Uncloudy
07-22-2005, 04:26 PM
A soft spot for snakes
BY DARIN FENGER, STAFF WRITER
Jul 20, 2005
Chris McLaughlin loves his seven roommates, even if they are long, legless and munch on mice.
McLaughlin, like more and more Americans each day, has realized that cats and dogs may be OK but serpents are super.
"I'm actually allergic to cats and dogs and snakes are virtually hypoallergenic, so they're perfect for me," he cheerfully said. "Plus watching something move across the floor with no legs is super cool."
For Mclaughlin, snake handling and one day breeding is a hobby that he's enjoyed with for the past six years, since he first heard about this area's true tough-guy snake, the California king snake. Before that he had never really given the oft-misunderstood critters a second thought. But then he finally met a king.
"Basically I just became fascinated with them," McLaughlin said. "I read up on them and found out that they are predators of pretty much every snake and lizard out there and they're immune to rattlesnake venom. They actually eat rattlesnakes."
Now he's Yuma's only member of the Arizona Herpetological Association, this state's official snake club for people who really, really dig snakes. They are often far beyond just having one or two in a fish tank, too. These people often have a bunch of snakes and sometimes breed them as well.
Members offer information and services to the general public, ranging from informational guides on snake encounters to providing the service of snake removal from a person's property.
McLaughlin said he'd love to attend more of the association's meetings, but since they're held in Phoenix he's not able to make the trip as often as he'd like.
Another thing about herpetological people is that they're often the human beings who stand up for snakes when the oft-misunderstood creatures are called into question. It's a part of the hobby that McLaughlin loves, especially when the media comes knocking.
"Come on, hold him!"
"Or how about you just touch him, here on his tail?"
McLaughlin is persistent when there's a jumpy human around his snakes he wants to help people get over their fears but he can handle hearing a firm "no," too.
"I think it's generally just a lack of knowledge for most people," he said. "Also, it's because snakes have been shown through history as being evil, but it's funny how in other cultures around the world snakes are revered as gods."
When he first had snakes around the house, it didn't take friends and family too long to catch on and get accustomed to being near the animals.
"I'd say they were apprehensive at first, but once they realized what the snakes were about, they thought it was just like any other pet."
McLaughlin even got a few true converts out of the bunch.
"My uncle was deathly afraid of snakes, but he's come around and now he's fascinated by every snake I have. When he comes over he wants to see them and hold them."
McLaughlin's family is big in agriculture here. He grew up in Oregon but moved to Yuma for a job with the family. He's now working on getting into the real estate business.
As for the snakes, he's got seven. That's down from the 13 animals he had just a short time ago.
"I had to get rid of a few because I felt I wasn't giving them enough attention," he explained. "I also had to get rid of a few because of my daughter. If one was kind of bitey or just wasn't completely trustworthy it had to go."
All but one of the snakes he has now come from this region. The king snake is still his favorite. His very first snake is his most beloved. He's Callie, his California king snake. He's black and white, and quite friendly. Callie is also an accomplished escape artist, sneaking out of his box and crawling between a cabinet and a wall.
"He was gone for five weeks. I finally managed to lure him out with a live mouse," McLaughlin said. "I was worried because he was my first snake and I'm most attached to that one. My daughter cried the whole time."
His other snakes are Abby and Candy, both corn snakes; Jose, a Mexican king snake; Leo, a Nueva Leon king snake; Balla, a Brazilian rainbow boa; and Juan, a Jalisco milk snake. He got all of them from reputable breeders because taking in a snake from the wild is just too risky in terms of disease.
"There are diseases that could infect the entire collection," he said, adding that snakes from breeders are also handled more and therefore more friendly. That's why he's refrained from taking home snakes in the wild.
McLaughlin keeps his snakes inside fish tanks, all fitted with tight lids and decked out inside with bedding and stuff to hide under. Surprisingly, though, one of his snakes' favorite playhouses is simply two soy milk cartons put together with duct tape.
The snakes eat outside of their regular lairs, however. That's because McLaughlin doesn't want them to associate his hand coming inside the tank with chomping down on something good to eat.
And speaking of diet, what's on the menu? Frozen mice. McLaughlin either picks the mice up at a pet store or gets them through the mail.
"To thaw them out you just put them in some warm water for a while."
McLaughlin used to breed his own mice, but that's a bit tricky with Arizona's horrendous heat. Live mice are also tricky, he added, because they can bite or scratch the snake.
"And you don't want your snake going around with war wounds or anything. You want them looking nice."
For people who wonder how full-bodied mice would work for the snakes that have such small mouths, McLaughlin has an answer. He explained that those particular snakes are fed the "pinkies," the baby mice too young to be big or have hair.
