Reptiles focus of 'fears, phobias'

When herpetology freshman Wesley Sheldon uses the adjective “hot,” he is not referring to females or spicy food.

Instead, he means snakes.

Specifically, poisonous snakes that will be displayed at the reptile exhibit invading campus from 8 a.m.-9:50 a.m. on Nov. 22 in Room 355 of Chance Academic Center.

Long before Sheldon mastermind the upcoming reptile exhibit, Ellen Walroth, his ENGL 0300, Basic English 1 lecturer, put the students in groups to collaborate on their final exam.

“We had to pick a topic, and our group picked fears and phobias,” Sheldon said.

 While most people prefer to view encased creepy crawlers from afar, Sheldon literally feels right at home by welcoming them into his house.

Sheldon said that “four iguanas, five geckos, three chameleons, two turtles, 20 bearded dragons and about 18 snakes” live throughout his home.

Out of his collection, Sheldon plans to transport five corn snakes, a female desert king, a chameleon, desert iguanas and a Savannah monitor to the exhibit.

Sheldon is a member of the South Texas Herpetological Association, which will be represented at the display. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to preserving and rescuing reptiles and amphibians in Texas.

“Say you have a snake in your backyard and you call 911 and tell them you have a snake. They’ll contact one of the members of our association and we’ll get it,” Sheldon said.

 Myles Lindeburg, vice president of the South Texas Herpetological Association, said people also can call 311, the city’s customer service hotline, for snake removal.

Lindeburg, who has been a volunteer teacher in the education department at the San Antonio Zoo for the past six years, will attend the exhibition on campus.

“I will be representing all four of the venomous snakes found in this area,” Lindeburg said. “Rattlers, cotton mouth, copper head and coral snakes.”

A staunch supporter of protecting poisonous, or hot snakes, Lindeburg will promote his slogan, “Cool guys with a bad rap.”

“The average person, when they see a snake, they want to kill it or run over it,” Lindeburg said. “They’re very beneficial to the ecosystem.”

However, Sheldon warns amateur pet owners about the dangers of owning wild pets because improper caring can lead to potentially harmful situations.

“People don’t understand that they’re dangerous. They think they’re cute and small, but they get bigger,” Sheldon said. “They’ve been here longer than us, and we’re on their territory.”

Even experienced reptile handlers run the risk of getting hurt. Sheldon said that snakes cannot see normally through their eyes the way humans do. Instead, they use their facial pits, or eyes, to feel the heat radiated by their surroundings.

“Most of the time, they bite because they’re scared or we move too fast,” he said.

Sheldon, who has been on the receiving end of snake fangs, said, “They think we’re food.”

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