Next Step

After I posted a pic of Checker and her eggs on FaceBook, a friend told me about a guy in Granbury named Mark who knew a lot about reptiles. She gave me his phone number and I contacted him to see if he could give me advice on breeding corn snakes.
Mark told me a lot about corn snakes, and then suggested that I attend a meeting of the DFW Herpetological Society in Arlington, Texas. They meet once a month on the UTA campus and have presentations about reptiles and amphibians (herpetology). I put that idea on the back burner for a few months while I dealt with the start of a new school year.
One of my new students offered to bring me a leopard gecko that her mother had found online. They looked up the word for leopard gecko in Japanese and named him "Yamori." He was pretty gentle and easy to handle, although he didn't really like being held a lot. He was a lot bigger than I expected. Another student's father sent our class a Texas brown tarantula. I have always been afraid of spiders, but took this as an opportunity to overcome that fear. My students named him "Harry."
I finally decided to attend a meeting of the DFW Herpetological Society. Mark had told me that I should "brumate" Checker for a few months to prepare her for breeding. Brumation for reptiles is similar to hibernation for mammals. 
I made plans to attend the November 2010 meeting of the DFW Herp Society. Although I had talked to Mark on the phone, I had not met him in person, and was very nervous about going to a strange place where I didn't know anyone. 

I didn't know what to expect - but in the back of my mind I had a vague idea of scary biker dudes with tatoos and chains. I took my youngest daughter, Morgan, along with me for protection.
The first meeting I attended had a presentation about bullfrogs and the effects of their introduction into areas where they were not native. It wasn't my cup of tea, but it made me realize how serious the members were about the science of herpetology, and how much I could learn by attending the meetings.
The people at the meeting were unbelievably nice and family-oriented. I met Mark and his wife Jennifer, and their 2 children Amber and Emily, along with many other people. After the meeting most of the members went to Nizza's Pizza for a late dinner and more discussion.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mark had gone over upcoming events that the DFW Herp Society would be involved with. One of those was the re-opening of the Children's Animal Center at Fossil Rim. I asked if I could help at that event, since it was right in my home territory. Mark said that it would be a great opportunity to learn more about reptiles, and that I was welcome to come.
I took Checker (corn snake), Yamori (leopard gecko), and Harry (Texas brown tarantula) to the event. Mark and Jennifer had brought the majority of the reptiles - probably at least 20 snakes, a sulcata tortoise named Sherman, and a bearded dragon named Lizard Boy. We were at Fossil Rim for at least 6 hours, talking with dozens and dozens of people. I learned the basics of sexing a snake and a leopard gecko, and found out that Yamori is a female.
I enjoyed the day at Fossil Rim and looked forward to more opportunities to learn about reptiles.