The Blumen Boas Blog

Pre-trial Date Set

2010-01-19T11:21:00.002-05:00

The pre-trial date has now been set for March 10, 2010 for both Charles J. Darnell and Ashley Hare.

You Have To Fight For Your Right.....

2010-01-11T23:10:00.009-05:00

Instead of partying like the Beastie Boys song, we have to fight for our right to own boas! In case you are not aware, the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passed S373 AKA the Python Ban. This bill will add 4 species of Python, 4 species of Anaconda, and ALL TYPES of Boa Constrictors to the Lacey Act!

If this passes the Senate, it would make it a Federal offense to buy, sell, or transport a boa or python across state lines. If this passes, you would not be able to purchase animals from someone in another state. This would effectively cease all boa sales, and hurt breeders both small and large. Also, as an owner of a BANNED Boa Constrictor or Python, you would not be able to go to a Vet in another state without committing a Federal offense. If you had to move to another state, yes you guessed it, your pets would not be able to go with you! So what would be the fine if you committed this Federal offense? A maximum fine of $250,000 for individuals, $500,000 for organizations.

The very sloppy USGS report (300 pages, 15MB download) that this bill was based on is flawed and has been rejected by many of USGS's peers (as reported on National Geographic's website), as well as the United States Chamber of Commerce. Can you imagine what this bill, if passed, would do to our already failing economy? Cage builders, rat suppliers, substrate providers, snake breeders, pet shop owners, and especially pet owners are part of an estimated $3 to $4 Billion dollar reptile industry (yes that is with a "B"!!). Thousands more people would now be unemployed - if nobody can buy boas or pythons, who would need to buy equipment or supplies?? Why would people breed boas if you weren't allowed to sell them to people around the country or the world for that matter? Of course, the objections are falling on deaf ears in the Senate.

So, what can you do? You (and everyone you know - family, friends, everyone) need to contact the Legislators for your State ASAP. A face-to-face meeting would be the best thing to do, a phone call would definitely help (try to talk to the Senator directly, not a liaison) and/or a letter would be fine. An email would be OK, but probably will be deleted or not taken as seriously. For letter writing steps and the contact information for your State Senator, visit http://www.kill-s373.com/. Hurry as the deadline to get your letters into USARK is Wednesday, January 20. All letters will be compiled and delivered to each State's Senator by USARK in person to show our solidarity against this terrible piece of legislation. Oh, and if are not yet a member of USARK, join today!

There are an estimated 4 million reptile owners out there. Even if you don't currently own a boa or python, contact your State Senator anyways. It's only a matter of time before they target ALL reptiles!

For more information, I highly recommend reading the excellent publications on this subject that have been submitted by Dave and Tracy Barker.

Pre-trial Hearings Moved To January 13, 2010

2009-11-13T18:49:00.003-05:00

Here is a link to information on Charles J. Darnell's pending trial in Sumter County, Florida. Type in Darnell for the last name, and Charles J for the first name. Go to the same link to bring up the information on Jaren Ashley Hare's pending trial as well.

Couple plead Not Guilty in death of toddler

2009-10-15T18:46:00.002-04:00

They both entered a plea of not guilty and are scheduled for pre-trial hearings on November 12th. Here is a link to the news story.

Couple charged with death of little girl

2009-09-08T21:43:00.001-04:00

Charles J. Darnell and Jaren Ashley Hare (the mother of the little girl, Shaiunna) were arrested on August 24th. They were both charged with murder in the third degree, manslaughter, and child abuse. The State Attorney’s office has determined that Shaiunna’s death did not have to happen, and had the Burmese python been maintained according to Florida law, Shaiunna would be alive today. Information released by the State Attorney shows that friends and family members of Shaiunna’s mother, Jaren Hare and her boyfriend, Charles Darnell, had repeatedly offered to provide a locked cage for the snake, the couple repeatedly refused offers for help. A statement released by Assistant State Attorney Peter Magrino reads, “It's just a tragic set of circumstances that due to the reckless conduct on behalf of adults, a small child lost her life.” Information released shows previous reporting that Charles Darnell owned the snake was incorrect. The snake belonged to Jaren Hare, Shaiunna’s mother, making it clear why she was also charged in the death of Shaiunna.

Information released from the Department of Children and Families showed that prior to Shaiunna’s death in July, DCF had answered complaints that Hare and Darnell were using and selling drugs in the home, and were abusing the children. The allegations were that the couple was using and selling ecstasy, marijuana, meth amphetamine, and cocaine.

Darnell's baby that Hare was carrying (she had a girl), is in Foster care while Hare is being incarcerated.

Charles Darnell is being held without bail; Jaren Hare is held on $35,000 bond.

I'm glad to see that hopefully there will be some justice done for their neglect, but we'll see what happens when/if it goes to trial.

Here are some links to news stories about this arrest and the DCF investigation:
http://www.ocala.com/...

http://www.wesh.com/news/20585814/detail.html

http://www.examiner.com/x-7403-Tampa-Crime-Examiner~y2009m8d25-Florida-couple-charged-with-murder-and-child-abuse-after-Burmese-python-strangles-and-kills-toddler

Surprise, Surprise.....

2009-08-10T19:33:00.001-04:00

I guess we all grieve a terrible loss of life in different ways.....
http://www.wesh.com/news/20322933/detail.html.

The Burmese Python tragedy in Florida

2009-07-29T18:52:00.008-04:00

Well, to continue from my previous post, I have a few problems with the "story" of how a 2-year old girl was killed by a Burmese Python.

