May Snakes Alive Workshops

Reptile Workshop Offered Every Saturday in May!

During the popular Snakes Alive workshops, herpetologist Rick Teepen will introduce you to a variety of reptiles including snakes, lizards, and an alligator. He also incorporates a strong Christian message into the program.

All of the animals used in the program are bred in captivity. If you are interested in keeping a reptile as a pet, it should be captive-bred also. From time to time, we will highlight one of these fascinating creatures that God created for us to see, enjoy, and learn about.

This month we will feature the American Alligator (Alligator mississippienisis). The American Alligator inhabits the wetlands of the southern United States, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.

Adults range from 8 to 14 feet long, but have been known to grow larger. Their weight can exceed 1,000 pounds, and they live fifty years or more. Alligators lay between 20 and 50 eggs. The temperature of the developing eggs in the first three weeks determines the sex of the young. A temperature above 90 degrees Fahrenheit produces males, below 86 degrees produced females. Intermediate temperature ranges yield a mix of both males and females.

Young alligators will eat insects, snails, worms, and small fish; as they grow they eat larger prey fish, frogs, rats, birds, raccoons, and even deer. In other words, anything they can catch. They are the top predator throughout their range. Alligators can close their jaws with over 2,000 pounds of force.

The alligator Rick uses in the program is about six months old and 12 inches long. Visit our website to learn more about Snakes Alive, and check the Creation Museum events calendar for dates and times of this fascinating program. It will be offered every Saturday in May, 2011.