Ms. Cecila Hatton, herpetologist, guided reporters through many behind the scenes areas to educate the writers on herpetology. The reporters viewed box turtles at play and went to the Marsh Pavilion, the exhibit where box turtles normally stay. The area included many man-made streams and a water fall. The place is home to quails and chickadees.
The Roving Reporters went to visit the dragon room. This was located behind the Komodo Dragon exhibit. The "babies," which are two baby Komodo Dragons, were actually two out of eighteen babies that survived after being born in captivity. Unfortunately, their mother passed away. Ms. Hatton explained that the hardest part of her job is that it follows her home, and she is very attached. The dragon room had UVB windows that are appropriate to accurately heat and protect the dragons when they come into the room after being in their exhibit. Ms. Hatton answered the following questions, related to herpetology.
Q: How many animals here fall under the branch of herpetology?
A: Right off hand, probably about a hundred? That tank out there with all of the dart frogs in it, there's a dozen in there alone.
Q: The aquarium is home to Komodo Dragons. What is an interesting fact about the species?
A: Their sense of smell has always fascinated me. Their sense of taste, I guess, because they use their tongue to find stuff. I mean, for me, it's all the basic husbandry stuff. You have to know their heat requirements, what they eat, and that they have very high UVB requirements. UVB is what reptiles need to convert vitamin D into B-3.
Q: Loggerhead turtles are known to nest in the east coast. How often do you find stranded turtles in the area?
A: I know yearly we do. The sea turtles are actually not under my care. They're under the fish's care, but I worked with them for years when I first started.
Q: The rare Tomistoma crocodile is located in the aquarium. What are key characteristics of this crocodile?
A: The thing that's most noted about the Tomistoma is the slender snout. They're really slender. We've got a pair of young ones. We just got them a year ago, just before Halloween. Their names are Ralf and Sommer.
Q: What would you say is the most interesting animal here under herpetology that is native to Virginia?
A: I would either have to say our little native tree frogs or box turtles, although I do love lizards.
Q: What types of frogs do you have in the aquarium?
A: We have two species of our native tree frogs. We have some Malayan Leaf Frogs that are from Indonesia, Malaysia, that we're, hopefully, going to be starting a breeding program with pretty soon.
Q: How does the FrogWatch USA program benefit amphibian lifestyles in America?
A: The FrogWatch is to monitor the local populations, because you know, worldwide there's an amphibian decline for a lot of reasons.
Q: How do you safely handle the animals in the exhibit?
A: First, we only clean them with water because chemicals aren't good for anyone, but it depends on the animals you're talking about. For the box turtle, you just pick him up with two hands and make sure you don't drop him. If its a venomous snake, we have some extra stuff that we use.
Q: What background education could be necessary to pursue a career in herpetology?
A: A degree in biology.
Q: In the Marsh Pavilion, how many species of snakes do you have?
A: We have three venomous and half a dozen, maybe seven other non-venomous. They're all local.
Q: What's your favorite part about working in the herpetology department?
A: I love the animals. I've loved reptiles and amphibians since I was a little kid, so it made sense. In the early days though, I was a mammal person. I took care of the otters, but that's when we were all lumped together. In 2009 we got some serious reptiles. We got the dragons, Tomistoma, and others. I was like "AH I WANT THAT SO BADLY" and everyone here knew that I loved them, so they said, "Okay, you're a herp-person now."