He's tried breeding his snakes before, something he'd like to try again. But, McLaughlin stressed, the whole process is pretty traumatic on the snakes, which have to be forced into a sort of hibernation by being put into a dark place for months. They are usually left from November through April in a place around 50 degrees.
McLaughlin tried to breed Callie, but it didn't work out at all. He not only didn't breed, but the whole experience truly freaked him out.
"He didn't feed for two months. I just can't have that happen to one of my snakes."
McLaughlin is well attached to his snakes, remember. And that's a good thing.
For fun, after a long day of work, he'll just go home and hang out with his snakes, one at a time.
"For me it's pretty relaxing. If I'm pretty stressed I'll just get relaxed by sitting down and holding a snake," he said. "Or I can let them go on the floor. I just have to keep an eye on them or they'll go somewhere and I won't be able to get them out."
As far as affection goes, McLaughlin isn't one to read too much into what his snakes do. He's quick to point out how tame they are, but he's reluctant to call their behavior close to anything warm and fuzzy.
"Snakes in captivity will always be wild, but they develop a tolerance for being around people and being handled," he said. "They just become very trustworthy."
He said snakes out in the wild, meanwhile, aren't nearly as fearsome as their reputation might seem, either.
"They're just saying Don't try to eat me or I'll bite you. They are just as scared as you are," McLaughlin said, chuckling. "You just have remember that to them, you are a really, really big thing. To them, you're the predator."
Darin Fenger can be reached at dfenger@yumasun.com or 539-6860.
Are you a snake person? Join the Arizona Herpetological Association, based in Phoenix. Give them a call at 1-480-894-1625 ore-mail to info@azreptiles.com. The association also offers a great guide for what to do when you encounter a snake. Check it out at www.AZreptiles.com
Thank you Jerry Feldner for puting Mr. Fenger in contact with me through the AHA for this article. Overall, it was refreshing to read this article when it came out today and is a positive article about snakes and our hobby. It doesn't play on people's fears of snakes and I made that known when I was first contacted by Darin that I wouldn't be involved in this story if he was going to cover snakes as most news articles do. Oh, and the pictures not included in the link came out great of my mex mex on the cover of the insert, my calking, and '03 female corns in the article.
Uncloudy
Link to article (http://sun.yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_17901.php)
BY DARIN FENGER, STAFF WRITER
Jul 20, 2005
Chris McLaughlin loves his seven roommates, even if they are long, legless and munch on mice.
McLaughlin, like more and more Americans each day, has realized that cats and dogs may be OK but serpents are super.
"I'm actually allergic to cats and dogs and snakes are virtually hypoallergenic, so they're perfect for me," he cheerfully said. "Plus watching something move across the floor with no legs is super cool."
For Mclaughlin, snake handling and one day breeding is a hobby that he's enjoyed with for the past six years, since he first heard about this area's true tough-guy snake, the California king snake. Before that he had never really given the oft-misunderstood critters a second thought. But then he finally met a king.
"Basically I just became fascinated with them," McLaughlin said. "I read up on them and found out that they are predators of pretty much every snake and lizard out there and they're immune to rattlesnake venom. They actually eat rattlesnakes."
Now he's Yuma's only member of the Arizona Herpetological Association, this state's official snake club for people who really, really dig snakes. They are often far beyond just having one or two in a fish tank, too. These people often have a bunch of snakes and sometimes breed them as well.
Members offer information and services to the general public, ranging from informational guides on snake encounters to providing the service of snake removal from a person's property.
McLaughlin said he'd love to attend more of the association's meetings, but since they're held in Phoenix he's not able to make the trip as often as he'd like.
Another thing about herpetological people is that they're often the human beings who stand up for snakes when the oft-misunderstood creatures are called into question. It's a part of the hobby that McLaughlin loves, especially when the media comes knocking.
"Come on, hold him!"
"Or how about you just touch him, here on his tail?"
McLaughlin is persistent when there's a jumpy human around his snakes he wants to help people get over their fears but he can handle hearing a firm "no," too.
"I think it's generally just a lack of knowledge for most people," he said. "Also, it's because snakes have been shown through history as being evil, but it's funny how in other cultures around the world snakes are revered as gods."
When he first had snakes around the house, it didn't take friends and family too long to catch on and get accustomed to being near the animals.
"I'd say they were apprehensive at first, but once they realized what the snakes were about, they thought it was just like any other pet."
McLaughlin even got a few true converts out of the bunch.
"My uncle was deathly afraid of snakes, but he's come around and now he's fascinated by every snake I have. When he comes over he wants to see them and hold them."
