The Chaplin Democratic Town Committee :: Slimy/Scaly Creatures Visit Library

SLIMY AND SCALY CREATURES VISIT THE CHAPLIN LIBRARY
by Kitty LeShay, Reprinted from Reminder News

Empty Bowl Project, Parish Hill, Chaplin CT

Slithering snakes, bearded dragons, jumping frogs and snapping turtles arrived at the Chaplin Library with their owner Brian Kleinman during school vacation week. The February 18th program provided by Riverside Reptiles drew over 70 people of all ages, most of whom had no problem petting the amphibians and reptiles who are not the cuddliest of creatures.

Kleinman brought along a sampling of the 100 animals he owns and while showing them off gave an informative presentation about the differences between amphibians and reptiles. "Amphibians are born in the water, have no claws, have bumpy, slimy skin and do not look like their parents when they are born. Reptiles are born on land, have scales and do look like their parents," he informed his audience.

Factual information was interspersed with humor and reminders about animal behavior. "I am walking around with these animals and you can touch them, but if you come across them in the wild, do not pick them up," he warned as children touched a snapping turtle.

Kleinman, who has a degree in biology and considerable experience in the field and in education, started his own live animal education program, Riverside Reptiles, after serving as an Animal Curator at the Children's Museum formerly the Science Center of Connecticut.

He worked the room with ease holding a 70 pound python which wrapped itself around him. "Pythons have been known to kill animals as large as deer and wild boar in the wild," he said.

He also spoke about the longevity of many of the animals in his troupe. "Many of these animals can live a long time. A turtle can live 50-60 years so if you bought a turtle today you might have it for the rest of your life," he said. Parents and grandparents seemed to enjoy the presentation as much as the children. Elizabeth and Richard Laferriere brought their children and responded very positively to the presentation. "I loved his interaction with the kids and he was funny too," Richard said.

Learning was appropriately taking place at the library. "It was very interesting. I learned a lot. Some animals like the King snake I had never heard of and did not know that they ate other snakes," Justin said. "I liked that he did a lot of hands on stuff, like letting us touch the animals. Some felt differently than what I thought," Cole said.

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