Strictly Reptiles in the News
Friday, September 30th, 2011A new study on exotic reptile species introduced into Florida names Strictly Reptiles….
Posts Tagged ‘Strictly Reptiles’
Florida Exotic Pet Trade Under Fire
Saturday, November 27th, 2010A piece in the Sun Sentinel on the South Florida exotic pet biz this weekend (includes reference to Strictly Reptiles: “From 2004 until April of this year, Strictly Reptiles imported 558,060 reptiles, 172,892 spiders and 161,597 amphibians, according to federal records.”)
Included with the story is this fascinating database which enables you to see who is shipping what from where to whom… (My check of the DB suggests it’s far from comprehensive but it is still fascinating.) And this map of major sources of supply. (more…)
Burmese Python Goes TODAY
Thursday, July 30th, 2009Well, the Burmese Python–the same species I got when I was thirteen by telling my mother “Socrates” would grow no bigger than my ten gallon aquarium–hit the Today show this morning. The Burmese python is the snake that got me and alot of other snake kids off the ground. It’s also the species that launched designer reptile breeding, turned a number of hobbyists into millionaires, danced with Britney at the MTV Awards, fueled a decade of wildlife smuggling, and killed a child in Florida a few weeks ago.
Here’s the TODAY show report. The snakes reporters get excited about are tiny compared to what’s out there. Below is my version of a Burm, and an annecdote from behind the book.
Bryan Christy Walking a Burmese Python
The Burmese python in this photo came to Strictly Reptiles one day while I was working there. A local stripper (Stephanie “the water cannon” Evans) had used the snake in her act, but her husband felt it had grown too big for her to handle so he brought it in to Strictly Reptiles to sell. Mike bought it for around $150 and sold it before the guy was out of the parking lot. Of course, there are bigger ones out there.