Our menagerie...
NORMAN
Normon is a common Red-tailed Boa Constrictor, but he has some special genes. He is a "Paradigm" Boa, and carries two different genes for albinism. While he is not albino, the genes do act together to make his color lighter than normal. His family were also the first boas to reproduce by parthenogenesis. He is named for the song "Norman" by Sue Thompson.
MARVIN
Tarahumara Mountain Dwarf Boa Constrictor. Nor only the worlds smallest Boa Constrictor, but also the rarest. These come from a single mountain range in Mexico. He is named after Marvin Gaye, and the song "Aint No Mountain High Enough."
TAMMI
Tarahumara Mountain Dwarf Boa Constrictor. Nor only the worlds smallest Boa Constrictor, but also the rarest. These come from a single mountain range in Mexico. She is named after Tammi Terrell, and the song "Aint No Mountain High Enough."
ROBERT
Strawberry Snow Corn Snake. Robert has two sets of genes that delete his normal color, and one set that enhances his pinks. Robert is named for the song "Mr. Pink Eyes" by the Cure, because as an albino, his eyes are Pink. Anyway, the lead singer of the Cure is named Robert Smith
CHARLOTTE
Charlotte is a genetic POWERHOUSE...She is an Ultramel Hypoberry Anyerythristic Corn Snake. I LOVE genes that work together but not in the ways expected (multi-allelic) and she has two sets! I will explain all this in 7th grade, and hopefully it will make sense. At least we have a cool visual aid ;) She is named for the song "Charlotte Sometimes" by the Cure
ELISE
Another very special corn snake! Elise is a Hypoberry ultra or amel (have to breed her to see which one) TESSERA...and that is COOL. Tessera is a dominant gene that changes her pattern. 7th graders- keep up here! Dominant means that 50% of her eventual offspring will also be Tessera. She is named for the song "Letters to Elise" by the Cure
DAVE
Crested Gecko. Once one of the worlds rarest lizards, Dave is now fairly common as a pet due to captive breeding. Dave is named after me, because we are both charming....
CASPER
Casper is the Honduran Milk Snake I have always wanted. My start at St. Rose was 27 years ago when I would bring my snakes to the school for the fifth grade class. This is the one I always wanted and never had. He is a "Ghost", and has the genes for Anerythrism (deletes all pigment but melanin, the blacks and browns) and Hypomelanism (mutes the blacks and browns) and in the wild is red yellow and black! He is named for a cartoon I used to watch when I was a kid.
DEBORA
Deb was scheduled to be delivered the day of the Tubbs Fire- fortunately he held her for me until January, because she is SUPER COOL. She is a hybred snake, meaning several species were used to create her. She is part Corn Snake, part California King Snake, part Nelsons Milk Snake and part Pueblan Milk Snake. As she get older her attitude improves for the better, and the fact that she exists nowhere in the wild is pretty neat. She is named for the T-Rex song "Debora"...where they rhyme her name with Zebra. Also cool.
JANET
Janet is a Children's Python- one of the smallest python species in the world. The biologist who discovered them had the last name Children...these ain't for kids. She eats bats in the wild and can be fast to strike, so only my best Jr. Herpetologists get to handle her. she is names for a character in a movie we will talk about when you are older.
BETSY
I did not name Betsy, a Kenyan Sand Boa...but I bread her 23 years ago. She has belonged to 2 former students as she was born with a small birth defect. They both went to college and brought her back, so she gets to stay with us for now.
FUEGO
Fuego is a Russian Dwarf Tortoise that was found in a students driveway- she is the third one over the years that I have been brought. Fun Fact- Mrs. Ryan had Fuego as a house guest after the Tubbs Fire, and her daughter Anne has been connected with one of the others I was brought many years ago.
DUBIA ROACHES
Some of you might be upset about this, so I want to explain it entirely. Last summer we discovered that one of the birds we got in at the Bird Rescue Center (where I am on the board and a volunteer), Green Herons will only eat Dubia roaches in captivity. In order to have greater success with these birds, we decided to start a breeding colony. I offered ours as the starters for the colony. When Julia (the person in the picture) got them, she found they had mites...which dont harm them, but they breed better without them, so she took them all and coated them in flour to get the mites off. When that was done, she meticulously sat and cleaned the flour off of them with a pipe cleaner. SO, while their offspring will be eaten, they will save birds...and Julia really loves them so they are in good hands.