Reptile wrangler shows off exotic animals to students


Colchester, Conn. — The cockroach that crawled on the floor of Cragin Memorial Library’s Norton Room was not an invading pest, but merely a snack for a visiting bearded dragon.

The bearded dragon, or Pogona, is a type of lizard that Brian Kleinman, of Riverside Reptiles, brought with him to show excited children at the library’s June 23 Family Night program.

It took a little prodding from Kleinman, but the lizard eventually caught its snack.

“She’s very old,” he told the children.

Kleinman and his cold-blooded friends have made an annual trip to Cragin for the past several years. His show proved popular from an initial visit organized by the Community Wildlife Habitat of _Colchester.

Kleinman shared his knowledge about each of the animals he brought with him, such as the Chinese box turtle.

“Turtles can’t get out of their shells, no matter what you’ve seen in movies or cartoons,” he said.

Holding each animal, he circled the room so that each child got a chance to put their fingers on them.

“I liked the snake the best,” said Brandon Zamarron, 5, of Colchester. Like all the children, Brandon got a chance to touch most of the reptiles.

Encountering a turtle, frog or snake in a local habitat is possible, Kleinman told the children. But you shouldn’t try to pick them up or touch them, he said.

“If you see one, the best thing to do, and what I do, is just look at it. And when I’m done, I just walk around it,” he said.
www.norwichbulletin.com/communities/colchester/x1722638321/Reptile-wrangler-shows-off-exotic-animals-to-students#axzz1RFyEKkzd

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