Reptile Man Brings Slithering, Spikey Friends

WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg High School gym was full of shrill squeals, shouts and slimy things Monday night when a crowd of local kids and parents enjoyed a presentation from the Reptile Man.

Scott Petersen, also known as the Reptile Man, runs the Washington Serpentarium near Monroe. He has a big collection of poisonous snakes and reptiles of many kinds.

Monday night, some of these reptiles rested in blue plastic tubs on the floor and on a table in the high school gym. These tubs had air holes and some had locks on the boxes to make sure whatever reptile was inside - stayed inside.

At 6:30 p.m., the bleachers on one side of the gym were packed for the presentation. Late-comers quickly paid their $1 per person and found a seat on the floor.

And the presentation was certainly worth $1.

First, Petersen took it easy on the crowd and showed off a nice tortoise named Spongebob Scalepants. Nearly every child in attendance had a digital camera or camerpahone and quickly snapped photos of the tortoise as Petersen showed him off.

Petersen described the different characteristics of each animal while he presented them, from what they ate to how they protected themselves against predators.

Petersen showed off Spongebob Scalepants' big scales on his shell.

"You can drive a car over his back and it won't break," Petersen said.

The tortoise can live 200 years and grow to be about 300 pounds, he added.

"Turtles are not scary!" one child yelled from the crowd, obviously asking to be shown more frightening reptiles.

Next out of the blue containers was a snapping turtle. Petersen explained that the snapping turtle does not hide in his shell because he has powerful jaws that can bite fingers off. The turtle has spikes on his back, head and legs to make him blend in with the river bed. A small pink tongue looks like an earthworm and the turtle will hold its mouth open and trick fish into thinking his tongue is a tiny earthworm.

A sweet, small, green monkey lizard was up next for the audience. Petersen held the lizard upside down by its tail and sure enough, it resembled a monkey's tail. He said the monkey lizard hangs out in trees all day and showed off its sharp claws used to grip branches and tree trunks. Petersen next gave the microphone he was holding to the monkey lizard and sure enough, that lizard held onto that microphone and kept it from falling to the floor.

A Gila Monster, with pink and black dots all over its body, is a poisonous lizard and it followed the monkey lizard.

"The Gila Monster has the most painful reptile bite on earth," Petersen said. "But she knows me. I raised her - we're good friends."

The neatest part about the Gila Monster is the fact that because its tail stores fat, it can go for one year without eating, Petersen said. Cold-blooded animals only have to eat onetenth as much as warm-blooded creatures do, he added.

Lucy the Alligator was up next for her performance. This small alligator was able to do a trick where Petersen would push between its eyes and it would pass out or "fall asleep."

Following Lucy, were all of the snakes.

Petersen started with a gentle, rubber boa snake that is native to Washington State. Many children confused it with a garter snake because it is small and green, but the Rubber Boa had a tail that looked just like its head. Petersen said researchers believe this snake may live up to 100 years.

And then came the venomous snakes. Petersen explained that when his snakes are babies, he removes their venomous glands. But, his snakes still have fangs and he's been bitten many times, he said.

Petersen requested all of the children and parents on the floor stay behind a big red line which he jokingly, or maybe not, called the "line of death."

The first out was a Copperhead snake, which lives in the Eastern half of the United States. He next brought out a Milk Snake and taught the audience to look at the rings on the snakes to determine whether they are poisonous. However, the "red touches black" rhyme only works in the U.S., Petersen said. The rhyme does not work in Africa or South America.

The Water Moccasin was the largest snake so far. Petersen said it was large because it contained air in its body to allow it to float in swamps. They live in stated spanning from Texas to Florida in the South.

A misconception Petersen wanted to clear up is that snakes will chase people. He said this is not true because they are seriously nearsighted. Most often, people get hurt by snakes because they step on them hidden in leaves on the ground, he said.

The crowd also got to hear how a couple of snakes sound. The rattlesnake Petersen brought along with him was very tame and getting it scared enough to rattle was kind of like listening to a lawnmower trying to start up.

After the crowd got to listen to the rattle sound, it met the Diamondback Rattlesnake. It is 8 feet long and is part of the viper family. Vipers have triangle heads, Petersen said, and warned that their bite could be deadly.

Speaking of deadly, up next was the Gaboon Viper.

"This snake huffs and it puffs," Petersen said.

The crowd got to listen as Petersen stirred up the snake in the blue plastic tub and encouraged

A misconception Petersen wanted to clear up is that snakes will chase people. He said this is not true because they are seriously nearsighted. Most often, people get hurt by snakes because they step on them hidden in leaves on the ground, he said.

The crowd also got to hear how a couple of snakes sound. The rattlesnake Petersen brought along with him was very tame and getting it scared enough to rattle was kind of like listening to a lawnmower trying to start up.

After the crowd got to listen to the rattle sound, it met the Diamondback Rattlesnake. It is 8 feet long and is part of the viper family. Vipers have triangle heads, Petersen said, and warned that their bite could be deadly.

Speaking of deadly, up next was the Gaboon Viper.

"This snake huffs and it puffs," Petersen said.

The crowd got to listen as Petersen stirred up the snake in the blue plastic tub and encouraged it to make its menacing sound, which truly sounded like a wheeze.

The Gaboon Viper has 2-inch fangs and is 7 feet long. Petersen said it will swallow a porcupine with all the quills.

The Gaboon Viper was followed by the Cobra, who stood up a bit and showed off his hood. Petersen said the bite of a Cobra has killed elephants before.

And from poisonous snakes he moved to his constrictors, which he called "snakes with muscles."

Boas have never killed a person, and to prove this, he wrapped one of his boas around a small child, Klint Kuykend- all, who volunteered. The little boy walked slowly around the gym so the crowd could see the snake, while the snake slithered around his middle and even up under his legs. The little boy simply maintained a dazed, slightly frightened look on his face that melted the heart.

The finale was Petersen's 100-pouind Burmese Python. He had about 10 children come up to the front and help hold this huge, lemon-colored snake.

One of those lucky children picked for this task was Timothy Daves, a fourth grader at Waitsburg Elementary School.

Daves was all grins after holding the snake. He said the snake was very heavy, much heavier than his dog, Riley. And he admitted he was kind of scared at first.

"Now I know it's safe - unless it's poisonous," Daves said proudly.

He said he would love to have a snake for a pet, but his mother just shook her head to that suggestion.

For more information about Petersen and his snakes, visit www.reptileman.com.