About... How it All Started
I grew up in St. Petersburg Florida, Circa.... 1962. I did two things back then: fish & hunt snakes.
The then pristine wilderness of Weedon Island and countless other obscure locations on the outskirts of town offered a healthy variety of herps for my 'ole buddy Bart and me to hunt & collect. On any given outing we would encounter, capture and bring home anything from Red, Yellow or Grey Rat Snakes, Coachwhips and even Eastern Diamondback Rattlers. Our parents would drop us off on Friday afternoon on the side of the road with our camping equipment and off we went not to be seen until Sunday afternoon when they picked us up. Sometimes they had no clue as to what we were bringing home!
One day I walked into a pet store and saw a terrarium full of baby newborn boas. I had never seen a real boa constrictor in person except what I could find in World Book Encyclopedia. Back then you could buy bci's for $15.00 in a retail pet store. I just had to have one so Bart and I each bought one and that's how it all started for me.
Fast forward to....about 1994 when my professional photography career was in full bloom. As a photographer, you get all kinds of interesting inquiries and assignments. I was contacted one day by Pete Bandre of Incredible Pets to photograph one of the first Leucistic Leopard Geckos....... Huh?. What the hell is a Leucistic Leopard Gecko?
It sounded interesting so I went to his store and was floored at how impressive the Reptile Department was, and still is. I had never seen so many exotic reptiles in my life. Not in any zoo or theme park. In fact, Incredible Pets IS a theme park.
Above & Right: A typical example of a shipment from Zoo Botanica. Yup... thats a receipt.
It was at Incredible Pets where I saw my first Suriname Boa. She was a fresh import and an average animal by pattern but she was PURPLE and her tail was bright ORANGE! I produced my first litter from her in 1996. As time passed I acquired many imported animals through various channels. I used to love getting Tom Crutchfield's newsletter every month to see what he may have brought in from Suriname. It was not uncommon for me to drop everything and drive 3 hours to his facility to see what he had. Occasionally I would bring something back but 90% of the imports I acquired came from Incredible Pets. Back then, Pete had me on speed dial and I had my Vet on speed dial.