Monty's Reptiles

Our focus is to educate people about the ecology, conservation and general biology of reptiles.  We also discuss the differences between similar reptiles and regulations concerning buying and keeping certain reptiles.  All of these topics are important to our purpose, but the most important topic is educating the public about reptiles that are readily available in the pet trade and which ones make good pets.  There are many that are easy to care for and make ideal pets for beginners, and there are some that don’t make very good pets for anyone except the most experienced of reptile keepers. 

Now available to businesses and the public!

Monty is a monocled cobra (Naja kaouthia).  Monocled cobras can be found from northeastern India, to southern China, Malaysia, and the Philippines.    Monty is 5 years old, 6 feet long, and around 5 lbs--monster-sized compared to other monacled cobras

Buzz is a Praire Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis sp.) and only about 18 inches long .  Praire Rattlesnakes are the most widely distributed rattlesnake in North America.  There are 8 subspecies in the complex.  Buzz is not big on rattling, except at night or when he is hungry.  In the wild the praire rattlesnake can be very unpredictable and fiesty, much like the western diamondback and mojave rattlesnakes.

Rex is a California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae). Rex is Latin for King.  These snakes are very common pets and make great pets too.  Rex was a rescue from animal control who found him hibernating on the dash of a car in November of 2005.  Rex had a hernia on his belly and after many months the hernia is healed as well as it is going to be.

Brook is a Southern Florida kingsnake or a Brooks kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula floridana brooksi).  Brook is a little over 4ft long. Normally these snakes have more black than yellow which fades as the snake gets older.  Brook is well into being an adult and has not lost a bit of her color.  She is a great eater and will eat anything from snakes and lizards to rats and baby rabbits; her aggressive feeding behavior makes it quite difficult to remove her from the cage and give her a meal. She is a very impatient snake.

This is a Savu python (Liasis savuensis).  The savu python is a unique snake found on only one island off the coast of New Guinea.  This snake was discovered in 1993.  The island of Savu is only 160 sqare miles; therefore, the Savu python has the smallest distribution of any python.  Due to this seclusion, this snake's population was devastated by collection for the pet trade.  Today this species can only be aquired from a captive breeder.  This cute little snake is about half grown and will reach 4 feet when full grown.  This is an interesting species that changes colors as it grows; come to a seminar to find out more.

Turf is another Australian native, and one of my favorite pythons.  Turf is a carpet python (Morelia spilota).  These arboreal snakes are a handful when they are babies, willing to strike and bite anything that looks threatening, but as they grow up they become more willing to be handled and would rather climb anything within reach than bite it.  Turf is right around 5 ft, and close to full grown for this species.  

This is Jewel, one of our newest pairs of Australian snakes.  Jewel and her boyfriend Gem are Amythestine or Scrub Pythons (Morelia amethystina kinghorni) which are the largest pythons in Australia and the fourth largest in the world.  These pythons are known for their aggressive behavior and are rarely capable of being handled easily.  These pythons are very beautiful and very soft; pictures rarely do these snakes justice.  Jewel is very tame, and though Gem has not offered any aggression he will probably not attend any shows for a while. 

This is Burnie, our newest ball python.  Burnie has healed burns that cover about half of his back.  Burnie is a very handlable snake; we are keeping Burnie to show the burns that can occure from lights, and even heat pads.  These burns were from a light that was too powerful for the cage, and/or a climbing surface that was too close to the light. 
 

Mary is a Sumatran blood python (Curtus brongersmai). She is just over 3 feet long.  Mary is not used to being handled and startles easily, so she does not visit schools but can be seen at the monthly seminar held at Dobbs Park Nature Center .  Blood pythons are mostly nocturnal snakes that live in the leaf litter of Southeast Asia; because they are nocturnal these snakes are not active during the day and are usually not very active when being handled.  Though these snakes only get 7 ft long they can weight 40-50 lbs, and are very strong.  Most blood pythons have a bad reputation for being mean, although with frequent handling they can become tame.  Taming a skittish snake can be very time consuming, and the handler must be prepared to be bitten.

Hiss is a female newborn African Rock Python (Python sebae).  African Rock Pythons are known for their aggressive nature.  Due to this behavior they are not popular in the pet trade.  This little girl is ball python tame and an eating machine.  Rock pythons max out around 20 feet, not a giant by any means, but certainly the largest snake in Africa. 

