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Show orl., FEATURES 1' !,1!J "I got like 16 babies from them that year," Dwyer said. "And I was like, well, I can't keep all these." Dwyer said he ended up listing the baby crested geckos on Fauna Classifieds a website used by reptile breeders to sell their stock online. He ended up being contacted by a lady from Montana who purchased all of the baby crested geckos he produced that year, he said. "I ended up making about $800," Dwyer said. "And being a twelve year old, I told my dad that I thought it was cool." Dwyer's father was impressed, he said, and encouraged him to continue. On his 13th birthday, after getting good grades, completing his chores and saving the money he earned REPTILES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Dwyer said he has even bred chahouas and crested geckos to create exciting, colorful hybrids called crestouas. One of the hybrids is orange and yellow, with a pattern of burned-lookin- g black splotches along the back of its head and body, giving it the appearance of spilled hot sauce. But Dwyer's main focus are his remarkable New Caledonian giant geckos, he said. "They are the largest geckos in the world," Dwyer said, "and they can live for up to 45 years." The giant geckos come in a variety of colors, some rarer than others. "They can range in color and pattern from vibrant pinks and greens to jet black or dark brown, and it all depends on the kind of environment they are found in," Dwyer Said. Dwyer said he sells the giant geckos when they are 6 weeks old, when they are small and mostly pale. Their colors become more vibrant with age, but even when they're young the dull outlines of what will become their vibrant coats are still visible, he said. The typical starting price of a baby giant gecko is $500, but depending on their rarity and vibrancy can go for as much as $5,000, Dwyer said. To make the geckos comfortable, a humidifier keeps the facility at a steady 77 percent humidity, he said, a far cry from St. George's naturally bone dry 20 percent humidity. Dwyer said while the giant geckos were originally difficult to take care of, the availability of their diet blend has made it much easier. "It's essentially like a protein shake but for geckos," Dwyer said. "It kind of smells like fruit and cereal." Like most of the reptiles housed by Cold Blooded Science, the giant geckos also snack on Dubia and Madagascar hissing cockroaches that Dwyer raises for feed, he said. Dwyer said while it is legal to breed and sell captive giant geckos, it has become impossible to import them from their home archipelago of New Caledonia off the coast of Australia. "You can't bring them into the country anymore," Dwyer said, "because they closed the exports and made it illegal. So, whatever's over here is left over from when they originally brought them over." Last year Cold Blooded Science sold 78 giant geckos, he said. Dwyer said his profession stemmed from his childhood hobby of catching and raising reptiles. "When I was around eleven and a half I started keeping these things called crested geckos," Dwyer said. After owning the crested geckos for over a year, Dwyer said he decided to breed them. breeding reptiles, Dwyer said he earned his dream gift: a pair of a New Caledonian giant geckos. Dwyer said he is interested in genetics and technology, as well as the medical applications of reptile venom, but is working toward a bachelor's degree in biology with a natural sciences emphasis and a minor in business administration. "You can get a degree in biotech, but I feel like I would rather get a degree that's more on the broad sense, so I can use it for more different things," Dwyer said. After Dwyer graduates from Dixie State University, he said he wants to pursue a master's degree and study giant geckos on their native archipelago of New Caledonia. Dwyer said he hopes to one day open the first zoo in southern Utah under the company name. "I want to have it be really educational and research-based,- " Dwyer said. "I want to have research labs affiliated with DSUj or SUU that allow students to come in and do research." Arruda said she dreamed of walking through the zoo, seeing souvenirs and a stuffed animal of the new logo Dwyer is working on. While the current logo is a subdued image of New Caledonia, the new logo sounds more whimsical and embraces the company name. "The logo that I'm working on right now is going to be one of the giant geckos in a lab coat, with like Einstein hair, and he's going to be holding a beaker," Dwyer said. In addition to breeding and selling reptiles, Cold Blooded Science also puts on educational shows for schools, cub scout meetings and birthday parties. "Everyone who's had us out to do it has really enjoyed it," Dwyer said. If you are in the market for an exotic gecko, or want Cold Blooded Science to educate and showcase their reptiles at a birthday party or classroom, their contact information and current availability can be found on their Facebook and Instagram pages. You can also find them at Reptile Expos, showcasing and selling their amazing animals. 