June 26 was the last day of Summer Reading at the Maben Public Library. But I hope it is not the last day for reading!
Terry Vandeventer, “The Snakeman,” was the presenter and he did a wonderful job of telling the children things they should know about snakes. He also reminded them to continue visiting the library during the summer and read!
Many people are scared of snakes because they don’t know what to do when they see one and are not sure what kind of snake it is. His instructions were when you come upon a snake to take two steps back and slowly walk away.
He said the most important thing is to treat snakes with respect; that they are not aggressive but defensive. There are 56 different kinds of snakes in Mississippi but only six kinds are harmful.
Vandeventer told how he became a herpetologist. He said it was a bluebird kind of day, which means just a beautiful day. He was walking along and saw a snake stretched out in front of him. He put the snake in an empty peanut butter jar and took it to the library. He was 4 years old.
Vandeventer started off his program with a tiny scarlet king snake. This snake was small but it was full grown. His diet consists of mostly lizards.
Then he brought out his cousin, which was a little bigger, a milk snake. He told how farmers thought the milk snake would go up a cow’s leg and steal the milk but that is not what they did. The cows would get sick and therefore not give any milk but that is how it got its name. The milk snake would eat mice and rats in the barn.
Then he brought out Bob, a corn snake and a little bigger. Bob lived for a long time in his wife’s classroom. Vandeventer showed us how the bottom of the snake had a checkerboard look. They use their tongues to smell things like food, water, predators and, yes, a girlfriend. He told about how after cutting a snake’s head off, they can still bite.
Vandeventer had a king snake that was salt-and-pepper colored because it was from this region and that they were different colors in other areas of the country. In California they were chocolate with vanilla rings and in Florida they were snow white at Disney World.
He also had a snakeskin and a snake egg. They shed their skin after a week old and do this about four times a year. He also brought a chicken or rat snake, which was 6 feet long and 29 years old.
The last and longest snake required a little help holding so four children were chosen to help. This snake was an indigo snake called Violet. She was 7 feet long and still had some growing to do. They are the longest snake in the United States. Their population is decreasing because of their habitat being taken away. They live near longleaf pine trees.
Snakes have a bad reputation but there hasn’t been a fatality in Mississippi in 90 years.
We had a great crowd this day. Prizes were given to all who completed the program and to the ones who read the most books.
