ALLEN WORSHAM

"My interest in herpetology dates back to the 1950's, where as a child growing up in Virginia, I had my first memorable encounter with a reptile; a very theatrical Eastern Hognose snake. This fascinating creature commanded my attention by hissing loudly and feigning vicious strikes. When prodded with a stick, it would proceed to roll over, belly-up giving the appearance that it was dead. Despite my many attempts to 'save' it, by turning it right side up, it would very slowly continue to rotate belly-up. Assuming at this point that I must have frightened it to death and saddened by his loss, I proceeded on my way. Later that afternoon, as I was returning home, I decided to take the same path to allow myself one last look at the 'departed snake'. Much to my bewilderment, I could find no trace of the Hognose, dead or alive. I bore the guilt of his untimely demise for a long time. It was years later that I learned that playing dead was a characteristic behavior of this species and that he had merely crawled off when he felt it was safe.

My path in life was, in retrospect, forever shaped by this memory. Shortly after graduating from the University of Virginia, with a degree in Biology. I began my lifelong commitment to animals and nature. In 1967, I opened my first business enterprise in Miami, Gables Pet Shop. In those days, all of the reptiles available for sale were wild collected and imported from South America, Africa, Asia. Miami was the hub of all imported animals for the industry. I gained years of experience handling these imports; many of which were very large and feisty. Anacondas and Retics were often over 17 feet in length with an attitude to match their size. Very little knowledge about their husbandry was available at that time; captive breeding was a future concept.

Years later, after selling that business, I remained in the pet industry as co-owner of a large wholesale operation. It was during this time that I attended one of the first Reptile and Herp shows held in Tampa, Florida. The advances that had been made in herpetology rekindled my dormant interest in reptiles, especially the tremendous advances in captive breeding. I am currently breeding Albino, Piebald, Spider, Pastel and Super Pastel Ball Python morphs. I also enjoy breeding Albino, Hypo, Tri-color and Anery Hondurans; Apricot and Hypo Pueblans and Corn snakes. These projects would not be possible without the encouragement and assistance of my wife Cheryl.