If you listen to the 9-1-1 call that was placed by Charles J. Darnell (the owner of the Burmese Python), he says that "Our "STUPID" snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby" (I would beg to differ as to which one is smarter, Mr. Darnell or the snake...but I digress). He continues to say that "We have a Burmese python, she's about 12 feet long, got out of the cage last night and strangled the baby to death". [The snake was later measured and determined to only be 8 1/2 feet]. Continuing, he says "I'm going to kill the bitch". It truly is a gut wrenching call on many levels.

So, here are my problems with the 9-1-1 call. Why did he instantly think the child is dead? If it was my child, I would be performing CPR until the paramedics arrived and if I didn't know CPR I would attempt SOMETHING or ask what to do! According to this report the 9-1-1 call came in a little before 10:00am on Wednesday, July 1st, after Mr. Darnell discovered the little girl dead. I don't think I can remember EVER sleeping in until 10:00am when my daughter was 2 years old. Also, according to this report there were two older children in the house as well. WOW, the mother, Mr. Darnell, and 3 kids all asleep until 10:00 in the morning in the middle of the week?!? A 2-year old and 2 other kids NOT waking up before 10:00am wanting to be fed, have a diaper changed, wanting to play, etc.?? That sure is a quiet house!

According to this report, the 8 1/2 foot Burmese Python weighed 15 to 20 pounds, yet Mr. Darnell was not able to remove the snake from around the girl and had to go and get a 6-inch knife AND a meat cleaver!?!? As you can tell from the pictures in my previous blog post, Mr. Darnell is a large man, and the python was quite small. I would think it would be relatively easy for Mr. Darnell to uncoil the snake from the little girl, especially if he had started at the tail and went "backwards". I just don't think that the Burmese python was so strong that Mr. Darnell couldn't remove it without going to the extreme measure of "stabbing" the snake. Now, I don't know about you, but I am not about to stab a knife or a MEAT CLEAVER anywhere near my daughter that's for sure, let alone stab at a snake that is so small that I might miss and hit the girl instead! You can tell from the picture of the python in my previous post that it only has two, maybe three cuts. So, are we supposed to believe that Mr. Darnell stabbed the python once or twice with the knife (or meat cleaver), the snake wouldn't let go, so he had to drop that tool and use another?? Then he had to stab it with a meat cleaver (or knife) all the while NOT STABBING or hitting the little girl??? You can see in the picture below that the cuts appear on the python near its head, where the snake is maybe 2 or 3 inches in diameter. Those are some pretty darn good stabs to be able to hit a snake but yet not injure (or be concerned you will injure) the little girl at the same time....

Then there is the problem of a warrant needing to be issued. According to this report, the authorities had to wait for a warrant to be issued before entering the home! If it was me, and my daughter was just killed by my pet, I would say come on in and remove the snake at once! At the very least, put the snake in a bag and hand it over to the authorities. Instead, they had to wait until 4:45pm to go in and remove the python. Maybe Mr. Darnell didn't want the authorities to discover a small amount of marijuana that they found. Since Mr. Darnell was arrested in May on numerous drug charges I guess police officers aren't his best friends either, even in a time of tragedy.

The same report says that the Department of Children and Families had investigated several complaints that involved the family over the past year. I'm not saying foul play was involved in this tragedy, I just hope that this case of a death of an innocent young life is fully investigated. I would hate to think that people would just jump to conclusions just because there is a snake in the house and things might "appear" to be an accident. It makes such a good story that a "huge terrifying snake" killed a little girl...I just find all the things that I have listed above about this story as a little "fishy"....

I hate the fact that Mr. Darnell's carelessness and stupidity is casting a bad light on the rest of the responsible boid owners that take the time and money to properly care for their animals. So far, Mr. Darnell faces a maximum fine of $500 and/or 60 days in jail for not having a permit for his Burmese python. Additionally, Mr. Darnell and/or the mother could face criminal charges for child neglect or endangerment. I really hope they throw the book at Mr. Darnell for his stupidity, and the mom should be charged for allowing this animal to be unsecured around her child (of course, she might have not known any better...). The preliminary results of the autopsy report, pending toxicology tests, have come back saying that the little girl died of asphyxia.

This tragedy is so sad on many different levels, and may that little girl rest in peace.

Charles J. Darnell

2009-07-29T06:20:00.016-04:00

So, who is Charles J. Darnell you ask? Well, he is the "brainiac" who basically is responsible for the legislation that is about to go before the House of Representatives. He is the gentleman pictured below (courtesy of Associated Press):

His obviously SEVERELY underfed Burmese Python escaped from its "glass case", which didn't have a lock on it as required by Florida law, and killed his girlfriends' 2-year old daughter. He also didn't have a permit for the python which also is required by Florida law. The permit is only $100, and could have possibly saved the little girl's life. The permit could have saved her life because this moron would have had to answer a questionnaire along with filling out the permit. Some of the questions on the questionnaire ask if you know the common and scientific names for the animal, how large will the animal get when is is an adult, how much does the animal eat as an adult, and most importantly what food is available to feed the animal while in captivity. I think this last question is extremely important - a well fed Burmese python will not be on the "hunt" looking for food. A snake will constantly try to get out of a cage especially if it is in need of food, it is breeding season, or it just wants to get out of its environment. They are escape artists, which is why a well secured and/or locked cage is a must, especially around small children. Maybe if Mr. Darnell didn't know the answers to the questions on the questionnaire, he might have researched to find out the answers!