McLaughlin's family is big in agriculture here. He grew up in Oregon but moved to Yuma for a job with the family. He's now working on getting into the real estate business.
As for the snakes, he's got seven. That's down from the 13 animals he had just a short time ago.
"I had to get rid of a few because I felt I wasn't giving them enough attention," he explained. "I also had to get rid of a few because of my daughter. If one was kind of bitey or just wasn't completely trustworthy it had to go."
All but one of the snakes he has now come from this region. The king snake is still his favorite. His very first snake is his most beloved. He's Callie, his California king snake. He's black and white, and quite friendly. Callie is also an accomplished escape artist, sneaking out of his box and crawling between a cabinet and a wall.
"He was gone for five weeks. I finally managed to lure him out with a live mouse," McLaughlin said. "I was worried because he was my first snake and I'm most attached to that one. My daughter cried the whole time."
His other snakes are Abby and Candy, both corn snakes; Jose, a Mexican king snake; Leo, a Nueva Leon king snake; Balla, a Brazilian rainbow boa; and Juan, a Jalisco milk snake. He got all of them from reputable breeders because taking in a snake from the wild is just too risky in terms of disease.
"There are diseases that could infect the entire collection," he said, adding that snakes from breeders are also handled more and therefore more friendly. That's why he's refrained from taking home snakes in the wild.
McLaughlin keeps his snakes inside fish tanks, all fitted with tight lids and decked out inside with bedding and stuff to hide under. Surprisingly, though, one of his snakes' favorite playhouses is simply two soy milk cartons put together with duct tape.
The snakes eat outside of their regular lairs, however. That's because McLaughlin doesn't want them to associate his hand coming inside the tank with chomping down on something good to eat.
And speaking of diet, what's on the menu? Frozen mice. McLaughlin either picks the mice up at a pet store or gets them through the mail.
"To thaw them out you just put them in some warm water for a while."
McLaughlin used to breed his own mice, but that's a bit tricky with Arizona's horrendous heat. Live mice are also tricky, he added, because they can bite or scratch the snake.
"And you don't want your snake going around with war wounds or anything. You want them looking nice."
For people who wonder how full-bodied mice would work for the snakes that have such small mouths, McLaughlin has an answer. He explained that those particular snakes are fed the "pinkies," the baby mice too young to be big or have hair.
He's tried breeding his snakes before, something he'd like to try again. But, McLaughlin stressed, the whole process is pretty traumatic on the snakes, which have to be forced into a sort of hibernation by being put into a dark place for months. They are usually left from November through April in a place around 50 degrees.
McLaughlin tried to breed Callie, but it didn't work out at all. He not only didn't breed, but the whole experience truly freaked him out.
"He didn't feed for two months. I just can't have that happen to one of my snakes."
McLaughlin is well attached to his snakes, remember. And that's a good thing.
For fun, after a long day of work, he'll just go home and hang out with his snakes, one at a time.
"For me it's pretty relaxing. If I'm pretty stressed I'll just get relaxed by sitting down and holding a snake," he said. "Or I can let them go on the floor. I just have to keep an eye on them or they'll go somewhere and I won't be able to get them out."
As far as affection goes, McLaughlin isn't one to read too much into what his snakes do. He's quick to point out how tame they are, but he's reluctant to call their behavior close to anything warm and fuzzy.
"Snakes in captivity will always be wild, but they develop a tolerance for being around people and being handled," he said. "They just become very trustworthy."
He said snakes out in the wild, meanwhile, aren't nearly as fearsome as their reputation might seem, either.
"They're just saying Don't try to eat me or I'll bite you. They are just as scared as you are," McLaughlin said, chuckling. "You just have remember that to them, you are a really, really big thing. To them, you're the predator."
Darin Fenger can be reached at dfenger@yumasun.com or 539-6860.
Are you a snake person? Join the Arizona Herpetological Association, based in Phoenix. Give them a call at 1-480-894-1625 ore-mail to info@azreptiles.com. The association also offers a great guide for what to do when you encounter a snake. Check it out at www.AZreptiles.com
Thank you Jerry Feldner for puting Mr. Fenger in contact with me through the AHA for this article. Overall, it was refreshing to read this article when it came out today and is a positive article about snakes and our hobby. It doesn't play on people's fears of snakes and I made that known when I was first contacted by Darin that I wouldn't be involved in this story if he was going to cover snakes as most news articles do. Oh, and the pictures not included in the link came out great of my mex mex on the cover of the insert, my calking, and '03 female corns in the article.
Uncloudy
Link to article (http://sun.yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_17901.php)