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| The Beginning |
The Beginning
It all began when I was in grade 5 when I received my first lizard (a green anole named Tibo) as a birthday present. This is where the addiction began. Not too long after that, I bought an iguana and a house gecko. However, I was still in elementary school and couldn't afford too much and my parents didn't really want a zoo in the house so I had to hold back a little bit.
Then in late 1999, my good friend Terry Moonie and I began to help out at a small pet store in Penticton. We mainly did it because it gave us a chance to play with the reptiles we couldn't have, but it also gave us a discount on the reptiles which was just what we needed. I then moved out in 2000, and started my real collection which grew to about 15 reptiles by late 2000. Terry lived next to a teacher at a local elementary school and she suggested that we bring the reptiles in to show the kids. We went in and did the presentation to a small class of about 25 students and went home not thinking much of it but within the next couple of weeks, we started to receive several other calls from other schools wanting presentations done for their students. Not too long after that we got a request to do a "show" at a birthday party so we did that too.
Within a year of putting on our first presentation we had received requests to show the reptiles at numerous schools, science fairs, birthday parties and other various functions. Unfortunately, Terry's work schedule didn't allow him to attend every show but I always had someone with me to help out. By this time I had been given the nick name "Reptile Guy."
I think more people in Penticton knew me as Reptile guy than my actual name so I decided to name our little "organization" The Reptile Guys. The reason for the plural version (everyone always asked) is because I never did a show alone. I preferred Terry to be there because he helped me start it and the animals knew him, but if he couldn't be there there was always someone to replace him.
By the year 2006 we had done presentations at almost every school in the south Okanagan and a few shows in the central and north Okanagan, countless birthday parties, daycares, after school programs, youth groups, scouts, cubs, girl guides, Peach Festival, The Lazy Lizard Children's Festival and the list goes on. We even got a call from a Women's group wanting us to do a show for one of their meetings! We had also been in almost every newspaper in the area, being on the news a few times and had one of our snakes filmed for a movie.