A small child could easily let "snakey" out of his cage thinking it is a play toy if there isn't a lock of some sort on the cage. There always needs to be adult supervision when a child is handling a large boid, no matter how "friendly" the boid is or has been in the past. With a cage that doesn't lock, you never can be sure that a child will not get "snakey" out when you are not around. I know this should be common sense, especially to those that read my blog, but it is apparent that Mr. Darnell lacked common sense.

Here is a picture of the Burmese Python belonging to Mr. Darnell that was removed from the house (only after a search warrant was issued!!!). Compare the picture above of Mr. Darnell's Burmese to this picture of a couple Burmese Pythons that are approximately the same length (courtesy of Wikipedia):

There is just a little bit of difference in body fat between the 2 pictures wouldn't you say?!? A Burmese generally needs a higher feeding frequency or larger prey than a "typical" boid because it grows at such a quick rate. A Burmese has a larger body which requires larger prey as well (here is some excellent information on Burmese Pythons from New England Reptile (NERD) which outlines their proper care). Unlike a boa constrictor, a Burmese Python will easily reach 10 feet within 3 years of age and weigh 40+ pounds! A female Burmese python will eventually attain a length of around 20+ feet, and weigh upwards of 200+ pounds. On the other hand, a female Boa Constrictor Imperator will usually not get much longer than 8 feet, and if properly fed an 8-foot boa would weigh around 35-40 pounds. According to this report, Mr. Darnell's 8 1/2 foot Burmese Python only weighed 15 to 20 pounds!! By comparison, Samy, my 8-foot female Boa Constrictor, weighs in at 38 pounds. You can tell from the pictures of Samy that she looks much different that the frail and neglected snake that was removed from Mr. Darnell's home. I have Samy housed in a 7-foot cage (not an aquarium) which is always locked. While I don't have small kids in the house, I do have a miniature dachshund. When I take Samy out to stretch and exercise, I ensure that there is no way that the dog could come in contact with Samy. I also make sure that Samy's cage is locked because I have no desire to be on the evening news because my "missing" boa is found down the street....

I feel sorry for Mr. Darnell. He made quite a few mistakes in my opinion, because apparently he didn't know how to properly care for a Burmese Python. By the looks of it, he didn't keep the snake well fed, definitely didn't have the proper permits for the boid, and most certainly didn't have it housed properly ESPECIALLY when there is a small child in the house. If you can't afford the proper cage for a snake (or any reptile for that matter), then you shouldn't have it. A cage that locked would have meant that this would have never happened. It's unfortunate that this man, and more importantly the little girls mother, has to live with this tragedy for the rest of their lives. It could have been easily avoided, but as they say hindsight is 20-20.

Because of the INACTION'S of Mr. Darnell (and the mother trusting this idiot to have a large, unsecured boid around her small child), this tragedy is causing people and politicians to look at ALL reptile owners as a bunch of idiots that don't know how to properly house and take care of their animals.

In my next blog post, I will have some thoughts on the "story" itself...

Proposed Bill to be amended

2009-07-29T06:00:00.001-04:00

Here's the latest from USARK - thanks to everyone who called and/or faxed to voice their opinion!

UPDATE: HR2811 Amendment
House Judiciary Committee Staff and bill Sponsors agrees with USARK position to limit the scope of HR2811 with a proposal for an amendment. All but two pythons will be completely exempted from the bill. The exception will be the IMPORT of the Burmese Python and the African Rock Python. Further, Committee staff has committed to work with USARK over the August legislative break to craft language to allow the commercial trade in captive bred Burmese Pythons and African Rock Pythons to continue. This is a huge victory for USARK and the Reptile Nation!
For the last two days, while the Reptile nation was making their calls, USARK was involved in intense discussions with the Sponsors of HR2811 and House Judiciary Committee Staff, not to destroy the Reptile Industry with their bill. Yesterday morning we suggested to Congressman Kendrick Meek and Congressman Tom Rooney that the bill be amended to address ONLY the IMPORT of the Burmese Python and exempt all the other pythons from this legislation. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) caught wind of what we were doing and began to apply pressure to leave the bill "as is", banning all pythons.
Today we coordinated a conference call to discuss the possibility of amending HR2811 instead of banning all pythons. Present were Rep Meek's staff, Rep Rooney's staff, both minority & majority Committee staff, bill proponent HSUS and USARK. HSUS made a very emotionally charged argument to ban all pythons. Their argument was strong on rhetoric and weak on facts and science. HSUS suggested that any bill going forward must include the Burmese Python, African Rock Python and Reticulated Python. They stated that the Reticulated Python was an Invasive Species that could surpass the Burmese Python. Andrew Wyatt of USARK challenged that statement indicating that HSUS could not produce credible scientific evidence to support their position, and that in more than 30 years of captivity in the US Reticulated Pythons have never been shown to be invasive; or even likely to be invasive. Wyatt also voiced concerns that this bill goes far beyond just stopping the import of these animals, but would also stop interstate transport. HSUS challenged that assertion, but Todd Willens of Vitello Consulting (USARK DC Consultant) confirmed Wyatt's concerns reading directly from the Lacy Act. Wyatt indicated that there was probably more than 100,000 Burmese Pythons already in captivity and HR2811 made no provision for what would happen to all these very valuable animals that would become worthless overnight. Frank Vitello of Vitello Consulting pointed out that there was already a science based process of evaluation to determine what animals should be placed on the Injurious Wildlife list of the Lacy Act. He pointed out that what HSUS was suggesting was to avoid a scientific evaluation in favor of legislating science.
Following the meeting USARK was contacted and told of an agreement by committee staff to create an amendment that would limit the bill to the IMPORT of the Burmese and African Rock Pythons. Committee staff committed to work through the August break to work on how to create an exemption for the captive trade in the Burmese and African Rock Pythons. During the July 29th markup of the Full Committee we are told that Congressman Rooney will introduce the following amendment to HR2811:
AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2811OFFERED BY MR. ROONEY OF FLORIDABeginning in line 6, strike ‘‘; of the constrictor snake of the species Python genera’’ and insert ‘‘; of the Burmese Python of the species Python molurusbivittatus; of the African Rock Python of the species Python sebae’’.
If we are successful in saving the Python industry there will still be a few "armchair quarterbacks" that will criticize our efforts. There is no guarantee that the amendment will be passed, but USARK has done everything possible, and will continue to pursue every avenue to protect the Reptile Industry. This bill is politically driven and is going to move forward with or without amendment. We are encouraged that the amendment was crafted by both majority and minority staff, thus it should send a positive signal to both Democrat and Republican Committee Members. We are hopeful the amendment passes. In either case we will continue to work with the bill sponsors and committee staff to further amend the bill before it reaches the House floor for a vote. We are appreciative that Congressmen Meek and Rooney, and the majority and minority committee staff favored our recommended changes and have committed to continue working with USARK as the bill moves through the legislative process.
USARK is also pleased to report that it has secured a meeting with the office of Senator Bill Nelson during August recess to discuss modifications to the Senate counterpart to HR2811, S373.

