Gallery: Friends
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| Jessica Loren Lake is my future wife. We will be getting married April 4, 2009. She is the light of my life and the best thing that ever happened to me. She didn't have any reptiles when we met. She is now the proud owner of a pink phase Carolina Pygmy Rattlesnake, a boa, a corn snake, and a collection of leopard geckos. | John Andrew Hicks would have to be my oldest friend in the snake business. We meet at a pet shop in Kingsport, TN in 1991. We had a common interest in large pythons at the time. We were later college roommates. Andy fought in the latest Iraq War. None of us ever saw that coming. We are still close friends. | The old man, Jimmy Brown. At 76 years old, he is second only to the legend Bill Haast in terms of experience. He has been keeping rattlesnakes since the 1930's. Jim tracked me down thru a local pet shop when he heard we had a common interest in rattlesnakes. He is shown here holding one of my large canebrake rattlesnakes. |
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| Tom has been one of my better friends as of late. He reads every book on reptiles that he can get his hands on and is a wealth of knowledge. He is shown here with a large canebrake rattlesnake that I gave him. | Jamie has probably the most impressive copperhead collection in the world and also owns one of four known amelanistic canebrake rattlesnakes. We met in Columbia at the 2004 show and have been friends ever since. We are currently working on a stripe copperhead project together. | The late Keith Taylor of Black Water Reptiles probably collected more southeastern pit vipers then any man who ever lived. But Keith didn't just rape from nature, he kept compiled and detailed records that were useful in research. Keith also knew when to move on from a certain area, so as not to deplete the natural populations. He was a friend. He called me regularly, the last time about 3 days before his death. He loved to share his finds with me. He is greatly missed. |
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| Dr Ray Hunter, has been a friend for many years. Ray was one of the first keepers I made contact with outside of my area. He had been keeping longer then me and was very helpful with my questions. I later went to FL and spent a week with him learning to do venom extractions. | Scott Bice is a friend I made via internet reptiles forums. He lived close to Ray and showed me a lot of snake hunting in south FL when I made my first trip down to study with Ray. Scott left FL and moved to AR, God only knows why. | Dan Dutton and I, have been friends for sometime now. We met via internet, while he lived in Washington State, then met in person at the July,2008 Dixie Reptile Show. Dan and his wife now reside in Birmingham, Alabama where he owns and operates Herpkeeper Exotics, a Reptile and Exotic Animal Petshop and Rescue. |
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| This is a lecture we conducted at the nature center in Rome, GA. I am holding a cottonmouth as Carl Person explains the difference while Brandon Peircy holds a water snake. Carl is a research scientist who specializes in rattlesnakes. We met several years and co-founded the Tri-State Herpetological Society. Brandon and I meet at a pet shop in Chattanooga, TN. He had an interested in venomous snakes and worked with me from then on with my collection. | Silas Crawford is a genuine serpent handling preacher. (See Mark 16:18) I met Silas when I helped promote a venomous reptile show in Bristol, VA in 2003. Silas was then living in WV. He later moved to my home range in Sand Mountain, AL. We have been friends since 2003 and have snake hunted all over the Southeast together. (free handling of venomous reptiles is inherently dangerous and is not recommended by Chuck Hurd, Chuck Hurd Serpentology, or its agents) | Chris Harper is the founder of the Southeastern Hot Herp Society and is very active in the quest for proper venomous herptoculture. Chris is world renowned in the field of envenomation treatments. He and I have been friends since about 2002. |
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| James Cartee and I go back to about 2002. We talked on the internet before meeting in person at one of the SC reptile shows. We had a common interest in cottonmouths and have been friends since meeting. He came to stay with me for about a month right after my divorce. He was very helpful with the snakes at a time when I had lost the heart to deal with a large collection. | The Snake Machine. Responsible for many of the exotic morphs that are available in the trade today. We met in 2003 at the Columbia reptiles show and have been friend ever since. | This is perhaps my oldest friend on the right. She is my first cousin, Katie. I was one month old when she was born, so I have known her pretty much my entire life. That is my second cousin, and her daughter, Cheyenne on the left. Its hard to believe, in this photo, one was 15 years old and the other 35. Katie has kept all sorts of animals all thru the years, including some snakes. However, lately she seems too preoccupied with weasels to have worth wide animals. |
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| Tommy Jarvis is the owner of venomous serpentarium locatied in Bristol, VA. Tommy is from my hometown in southwest, VA. He and I met in 2003 when we helped Mike Wade promote the venomous reptiles expo in Bristol, VA and have been friends ever since. We have traded snaked back and forth for breeding and display and he has had me give guided tours of his serpentarium on a few occasions. | David Weathers became a household name after starring in the motion pictures Jackass, Jackass 2, and Jackass 2.5 and MTV''s wild boys; however, prior to his stardom David was a southeastern pit viper enthusiast with an infinity for the eastern diamondback. David and I were introduced by Dr Ray Hunter some years ago and have been friends ever since. We are currently partnered in multiple breeding projects involving our specialty, the southeastern pit. | Joe Swat and I first became aquantied via the internet forums. We later met in person at one of the venomous reptile shows. Joe has a vast southeastern pit viper collection. |
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| Here I am surrounded by greatest, flanked on either side by a world renowned author. Brian Smith author if Venomous Reptiles in Captivity on my right and Chad Minter author of Venomous Reptiles of the Southeast on my left. We are standing outside of the venomous reptile expo in Columbia, SC 2003, before they were stars. | Randy Jones, aka Ran the snake man, is a long time friend whom I meet at the Rattlesnake Rodeo in Op, AL. Randy lives in MS, just east of New Orleans, LA. I often stay at his house when I visit the New Orleans area. We have hunted the swamps all over southwestern MS and southeastern LA. | Roark Ferguson is a world renowned speaker and showman, and recently move and TV star. Roark is famous for his innovative working with Utan, the world's largest crocodile. Roark is also very active in the venomous reptile community and has been instrumental in keeping legislation out of SC. Roark and I first met when we were working for Mike Wade in 2003. Roark was the main draw, and I was something like an opening act. We have been friend ever since. |
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| Zuzana Kukol aka, Z is the backbone of REXANO and is always on the forefront fighting against new legislation restricting the ownership of exotic animals. Z and I met over the internet couple years ago. I strongly support Z and her cause. | Erin Diebel hails from MI and is one of the very few Yankees I would call friend. She is absolutely breathtaking in appearance. Reptiles are her passion. She has been keeping for over a decade and works professionally in herpetology. She is in the fledgling stages of a customized breeding project and intends to jump into the field of pit-vipers. | Gus Onebear is a native of south FL and is considered to be among the most extreme dangerous animal handlers. He and I are often compared and criticized. |