Powder is an albino Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus).  She is 13 feet long, weighs close to 60 pounds and is less than half grown.  Powder is probably one of the snakes I trust the most in my collection.  She is a rescue from an owner that could no longer care for her now that she was such a "large" size.  She is very impressive and suitable for all groups.  Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia.  That cute hatchling that won your heart will quickly outgrow even the largest aquarium, and eat you out of house and home.  Besides that, once a snake gets to be more than 10 feet long (which is less than half of its full-grown size), it is extremely difficult to handle alone, and is quite capable of killing a grown man.  Burmese pythons are good pets only for keepers that know what they are doing.

Annie is a “Tiger” reticulated python (Python reticulatus).  She is around 15 feet long, weighs over 80 pounds and is only 4 years old.  She could eventually be 30 feet long or more, with the record being 32.9 feet long.  Reticulated pythons (retics) generally do not make good pets for most keepers because their size makes them very difficult to handle, even at a young age, and very expensive to feed and house.  A full grown reticulated python can be a real threat to his owner, especially if you are not lucky enough to get one of the less aggressive individuals.  “Tiger” retics (which have more of a striped pattern) tend to be less aggressive than the standard, but it is still a matter of the temperament of the individual snake.  A large portion of the retic bites are caused from this species' naturally aggressive feeding behavior.

We now have a male normal retic that was surrendered to us by a gentleman in Illinois.  He asked us to keep him in our program (and since we love retics, why not?).  Scar is currently around 8 ft long, very active, and quite docile.

Tiny is almost two years old and close to 4 feet long.  She just loves her water dish which takes up most of her cage.  She is kitten tame, and rapidly becoming a favorite at the shows.  If you do not recognize her, Tiny is a Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus).  The green anaconda can be found in the northern part of the amazon basin, usually in slow moving water.  The children at the shows were always asking me if I had an anaconda, so I had to go out and get one (that is my story and I'm sticking to it).  As the second longest snake in the world, but the world's heaviest; anacondas are not very commonly kept as pets.  Anacondas also have a reputation of being mean and unpredictable, yet Tiny is very sweet and loves attention.  Eventually she could reach a length of over 25 feet, and weigh up to 500 pounds.  She will need an extraordinary amount of room and food.

Tiny is sponsored by Kamikaze Karate, located at 618 Wabash Ave, Terre Haute, IN 47807.  Kamakaze Karate is a martial arts & boxing supply store run by martial artists.  If you're a martial arts student, fan, or an Asian products enthusiast, stop in, call 812-232-6555, or visit www.kamikazekarate.com

Angel is a yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus).  She is a bit younger than Tiny and relatively smaller. However, she is much more aggressive and will strike at anything.  Angel attends the Dobbs Seminar, but does not go to schools unless there is a request for her.  Yellow anacondas inhabit the southern Amazon basin.  These snakes are far smaller than their cousins, the Green anaconda.   Yellow anacondas only reach a length of 10-12 feet.

Amber is a South American beauty.  She is a 4 ft Amazon Tree Boa (Corallus hortulanus).  These thin, agile snakes are mainly arboreal (living in trees).  Their large eyes and vertical pupils are key signs that these snakes are nocturnal.  Amber is no exception; she spends most of her day on the floor of her cage, and when the lights go out she heads into the trees looking for a quick meal.  Amber is not often handled and when she is it is done at the end of a hook.  She is not prone to bite, but she always looks like she is ready to let you have it.  Plus, you never want to take a hit off of a tree boa or python, they have enlarged teeth for grabbing flying birds.  Even a small tree boa can inflict a nasty wound. 

BC or Boa Constrictor is a very common rescue that our organization receives.  The Red-tailed boa (Boa constrictor) has been in the pet trade for many years, and because of this non-dedicated people can purchase these snakes very cheap, keep them for a while, then dump them off on someone else.  These snakes can live for 20-25 years and reach 10-15 ft in length.  Not a giant, but big enough to be a hassle.  BC is not easily provoked, and seems to enjoy being handled and going to programs.

Our Monitor collection is now complete.  We now have a monitor from every old-world continent that monitors call home. 