Update on HR2811

2009-07-27T23:15:00.001-04:00

This was emailed from USARK tonight - please call tomorrow (Tuesday) if you haven't called yet. It looks like they might amend the bill to be ONLY for Burmese pythons instead of ALL pythons.

Not Enough Calls- Keep Calling Tomorrow!
We need many more calls for the CALL CAMPAIGN OPPOSING HR2811 organized by USARK. We saw many email lists forwarding our phone and fax campaign all around the Reptile Nation. Kingsnake.com, ReptileRadio and many others helped spread the word, but today's turn out was less than stellar. Our work is not done. Please continue to call all day tomorrow. A link to the remainder of the list of House Judiciary Committee Members is below. Call everyone. If you have not contacted the key members indicated by USARK please do that first. Most members are not very aware of HR2811.
We have been in communication with the offices of Congressman Kendrick Meek and Congressman Tom Rooney since early this morning. They want to amend HR2811. Originally they agreed to the USARK proposal on an amendment. It has since become unclear the direction this proposed amendment might take. Tomorrow there will be a subcommittee mark up. There will be no amendment allowed tomorrow, but we will find out what the proposal for amendment will be. If it is out of line with what we have proposed we will fight it. It is possible that an amendment will be introduced on Wednesday during the full House Judiciary Committee mark up.
Make your phone calls... send your faxes. If you want to be successful we will have to do much better than today. We are potentially facing the end of the python trade. What are you personally prepared to do to stop that from happening? The people that do nothing will have themselves to blame if this bill goes south. Don't sit around and procrastinate and later wish you had done your part. Tomorrow is your last chance to have an impact on an amendment. Make your phone calls... send your faxes!!!

Wackos in Washington

2009-07-25T20:03:00.005-04:00

Well, because of the stupidity of one irresponsible owner of a Burmese python, some of our fearless Congressmen and Congresswomen are trying to get a bill passed that will ban ALL pythons! Here is the email that was sent out from USARK (United States Association of Reptile Keepers) today:

DANGER: Python Ban Goes to Committee
HR2811 (House version of S373) Sponsored by Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-FL), will go to Mark-up (amendment) in a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday the 28th, and then to the full committee on Wednesday the 29th. This bill has been called the Python BAN. If passed as written, it will BAN the IMPORT, EXPORT and INTERSTATE TRANSPORT of the entire genus python. Once it passes Mark-up it will go to a vote on the floor of the full House of Representatives. Anyone who doesn't believe that this is an immediate threat to the entire Reptile Community has their head in the sand. If the Reptile Nation does not wake up and take massive and decisive action right now we could lose ALL pythons.
USARK has worked hard and spent a lot of money to make sure the Reptile Nation has the best information available regarding the fate of our community. We make our positions clear and operate with complete transparency. We have no conflicts of interest. Our only allegiance is to the Reptile Nation. We are asking you to TAKE ACTION NOW to save this industry. No one else can do this for us. We hold our fate in our own hands. That is why we created USARK, to take control of our own destiny.
We have the best lobbyists, contacts and strategy to address the situation. This is not the time to panic or get angry. It is time for calm deliberate action. We need to engage in a massive phone and fax campaign on Monday the 27th. Get everyone you know to call. Spread the word to every forum and social networking site you frequent.
Sponsor and Key Members:
Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-FL), SponsorWashington DC: phone 202-225-4506; fax 202-226-0777Miami: phone 305-690-5905; fax 305-690-5951
Congressman Tom Rooney (R-FL)Washington DC: phone 202-225-5792; fax 202-225-3132Punta Gorda: phone 941-575-9101; fax 941-575-9103
Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL)Washington DC: phone 202-225-3001; fax 202-225-5974Boca Raton: phone 561-988-6302; fax 561-988-6423
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)Washington DC: phone 202-225-7931; fax 202-226-2052Pembroke Pines: phone 954-437-3936; fax 954-437-4776
Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) Committee ChairWashington DC: phone 202-225-5126; fax 202-225-0072Detroit: phone 313-961-5670; fax 313-226-2085EMAIL: john.conyers@mail.house.gov
Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) Ranking MemberWashington DC: phone 202-225-4236; fax 202-225-8628San Antonio: phone 210-821-5024; fax 210-821-5947
Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA)Washington DC: phone 202-225-4695; fax 202-225-3196Van Nuys: phone 818-994-7200; fax 818-994-1050
Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA)Washington DC: phone 202-225-3861; fax 202-225-0442
Congressman Howard Coble (R-NC)Washington DC: phone 202-225-3065; fax 202-225-8611Greensboro: phone 336-333-5005; fax: 336-333-5048
Congressman Randy Forbes (R-VA)Washington DC: phone 202-225-6365; fax 202-226-1170Chesapeake: 757-382-0080; fax 757-382-0780
Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ)Washington DC: phone 202-225-4576; fax: 202-225-6328 Glendale: phone 623-776-7911; fax: 623-776-7832
Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-CA)Washington DC: phone 202-225-5811; fax 202-225-1100Thousand Oaks: phone 805-497-2224; Toll Free: (800) 423-0023; fax 805-497-0039
Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)Washington DC: phone 202-225-5635New York: phone 212-367-7350

