Show J. J Slithering SIth I e r I n 9 friends f. f r I ens d visa v r t Lt Journalism J class class E t t i w I. I t I IJ J J Dave Jensen wears his Boa well Melanie Stoddard Staff Writer An class dass had three slithery students recently recently- one of them a six long six foot ong boa constrictor Dave Jensen an amateur herpetologist snake fancier fander brought three friends to journalism sm class dass a black rat snake a Florida speckled king snake and of ot course the boa which took up residence on a students student's shoulders during most of the class dass period Snakes actually like being held Because they're cold cold- blooded they enjoy snuggling snuggling snuggling snug snug- gling up to the heat radiated by bya by-a a warm-blooded warm human A snake that gets too cold old can actually get a respiratory in In- awful when you have haye one working lung along one- one third of your body length as asa asa asa a boa does does' Jensens Jensen's crew Is a docile group well adapted to the many educational visits he makes to local organizations He He- particularly likes to visit elementary schools and Scout troops saying that in mos most cases cases if you can n dispel t. t the e myths y you u can can dispel the fears Jensens Jensen's fascination with snakes snakes' began when he caught his first snake at at- atthe the age of 10 Although theres there's no emotional emotional emotional emo emo- attachment involved in having snakes as pets II he finds tremendous intellectual satisfaction in studying them first He catches them to photograph and study then releases them back into their own locality There are probably in the Salt Lake Valley Valley Valley Val Val- ley more homes with snakes in them than you might like to believe he says including homes with owned illegally venomous snakes Jensen currently currently currently cur cur- keeps one snake of his own and five that hes he's snake sitting for a friend He keeps fh them m I In his home in glass terrariums under heat lamps Anyone care to guess his chances of ever getting married Never having feared snakes Jensen had only one bad experience to relate a bite on the hand that became infected His hand swelled and he was nauseous for a day Of course there was also the time that a ten-foot ten boa got loose and ransacked his room It dumped out all his other snakes es and pandemonium pandemonium pandemonium pan pan- broke loose At that point his mothers mother's admirable admirable admirable ad ad- mirable acceptance of the reptiles became quite a bit strained Of all the snake varieties in Utah only seven are venomous and they're rattlesnakes rattlesnakes rattlesnakes rattle rattle- snakes says Jensen The most common snake in Utah is the garter snake and the biggest is the gopher snake Snakes are generally not found above the timberline because of their aversion to cold temperatures Snakes can generally only tolerate temperatures between 65 and 80 degrees fahrenheit When asked If a venomous snake could be made Jensen described surgery a procedure developed at Hogle Zoo by Jim Glenn aft after r ra a keeper was killed by a snake bite This could not however be used on Cn a snake kept at home as even a rendered harmless snake would still be an illegal animal i |