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| Ma at the Reptile Festival |
This South Side Kid here decided to take a mini road trip to
Wisconsin to visit a reptile show. What is a Greek girl like me to do in the "Land of Cheese" a.k.a Wisconsin? See a bunch of reptiles, that's what.
This is the place where snakes, spiders, lizards and geckos
are at. Honestly speaking, they creep me out. However, despite my fear of these creatures, I was talked into going to the show from a friend of mine.
After all, this gave me the opportunity to try something more daring and
different. So, my buddy and I headed to the Cheese State, Wisconsin, that was
hosting the Reptile Festival; an event dedicated to the “scaly and the scary”
creatures of this world.
I was constantly reminded that I would be surrounded by various
amphibians and reptiles that will send a girl like myself,
running back to the concrete hills of Chicago. I was not allowed to freak out and I made it a point to not publicly humiliate myself by peeing in my pants. But those slimy skinned, beady
little eyed and pointy-tongued creatures give me the heebie-jeebies. Their
tongues…it’s the tongues that bother me the most. It’s not like a dog’s tongue
that greets you with kisses. No, these sharp tongues say, “What’s for dinner?”
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| Cameron of Immortal Reptiles |
The first table I walked up to was the Immortal Reptiles. It is
run by a group of friends: You, Cynthia, Cameron and Chue. They started their
growing firm a year ago and are all in their early 20’s. So how do a bunch of
young 20 something’s get started in the field? You, the head honcho, has had an
infatuation with these tiny creatures of love, and shared his passion and
vision with his friends turned partners, including his girlfriend, Cynthia.
The lovely Cynthia passionately spoke to me about her reptile whom
she acknowledges are her “children.” With her motherly nature, she noticed that I was not too keen on
approaching her little friends. She enthusiastically
tried convincing me to hold one, but I couldn’t do it. Her genuinity shone
through though, and made me
believe that I could eventually cradle one of those youngsters, but not at that
moment. By the end of my journey through the reptile field, I promised to make
my way back to Immortal Reptiles, and give comfort to one of her little
bambinos.
The next stop on the reptile train was at Madison Area
Herpetological Society. Why did I stop here? Lovely Lacy was posing for
pictures. I couldn’t say no.
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| Ma & Lacy of Madison Area Herpetological Society |
Lacy is a Granite Burmese Python. A 3 year old girl who enjoys
eating 3 lb. rabbits, being cuddled around your neck, arms, and torso. She’s a
friendly little girl that wants to be held. Lacy travels to schools and has one
motto: “Education through Community.” Madison Area Herpetological Society
loves to publicly educate and devote its work on the continuing education and
safe practice on reptile culture for current and future reptile lovers.
I don't know what prompted me into holding a snake, but the experience was hypnotic. I was
attracted to the spirit of the environment I was in. As a person who lives in
the moment, it would have been a complete waste of time if I drove out to WI
(blah) and didn’t fully experience the adventure. It was
thrilling to have Lacy feel my neck, slide down my arm, and cradle her gentle
head into my palm. I was told to relax; to breathe so Lacy can rest gently
around my body. I felt her muscles tighten in response to my muscles that were tightening, but once I loosened
up, so did she. It was a viable connection between fear and love. She was conscious of my being
as I was cognizant of her affectionate character.
Got me thinking: Where does a girl like Lacy live? How big does
her cage have to be? Should she live in a cage? (maybe I should live in a cage)
Will she even be comfy not trekking through her native jungles?
Enter Monday’s Rock.
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| Monday's Rock Enclosure...Can you find the "M" and the "R"? |
What sets the Monday’s apart from the other enclosure companies is that they’re down-to-earth, passionate about their craft and will give you your money’s worth. In addition, they always put their initials "M" & "R" in their enclosures. I’m positive Lacy will live nicely in the Monday’s personal enclosures. I don’t think I will, though.
By this point, I wanted to catch as much live action as I could.
My attention was soon captured
by the crème de la crème of herpetological societies: The Chicago
Herpetological Society.
CHS had traffic at their table, and snakes roaming around freely
on a stand. Dick Buchholz, a proud CHS member and reptile lover, noticed that I
was a novice in that field. He
introduced himself, and offered to
educate me.
He's been a member of CHS since 1967, teaching for over 20 years and enthusiastically educating
his love for conservation and the advancement of herpetology. What makes Mr. Buchholz special was that he took joy in working with these creatures while educating children about them, at the same time. He was teaching the kids, their parents and myself, as he was holding various snakes and geckos. A little girl named Rowan was confidently holding a snake, listening to him and giggling with excitement, which had me questioning why she was so gutsy and why I wasn't? I was amazed by her courage. Another eager student of Mr. Buchholz, a 13 year old boy from Chicago named Nez, was walking around with a Gargoyle Gecko in his pocket. His Pocket! I couldn't hold a gecko in my hand, and this kid was walking around the festival with a gecko in his pocket. Fearless. Comfortable. Mature. He looked at me and told me everything about these little guys. Below are Nez's Fun Facts regarding Gargoyle Geckos:
He's been a member of CHS since 1967, teaching for over 20 years and enthusiastically educating
his love for conservation and the advancement of herpetology. What makes Mr. Buchholz special was that he took joy in working with these creatures while educating children about them, at the same time. He was teaching the kids, their parents and myself, as he was holding various snakes and geckos. A little girl named Rowan was confidently holding a snake, listening to him and giggling with excitement, which had me questioning why she was so gutsy and why I wasn't? I was amazed by her courage. Another eager student of Mr. Buchholz, a 13 year old boy from Chicago named Nez, was walking around with a Gargoyle Gecko in his pocket. His Pocket! I couldn't hold a gecko in my hand, and this kid was walking around the festival with a gecko in his pocket. Fearless. Comfortable. Mature. He looked at me and told me everything about these little guys. Below are Nez's Fun Facts regarding Gargoyle Geckos:
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| Gargoyle Gecko |
- They live on an island of New Caledonia, around Australia. I’m never visiting New Caledonia.
- If it’s orange blotched, it’s a female…but hard to distinguish between male and female at birth.
- Related to the Arboreal Lizard that lives in the trees. I’m pretty sure we’ve gotta stop cutting down the trees now because I don’t need the Arboreal Lizard falling on my head.
- They are friendly, warm and just want to eat fruit. They’re like fat vegetarians.
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| Ma holding Cynthia's Immortal Reptile as promised |
Finally we’ve reached the point of leaving and my buddy reminded me of my promise to Cynthia from Immortal Reptiles. I walked up to Cynthia, she smiled and held my hand out so she can, with ease, place a gecko in my hand. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, laughing with excitement and connecting with a smaller reptile that was just as anxious of me as I was of him.
Those little guys are cute and fun, and I will say, one day in my future, I would love to have a
little Lacy to care for.
For more information about these
wonderful creatures, please check out these websites below.
Email: immortalreptiles@gmail.com
Email: Mondays-rock@msn.com