CALL, CALL, CALL!!! Our Future Depends On It! Make an avalanche of calls and bury HR2811!

SCRIPT: My name is...... I want to register a NO on HR2811. If passed as written this bill will destroy thousands of Florida voters, their families and small businesses. There is not a shred of scientific evidence to support banning all of the different species in the genus python. Please amend the bill to address only the IMPORT of the Burmese Python. Thank you for your consideration.

So, please help by calling all of the above numbers first thing on Monday. If you have access to a FAX machine, fax them as well! Also, if you haven't already become a member of USARK, do so today! They really lookout for bills such as this that try to sneak through, and they have the back of "herpers" both big and small! I became a Silver member in April, and I definitely think it was money well spent.

It's sad that people can't think for themselves and actually have the COMMON SENSE to know how to properly care for an animal. Florida has procedures and requirements in place for people that choose to have large boids for pets. Unfortunately, this moron didn't want to follow the rules and now he has to live with himself for what his animal did (I will leave it at that for now.....).

We apparantly need to have Congress and the Senate think for us, and put the rest of the issues the nation is facing on the back burner....The economy, unemployment, health care, our troops being deployed for FAR too long, are apparantly just not THAT important. I sure am happy to see my HARD EARNED tax dollars being well spent on issues that need to be addressed immediately....One idiot IS NOT representative of the thousands and thousands of boid owners that properly take care of and house reptiles safely and securely daily and for years without one issue!

I have done enough rambling - please be sure to do your part and call the phone numbers listed above on Monday and voice your opinion, I know I will be.

My quick idea for a Law & Order Episode

2009-07-03T09:21:00.002-04:00

Although inspired in part by a true incident, the following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.

In New York City's war on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the Major Case Squad. These are their stories. (Queue music - DUM DUM).

A man accidentally kills his girlfriends very young daughter. To cover up the death, he takes a dead rat and rubs it on the dead girl to put the smell of the rat on the girl. He then releases his pet python and waits for it to attack the dead girl. Once it has attacked and squeezed her enough, he then takes his knife and stabs the snake to make it look like he HAD to stab it to get it to release its "death grip" on the girl. He then makes a tearful call to 9-1-1 to say that he discovered his snake wrapped around the girl. The cops and the coroner automatically think that since there are bite marks on the girl and she was squeezed that the man's story must be true. He cleverly covers up the death and gets away with murder.

Queue music - DUM DUM....

The above story, although inspired in part by a true incident, is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.

New Pictures of the Gang

2009-04-27T20:39:00.004-04:00

It finally warmed up here in New Jersey this weekend - upper 80's! Time to break out the shorts and show off those blinding white legs...I took full advantage of the great weather and took some outdoor pics of some of the gang. The picture above is of Whitesnake the sire, a.k.a. "The Stud", of the April 23rd litter. He was the first Sharp Snow and is now 2 years old. I took pictures in the shade as well as in the direct sun to help compare. I really like how the Sharp version of a snow seems to keep its pattern as it develops. The lavender that was once in his tail is now a bright bone white and really looks good (of course I am a little biased...).

Speaking of lavender, I took new pictures of my other Sharp Snow, Snow White, in the sun with Whitesnake to compare how her tail looks against his. She still has some lavender in her tail, and she is almost two years old now. Her mother, Cartagena, is the one who just had a litter so it will be interesting to see how these latest snows develop. There are a few standout snows in this latest litter that have a ton of lavender in their tails even before the shed...I can't wait for them to shed, that's for sure!

During my outside photo shoot I also took some new pictures of Camo, Pinky, and some of my holdbacks from last years' Colombia litter. I haven't come up with names for the new additions yet, but I will soon. The new holdback pics were of ANE1 (an anery), ANE3 (anery), ALB6 (albino), and ALB8 (albino). I'm sure I will be commenting on each of them in future blogs :)!

