July, 2021
Let me put your mind at ease. I did not return to my trailer, nor wake up in my trailer, to find it full of snakes. No snakes were in my trailer. But let me tell you about my snake story.
I don’t like creepy, weird bugs and I am terrified of snakes, truly terrified. I was raised in the Philippine Islands. My mother taught me to be deathly afraid of snakes since so many snakes there are deadly. Where I live now in western Washington State in the USA, we have no deadly snakes. I know perfectly well that we don’t have them, at least my brain knows that, but the rest of my body and soul is still terrified of snakes, even the snakes here that pose no danger.
But a museum in Bremerton has, so I’ve been told, one of the best collections of living bugs and snakes and small reptiles from around the world. To be honest, I kept finding reasons NOT to go to this bug and snake museum while I’ve been camped and boondocked here. In the end, I decided to drive there, park, breathe, get out of the truck, breathe, walk to the front door, breathe, MAYBE open the door, I am probably no longer breathing, and I probably will NOT go in the door but turn tail and run back to my truck.
I really was scared.
In the end, I opened that front door and walked in, and found myself fascinated by everything. I was fine. Ok, yes, a little shaky especially at first, but I was fine. This place was fascinating.
I was impressed by how large this place is … how many types of live snakes and bugs and reptiles are safely displayed here. Each different type of animal had a sign (like the one below) describing a little bit about the creature in that particular enclosure.
And here (both photos below) is Ellie Mae, the resident Creamsicle Corn Snake.
I surprised myself! I liked Ellie May right off, she’s so pretty and so perfect, and she just warmed my heart.
I visited here in the middle of the day, when pretty much all of these animals would normally be asleep or resting, so there wasn’t much movement happening. But a few of the snakes (and lizards too) were moving around.
Here is a short video of an Albino Banded California Kingsnake. I don’t see any “bands” on the snake. When I look online, I find images that make me think this was just an Albino California Kingsnake. But I am no expert!
You can turn your sound on to watch these videos, but you can’t hear the snake or lizard that’s in any of my videos … you’ll just hear the other people who were in the museum at the same time I was.
The snoozing snake below is an Albino Ball Python, so named because they like to curl up in a ball. Momma ball pythons curl into a ball completely surrounding their eggs, to protect their eggs, sometimes for three months at a time without leaving the eggs. These snakes are indigenous to Africa.
I liked Nana, too!
The video below is of a Coastal California Kingsnake. This type of snake can shake its tail such that it sounds like a rattlesnake.
The critter below is a Tokay Gecko. At about 16 inches long, it’s one of the largest geckos on earth. It’s natural habitat is eastern Asia.
The lovable creature below is an Uromastyx Lizard. This one was about 12-13 inches long, although they get up to 18 inches in length. They live in Africa and the Middle East. Their outer skin changes color to help them deal with heat and cold … their skin gets darker when it’s cold so they will absorb heat, and their skin gets lighter when it’s hot so they will repel heat.
The Red Ackie Monitor Lizard (below) is a native of Australia, grows up to 2 feet in length, and can run at speeds up to 13 miles per hour. Monitor lizards are known to enjoy human attention and play. They are reputed to be the most intelligent type of lizard.
So, here’s a test question … what’s the difference between a turtle and a tortoise? Had you asked me that question before my visit to this museum, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. But now I know …
Turtles live mostly in North America and Asia. Tortoises live mostly in Africa.
Turtles eat plants and other animals. Tortoises eat only plants.
Turtle shells are flatter, more streamlined for swimming. Tortoise shells are more rounded.
Turtles live in water most of the time. Tortoises spend more/most of their time on land.
Turtles have webbed feet with long claws that may look like flippers. Tortoises have feet that are short and sturdy.
Turtles live from 20 to 40 years. Tortoises live a lot longer … from 80 to 150 years.
Turtle.
Tortoise.
The person swimming in the photo above is an Elephant Nose Turtle. There were other live turtles and tortoises here too.
But there were also lots of dead bugs and beetles and butterflies and other small creatures here, too.
Walking Sticks are found all over the world and can grow as large as 20 inches in length.
The creature below is sometimes called a “flying dragon”, sometimes called a “flying lizard”. They were originally from Asia, but so many have been sold all over the earth that they are now commonly found in the wild in many places around the world. They don’t flap their wings, but use them to glide, and can glide up to 200 feet with a good wind and proper air temperature. The bones that hold those gliding membranes out are actually their rib bones.
The photo below shows a “Peanut-Head Bug” or Fulgora Laternaria. Their heads look like peanuts, don’t they? Originally imported from China, they now also inhabit Central and South America, although they are rare in all habitats. If threatened they can spray just like a skunk and the signs here say that the spray really does stink!
Besides dozens and dozens of individual displays of dead animals, there were all manner of boxes and shelves displaying groups of all manner of bugs and beetles and weevils, and butterflies, from all over the world.
I wouldn’t want to mess with this Rhinoceros Beetle (below). They are native to Thailand. I’ve been in Thailand and liked it there. But I’d be happy if they keep all of their Rhinoceros Beetles right there at home please.
The last animal I’ll show you is the one below. She’s a Brazilian Rainbow Boa. They grow up to six feet long. All snakes eat other animals; this one too. This particular type of snake reproduces by “parthenogenesis” which means the female produces young/babies on her own without the need for a male. When I first approached her glass enclosure, I stood for a long time trying to find her head, a long time even though her body was moving.
She finally decided to come up and have a look around.
I was fascinated by her eyes. It looks to me as though her eyelids are closed in these photos even though she’s moving around. It might be that the lights in the ceiling in this room are too bright for her since these snakes live mostly in the dark jungles of South America. But I had to chuckle, in the photo below it looks like she has a black bottle cap over each eye. I think the eyes have multiple “lids” or sections, unlike we humans who have only two. She was really beautiful.
As you can see, once I got comfortable here (and knew there was a solid glass wall between me and those snakes), I was just fine getting as close to them as possible with my camera. In fact, I was fascinated and watched them a long time.
Oh, one other thing. I asked one of the people working here whether these animals were ever allowed out of what seemed relatively small enclosures. I was told “Yes indeed! We have offsite enclosures many times the size of these and we rotate the animals constantly. If any animals are giving birth or laying eggs, they are kept offsite until the youngsters are old enough to be separated from the mother.”
So, let me put a bug in your ear … if you’re ever in Bremerton, go check out the Bug & Reptile Museum. 🙂