Riverside Reptiles Education Center - Enfield, CT

[Bogertophis]

I'll say this was an AWESOME day! Nothing beats interacting with these animals, either as "zoo-keeper for a day" or feeding that huge beautiful tortoise. Way to go!

Glad to hear your "Rhacos" are doing well there too- I'd be surprised if they weren't- it looks like an excellent facility, & that was a difficult but wise decision on your part.

[dakski]

I'll say this was an AWESOME day! Nothing beats interacting with these animals, either as "zoo-keeper for a day" or feeding that huge beautiful tortoise. Way to go!

Glad to hear your "Rhacos" are doing well there too- I'd be surprised if they weren't- it looks like an excellent facility, & that was a difficult but wise decision on your part.

Most of the pics are of Katie feeding "Tank" and "Dozer." She had an awesome time and was smiling the entire feeding.

It was a tough decision to re-home Ferry and Ezzy, but it's great to see them continuing to thrive and for me to have a little more time with the 9 reptiles I still have. I am glad I made the decision and made it before (potentially) they or the rest of my collection suffered. They were in great health and cared for when I gave them to Brian and Riverside Reptiles, and they are still doing great. That makes me happy. Sadly, Brian was shocked at how well they were doing and how clean the enclosures were, etc. He was expecting much worse, which seems to be the norm when someone wants to re-home an animal, especially, a reptile.

[Bogertophis]

... Sadly, Brian was shocked at how well they were doing and how clean the enclosures were, etc. He was expecting much worse, which seems to be the norm when someone wants to re-home an animal, especially, a reptile.

That's a very typical & sad truth, I agree. People lose interest & totally neglect to clean or sometimes even feed pets. And they often wait too long to re-home reptiles- hey, reptiles can't "complain" (they don't whine or cry like cats & dogs, & don't squawk like birds do)- they're just quiet prisoners if they end up with the wrong owner.

When I got into rattlesnakes years back, I had some turned over to me that really smelled horrible- it wasn't their fault, they'd been kept in filthy cages for a long time. I quickly figured out how to safely bathe them & you could tell they really appreciated being clean- they just felt better. But some people think nothing of keeping them that way.

[dakski]

Katie and I had a paint night date at the Reptile Zoo!

I got some cool shots of the Spitting Cobra after shed, the Green Mambas, and the Dwarf Caiman.

We had a great time and Katie painted Yafe (CP) onto a whiskey bottle while I painted the two green mambas smoking cigars. Clearly, Katie has the artistic abilities, but what I lack for in skill, I make up for ingenuity?