I hope you all enjoy the latest updated pics of the gang. I always enjoy seeing pictures of people's boa collection, especially as a boa ages. I think it is a good thing to see how an animal develops as it matures, and it is important to let existing and potential customers know what they might be seeing as time goes by with their animal that they purchase. Some breeders do an excellent job of taking pictures as an animal gets older, others seem to never take new pictures of an animal after it is born....OK, I'm getting down off my little soap box now......

More Sharp Snows Born Today & HR669 Defeated!

2009-04-23T21:11:00.003-04:00

Wow, what a day! HR669 was defeated today at the Insular Affairs Subcommittee hearing - WOOHOO! A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to write those letters, and call/email those Representatives!! A big thanks also to USARK for getting the word out and keeping people motivated. Tom Wolfe also did an excellent job getting those letters to the right people in D.C. and helping get this defeated. It's only a matter of time though, before this will be presented again in some form or another...Hopefully we will continue to be able to keep reptiles as pets!

As for my great news - Cartagena had her litter this morning at about 6:30am. Whitesnake did a great job - the little stud! There was 1 Double Het Sharp Snow, 1 Anery Het Sharp Albino, 4 Sharp Albinos Het Anery, and 8 Sharp Snows! There was also 7 sweet potatoes and 1 not-fully-formed baby. Holy cow what terrific odds! She was nice and calm when I took her out of the cage this morning. I was able to get her out about 15 minutes after she was done with her contractions/delivery. She went to one end of the cage away from the babies, so it made it a little easier. She looks great and took a rat with no problems which is always good. She went 111 days POS and had been cruisin' around her cage for the past couple days so I knew she was close. With her going full term, none of the babies have yolk sacs and they all seem to be in great shape. I had put a tub in the cage, but of course she decided not to use it (which is why there is a dry spot on the corrugated cardboard in the picture of her). Below is a "pile of snow" and additional pictures of the litter can be seen here.

HR669

2009-04-12T20:50:00.007-04:00

So, what is HR669? It is a bill currently before the House of Representatives entitled the "Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act". The bill states "The purpose of this Act is to establish a risk assessment process to prevent the introduction into, and establishment in, the United States of nonnative wildlife species that will cause or are likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to other animal species’ health or human health."

In a nutshell, this bill as currently written would make it illegal for anybody in the U.S. to HAVE, BREED, SELL, PURCHASE, import or export animals not on the "approved" list (which currently only has cats, dogs, cattle, donkeys, ducks, goats, goldfish, horses, llamas, mules, pigs, rabbits, and sheep). Since the "approved" list doesn't include ANY reptiles, exotic fish, birds, hamsters, gerbils, pocket pets, you name it - so much for having those types of pets. The bill would also make it illegal to transport any of the unapproved animals between any State.

If you haven't already, you need to join the letter writing campaign to the Representatives behind this bill to let them know that you oppose this! This letter writing campaign was started by USARK (United States Association of Reptile Keepers), and more information (sample letter if you don't want to write your own letter, list of Representative addresses, etc) can be found on their website at http://usark.org/hr669intro.php. I already have sent my letters, as well as my wife and a few of my friends - please do your part ASAP! The deadline to get the letters to Tom Wolfe is April 21st. It only takes 20 minutes of your time, and it is definitely needed. Spread the word and get all of your family members and friends to sign letters as well. After you have sent the letters, try calling and emailing the Representatives, especially if any of the bill sponsors are from your state. Spam filters are filtering a lot of emails to the Representatives, and they can easily delete the message without really reading it. For this reason it is important to make sure to send a "real letter" to make sure the Representatives really get the message.

Ralph Davis (a MAJOR breeder of Ball Pythons) has uploaded some videos of the process of sending in the letters - the first one can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVAOuJz9aY&feature=related.

Thank you for helping keep our rights to keep our reptiles and all exotic animals!

Samy shed

2009-03-24T20:37:00.004-04:00

Here are a couple pics that I took the other day of Samy, my 8 foot, 36 lb. female (the 2 liter Coke bottle is for size reference - it's not a play toy for her...).

When I first looked in on her I thought she somehow escaped from her locked cage! I have never seen her soak in her water bowl, and she blended in pretty well with the bowl which made me do a double-take to find her. It is a 20"x18"x6" tall water bowl that I wish was still available. I use them for my large 7 foot Cages By Design cages to help maintain proper humidity, and they work great. Usually when I see that Samy is opaque, I will spray her a couple times a day until she sheds to ensure that she has a good shed. After she sheds, I unroll the shed (which is always in one nice long piece) and check to make sure that her eye caps came off as well as the tip of her tail. I do this with all of my boas every time they shed, even the babies, to make sure that there isn't any retained shed that needs my attention. If an eye cap doesn't shed, it can lead to permanant eye damage if is not taken care of. If the tip of the tail doesn't shed, it can get to the point where it will cutoff the circulation in the tail and lead to the tip of the tail coming off. If you own a boa, be sure to check the sheds for these two spots in particular to avoid issues down the road.

Samy has been on a diet and exercise program for the past 15 months. When I got her, she was slightly overweight - she had fat rings on her tail past her cloaca. I have been taking her out of her cage and letting her exercise on my stairway to help her work off her extra weight. She will climb up the stairs and then head back down and go back and forth for a good 45 minutes. There's nothing like a good stair workout! The stairway has a door at the bottom and one at the top, so I don't have to worry about keeping an eye on her to make sure she doesn't escape....She has lost a little under a pound in 15 months, and her fat rings are almost completely gone. I also VERY slowly cutback the frequency of her feedings to where she is now getting 1 jumbo rat (300+ grams/9") every 3 weeks. This should be just the right size/frequency of meal for her for the rest of her life. Of course, I will increase the frequency if I think she gets too thin, but this feeding schedule should be fine for her. I also think she really enjoys being out and exercising. Not only does it keep her attitude good by being handled, but I believe it helps her to stay happy with her little "exploring". She is now 10 years old, and hopefully she will be around for at least another 15 to 20 years!

