I grew up running amuck in the deserts of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas. I wish I could say I was a reptile fanatic by the time I was crawling around the house, but that just wasn't the case. It took many years of exposure to convince me that the "reptile life" was for the right path for me. Starting from my favorite action figure (yoda) who came with a little orange snake, then my favorite skateboard deck (Mike Mcgills) had a skull & snake image. Our neighbors bred desert tortoises and I was given baby hatchlings every year. Growing up for ump-teen years, and had many friends who had various types of reptiles in their homes, and I still wasn't very interested, just thought reptiles were ok. What in the world was I thinking about back then?

 

Well, in spring of 1994 that all changed once I went camping with my family one spring day. My brother and I went hiking along a creek and we kept seeing garter snakes all over the place. Well, you know teens, it wasn't more than a minute we decided to catch one, and I did. As we returned back to the camp site, my mother asked me, "why are you wearing only one sock?" Being a sneaky teen and knowing my parents probably wouldn't let me keep the snake, I hid my new found pet in the best place I could think of. So, I slowly reached my hands down my pants and stuffed between my legs was the other sock knotted up with a small snake wiggling like a hooked fish trying to get off a fishermans line! Looking back, maybe this wasn't the smartest place I could have hid a snake, since I didn't have any knowledge of the venomous species in this area, all I knew was "hey, it didn't hiss so it must be safe"? Needless to say we went home after that camping trip "snakeless".

 

Skipping forward a few weeks during this same year, my best friend and I were bike riding in the mountains on a day trip, it was a beautiful day and just right before sunset. While we were biking we kept seeing all kinds of black and white things wiggling across the road. We start riding slower and notice that they are baby snakes! So I jump off my bike, to take a closer look and sure enough, they are little snakes, but this time they were hissers so to my own "unknowledgable and idiotic" conclusion, I tell Mark, "these are hissing, so they must be the dangerous kind!" The next thing I remember is jumping off my bike and pulling off my shirt to safely cover one so I wouldn't get bitten. Next I took the bundle and packed it into my hip bag and zip it up, Yes! I'm going home with my trophy snake and my parents can't tell me no this time! As good luck was with me, it was a harmless hatchling California kingsnake that I still have in my collection  to this day (even though it is an old senile animal with cataracts now) I still cherish this little girl and the adventures we have had together all these years. 

 

My next acquisition didn't come until the end of 1994. My parents had left for Christmas holiday to visit family in Southern Arizona. Unfortunately, I had a "very important" (pizza delivery) job at the time and my manager wouldn't let me have the time off for the holiday. Well, what happens when a older teen is left alone for 10 days over Christmas break with $500 cash "emergency" fund? Said teen, went out to his local Exotic Pet Store on Christmas Eve and purchases a $250 fifty five gallon fish tank to convert it into a snake cage and oh yes, lets not forget about a $250 adult wild caught ball python as a well deserved "to me, from me" Christmas gift. Little did I know these little chapters would lead me to many more extra-ordinary "reptilian adventures" that I would love to share with you in the future :-) 

 

So, Y'all come back Ya Hear!