OkcPets Magazine July 2023

22 OKC Pets • July / August 2023 Specialist Sees Snakes as Beautiful and Beneficial by Kim Doner | Photos courtesy of Alexander England T oday I’m advocating on behalf of the most misunderstood, maligned, abused, and unfairly despised ver- tebrate in history, and no, I’m not talking about a character from Succession. I’m talking about snakes. First, let me clear up a terminology issue on behalf of all herpers (i.e., shorthand for someone who’s passionate about herping, or likes to hunt reptiles and amphibians). Learn the difference between poisonous and venomous. Granted, either one can kill, but remember this: “If you bite, and you die, it’s poison; if it bites, and you die, it’s venom.” Nuff said. So snakes can be venomous, although only about 200 of the more than 3,000 species of snakes on the planet can kill hu- mans with their bite. The rest snag a victim with backward-curved teeth, wrap and squeeze until the victim suffocates, and then eat it whole. Neither way is especially pleasant to consider, but humans are rarely victims of snakes — it’s usually the other way around. Snakes are by nature extreme- ly shy. They show up only for a meal, so a good question is, “All right — what do they eat?” What and How Do Snakes Eat? All snakes are carnivores. Baby snakes start small, and depending on the species, they escalate from chowing on ant eggs or worms to ingesting a 150-pound hyena, as recorded in 2017 by National Geograph- ic. (Talk about putting the “graphic” in “geographic,” right? Although it does fuel incentive for staying plump if you’re hang- ing out in python territory.) Snakes have the phenomenal ability to unhinge their jaws and stretch their mouths around dinner — then swallow it whole. It can take days to digest a meal; some snakes eat only six times a year. Some people might be thinking, “Nuh- uh, no way I want one of those around!” But let me offer a fresh perspective on the how and why of keeping snakes in your life. A Different View of Snakes Alexander England, of England Exotics, is a former Oklahoman now living in Texas. His passion for reptiles began at the age of six; he has had snakes for nearly 30 years. He got serious about breeding snakes in 2006, and his career escalated in 2015 into almost 30 species. He is the first to breed several species of snakes in the United States. As a kid, England’s favorite pastime was chasing lizards and snakes while playing in the woods. Supportive parents insisted that he learn about those animals, and he dove into every book he could find, idolizing heroes such as Steve Irwin. England has some interesting answers to my questions about snakes. Question: “How many enclosures do you keep right now?” Answer: “I have about 50 planted bioac- tive enclosures. That means they have liv- ing plants and various insect species living in the soil and leaf litter. The insects act as a cleanup crew for waste and organic mat- ter from the plants and snakes. This creates a mini ecosystem and really helps with the snakes’ health and natural behavior.” Question: “How many eggs are about to Alexander England —who loves all animals, including mammals — gives a capybara extra attention.