Here she is post shed:

Cartagena is still doing everything right...

2009-03-23T19:42:00.007-04:00

Cartagena is coming along nicely during her pregnancy, still nice and plump :). She is looking great, thermoregulating herself, and staying in a nice coiled position for the most part. She moves from the cool end to the warm end, and even goes up on the shelves in her cage every now and then. She is due around April 17th, so my anxiety of course is ramping up, lol. She has a great attitude, even with her being pregnant. I give her fresh water daily, and she never seems to mind me coming in to her cage to change her water bowl. This is a pic I took on March 13th through her cage door - sorry for the glare, I didn't want to disturb her too much.

International Shipping!

2009-03-22T19:27:00.000-04:00

I am finally approved with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to export boas - woohoo! I will be posting information soon on the Terms/Payment page about costs, etc. for all of the folks overseas that have been contacting me to export some of my babies to them.

The actual process to become approved wasn't too bad, but according to the person handling my application the standards are really high and a lot of applicants do not pass, so I consider myself fortunate to be approved. The USF&W now have a Master File program for exporting reptiles which should greatly speed up the process of exporting them.

More babies on the way?

2009-01-14T23:15:00.008-05:00

Well, first off I'm finally done wearing my air cast, thank you to everyone who wished me well in my recovery. 5 weeks of hobbling around with a stress fracture (confirmed by an MRI), was 5 weeks of torture! I have a few more weeks before I am cleared to start training again. I've been riding a stationary bike in the meantime to keep my cardio level up, but it just isn't the same. At least with the weather being crummy it isn't as depressing to not be out there training as it would be in the middle of Spring or Summer. It's an addiction - I never thought I would actually "miss" running! It's going to be tough to hold myself back from running too much once I get the clearance. I have to keep in mind to start out slow and work myself back up all over again.

On to the potential baby news: Cartagena (my DH Sharp Snow) had her post-ovulation shed on January 2nd which means she has an April 17th due date (give or take a few days). She was bred by my Sharp Snow male, "Whitesnake" (he was from a 2007 litter from Colombia). Whitesnake was a little stud breeding her non-stop for 3 months (except for breaks every 3 weeks to be fed) starting in late September. He went right at it even though he was only 18 months old when I put him in with Cartagena. He was leaving "presents" in his cage starting at 16 months, so I had a good feeling he was more than ready and willing! I made sure to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't become stressed, but he acted like he knew what he was doing right from the start.

Here are a few "action" shots - the first pic doesn't look too comfortable for him to me, but he didn't seem like it was bothering him. I guess he had other things on his mind...

Here she is ovulating:

Finally, here she is with her post-ovulation shed:

With any luck and if everything goes well there will be some more Sharp Snows here in a few months! Let the sleepless nights and the pacing begin....

GAME OVER - well at least for a little while...

2008-11-24T19:49:00.004-05:00

So much for my third marathon for the year...As the picture to the left shows, my right leg is currently in an air cast. I started the Philadelphia Marathon yesterday with a little soreness on my shin that I have been ignoring over the past 3-4 weeks. I just figured the pain was a shin splint, and the pain would go away after I warmed up with a few miles in the marathon. I had been doing some long runs leading up to the marathon (20+ mile runs), and just figured that contributed to the shin splint/soreness.

So, about three miles into the marathon I'm keeping pace with no issues and am heading down a hill with 18,000+ other maniacs running in 30 degree weather. My pain starts in my leg after the downhill, but this time instead of going away, it gets worse to the point that I had to stop because I couldn't put any weight on the leg at all. After hobbling to an ambulance along the course, the "sweep wagon" comes and retrieves my sorry butt to take me back to the start/finish line. I gather my stuff in disgust and disappointment and head back for home. A trip to the ER shows no fracture on the x-rays, but the doctors say an MRI will probably show a stress fracture, which I will have done in the next day or two. So, crutches and a nice big cast in the meantime, and no training for the next 4-6 weeks while it heals. Did I learn anything with my latest marathon? Yes - don't train too much too soon (a common problem which causes stress fractures - I don't think I did that in my training though), make sure to replace shoes frequently (I went WAY too long with my last pair during my training for this marathon), and above all don't ignore/explain away pain while training! 6 months worth of training for 1 day down the crapper because I explained away a little pain during training....

Oh well, there's always next year! I think fitness is very important, especially as I get older. I have my sights on a marathon or two next year (and maybe the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike race), and I'm not giving up until I qualify for the Boston Marathon - everybody needs goals right?!?!

Some new pics of Camo

2008-11-14T22:22:00.005-05:00

Here are some new pictures I took of Camo (short for Camouflage) this past weekend. He's almost 2 years old now and he is a possible DH Sharp Snow. He's turned into such a mellow-yellow dude, I'm glad I held onto him!

A picture of his "soul patch":

The faded saddles:

A macro shot:

More pictures of him can be found in his photo gallery.

