#And offered temporary foster for those that had nowhere to even put an enclosure

[adinafay]

In my hometown, that guy was Ron.

I don’t know what his official education may have been, but I do know that he has been around the block a few times when it came to reptiles.

He once told my father and I a story about how, as a 12-year-old in the 60s, he got “some chameleon eggs for almost nothing, because nobody was very good at hatching chameleons back then and didn’t think they’d be worth raising.” You know who was apparently pretty good at hatching chameleons though, even in the 60s? Ron. As he told it, he had one hell of a time explaining to his parents 1) why there were 60-some-odd baby chameleons loose in the bathroom and 2) what the hell he was going to do about it. He credited “a lot of research about chameleons and,” – he emphasized this – “their native habitat” for his success in not just hatching all those eggs, but also keeping the majority alive long enough to be past the riskiest parts of life and safely rehomed. He then told us he got a license to import exotic reptiles at age 15 – before he could even drive.

I don’t know what all-else Ron did between then and the point at which he “retired” to owning and operating a reptile store with his wife, Donna; but, I do know that Ron’s Reptiles was, if not the best, my favorite pet store of all time.

Ron and Donna ran the store out of their home on the rural edge of town. It was out of the way to get to and inside it was rather cramped and, perhaps expectedly, smelled like reptiles (which is not a bad or dirty scent, but one of coconut husk and aspen shavings and the specific and peculiar musk of shed skin). It was not a very large home and you could see into their livingroom and kitchen through one of the rooms; I got to meet their dogs over the small gate they had set up so they could easily move between the two when their scattered customers showed up. In this not-very-large home the two front rooms were the two officially open to the public during business hours.

As you would walk in the front door you’d be met with a shallow hallway, with primarily merchandise – enclosures, decor, packaged foods – and their living area to the right and the majority of animals to the left. Both rooms were fun to explore and most – if not all – of their own animals were also out on display, with name-plates and descriptions on their enclosures instead of sale-prices. Even more fun could be had, though.

Because, if they weren’t too busy and you asked nicely, both Ron and Donna were always happy to give you a reptile experience.

They might open up some of the adult, breeding animals’ enclosures and introduce you; because every one had a name and a story. They might give you some lettuce and let you feed the huge sulcata tortoises or the puppy-dog rhino iguana. On extra special occasions, they might let you in to see the eggs and newest hatchlings in the back, or take you outside to tour the rodent sheds.

And, of course, Ron’s Reptiles could also be hired for those ever-memorable reptile parties and classroom talks.

Every interaction I ever had with Ron – at his store, the local reptile show (which he founded, btw), or one of his educational talks – it was crystal clear exactly how very much he loved reptiles and how excited he was for the opportunity to share his knowledge and experiences and joy with anyone and everyone. He was even once on the front page of the Wall Street journal talking about his snakes.

Ron’s Reptiles closed a few years ago – Ron was having a tough time running everything by himself after Donna passed. He moved to Arizona not long after – to be closer to his children and grandchildren, I believe – and he let many of his animals go in the process. I don’t know what he’s up to now, but some of his animals are still being used as animal ambassadors in my hometown. Living-torches passed down to a new team of educators working to dispel myths and spread a love of reptiles amongst new generations of children.

Children who will wake up one day and wonder, “who even was that? what were their credentials?”