatch in about 2 months.

Cool Facts: The kingsnake is the “king of snakes” because it will eat other snakes – even venomous rattlesnakes! Scientists believe kingsnakes have immunity to the venom of the rattlesnakes found in their own home range,  so the kingsnake can be bitten and envenomated with no ill effects.

Boa Constrictor

Boa constrictor

Reptiles Alive Name: “Dennis & Sunflower (the albino)”

Hisssstory: Dennis was an unwanted pet left with reptile rescue organization that adopted him to us in October of 2003.   Sunflower came from a special boa constrictor breeding facility in April of 2009.

RA Diet: Frozen, defrosted and then warmed up jumbo sized dead rats.  Yummmmmmmmmmm.

Touchable in our shows: Yes.

Range: Boa constrictors have an enormous range from Mexico to Argentina.

Habitat: Boa constrictors  live in many habitats:  rain forests, dry tropical woodlands, grasslands, farms, and even urban regions.

Natural Diet: Boa constrictors will consume birds,  small mammals, and occasionally reptiles.

Size: The boa constrictor grows to an average length of 9 feet. Record length was 13 feet 1 inch. (The biggest snake, the anaconda, is a type of boa.)

Reproduction: Females give live birth of up to 50 babies at a time.

Lifespan: Boa constrictors are  long living snakes and can live for 40 years.

Conservation: Threats include:  human predation, roads, habitat loss and the pet trade. This is one of  the most commonly abandoned pet snakes.   Boa constrictors  get large, requiring custom built reptile enclosures, high heat and humidity, and food is not often found at the local grocery store!  Not a good pet choice for most people.

Cool Facts: Boa constrictors are the kings and queens of the jungle.  Most rain forest animals are adapted to live in a specific layer of the forest.  For example:  Amazon river turtles live in the river, giant toads live on the forest floor,  and iguanas live in the canopy.  Boa constrictors, however, are adapted for living in all the layers of the jungle.  Like all snakes, they swim, so you can find them in the river.  Their beautiful colors give them camouflage that makes them almost invisible while resting quietly on the forest floor.  And, boa constrictors love to hang out in the canopy!  The boa constrictor is the master of the rain forest.

Its hard to believe, but Reptiles Alive has been around for over 15 years.  Even before then, Caroline Seitz was presenting shows as “The Reptile Lady.”  That was well before there was an “Animal Planet” and before there was a huge industry selling reptile products.

In the  early 90’s, Caroline was on the cutting edge of reptile husbandry (the care of captive reptiles) when she hired a cabinet maker to build her some “snake racks.”  Before then, most people kept small or medium size snakes in glass fish aquariums.  Fish aquariums are perfect for fish, but not so good for snakes.  Snakes can easily escape by popping of the top, snakes can injure themselves rubbing on the screen lid, and the aquariums are very heavy and hard to keep clean.

Snake racks, on the other hand, are designed with snakes in mind.  Plastic tubs with holes drilled into the side slide in and out of slots in the rack.  The plastic “drawers” fit perfectly into the slot so there is no way the snake can escape.  The racks are super easy to clean and heat and most snakes and snake keepers love them. (Snakes spend most of their time curled up under a log or down in a nice dark burrow where predators cannot get to them.)  Snake racks provide a perfect hideout for our small ground dwelling serpents, where they snooze or take a  dip in their big water bowls after working a long day of shows.  AHHHH.

The snake rack at Reptiles Alive, however, was now almost 20 years old – and it was driving the RA team crazy!  Back in the 90’s, there were no companies building snake racks – most people had never heard of such a thing.  So the cabinet maker Caroline hired used melamine (particle board sandwiched between sheets of plastic.)  It was a great idea – and really the only material available at the time.  But after 20 years of hard use, the melamine started cracking and the particle board inside swelled.  This caused A LOT of frustration when opening and closing the drawers.

Arrrgh! These drawers are driving me nuts!

We decided it was about time for a brand new snake rack.  So it was OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW!  We ordered a new rack from Animal Plastics and eagerly awaited its arrival.

Ooooh – we were so excited to open these boxes.  Jen started putting the rack together, while Caroline continued to clean and feed all the RA animals.

Jennifer - putting it all together

Later that same day Jen had to present two Ecosystems Alive assembly shows at an elementary school.  She packed up the animals and left.  Luckily, the rack was pretty easy to put together and Rachel came in that afternoon to help out.

Between Caroline, Jennifer and Rachel, all the animals were taken care of, phone calls and emails were answered, school assemblies were performed, an old snake rack was destroyed, and a new snake rack was put together.  WHEW!  What a day!!  It was TOTALLY worth it.

To see a video of our new snake rack, visit the Reptiles Alive Facebook Page.

