ST. PETERSBURG TIMES (Florida) 06 September 05 Collector and protector of snakes - Jim Mendenhall has a deep admiration for snakes and hopes to ensure a future for the misunderstood reptiles. (Logan Neill)
Spring Hill: As he readies the thin plastic tube filled with medicine, Jim Mendenhall keeps a tight hold on the head of his squirming patient.
That's advisable when the creature in your grasp has 2-inch fangs and a nasty disposition.
Once the tube hits the gullet of the 51/2-foot Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, the reptile relaxes a bit. But Mendenhall doesn't relax. He knows that danger can be just an eye blink away.
"This definitely isn't a job for wimps," Mendenhall says as he signals longtime friend and fellow reptile aficionado Bob Lawton to administer the antibiotic solution. "The moment you let your guard down, you're asking for trouble."
Though the 62-year-old Mendenhall isn't a trained veterinarian, or even a formally educated herpetologist, he knows a lot about snakes, especially venomous ones.
Off of the side of his comfortable home, a specially designed shed outfitted with secure doors and double-caged windows houses an impressive collection of 40 domestic and exotic snakes. Some, such as his rare African gaboon viper, are among the ones Mendenhall has purchased during his 55 years of reptile collecting. But the majority of the dozens of coral snakes, rattlesnakes and water moccasins under Mendenhall's care were rescued from back yards and construction sites around the county.
"Snakes are great animals that just happen to be a little misunderstood," he said. "I consider it my mission to try to give them a voice and defend them."
On Saturday, Mendenhall is scheduled to deliver a talk on snake and reptile care at the Chinesgut Nature Center's annual Reptile and Amphibian Expo. However, he feels his greatest effort will be directed toward offering some positive words on the importance of protecting snakes as Hernando County becomes increasingly urbanized.
"It's definitely not being addressed as much as it should be," said Mendenhall, a retired auto mechanic who has lived in Hernando County since 1982. "My biggest fear is that we're going to wake up one day and never see a snake in Hernando County again."
Growing up in Miami-Dade County, Mendenhall saw how rampant development all but eliminated native snakes from the swamps and woods where he caught them in abundance as a boy. He also witnessed that where snake populations dwindled, rats and other rodents increased. He fears the same will happen in Hernando County if habitat destruction isn't curbed and efforts to relocate native reptiles such as gopher tortoises and snakes aren't stepped up.
"People need to understand that gopher holes are homes for 27 different species of native animals," Mendenhall said. "So when you knock out the gopher tortoises, you're knocking out a lot of other animals as well."
For the past several years, Mendenhall has been part of an improvised effort to relocate native snakes. A registered and state-licensed collector of poisonous and nonpoisonous snakes, he is often called by authorities to remove wayward animals from houses and swimming pools. Once the animals arrive at his home, he administers any necessary first aid, from antibiotics to minor surgery, using veterinarian skills he taught himself.
Mendenhall says that because state wildlife regulations prohibit releasing wild snakes into nonnative habitats due to concerns over the spread of bacterial infections, he must either keep the animals or give them to other registered collectors.
"It doesn't make any sense to me because I treat every animal that comes in with antibiotics," Mendenhall said. "It's all I can do to try and stay ahead."
Despite his 55 years of collecting snakes, Mendenhall has been bitten only three times, never becoming seriously ill.
"I learned early on that having respect for snakes is much better than having fear," he said. "That's something I try to pass on whenever I can."
Collector and protector of snakes