Our newest member to the collection is Burnum.  Burnum is an Argus Monitor (Varanus panotpes) from the land down under.  Burnum is aboriginal for "Warrior".  He is currently 2.5 ft long and though he huffs and puffs a lot, he is really not that aggressive.  The argus monitor is a very interesting monitor; they frequently stand on their back feet to get a better view of the area, much like Africa's meerkats.

Aqua, a female Water monitor (Varanus salvator) we recently aquired, is a little over 3 ft long from tip of the nose to the tail.  Though water monitors are known for their tame disposition, this girl has her good days and her bad ones.  She does not bite but she is a little skittish.  Give her some time and she will be a big kitten.  This big girl will eventually attend programs in a harness (mostly to save my back). Water monitors are large carnivorous lizards that can reach 7-9 feet long.  They are commonly found in Southest Asia.

Rameses is a Nile Monitor (Varanus niloticus).   This is the largest lizard in Africa and can easily reach lengths of 7 feet.  Nile monitors are very aggressive animals, and rarely calm down.  Right now Rameses is a little over a year old and close to two feet long, and is turning out to be remarkably tame.  He is growing up to be just as cuddly and sweet as Blackbeard, another large monitor.

Blackbeard (BB) is a black-throated monitor (Varanus albigularis albigularis).  He is 5 foot and 6 inches and a daddy's boy.  He also is a rescue from owners who could not care for such a large lizard.  He is large and very strong, but is suitable for ages 2^nd grade and up. Blackbeard is very impressive and one of the favorites at our shows.  However, I spend a lot of time with him to keep him used to being handled.  Monitor lizards are large and sometimes difficult to handle, making them best for experienced reptile keepers.  All monitors can cause deeps wounds with a bite and permanent scars from their large nails.  Monitors, like all large lizards, have strong tails which they use as whips for protection. This powerful whip can leave a deep bruise, welt, break skin, and the really large monitors can even break bones.  Blackbeard is over 15 years old, and 15 years is the average life span, so we are concerned about when our "big puppy dog" is going to leave us. 

Recently we rescued another Black Throated monitor who we call BB Jr.  He is a bit skinny and not quite as friendly as BB, but with time I am sure he will be very sweet.  He is about 3 ft long, a few years old and seems to be a mamma's boy.

This is Missi, a baby American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). She is 13 inches, one year old, and quite chubby.  Alligators, and for that matter most crocodilians (alligators, crocodiles and caiman), do not make good pets.  Even a relatively small crocodilian can inflict a nasty bite.  Alligators can reach 15-18 ft in length and weigh over 500 lbs.  These animals are native to Southeastern US, where they are considered a nuisance by invading humans. 

This is Sobek, the Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus).  Sobek is a Southern Nile Croc, and these guys are the true giants of Africa.  In the wild a these animals can average 15 ft with the largest ever recorded being 21.3 ft. Sobek is the from the same bloodline as Sobik the 18+ ft Southern Nile at Busch Gardens.  Both Crocs are named for the Egyptian Crocodile god.  The greatest part about the southern Nile croc is they keep their yellow color all the way through adulthood, unlike other regional Niles that loose the yellow and turn grey black.  Though  this guy looks nasty and mean at programs he is quite docile and easily handled allowing everyone a chance to touch a real African predator.

Sobek has recently been sponsored by the CROCK 92.7, and will be attending promotional events for the CROCK 92.7.

Chomper is a captive bred common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina).  He is just over two years old.  He is roughly 10 inches long (shell length). Unlike wild snapping turtles, Chomper is quite gentle, and can be handled in a way no wild snapping turtle should ever be handled.

 Ali is our alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys temminckii).  This guy is feeding well on small minnows. The alligator snapper is the largest freshwater turtle in the world.  Right now he is a bit bigger than a half dollar and 54 grams.  Eventually he will be 15-30 inches, and weigh over 200 pounds.

No this is not a photo shopped picture!  This is a matamata (Chelus fimbriatus)  These odd looking turtles are from the northern region of the Amazon.  On average they reach 18 inches and even though they are very efficient hunters, the matamata is a terrible swimmer.  And yes, she is smiling; these turtles do not bite their food--they stretch their necks out and when they are perfectly lined up with the fish their mouth opens and the neck expands, creating a vacuum and sucking the fish and water in the mouth.  The water is then forced out and the fish swallowed.  Matamatas are a sight to see and hopefully everyone will get to see her!