This has been another great year for Reptiles Alive!  Between September 30, 2008 through September 30, 2009, we presented 735 shows for approximately 63,000 people!  That is a lot of people who have been educated about reptiles and wildlife conservation.

During that period, we also had some changes to our animal collection and our staff.

Jennifer Rafter left us this past summer to join the team at the new Delmarva Discovery Center.  She is missed – but we know she is having a great time setting up a brand new, 7,000 gallon aquarium and setting up new reptile and amphibian exhibits as well.  Last weekend, we transferred a corn snake, an America toad, and a gray tree frog to the DDC for her to display.

A few of our animals have left us as well.  We transferred a healthy carpet python to another reptile organization because the python was not “happy” doing shows with us.  He will have a great new home where he no longer has to go to work.

Two of our animals died this year.  We lost an eastern king snake and a pueblan milk snake.  Both were very old and were suffering from a gastro-intestinal disease.  We were very sad, but we had them both humanely euthanized so they would not suffer any more.

Four new animals made their way into the Reptiles Alive permanent collection this year.

This spring, Sunflower the albino boa constrictor made her way to us.  She is still less than one year old and is less than 2 feet long, so you might not see her at shows for a few more months.  But we are VERY excited about having her here – she is so beautiful.  It is rare to see albino boa constrictors exhibited in animal shows or at zoos, so you will be in for a treat when you meet her.

Sunflower the albino boa constrictor

Later in the year, we received another “regular” colored boa constrictor and an albino Burmese python.  The new Burmese python we named Moonlight and you can see him in shows starting this month.  The “regular” boa is named Aztec.   He is very handsome and healthy, so you will get to see him in shows starting this month as well.

Lastly, we just received another albino Burmese python.  This snake came from the Alexandria Animal Welfare League as an abandoned pet.  He/she seems healthy, but we have to quarantine all of our new animals for at least 3 months to make sure.  This new snake does not yet have a name, but we are thinking of naming him “Cloud.”  What do you think we should name him?

We are looking forward to the coming year and meeting all of you!  Be sure to fill book your show now, our calendar is filling up fast.

Fall is the time of year for beautiful foliage, pumpkins, hot cider, and snakes.

Snakes?  What do they have to do with fall?

Throughout the year we are contacted from people who are concerned about finding snakes inside of their homes.  During the fall, however, these calls increase.  Why?  What happens in fall that makes it more likely to find a snake inside of your home?

Two phenomena occur in fall to increase the low probability of finding a snake inside your house:

1.  In most of the United States, snake eggs typically hatch in September and October.  Therefore, a surge in the population of baby snakes occurs in the fall.

2.  Snakes and other creatures are searching for hibernation sites.  In the wild, these sites might include caves, crevices, and hollow cavities under rocks or fallen trees.  Human dwellings are very appealing to animals wanting to hibernate.  Animals ranging from Asian stink bugs to black rat snakes will often make use of accessible human homes to keep cozy during the winter.

So what is a homeowner who prefers not to share their home with wildlife to do?

There are many “treatments” touted online and by pest control companies that are ineffective and sometimes even dangerous that you should avoid.   Chemical products labeled  to keep snakes away are waste of your money.  Mothballs are also not going to discourage snakes and may even cause health problems in humans.

The only effective treatments for deterring snakes from your home are physical.

You need to seal your home from invading animals. Any hole or space into your house, even as small as a pencil, can allow mice, snakes and other creatures access to your home.

Start in the attic.  Check the vents and be sure they are securely covered in fine mesh hardware cloth (hardware cloth is like a really tough metal screen that comes in sheets or rolls).  Search the perimeter of the attic for any spot allowing light in – this might be an access point that needs sealing.  Remember, rat snakes can climb straight up a brick wall to gain access to your warm attic for the winter.

Walk the perimeter of your foundation, both inside and outside, checking for access.  Common access points include:  the area around wires, plumbing or cable entering the home, doors, windows, and vents.

Check the basement and/or crawlspace as well.  If animals can gain entry into either of these areas, they can probably gain access to your home.

Caulk, weather stripping, steel wool, plumber’s foam, and hardware cloth can all be used to seal up your home.

If the idea of handy-man work or the prospect of climbing into an unfinished attic does not appeal to you, there are a few pest control companies that specialize in wildlife exclusion and will remove any wildlife they find and repair your home so animals cannot get back inside.  When contacting an animal exclusion company, be sure to get references and check with at least two companies.  Remember, if they want to use a chemical snake deterrent, do not use that company.  You can find animal control companies in the yellow pages under “pest control” or by googling “animal trapping service” and your location.

While they do not belong in your home; remember, snakes are part of both the rural and urban environment.  They play a very important role and are as important to the health of the environment as the birds, butterflies, and other wildlife more commonly associated with a healthy ecosystem.

Enjoy these wild animals outside of your home, and you will have a healthy, happy habitat for you and nature.