Seventh Annual Chat Week at kingsnake.com:
February 27-March 5, 2005
Below you will find the current lineup for the Seventh Annual Chat Week at kingsnake.com, where our users meet with a variety of noted herpetologists and herpetoculturists in the world's longest running online reptile symposium.
Watch this space for last minute announcements - you never know who will show up at kingsnake.com's Chat Week!
Sunday February 27
 Kerry King, guitarist for Slayer
Keeping Boas and Retics
Sunday, February 27, at 9 PM Eastern, in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Kerry King, best known as one of the founding members of thrash metal band Slayer, has a passion for all things cold blooded and will be joining kingsnake.com Chat Week for the first time this year. View transcript here.
 Don Soderberg of South Mountain Reptiles
Keeping and Breeding Cornsnakes
Sunday, February 27, at 10 PM Eastern, in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Don Soderberg of South Mountain Reptiles studied biology and herpetology at Austin State University, and is the producer of over 100 different corn and other colubrid snake morphs. This year, SMR should produce over 4,000 hatchlings and possibly introduce several new corn snake morphs into the industry. Don will be answering questions about all aspects of keeping and breeding corn snakes. View transcript here.
Monday February 28
 Bob Clark
Python morphs
Monday, February 28, at 9 PM Eastern, in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Bob Clark has a Bachelors degree in Biology and a Masters in Herpetology, both from the University of Kansas. He has been breeding pythons since 1973 and says, "I think I was the first full time commercial breeder of pythons. I've developed most of the python color and pattern mutations available on the market today. I'm now working with some interesting boa morphs and I've got some interesting python traits coming up as well." View transcript here.
 Chad Brown
Monitor Breeding Program
Monday, February 28, at 10 PM Eastern in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Chad is the owner of ProExotics and a football player for the Seattle Seahawks. He says, "I started Pro Exotics in my mind in 1988 when I got my first snake, a boa my freshman year at CU. It wasn't until I was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1993 that I had a little money in my pocket and started to really put this business together." On top of all that, Chad describes himself as a "full time husband and dad." Chad is a much-requested return guest, and his topic this year will be monitors. View transcript here.
Tuesday March 1
 Patrick Nabors
Dart frogs
Tuesday, March 1, at 9 PM Eastern, in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Patrick Nabors has been keeping and breeding reptiles and amphibians since 1990. In the mid-nineties the focus of his business, Saurian Enterprises, began to shift from lizards to dart frogs. He currently maintains a large collection of dart frogs, and breeds many different species of frogs and lizards. View transcript here.
 Darrell Senneke, Director of the World Chelonian Trust
Conservation of Asian Turtles
Tuesday, March 1, at 10 PM Eastern in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Darrell Senneke is director of the World Chelonian Trust and a member of the steering committee of the Turtle Surival Alliance. Over the last twenty years Darrell has successfully bred Testudo ibera, Testudo hermanni, Testudo graeca, Clemmys insculpta, Terrapene carolina, Chrysemys picta, Indotestudo elongata, Geochelone denticulata and Geochelone pardalis. View transcript here.
Wednesday March 2
 Jessi Clark-White of AfricanServal.com
Why Exotic Pets Should Not Be Banned
Wednesday, March 2, at 9 PM Eastern, in ExoticHobbyist Chat
Jessi Clark-White is a strong advocate for the responsible ownership of exotic pets. She writes, "The current lobby to outlaw people's exotic pets is fueled by misconceptions and special interests. The truth is that banning exotic animals doesn't help them - it kills them! These bans result in pets being seized from their loving owners and killed or placed in overburdened rescue facilities." She debunks the myth that exotic pet ownership is dangerous, inhumane, or irresponsible. A chat of interest to snake and other reptile owners, as well as those owning exotic mammals, this chat is a co-presentation of ExoticHobbyist.com and kingsnake.com. View transcript here.
 Bill Love
Herp Photography
Wednesday, March 2, at 10 PM Eastern, in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Bill has always enjoyed seeking herps in nature, and recording them on film in their natural haunts is one of his true passions, whether he's in Madagascar, Baja, or just near home in Florida's Everglades. Join him for an hour of chatting about the trials and tribulations of trying to get great herp images. View transcript here.
