- Well, what this is, is a Colombian boa constrictor
from Central and South America.
She's an adult female.
She's about eight feet long.
We've named her Morgan.
She is our go-to snake here.
She has fangs.
She is docile that when we get people here that's a little
tentative about handling or touching snakes,
we always get Morgan out,
because she is like a great ambassador for snakes.
- We are Serpentarium Magic.
We are located in Mills River, North Carolina.
We have over 160 displays,
220 some odd snakes,
90% of which are venomous.
- I just always love snakes because they were the underdogs,
and people always wanted to hurt them or kill them,
and I always just found them so fascinating
and so beautiful.
I mean, look at this guy.
He's just absolutely beautiful.
He's an albino boa constrictor,
just like Morgan that we just had out.
So, I started collecting, more or less, indigenous species,
because I didn't want people killing them.
And then people would call me
to get snakes out of their yards.
I was talking to my wife and told her I'd love to do this
for educational purposes when I retired.
So, she was pleasant enough to remind me
I wasn't getting any younger.
So, in 2014 I retired
and took most of my 401k out to open this place up.
- It's very interactive.
We have snakes that we get out
and let kids and adults, alike,
hold and mess with that are very friendly and nice,
and we do our best to educate everyone as much as we can
on snakes and reptiles, in general.
- People are just afraid of them
because other people are afraid of them,
and you know, my family was afraid of them for years
and they told me to be afraid of them,
but I just found them so fascinating and beautiful.
I went against the grain.
A young man came out one day,
and I asked him what his favorite snake was,
and he said, "The two-headed snake."
And I said, "That's great! Why?"
And he held up, he was born with three fingers on one hand.
And he said, "Because I'm different, too."
This is a two-headed corn snake.
It was found in the wild in Florida.
A friend of a friend of mine found it
while he was sweeping leaves off his porch.
He eats with both heads.
Sometimes they'll form a Y
like they're going in two different directions,
and they'll just shake or cross their heads over,
and it's kind of funny.
But this guy is super docile.
He's like any other corn snake.
It seems like, sometimes,
the right head is the one that eats first,
and the left head, sometimes,
seems like it is the one dominating the crawling.
But it's not happened enough that we can really prove it.
And the odd thing about this guy is
when he sheds, because he's got two brains,
he sheds and then about five days later he will shed again,
like both brains are wanting to molt the old skin.
- You'll see things here
that you'll never see anywhere else.
It's a lot of fun.
I like it a lot.
I've always been interested in snakes,
Since I was a little kid I've caught snakes outside,
and it's a dream come true for me to be here,
to get to experience all this.
- This is a Mangshan pit viper.
They're from China.
They were only discovered, like, in 2007.
Of course, the Chinese people knew they were there,
but the scientists hadn't discovered them
and given them a name.
Their venom is unknown.
They haven't had enough venom to extract
and do the breakdowns to know what kind of venom
and what kind of antivenom they can use with these guys.
Oh my gosh!
It's not work.
It's a dream everyday
to come in and just realize that you got this dream
that you get to share it with everybody.
Everybody comes in sharing my dream.
We focus a lot on the children,
because the children are the next generation
that's going to be taking care of these animals,
when we're dead and gone.
They need to get excited about the environment
and understand that these aren't the devil.
They're not mean.
They're not evil.
They're part of the ecosystem,
and they have a place here on Earth.
When they get excited and realize they're not mean
and evil and they're beautiful,
then that next generation is going
to take care of these animals for the future generations.
- Serpentarium Magic is at
57 Hunters Ridge Road in Mills River.
And they're open everyday except Monday.
For more information, give them a call at 828-776-4477
or check them out online at serpentariummagic.com.