Skip to main content

Posts

Reflection

 I have three more days left of working before I move back home. Here, I am going to take some time to answer a few of the reflection questions given out by the school.  1. My expectations going into this internship was that I would learn a lot about reptiles and their natural histories. I also hoped to become more well versed in animal care and public education.  2. The Animal Care Program at Shaver's Creek was the most beneficial thing for me before starting at Reptiland. I hope to take some of the zoos animal care ideas and bring them back to Shavers.  3. A transferrable skill I learned was the importance of good communication and training.  4. Working with the gators really pushed me outside of my comfort zone. The biggest challenge I encountered was trying to figure out everything at once and manage my stress. 5. I would like to further develop my natural history knowledge. 6. After this experience, I have begun to question what I want to do as a career. I do not like zoo work
Recent posts

Croc Talks

 Today I did my first Croc Talk/Feeding. I went into the pit for the first time with our zoological manager to teach me how to train with them. The first American Alligator is Rocky who is 35 years old and 600 lbs. The female is Adrienne and is 40 years old weighing 250 lbs. I was very intimidated at first, but it ended up being fun. I still need more training to master the commands and work with our albino gator Sirphis. My favorite thing about them is when the two girls bellow to each other back and forth. The gators only get fed on the weekends and during the summer because in the winter they enter brumation. 

Recently

There is not too many updates to make from the past week. Recently, I had more visitors come to see the zoo! The picture below is of Camryn and I on the Dino Path facing a scary T-Rex! Other than that, I have been busy doing daily tasks. One rather slow task at Reptiland is moving our Aldabra Tortoises. Bribery with tasty treats usually helps. That and lots of pets! 

Souvenir Photos

 Part of my job is taking souvenir photos for guests. This takes time to get a hang of because I am not familiar with cameras, and I also have to watch the animal at the same time. Then we have to edit the photos with a green screen which is new to me as well. Here is one with Jaxon and his friend Grady and Brooklyn the gator. 

Family Fun

Over the past few days, my family has visited me at work! Friday, I walked through the zoo with my cousin who love reptiles probably more than I do. On Saturday, my Mom and Dad brought some more of my family to see me do my show at work and let them see my apartment. It was super fun to show them everything and spend time with them. To end the night, we went to grab dinner at The Fence which is a super yummy drive in on the river. Soon, my brother will be visiting as well. I definitely miss my family being here for the summer.  Parakeets! Jaxon meeting his favorite animal, a Komodo dragon Jaxon is a dinosaur lover! Meeting Bertha the Boa after my show

Dino Days

This past weekend was our annual Dino Days event. It was so busy all three days! We barely had anytime to do actual animal care because we were always interacting with guests. Some extra things that are a part of Dino days include information tours, tables, guest speakers, and Victor the Velociraptor (A costume for guests to take pictures with). My favorite part was the food truck we had. They specialized in grilled cheese. Each day I got pierogis, mozzarella sticks, and a slushy. Employees got half off, so I had to make the most of it.  I also recently have gotten in some gator work. For souvenir photos, I strap the gators mouth shot and work on my camera skills. Here is a picture of one of our show gators, Bucky.