Late Bloomer
Most people will tell you, "I had a passion for catching snakes and lizards and frogs growing up" or "Ever since I caught my first (insert common snake here) I've been interested in herpetology," but I've had a different beginning to my interests.
To tell you the truth, my passion for snakes and everything creepy and crawly didn't start until later in life. Don't get me wrong, I've always had the typical interest in snakes since I was little, but it didn't really become a passion until an undergraduate course in Costa Rica (2006). Yeah, 2006 - a late start at 21.
During that first trip to Costa Rica, I was greeted with Yellow-headed Geckos (Gonatodes albogularis) running everywhere, Green-and-black poison arrow frogs (Dendrobates auratus) and Strawberry poison dart frogs (Dendrobates pumilio) hoping through the grass - there really was a ton of these when I arrived at El Zota Biological Field Station, and beautiful primary rainforest. Over the course of ten days, I flipped rocks to find snakes like the Yellow-belly Litter Snake (Coniophanes fissidens), found a Central American Coral Snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus) out during the day after a short rain storm, and nearly stepped on a 6 1/2 ft Bushmaster (Lachesis stenophrys).
Ever since, I've been hooked. I read everything I can find on herps and learn as much as I can from peers. Everything I do is geared in someway to learning and teaching others about reptiles & amphibians. My background is in Adolescent Education: Biology with a Masters in Zoology. I also hope to work on a PhD in Herpetology soon. Even vacations are never just relaxing trips, but trips in search of cryptic herps and perfect photos.
To give you some piece of mind in my knowledge as a keeper and herp enthusiast, I've been fortunate enough to publish on a few species that I keep and on places I've been. I was one of the first to produce Sibon nebulatus in captivity and am fairly knowledgeable on Candoia - I am currently authoring a book on the Genus for Chimaira Publishing (Germany). I am in no way comparable to some big breeders with thousands of snakes and hundreds of publications, but I have come a long way in the 7 years I've been interested and only have room to grow. I have only worked to publish in the last 2 1/2 years, but already have a fairly nice, growing list of credits. You can find my current list of publications and upcoming pieces here: Publications
Among the wildest places I've traveled and herped in are Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras, the Peruvian Amazon, and Borneo. I've been fortunate enough to have the time and $ to travel and hope to return to the tropics on a regular basis.
From a keeping standpoint, I've kept dart frogs, geckos, and over 20 species of snakes. These include less-kept species such as Dipsas, Oxyrhopus, Sibon, Leptodiera, Imantodes, and Bimini Island Boas (Chilabothrus [Epicrates] striatus fosteri). I keep some of the "common" species as well, but continue to look for the odd and unique to add.
I hope you enjoy my site and find something you're interested in!
Chris
To tell you the truth, my passion for snakes and everything creepy and crawly didn't start until later in life. Don't get me wrong, I've always had the typical interest in snakes since I was little, but it didn't really become a passion until an undergraduate course in Costa Rica (2006). Yeah, 2006 - a late start at 21.
During that first trip to Costa Rica, I was greeted with Yellow-headed Geckos (Gonatodes albogularis) running everywhere, Green-and-black poison arrow frogs (Dendrobates auratus) and Strawberry poison dart frogs (Dendrobates pumilio) hoping through the grass - there really was a ton of these when I arrived at El Zota Biological Field Station, and beautiful primary rainforest. Over the course of ten days, I flipped rocks to find snakes like the Yellow-belly Litter Snake (Coniophanes fissidens), found a Central American Coral Snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus) out during the day after a short rain storm, and nearly stepped on a 6 1/2 ft Bushmaster (Lachesis stenophrys).
Ever since, I've been hooked. I read everything I can find on herps and learn as much as I can from peers. Everything I do is geared in someway to learning and teaching others about reptiles & amphibians. My background is in Adolescent Education: Biology with a Masters in Zoology. I also hope to work on a PhD in Herpetology soon. Even vacations are never just relaxing trips, but trips in search of cryptic herps and perfect photos.
To give you some piece of mind in my knowledge as a keeper and herp enthusiast, I've been fortunate enough to publish on a few species that I keep and on places I've been. I was one of the first to produce Sibon nebulatus in captivity and am fairly knowledgeable on Candoia - I am currently authoring a book on the Genus for Chimaira Publishing (Germany). I am in no way comparable to some big breeders with thousands of snakes and hundreds of publications, but I have come a long way in the 7 years I've been interested and only have room to grow. I have only worked to publish in the last 2 1/2 years, but already have a fairly nice, growing list of credits. You can find my current list of publications and upcoming pieces here: Publications
Among the wildest places I've traveled and herped in are Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras, the Peruvian Amazon, and Borneo. I've been fortunate enough to have the time and $ to travel and hope to return to the tropics on a regular basis.
From a keeping standpoint, I've kept dart frogs, geckos, and over 20 species of snakes. These include less-kept species such as Dipsas, Oxyrhopus, Sibon, Leptodiera, Imantodes, and Bimini Island Boas (Chilabothrus [Epicrates] striatus fosteri). I keep some of the "common" species as well, but continue to look for the odd and unique to add.
I hope you enjoy my site and find something you're interested in!
Chris