I was born and raised in Evansville, IN.  Although this isn't really a hot spot for herping, my love of herps certainly developed and flourished.  Since the age of 5, after catching my first eastern black kingsnake, I have always had at least one snake in my home. My mother was very understanding... :) Although I have been lucky enough to work with/produce countless species and morphs over the years, I am most proud of the continued quality of each and every animal we hatch that we either hold back or make available.  Regardless of species or "value", from a cornsnake to a world's first, I still feel like a kid on Christmas every time I see an egg pip. Snakes have always been our main focus, but we have ventured out into amphibians, tortoises, and some lizard species on occasion.  Herps are so addictive... In 2017 I became the vice president of the Tri-State Herpetological Society, a club dedicated to education of the general public on this hobby and the animals we so dearly love. Outside of the hobby I love to garden, hunt, fish, and just generally be out in the woods or a field. I'm also a big Colts fan!

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The love of this hobby certainly belongs to me, but I am not alone in this journey! In 1999 I began dating Christina and we eventually married. She has put up with a lot of snakes, snake people, and snake talks (we know how long winded we all can get when talking snakes!) over the years as well as being dragged to countless reptile shows. Snakes aren't necessarily her thing but I appreciate the way she smiles, encourages me, and pretends to be interested when I get excited about a new arrival or pairing taking place! In 2012 Wendy joined our relationship. She is a nature girl at heart and while she is still a bit timid about holding snakes, she too has jumped in to supports me in this venture. On occasion, Wendy will hold a snake and has kept bearded dragons but is still trying to get accustomed to the "squirmy ones" as she calls them. A big kuddos to her though, she handles all of the rodent breeding and cleaning... thank you!

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The three of us have welcomed twin sons in 2014 and a daughter in 2017. Every week I now get "help" when feeding the snakes. I'm looking forward to this help getting better and better and who am I kidding? Getting to watch my children enjoy, learn, and partake in this hobby, even if disrupting my feeding flow... is absolutely amazing!

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Over the years I have been lucky enough to meet and work with some phenomenal people within our hobby. Several have become great friends as well as partners on joint projects. Let's give a few of them a shout out!

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Brandon Osborne of Osborne Reptiles

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     Brandon is very well known in the reptile community for his piebald ball python combos, the sandblast gene, and of course... the urban camo! Brandon and I met in 2005 although I knew of him prior (I worked in the pet store he would often visit.) We hit it off immediately and have had a great friendship every since. We have worked on several projects together, each taken on the other's ENTIRE collection at different points in time, vended shows together, field herped together, and love talking snakes for hours. A great guy!

 

 

www.osbornereptiles.com

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www.facebook.com/osbornereptiles

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Jeff Hermann

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     Jeff is a herp community staple in the Tri-state area of Evansville and has been for as long as I can remember! I think I first met Jeff back in 1998 Every Evansville show I attend or trip to get rodents inevitably leads to lots of conversations, lots of laughs, and just a good time with Jeff. Known for having top notch rodents, I doubt there is anyone in Evansville who feeds a snake that hasn't fed them a rodent produced by Jeff. Either directly or from the several pet stores he supplies! In addition to the rodents, Jeff produces killer Brazilian rainbow boas and is often accused of having more boas than Columbia... If you are in the market, he is your guy!

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https://www.facebook.com/jeff.hermann.35

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Matt Most of Sarpamitra, LLC

     Matt and I met around 2011 and it was remarkable how similar our interests were aligning.  I was expanding deeper into Asian rat snakes and if you have remotely looked around online at Asian species, you have come across Matt. His name is basically synonymous with them! Over the years we stayed in touch regularly, got to visit occasionally as I would work in Indianapolis where he lives, and became great friends. Along the way, we expanded into some pretty great joint projects. Currently we have a large collection of black rat snake morphs, Ridleyi, and Carinata. Who knows what we will grab next? Great guy and one of the the most knowledgeable individuals I have ever come across in this hobby. Plus... my kids love that they get surprise snakes almost every time I visit Matt lol

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www.sarpamitra.com

 

www.facebook.com/SarpamitraLLC

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Now a moment to brag... to date we have successfully produced the following species:

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• Black Rat Snake

• Corn Snake

• Transpecos Rat Snake

• Grey Rat Snake

• Texas Rat Snake

• Korean Rat Snake

• Chinese King Rat Snake

• Cave Dwelling Rat Snake

• Bamboo Rat Snake

• Thai Bamboo Rat Snake

• Banded Bamboo Rat Snake

• Yunnan Bamboo Rat Snake

• Green Bush Rat Snake

• Bella Rat Snake

• Mandarin Rat Snake

• Chinese Beauty Snake

• Eastern Black King Snake

• Mexican Black King Snake

• Florida (Brooks) King Snake

• Blotched King Snake

• California King Snake

• Honduran Milk Snake

• Pueblan Milk Snake

• Sinaloan Milk Snake

• Pale Milk Snake

• Ball Python

• Carpondro

• Columbian Boa

• Leopard Gecko