THE weather's great -- if you're a reptile.
On Sunday, while the sun beat down on the concrete jungle, hundreds of Winnipeggers sought refuge from the scorching heat at the Manitoba Reptile Breeders Expo.
Snake-lover Kayla Kopys owns a ball python and was helping out at the Hooks and Reptile Products booth. The 18-year-old graduate of Murdoch MacKay Collegiate said she loves snakes because they're more exotic than regular pets.
Snake-lover Kayla Kopys looks up to boa snake at the Manitoba Reptile Breeders Expo held Sunday in the city. The show attracted hundreds of people.
Two-year-old animal lover Danielle Lee just likes the look of them.
"I want to pat the snake!" she commanded her father, Stuart Lee, who was carrying her.
They were among the 400-plus people who filed through the show at the Greenwood Inn sponsored by Cranwill's Captive Bred Snakes, M & B Reptiles, and Winnipeg Reptiles.
The assertive, red-haired toddler gently stroked a delicate, peach-coloured corn snake. "Nice," she said softly.
"I think it's something children learn from their parents to be afraid of," said Lee, as his fearless daughter made friends with the reptile.
Anita Santarsieri managed to grow up admiring the beauty of the agile animals rather than fearing their slithering, creepy manner.
She and her boyfriend visited the breeders show and took photographs of each other holding different snakes and lizards on display.
With a corn snake curling around her arm, Santarsieri offered a critique of the horror movie Snakes on a Plane.
"I loved it. It was kind of corny but had a good storyline," said the 21-year-old.
Santarsieri said she has a cat and a bird for pets but is leery of the added responsibility of a snake.
"You've got to know a lot about how to take care of them," she said. "They're a lot of work."
That's just one of the misconceptions about snakes that the Manitoba Herpetocultural Society is trying to counter, said board members Dave Gamble and Ian Timshel.
It's a perfect pet if you travel, said Gamble, who said the corn and rat snakes they brought to display at the expo need to eat only once a week and don't require a lot of attention or upkeep.
"They're way lower maintenance than a mammal," said Gamble, a member of the non-profit group of hobbyists trying to promote the conservation and care of both native and captive-bred reptiles and amphibians.
Timshel said they've partnered with a number of schools to get snakes in the classroom and teach young people an appreciation for reptiles. While people were invited to touch the beautiful, soft corn snake, they're a solitary animal that likes their space, he said.
"They're for display, not pets to handle," said Timshel. "They're spectacular to watch."
He said colourful geckos and shedding snakes are fascinating to look at.
Some snakes have personalities, too, said Timshel.
"A ball python will stay there quietly waiting to be fed while a carpet python will go out and find lunch."
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
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