OkcPets Magazine July 2023

24 OKC Pets • July / August 2023 spend their time living in shrubs and trees in tropical rainforests. I love the variable bush vipers (atheris squamigera) from the Congo. I am also very fond of several species of Asian pit vipers. If it’s bright colored, delicate and small, and likes to climb, I like it!” Question: “Do you save the skins?” Answer: “No, I don’t save the sheds. However, they can be used for DNA test- ing and determining the sex of the snake if needed. Some folks create beautiful art with them.” Question: “Got any cool snake info to share?” Answer: “I think of breeding snakes as creating living pieces of art. You take one animal with an interesting color and pattern, then pair it with another that’s equally unique. If all is right with hus- bandry and seasonal cues, they reproduce. Then you’re gifted with tiny little bright colors, and you get to watch and help them grow as they change into healthy, strong, living gems. Such beautiful living things! Very rewarding! “There are so many interesting things about snakes. A big one I find fascinating is that the venom from several species of snakes is currently used in a wide variety of medications we all depend on in our daily lives, from blood thinners to lupus medications to a copperhead’s venom used in breast-cancer medication. “People often ask why you would want venomous snakes. What can you do with them? It’s like keeping saltwater fish. You don’t play with your fish. You don’t hold them. You enjoy building their reef tank and try to give them a beautiful piece of the ocean. You cater to their needs, getting water quality and temps and chemicals all correct. You provide their needed diet. In doing that, you get to watch their beautiful shapes and colors move effortlessly through their tank. You use tools to clean and feed and interact with them. “This all applies to keeping venomous arboreal vipers. They require skill, pa- tience, persistence, and vigilance. You use tools to safely interact with them, reducing or removing the risks of injury to yourself or the animal. You observe their routines and see their natural behaviors. It’s the best! “In being a responsible keeper of these animals, I stock all antivenins needed for the species I have. This is something zoos do for their collection and staff. This way, in the event of a mistake, I’m covering my own backside and am not reliant on the local zoo. “Snakes are beautiful, beneficial, and fascinating creatures. You don’t have to love or even like them, just respect them as a key part of the ecosystem on our planet. They only want to live their best snake lives in peace. If you see one outside, ad- mire it from a distance. Let them live and go on their way. Don’t kill them because they’re scary to you. “They deserve life on our planet just the same as the pretty red cardinal or the chubby-cheeked chipmunk.” Or you. Right, a Palawan pit viper is as vibrant as the surrounding foliage. Alexander England was the first to breed this species in the United States. Below right, an eyelash viper (bothriechis schlegelii) makes itself as compact as possible.