July 30, 2014 at 2:53 p.m.
Children wowed by reptiles at Rhinelander library
Children wowed by reptiles at Rhinelander library
By Kayla Thomason-
Herpetologist Tom Kessenich showed off his personal reptiles, starting with a black and white tegu.
The children were amazed by the animal's beautiful pattern and excited by its forked tongue that flicked out to sniff the air.
Kessenich allowed a few children to come up and pet the tegu. They were able to feel the animal's tongue flick against their skin.
The western fox snake was introduced next. The children learned that snakes can't hear, but do feel vibrations and can smell the air.
They also learned that the fox snake can eat two pillow cases full of mice in the summer, mice that can carry Lyme's disease.
Next to make an appearance was the common water snake.
A few children were allowed to feel the length of her body and the lives she was carrying inside her.
The water snake gives birth to live young, Kessenich said.
He then lifted the sheet on the eastern cottonmouth, a poisonous snake that he keeps in a little enclosure.
He told the children how he handles the venomous snakes with a snake hook. He also demonstrated how the venomous snake box works.
It's a box with a hole the snake slithers into, then a door is slid over it and a pin is secured in place - eliminating any direct handling of the animal.
The children were blown away by the next snake - the albino burmese python.
Several children came up to pet the snake. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder and had the snake draped over their outstretched hands.
The last animals to be revealed was a gator. The children lined up to pet it.
Some were timid and barely wanted to touch the gator, others were amazed by the contrasting feeling of the rough back and velvet-soft belly.
"I felt something like this but I can't remember what it was," Ivan Brainard said. "I felt a garter snake that kind of [felt like it]."
His favorite reptile in the show was the python.
For many of the children it was the first time they had touched a reptile.
Isabelle Gilman described petting the gator as a "cool, nice" feeling.
Amber Guhnam said the animal was "spikey" and that it helped her feel less afraid of reptiles.
"I try to desensitize [people] and say [reptiles] are really neat animals, they are important," Kessenich said.
These are signature animals that work well in shows visually with their flicking tongues or colors, he said.
"It was a great show," said Cheryle Miller, associate childrens' librarian. "I thought the kids had a good time. They had lots of good questions, they were very entertained, they were very well behaved but they were very curious and they wanted to know and you could see that."
Kessenich also works local animals into the show such as the western fox snake and common water snake.
He shared some fascinating information on the copperhead snake, which he didn't bring.
"What they're finding in - I believe it's the Southern Copperhead - is there is an agent in their venom that actually adheres to a breast cancer cell and prevents it from moving or migrating in other parts of the tissue and it also stops its growth," he said.
Copperheads are not known to be deadly except in rare instances when someone is allergic to the venom
Other research is being done on possible uses for other snake venom.
"It's humbling to be able to go out and do this and be their ambassador, it's just really a neat responsibility," Kessenich said. "I feel like when people leave they are hopefully more impacted and they look at [the reptiles] differently. That's my goal."
Kessenich started doing shows 12 years ago. He and the reptiles go to librariess, birthday parties and nature centers.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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