TIMES-NEWS (Twin Falls, Idaho) 25 November 07 Kimberly family raises reptiles for education, fun (Melissa Davlin)
Kimberly: McKayla Lambert strokes the baby rat in her hand.
"You want me to kill it?" she asks her father. He tells her to wait - they'll feed the corn snake later - so she hands off the rodent and scampers away.
The scene is a common one at the Lamberts' Kimberly home. McKayla, 11, and her sister, 14-year-old Karlee, spend their evenings caring for their collection of animals, including rat-eating snakes.
And it's more than a hobby. Much of the girls' lives revolves around their slithering friends.
The lizard lifestyle
The mania started six years ago when a reptile exhibit at the Boys and Girls Club excited McKayla, then 5. The girls convinced their parents, Ron and Beth, to let them raise the animals as pets.Since then, they've collected snakes, frogs, lizards and other critters.
It's almost easier to list the animals they don't own. Leopard geckos, toads and guinea pigs inhabit Karlee's room. In McKayla's: corn snakes, walking stick insects and banana slugs. The living room houses a garter snake, and the basement is filled with rodent cages, which hold rats, hamsters and gerbils for the snakes' dining pleasure.
The girls take their responsibilities seriously. They research the animals they acquire, making sure they provide the best care possible. The cages are clean, and the animals are handled regularly.
Caring for their pets is hardly a chore for the pair. They're wild about the creatures. McKayla's room is filled with magazine pictures of reptiles. The girls have scrapbooks of photos outlining their herpetological history - the first time McKayla held a snake, Karlee at a reptile exhibit, a snake bite on McKayla's finger.
Given the chance, they'll rattle off endless facts about their charges. Snakes have six rows of teeth, two penises and an air tube in their mouth that they can move out of the way while eating, the sisters say, talking excitedly over each other. They can digest a baby rat within 24 hours and shed their skin about every six weeks, depending on their size.
Their parents laugh at their daughters' enthusiasm.
"They're not normal girls,"Beth says.
The dangerous downside
The hobby isn't without dangers. McKayla has been bit several times, and Karlee passed out after one of the constrictors squeezed her neck in June during a reptile exhibit for the Herrett Center for Arts and Science.
It happened in a second,Karlee says. The snake, displayed around her neck, stretched out in an attempt to reach another perch and constricted for stability. Almost instantly, Karlee was unconscious.
"She was there, she coughed a couple of times, and she was down on the floor," Beth says.
"It was pretty exciting,"Karlee adds.
The incident didn't faze the family - dangers come with the territory - but they make sure no snakes are wrapped around their necks while they're alone.
Lessons in respect
Not only the reptiles benefit from the sisters' devotion. Ron says the pets provide more entertainment than television. The family doesn't have cable and never will, he says.
Educating others about their reptiles has also taught the girls life skills. McKayla and Karlee frequently volunteer for the Herrett Center's on-location reptile exhibits, requiring them to research their pets extensively and practice public speaking.
The girls demonstrate a respect for life not common for children their age. They treat all their animals with great care, whether they're snakes or the rats meant to be the snakes' meals.
It's an attitude not always shared by others. Through the Herrett Center, the Lamberts have encountered mistreated reptiles whose original owners were unprepared to care for them properly. One pet owner fed his snake dog food. Another ripped out his snake's eyes with duct tape while trying to help it shed its skin.
"They just don't do the research," Beth says.
But the Lamberts do. They take responsibility for every aspect of their reptiles' care, breeding their own feeder rats to ensure the snakes get the best nutrition. The girls handle the rodents from the time they're born, cuddling them, playing with them and stuffing them down their shirts. They name most of them.
When it's time to feed the snakes, however, they know what they have to do.
"That's the hardest part," Beth says. "You still get attached."
The girls don't seem as bothered. McKayla explains matter-of-factly the best way to kill a baby rat: Put your fingernail at the base of the rat's head and press sharply on the neck, a process called cervical disconnect. You can also put it in the refrigerator and let it die of hypothermia.
Not the freezer, though, Beth adds. It'll freeze solid and won't stack as easily. In her freezer, dead rats are neatly arranged in plastic bags.
It's important to kill the rats before feeding them to the snakes, Beth says. A live rat can injure or even kill a snake while fighting for its life.
When it's finally dinner time for Nemo, an albino corn snake, McKayla presses on the baby rat's neck. It takes about 30 seconds for it to stop fighting.
"Did you get him?"Ron asks.
"He's still dying," McKayla says.
It's still twitching when she puts it in Nemo's cage. The girls point out how the snake homes in on his prey, expands his jaw and swallows it whole.
Within moments, the baby rat is a lump in the snake's belly.
Kimberly family raises reptiles for education, fun