Every few years an event of greatness re-occurs, The Reptile Man, Scott Petersen, returns to the library!
Our district puts on a bunch of really cool summer reading programs for the public to enjoy every year, but I have to say that the Reptile Man is one of my, if not my absolute favorite.
Why might you ask? Well, to begin with, a lot of people are scared of reptiles, and Scott's program is one of the best when it comes to soothing people's fear regarding reptiles. He does that by being the most chill yet informative dude and by sharing his super chill animals with us all.
Take me for instance, as a kid in the Pacific Northwest, the only snakes I had a chance to be around were garter snakes and black swamp snakes. Both are harmless to people, but I had family members who were terrified of snakes. I wasn't really scared of them, I just really hated it when they quickly slithered across my sandaled feet or when I worked in the hay field and accidentally got ahold of a startled one.
Flash forward to my time spent with The Reptile Man. The last time he showed up he had an eight foot banana python that I ended up wearing because the kids kept crowding it so close and I didn't want the poor thing to get stepped on. That snake is one of the most patient and gentle animals I have ever encountered, and just spending time interacting with it changed my whole perspective.
That and having an alligator on my head.
Honestly, I am up for anything most of the time, as over the years I have realized that only through challenging your thoughts and fears do you achieve any form of growth and development, but that's another blog post.😉
Anyway, Scott returned to our library this past Friday, and he brought some friends!
He always gets the tortoise out first, he's had the guy for decades, and I think he uses the tortoise for an ice breaker. I think that because the tortoise's name is:
Spongebob Scalepants!
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Lucy is the most chill creature, with the exception of Oscar of course! She just snuggles everyone she comes in contact with, which I must say seems a bit peculiar for an alligator, but my favorite part about Lucy is her little going to sleep act. Apparently there is a spot by an alligator's eye that if you press it a decrease in blood pressure happens and they go night night. Scott pressed Lucy's special alligator pass out button and she threw her head back like a fainting debutante. It's pretty funny!
Another super hilarious thing is that alligators have the bladders of post-partum mothers. The first thing Lucy did when Scott took her out of her travel tote is shoot a pee towards the front row of spectators. I think I referred to it as The Splashening and the squeals of disgust from the front row were epic.
Then there is Oscar, sweet Oscar. He has put on 200 pounds in the last two years, which honestly makes me feel better that I have only gained five. He has also doubled in size. Before I could just drape Oscar around my shoulders and have the help of one assistant. Not so now, the banana python now takes about 6 kids to hold him up. He's still the sweetest, most patient of bois ever though. Just look at that happy mug:
And that bring us to how the program ends every time, Scott sets out the tortoise, attaches the bearded dragon to the nearest kid, sets Oscar out on the ground or in his tray, and Scott himself walks around flopping Lucy onto everyone's heads for alligator selfies or lets people hold her like a baby.
Most of the kids in attendance were not too scared at all and descended like a little hordes of tactile tacticians. There were a few adults however, who kept their distance or cautiously crept over to get a closer look. I know I have a massive smile on my face during the entire Reptile Man program because I love, love, love getting to experience new things, and even more than that, I adore seeing people's joy when they get to discover something new as well.
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Lucy is hilarious, that faint is just too funny and she could be the first thing in a Gallagher act with a stream like that. Quite interesting how mellow she is. I've always loved reptiles as we had a good variety growing up in California. Lots of rattlesnakes were de-headed on our property by various means, from shovel to .44 cal. I miss the alligator lizards that roamed the house, some of them got well over a foot long and they ate a lot of bugs.
Oh I’d love to see an alligator lizard! We’ve got a few blue tailed skinks over here, they’re pretty entertaining lol. And Lucy sure us the greatest, the way she just hangs out and takes what comes just cracks me up.
I’m kinda glad we don’t have rattlers here, my cousins in Missouri are always telling me tales of their encounters with them, not something I really want to tangle with for sure!
LOL ... it few years when she loses her baby teeth, it will be Lucy's revenge.
I actually love the feel of reptiles too. But a gator on my head ... nope ... I given them their space ... like they can Florida, space:)
Ooh, I can’t wait to read your impending adult teeth ballad about Lucy lol!
And 3000 miles seems to be a respectable amount of gator social distancing 😆
Very cool! No one like him around here, but we do have a raptor rehab guy who brings the injured birds that can't ever be released. Sometimes one can pat one, but mostly it's hands off.
I think that is part of the reason why I love the Reptile Man so much, is that he brings animals you can pat and hold. However, I totally get the raptor thing, we have a raptor rescue lady, and as much as I love the birds of prey, I totally get why she is so careful with the in regards to pets and such:)
Hope you are staying cool!
Sorry I missed this. Seems to me I had to be elsewhere that day. Next time....