Snakes alive!

July 27, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

CANFIELD

Indiana Jones would not have liked being anywhere near the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm on Sunday.

No sir, he wouldn’t have liked it at all.

In a scene from the classic 1981 film, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” the adventuring archaeologist played by Harrison Ford famously shouted, “I hate snakes! I hate ‘em!”

But snakes and all sorts of other reptiles were everywhere you turned Sunday afternoon during the park’s Reptile Exhibit, sponsored by TV stations WFMJ/WBCB.

Hundreds of people lined up to see the reptile display, which has taken place every two years since 1987, according to Ray Novotny, outdoor education manager.

So, what’s the appeal?

Keith Gisser of “Herps Alive,” a herpetologists’ organization based near Cleveland, said reptiles are the fastest-growing segment of the pet industry now. Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with reptiles and amphibians.

“For one thing, they’re not animals that you see every day. At least not around here,” Gisser said in explaining why the exhibit is so well-attended. “Puppies and kittens are cute, but you see them all the time.”

He also said the growth in popularity of TV channels such as Animal Planet and Discovery, which feature programming about exotic animals, has increased awareness about reptiles as pets.

“When you go to a zoo, the reptile house is always packed,” Novotny said. “Some people like [snakes], some people hate them, but they’re sort of intrigued by them. We don’t have a zoo in this area, so this is kind of a way of bringing that part of a zoo here. It’s always been a real good turnout.”

He said more than 2,000 people attended the event in 2013, and they were well on their way to matching that mark Sunday, with more than 700 people walking through the doors in just over the first hour, and a line of some 100 more snaking outside through the parking lot.

As people waited in line, volunteers from the park district carried various snakes to be seen and touched by those who dared.

Julie Bartolone, a naturalist at the Ford Nature Center, had a brown and white California Banded King Snake wrapped around her neck like a slithering scarf to greet visitors as they walked through the door. The snake’s name was Dude.

“That’s a fitting name for a California snake,” Bartolone said, smiling.

Though some people shied away from the wiggly critters, Tina Costello of Austintown was all about handling them.

“I do like snakes,” the 32-year-old mother of three said. “I really like the large ones, especially the pythons. I was holding one a little bit ago.”

Costello, who’d brought her 3-year-old son, Cole, and her 9-month-old son, Asher, to the exhibit with her, said she likes “almost” all animals. Almost. The same woman who said she loves snakes apparently suffers from arachniphobia. She wants nothing to do with spiders of any size. Not even a Daddy Longlegs.

“Yuck,” she said. “No way.”

Robert and Christyne Yonate of McDonald, and their 2-year-old son, Robbie, heard about the exhibit at the last minute and decided to attend.

“We thought it would be a fun thing to do with the family,” Christyne said, noting that Robbie petted a snake and seemed to like it.

Patrick Ream of Parma walked through the crowds with his 3-foot-long pet Amara, a Savannah Monitor lizard, cuddling on his shoulder like a puppy.

“She’s a sweetie,” Ream said of his unique pet. Ream belongs to the Northern Ohio Association of Herpetologists. He started years ago with smallers lizards, such as a Bearded Dragon and a gecko, before deciding he was ready to move up to a larger, more challenging pet. He adopted Amara through Gisser’s organization, which focuses on rescuing reptiles and finding homes for them when possible.

Gisser said there are some 250 rescued reptiles at the Herps Alive facility, with about 90 of them available for adoption. They aren’t all snakes, though. Some are lizards and turtles.

Ream’s mother, Pam, said she and Patrick get a wide range of reactions when they take Amara out in public.

“We get everything from, ‘Oh, cool,’ to, ‘Oh, hell, no,’” she said, laughing.

Novotny said this was the first year that the exhibit included representatives of the Ohio State University’s Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory, which had a display about Lake Erie Water Snakes.

“That was my coup for this year, getting them here,” Novotny said.