Thursday March 3
 Kara Glasgow of NERD and bloodpythons.com
Blood Pythons
Thursday, March 3, at 9 PM Eastern, in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Kara Glasgow of NERD has been into snakes all her life, and a serious breeder for the last decade. "I was a boa snob until I saw the light with bloods," she says, adding, "Still love my boas though." She is currently working with a selection of blood and short-tail color and pattern morphs, with more on the way. She's also about to launch a new website, bloodpythons.com. So it's no surprise that her topic will be blood pythons. View transcript here.
Friday March 4
 How Herps End Up in Rescue and What Hobbyists Can Do About It
A panel discussion with:
Bonnie from VA Reptile Rescue
Cindy from Small Scale Reptile Rescue
Jane from Mid Michigan Reptile Rescue and Rehabilitation
Friday, March 4, at 9 PM Eastern, in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
What is the leading reason reptiles and amphibians end up in rescue? Because their owners didn't know what they were getting into. How can hobbyists educate prospective herp owners, pet store sales staff, and the general public on the proper care of these animals? What can we as hobbyists do to make sure that herps end up in appropriate homes with informed owners? How can we keep herps out of the rescue system, especially given that many general animal shelters and rescue groups aren't equipped to deal with herps, and most herp-specific rescue groups are overwhelmed? View transcript here.
 Anthony Caponetto
Crested Geckos
Friday, March 4, at 10 PM Eastern, in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Anthony Caponetto keeps what he describes as "a modestly sized collection of Pythons and Geckos. Currently, my primary focus is on Carpet Pythons and Crested Geckos. I also have a great deal of interest in many other Morelia Pythons, including Green Tree Pythons and Scrub Pythons and other Rhacodactylus Geckos including Gargoyle Geckos and Rhacodactylus Chahoua." He is an active member of the Kansas City Herpetological Society and currently on the board of directors. You can learn more about Anthony and his animals on the AC Reptiles website. View transcript here.
Saturday March 5
 Mark O'Shea
From Animal Planet's "Mark O'Shea's Big Adventure"
Saturday, March 5, at 7 PM Eastern, in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Back by popular demand! One of our most requested guests, Mark O'Shea has travelled to some of the world's most exotic locations, encountering some of the planet's deadliest and most fascinating reptiles and amphibians. From Arkansas to Argentina, India to Indonesia, and New Guinea to New Caledonia, Mark has come face to fang with king cobras, beaked seasnakes and silent rattlesnakes. He’s got up close and personal with snapping turtles, snappy gators and cryptic crocs. View transcript here.
 Jeff Ronne
Boas
Saturday, March 5, at 9 PM Eastern, in
kingsnake.com's Chat Room
From the mouth of The Boaphile himself: "I have been breeding Boa Constrictors since long before Boas were cool. I have bred and produced babies every year since 1986. In fact in the late 80's and early 90's Boas were near the bottom of nearly all herpers' lists of animals that were cool to work with. Anyhow, I hung in there and NOW Boas are among the most popular of all herps kept today! I didn't get into this to get rich. I began breeding Boas because I have always been fascinated with them. I wanted to specialize in one thing and really loved the Boas. In case a visit to my site didn't make you realize it...I don't take myself too seriously. I do take my animals seriously though. I love these kids!" View transcript here.
 Adam Britton, Senior Researcher, Wildlife Management International
Crocodilians
Saturday, March 5, at 10 PM Eastern, in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Adam Britton's long-standing interest and research on crocodilians has provided many adventures in the wilds of northern Australia, many of which feature in the numerous documentaries Adam has appeared in over the past 8 years. Adam's work specialises in crocodilian research, and finding conservation solutions that actually work for both people and wildlife. Adam will be talking about crocodilians in general, forthcoming fieldwork for 2005 (volunteers are welcome!) and keeping crocodilians in captivity - the subject of a major book on the subject that he is co-authoring. You can visit Adam's website crocodilian.com. View transcript here.
How to Attend
These events will be held in chat rooms listed above. To access the chats:
If you are a registered user of our site, simply follow the direct links given above to the chat, and log in with your username and password. (Forgot them? Click here!)
If you are not already a registered user of the site, registration is not required - simply go to chat.pethobbyist.com and use the "Guest" log-in option, then select Reptile & Amphibian Chat as your chat room.
There is nothing to download or install, but the system does require you to have java enabled in your browser settings. We strongly suggest you access the room before the chat, so you have time to address any difficulties you might have. You might want to drop by one of our regular weekly chats as a test run. If you have trouble, please visit our Chat Help Area.
More Information
There is more information about each chat available at the links in the right hand column. Simply click on the species in which you are interested for a more detailed listing. Some of the chats even have free email reminders you can sign up for!
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