No more fear! Kids embrace — almost literally — reptiles

How many people have ever had the chance to see, let alone touch, a creature such as the Blue Tongue Skink, the Suriname Red Tail Boa, the Frilled Dragon, or the Argentine Black-and-White Tegu?

Second- and third-graders at Anza Trail School had the opportunity at the “Reptile Mania” exposition Feb. 24.

The youngsters learned valuable lessons about the diversity of life on Earth and the importance of doing their part to help preserve it. They also learned about their responsibilities as pet owners.

Michelle Bell, a teaching aide at Anza Trail, said her goal was “to help dispel the myth that reptiles are scary, slimy or dangerous. Many of them make wonderful pets, and there are children who, because of allergies or asthma, cannot have dogs and cats as pets.”

Emphasizing her point at the beginning of the expo, Bell announced to all the children: “I love reptiles! They make great pets!” The youngsters shouted back, “We love reptiles!”

Bell’s family pets include two dogs, five snakes, a Bearded Dragon, and, most recently, a Ball Python, also known as a Royal Python. She insisted that Ball Pythons are “absolute love bugs.”

“My passion for reptiles started when Tristen, my 9-year-old son, wanted another pet. We researched a lot of animals and came up with the Ball Python. They are very gentle, private snakes. My husband and I instantly fell in love with them.” Bell said.

The expo included more than 40 reptiles, many of which were family pets. Hand-outs given to the students included color photographs and basic details about every reptile in the show. The children were also given information about how to handle the reptiles:

Remember that all animals and reptiles deserve your respect at all times.

Reptiles typically do not like for you to touch their heads.

Use two fingers when petting the animals.

If animals are in enclosures, do not tap on the enclosures.

Use hand sanitizer at all stations.

Each reptile was placed at a station with its own handler while the children filed by. The thrilled youngsters observed the reptiles carefully at each station and were allowed to gently touch most of them.

The children had lots to say about their experiences with the reptiles. According to Isabell Guzman, “It was funny and scaly and spiky and bumpy touching the animals. But they weren’t slimy.”

Kristin Finn said, “The expo is pretty neat. I have a pet snake. It’s black and white.”

Per Brandon Felipe, “It’s really cool. I just don’t know how else to explain it.”

Brandon Terrel has plans to talk to his parents about getting a snake, saying, “I don’t have a reptile. I want a snake. A lot of them aren’t venomous, you know.”

Justin Archer, a teacher at Anza Trail, called the expo “awesome. It’s a great experience for the kids. They don’t usually have the opportunity to see anything like this, so it’s wonderful that this great reptile expo came to our school.”

Bell had words of advice for the children about the importance of protecting creatures in the wild and about responsible pet ownership. She pointed out that all the reptiles at the expo were “CBB,” that is, Captive Born and Bred.

“That’s important,” Bell said, “Because millions of these animals are taken out of the wild every year. Then half of them die in boxes. If that keeps going on, what will happen to the animals? They’ll all be extinct, and we have to prevent that.”

Bell said she was “excited that the kids could experience these reptiles and learn about them, especially the snakes. It’s been an absolutely fantastic introduction for them.”

What’s a reptile?

A reptile is an animal that crawls or moves on its belly (as a snake) or on very short legs (as a lizard). They are air-breathing vertebrates that include alligators, crocodiles, lizards, snakes and turtles.

Resources for more information about reptiles and their care are:

Reptile Specialists, www.reptilespecialists.com, or 520-795-0060