5 Months?!?!

2008-08-08T18:20:00.011-04:00

Time really DOES fly when you are having fun! It's been almost 5 months since the litter on March 11th, and I FINALLY found the time to take pictures of all 27 babies. Between enjoying the summer, training for another marathon, and taking care of the "new kids", I just couldn't find the time.

I think that I have finally figured out how to get good shots with the photo tent that I bought a while back. I used a black background for the albinos, and a white background for the possible double hets and anerys. The black background really helped the albinos stand out a little better. I also used a 20 dollar bill in some pictures to help potential customers determine their size and color. 900 pictures later (all in the same day and with the same lighting setup), I was finally done, lol. You can view the pictures of the babies here, and there are more pics for each in their photo gallery.

There's definitely a wide variety in this litter in color and patterns. Even the possible double hets have very different looks. It was tough deciding which ones to keep as my holdbacks. There are two great looking anerys that I just can't make up my mind on which one of them to keep, so I decided to keep them both for the time being....I'll figure it out when they get a little older :)!.

Decisions, decisions.....

I'm leaning towards the second one...
I hope you all are having a great summer - I know I am!

Snow White?

2008-05-27T21:12:00.001-04:00

OK, maybe I'm just anal, but I had the same issues with "Snow White" as "Whitesnake" - I just couldn't get good accurate pictures of her indoors. I feel it's important to accurately represent your animals, especially as people and potential customers are always wanting to see what they look like "now". I have a photo tent and indoor photography lights, which I have used once, but I really need to figure out the camera settings to capture quality and color-accurate pictures.

She is now 11 months old, and her tail has now turned a purple/lavender color. Her body is still a very off-white/faint yellow color - much different than Whitesnake. Whitesnake had turned yellow within 2 months of being born, and he lost his purple/lavender tail color by the time he was 8 months old. Maybe she is just a late bloomer, or maybe like Sharp albino's there are different "shades"...only time (and more Sharp Snow's) will tell....

I put both of them together for a series of shots to compare the colors between the two. You can see more pictures of her, as well as her and Whitesnake together here.

Well, it's about freakin' time!

2008-05-26T23:25:00.000-04:00

Where does the time go?? It's been 9 months since the last time I posted pictures of the first Sharp Snow affectionately named "Whitesnake". Don't get me wrong, I've taken a ton of pictures in the past few months, just none that I thought were worthy enough to publish on the website. It is extremely tough to accurately capture his "colors" indoors, as I certainly have tried over the past 9 months!

I finally had 2 things in my favor - a weekend that was warm and sunny, and the time to actually take some pictures. I figured the best way to get some quality pictures was to take him outside. The picture above was taken in the shade. He is now almost 15 months old and doing great. He has a great attitude, and I have never had a problem with him. He's very tame, but loves to explore - especially while he was outside. I certainly didn't let him out of my sight for a second, especially since there are red-tailed hawks that frequent the area...I can't imagine the horror of seeing one of my prized possessions flying away as a hawk's snack...

He lost the lavender color in his tail when he was around 8 months old as it eventually turned white. The rest of him has turned a buttery yellow with white for the saddle color. I took some pictures in the sunlight which really shows the bone-white color of his tail. You can view additional pictures that I took here, and you can compare how he looked before as well. I also took some pictures of his counterpart, "Snow White", which I will post tomorrow.

One more down, one more to go...

2008-05-06T21:18:00.006-04:00

This past weekend I hobbled my way across the finish line of my second marathon for the year. I ran the New Jersey Marathon in Long Branch, New Jersey. It was a great, relatively flat, 2-loop course which I thought I could run in 3 hours 45 minutes (which would improve my personal record). My first 10 miles I was on target for my 3:45 marathon, but then I started to break down. I made 2 "rookie" mistakes that killed me and my time - I should have known better than to make these mistakes....

The first mistake was that my first 4 miles were faster than the 8 minute 34 second pace I should have been doing. I was clocking in 8 minute miles for the first 4 miles before I finally settled into the right pace. This definitely killed me as the race went on as I put too much energy into those first few miles.

The second HUGE mistake that I made was not hydrating properly. They had plenty of drinking stations out on the course (a big thanks to the excellent volunteers!), but I think that I was too intent on keeping my pace where I wanted it to be to think about drinking enough water and Gatorade. I was running through each station only taking a swallow or two of water - DOH!

By mile 10 my pace started to slow, which I think is because of my fast start. By mile 20, I was in a world of hurt. I developed extremely bad cramps in both legs because I was dehydrated so badly. From that point on I had to walk a few yards, then I would shuffle my feet for a few yards (not even close to "running"), then go back to walking. Both legs felt like 2 bricks, and every step shot pain up through my legs - it was the most intense pain I've ever felt....good times, good times :)! I just wanted to hurry up and finish, but my legs didn't want to cooperate. I finally came across the line in 4 hours 33 minutes. Did I learn a lesson or two? You bet I did! Now I can't wait for my 3rd and final marathon for this year...Let the training begin - all over again!!

A huge thanks to my lovely wife and wonderful daughter for hangin' in there and being patient while this old man tried to finish. They definitely helped bring me across the finish line with their cheering and motivation.

Oh, I almost forgot - the pic above is of one of the albino's from Colombia's March 11th litter. Now that I have some time on my hands, I will try to take some pictures of the rest of the babies. They are all doing great, and wait until you see them! Some of them have incredible colors - they're going to look awesome as they mature!

I'll end my rambling for the night - enjoy the funny pic below which pretty much sums up my pain out there this weekend pounding the pavement :)!