Working with the deadly Gila

One of the animals that I have always wanted to work with is the deadly Gila Monster. They are one of the only two venomous lizards in the world. Their dangerous bite is said to be extremely long and painful. With that said, my dream came true last Friday when I took a Gila Monster named “Lilly” on Fox News!

“Lilly” along with six other Gila Monsters were illegally taken out of the wild and were destined to be sold in the pet trade. Luckily, Idaho Fish and Game confiscated all six. Unfortunately once they were removed from their environment they could not be returned.

Contrary to popular belief, Gila Monsters are generally slow animals that rarely bite humans unless threatened. They would way rather save their venom for their prey (birds, rodents, reptiles) than use it on us.

The Fox appearance went great. “Lilly” was a HUGE hit for the Halloween show. And what Gila Monster wouldn’t be? Those gorgeous colors of orange and black go perfectly for a CREEPY theme. Although I only got to work with her for a few minutes on TV…those few minutes I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life!

If you want more information about Gila Monsters visit our friends at the San Diego Zoo http://corbinmaxey.com/http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-gila_monster.html

We've got eggs!!!

If you follow us on twitter (www.twitter.com/corbinmaxey), then know that last Friday we had a HUGE surprise! Tinkerbelle our African Sulcata Tortoise laid 18 pearly white eggs! It was a huge shocker for all of us at the reserve due to the fact that Tinkerbelle has never laid eggs before.

I first noticed something very peculiar about the tortoise habitat on late Friday afternoon. It was completely destroyed with huge mounds of earth and dug out depressions in the soil. I saw Tinkerbelle in a complete daze digging a hole as hard as she could.

I did some research and found out that female Sulcata tortoises will dig 10-15 different nests before they actually pick a suitable one to lay their eggs.

Before I knew it Tinkerbelle began to lay perfectly round pearly white eggs. It was incredible!!! A female Sulcata can lay anywhere between 15-30 at a time. We decided to remove the eggs from the nest before Tinkerbelle could cover them up with dirt and debris. (The eggs would never survive Idaho’s harsh winters).

With help from my sister we marked the top of the eggs with a pencil so we knew how they were laid in the nest. We then collected all 18 and transferred them into an incubator. They will hatch in about 6-8 months.

With all this excitement I had to capture a picture of the happy father-to-be! Tank didn’t seem too interested and only cared about his favorite thing: food!

I promise to keep everyone up-to-date with this exciting event~ more to come….

First look: Chompers!!!

This picture was just sent in of our newest rescue, a baby American Alligator named "Chompers." We have been preparing for the exciting arrival for weeks and I'm counting down the days until I pick her up (this Tuesday).

She was bought over the internet as a gift for someone’s fiancé. Luckily they both decided that an alligator was NOT a suitable pet. It is killing me to see how many people are buying these animals thinking that they will make good pets. I want to welcome ANYONE to come and see in person how big, aggressive, and dangerous these animals can be. My case in point: Soni our resident alligator.

***If you want to see Soni and I in person, come to the Idaho Herpetological Society meeting held on October 18^th at the Idaho Fish and Game Trophy Room at 7:00pm.

As always, I promise to keep everyone updated on our newest resident. 

- Corbin

Baby Beluga

Beluga Whales are one of my ALL-TIME favorite marine mammals. These amazing “sea canaries”; named so because of their vocalizations, are one of the few whale species exhibited in marine parks. So when a baby is born…its BIG news! I was so fortunate during my recent visit to Vancouver Aquarium to see their newest addition: a baby Beluga named Tiqa.

Tiqa was born on June 10, 2008 to her mom, Qila. She was the first calf in Canada to born to an aquarium-born beluga. Belugas are born dark grey for protection and gradually change to a creamy color once they reach maturity.

I’ve trained belugas before at various marine parks but have never worked with a baby. Here I’m pictured with an adult beluga. The females are smaller than males and reach an average of 13 feet and weigh 2,600lbs. Tiqa has a long way to go!

Even at an early age, training is underway! This allows the trainers and the veterinary staff to work closely with the whales and do regular health checkups. As you can see, baby Tiqa is still learning (far right).

Tiqa will remain and depend on her mom for the next few years. She’ll reach sexual maturity between six to nine years of age. Belugas can live to be over 50 years old. If you want to see Tiqa in person or learn more about belugas, please visit http://corbinmaxey.com/http://www.vanaqua.org/home/beluga.html.

Video: Soni our Alligator

This week is all about preparation for our newest rescue: a baby American Alligator. Yesterday I posted some never-before-seen pictures of me working with them. Now I want you to see how big Soni our resident alligator is! Check out this video of Soni featured on FOX NEWS! http://corbinmaxey.com/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYhLI248sg4