Reptiles...

The school had the Reptile Man come and do an assembly and then an encore show at night for parents.  My kids came home from school that day talking non stop about how cool all the reptiles were and how much they really wanted to hit up the night time show.  I was totally game to go but Jeff was on the fence.  He could take it or leave it.

Of course the kids and I won out and we headed out to the show.  Jeff was on his way home from work and had to meet us at the school so we went solo until he could join us.  We played in the park area while we waiting for Jeff and we ended up being a bit early.  The kids wanted to make sure they got a good seat.

The Reptile Man has a whole zoo near Monroe and often does shows at schools.  He used to be a Biology teacher among other things and decided that his love of reptiles deserved more from him.  He now runs his reptile zoo and does shows.  He was one of the most calm presenters ever.  The kids were all on the floor behind a line and let me tell you they were right on that line.  There was so much chatter and screams about the reptiles it was crazy.

He would calmly tell you about what reptile he was going to show and then he'd get it from a locked box.  He'd show it around the room and give your more information about the animal he was showing.  The kids being right there loved seeing what he was showing and only wished they could touch them.  My kids were front and center for the whole show.

Above is a snapping turtle.  This is not the most attractive animal and has such a snapping jaw it was crazy.  He had to wear gloves to handle it and at one point he touched it's lip with a glove and we all got to see it snap closed.  I would not want to be anywhere near that thing.  We learned it has a little pink tongue to look like a worm to attract food.  He'll go around with is mouth open and hope to get something to come in closer so he can snap it closed.

The snapping turtle was not on display to touch but the regular turtle was and both my kids loved to touch the rough shell.  They only touched and moved on as it wasn't too exciting as it just sat there.  Meg touched only once in a crowd of people while Andrew came back a few times for multiple touches.

This is some lizard I forget but it hangs from it's tail.  When he took it out of the box he swung it over the crowd of kids upside down and the screams went round the room.  The shock turned into giggles and the kids all loved it.

He showed his baby alligator and it even did a trick.  He got it to sit up straight while holding it's tail and then he'd tell it to sleep and it would roll it's head back like it was sleeping.  The kids loved this and all Andrew wanted from that point on was to try and be able to hold the alligator and see if he could get it to "sleep" like the Reptile Man.

There were a few lizards, a few turtles, an alligator, and a whole handful of snakes (king cobra, albino python, diamondback rattlesnake, and more.)  All the snakes he had he takes care of and all had their poison and venom removed.  He had them all in locked boxes and only a few on display after for an up close look.  None of the poisonous snakes could be viewed.  I'm glad for that, the gym went crazy afterwards and it was hard to keep track of my own two.

After the show you could get your photo, for a fee, with a snake or the baby alligator.  Andrew went nuts and really wanted that picture with the alligator.  Megan really wasn't interested and just wanted to see all the animals.  She just enjoyed being there and seeing her friends.  The lines were crazy long and Jeff tried to talk Andrew out of the picture but he was so sold on it.  Luckily we had come in two cars since Jeff had to meet us there.  I stayed behind with Andrew to get his pictures while Jeff left with Megan to pick up some dinner.  I offered Megan a picture if she wanted to stay but she just wasn't interested.  She was happy that she got to hold the Boa in a group during the show.

We all had a great time and were super happy that we decided to go.  Andrew now has a frame for his picture and I have found it in his bed several times already.  He LOVES his picture and it was money well spent.  It warms my heart to see  him light up whenever he looks at the photo.  Fun family night for sure.