My 6th Grade Epiphany

In sixth grade my class was asked to do a book report on animals that live in the rain forest. But we didn't get to pick our animal-I was given the green iguana. My initial reaction was excitement because of my innate love for reptiles, but having to do homework about them wasn't the way I preferred to study them.

It couldn't have turned out better. I can't remember loving a school project so much. Not only did we have to do research and write a book report, we had to create a 3D projection of the animal. This was the fun part because I've always had a love for the arts as well.

Anyway, I'm bringing this grand memory to life on my blog because of the life-long goal/dream it sparked in me. Ever since then, I've always wanted to own a green iguana-buy it as a baby, raise it, and care for it like a child. Come to find out, that's really the kind of care they need. It takes a lot to take on one of these monsters. Without the proper room and care, this would really be an awful pet. So I have yet to live up this goal of mine. But I'm awaiting that day that I can fulfill this childhood dream; the day I can dedicate an entire room in my house to my green iguana.

Pets vs. Career

I recently stumbled upon this article that talks about pet owners and their chosen career paths. Quite interesting I must say. They did a survey and pulled 2,300 pet owners. And this is what they concluded:

• Reptile owners were more likely to be engineers, social workers, marketing and public relations professionals, editors or writers and police officers.
• Dog owners were more likely to be professors, nurses, information technology professionals, military professionals and entertainers.
• Cat owners were more likely to be physicians, real estate agents, lab technicians, machine operators and personal caretakers.
• Fish owners were more likely to be human resources professionals, financial professionals, hotel and leisure professionals, farming/fishing/forestry professionals and transportation professionals.
• Bird owners were more likely to be advertising professionals, sales reps, construction workers and administrative professionals.

So what type of pet do you have? Did they guess right with regards to your career choices? I currently own 3 red ear sliders and have owned various reptiles throughout my life and I currently work in online marketing. I guess they got me all figured out based solely on my pets!

What is Ophidiophobia?

Who can tell me what ophidiophobes are afraid of? I'll give you a hint: it's a specific reptile. Anyone? That's okay, I didn't know either until recently. Ophidiophobes have an abnormal fear of snakes. And I bet there are a lot of them out there. I feel like every time I bring up the fact that I'm fascinated with reptiles of any sort, peoples' first response is "Oh, I hate snakes! I can't stand snakes!" Honestly they are kind of creepy. the thing I hate most about them is the nasty stench they let off when they are in danger.

Growing up, I spent countless hours catching garter and water snakes and almost every time I got one, they would stink. So second learning opportunity for this post, what is that smell? Well, it's a defense mechanism some snakes have called musking. They release a foul smell from a gland in its vent which causes predators to avoid eating it. Sidenote: this can also lead to the snake pooping on you so watch out!

I hope everyone learned something today. So be careful handling those garter snakes. but if you're a ophidiophobe than don't worry about it, I'm sure the first thing you do when you see a snake is either scream or run in the opposite direction.

Merry Christmas Beardie

Hello reptile world! So for this Christmas, I asked for a bearded dragon. As far as reptiles go, they make one of the best pets. They love being handled (if you treat them right), they're fun to watch, they don't bite (if they do they're just playing), easy to take care of, and overall are great!

And the best part of this Christmas wish is that my wife supports me getting one because she thinks they are cute. So, hopefully it can happen! Merry Christmas to all, I hope you get what you ask for this Christmas. And more importantly, I hope you give in any way possible. Even if that means volunteering at your local reptile shelter :)

The Crocodile Hunter

Now that I've found a direction for this wonderful creation. I would like to dedicate this post to Steve Irwin. Since I was a wee little boy, I wanted to be him. I thought it was so cool that he got to wrestle crocs all day. In college, in my Intro to Public Speaking class, I gave a speech on how being The Crocodile Hunter was my dream job. I think the class took it as a joke but i was dead serious. No pun intended on the dead serious. Speaking of which, when I found out Steve had passed I was heartbroken. And by a stingray! I always thought it was going to be a giant salt water crocodile that got him. Anyway, RIP Stevie my man. I grew up watching your shows and will always remember you as the man who had my dream job.