4-- ; I c; COP?,Mr2)0S C 4 USIME1SS EINI )11nirpprkly .ELLS A SI (.0'14C ' , 1 ' .4,4,...,4, 0 JONN HOLLAND BY When one thinks of corn dogs, what comes to mind are frozen cornbread battered hot dogs on a stick which are then deep fried. The Corndog Company serves hand dipped, g corn dogs, and give you the option to put honey on them. Yes, honey! Think of cornbread with g a hot dog in the center, topped with honey and mustard on a bamboo stick. The result is an appetizing treat for your taste buds. Owner Curtis Hall said the food truck was first started by Jeff Patton, who began the company in 2013, and was the first food truck in St. George. "There are two elements that make The non-froz- en foot-lon- foot-lon- SWIG GETS BY foot-lon- MENU ALL-NE- W . MONIQUE CHAVEZ corn dog they ever ate." Corn dogs, cheese sticks and home-mad- e kettle chips served with friendliness and a gift for gab are what you can expect at The Corndog Company food truck. If you haven't had the opportunity to try their delicious food, you can spot them at their current location next to the Popeye's on River Road. Hall said on Oct. 4, students at Dixie State University will have a chance to treat themselves to the delicacy also known as the "the honey-dog- " when the food truck will be at the Wellness Fair. Their physical address is 1405 S. River Road until the construction on Bluff St. is completed, then they will alternate between the new address and 160 N Bluff St., Hall said. zarella, and the people go crazy for it." When biting into a melted square of pepper jack cheese, identical in length g to the classic corn dog, nestled inside the corn bread batter, the response was the same as biting into the most heavenly piece of cheesecake on Earth. The word ecstasy comes to mind, but you'll have to try it for yourself. Hall said the food truck gives him the opportunity to interact with the community during the week and at the ten events the company is at every month. Being an integrated part of the community is a large part of why they've succeeded. "I love getting on this truck and talking to these people and bearing about their lives and serving them great food," Hall said. "Every single day someone will tell me this is the best Comdog Company great," Hall said. "The number one thing above everything else, is we have to have great food." Having tasted their corn dogs, the food is great and other customers agree. "They're freshly made, right in front of you," St. George resident Michael Goo ld said. "They have a wide variety of dogs you know. The cheddar dog's my favorite. You can't go wrong with this corn dog company." The Comdog Company may excel in making their unique, homemade corn dogs, but it isn't the dogs that are the most popular item on the menu said Atticus Aoki, a freshman general education major from St. George. "The deep-frie- d cheeses," Aoki said. "They come in pepper jack, sometimes cheddar, sometimes moz TrippyJedi T' 'A.A....7 ..,-- , .''''''" .....,.'........ ......--,,,,,,- ,,,,,, , ,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,...A.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,- - ne...1,1! ' MoniqueDSN , The soda and sweets Swig n' Sweets has gotten rid of its old menu and is now introducing several new options. Swig first opened in April 2010 in St. George across from Dixie State University. It now has 15 additional locations in Utah and one in Gilbert, Arizona. "We haven't done a change like this in five years and it's time to rebuild our foundation and make it better," general manager Abby Richardson said. One of the many new additions is a kids' menu. "We've implemented our kids section which is great because moms can bring in their kids and they have an easier option to look at for their drinks," said Richardson. The kids' menu features a mini frosted sugar cookie, two Sprite-base- d drinks, d and one root drink. Popular drink options from the new menu include "Revivers." Swig has part , t drive-thr- u beer-base- i - , 1 ' r ' " 4' 1 1 .! , ., k , I , 0 n 0C x i 4,, , . , ' ' , I , ,1 .. -- !,,i- .,,--r , nered with Red Bull to add a twist to the energy drink by combining it with fruity flavors like strawberry, watermelon, blue raspberry, pineapple and peach. However, some memorable Swig favorites have been cut from the new menu, including its d smoothies and the peanut butter cookie. Scones, boba and new drinks have taken their place. "I think the design of the old menu was better because I enjoyed seeing all of the different choices I could said Carissa well-like- ', ' , Martinez, junior media studies major from Oxnard, California. "It looked more exciting and caught my attention. I also think there were a lot of different options that some people may never know about now." In addition to salted toffee and white chocolate raspberry scones, the new menu features chocolate chip, oatmeal, coconut, "dirtball" (double chocolate) and sugar cookies. They also have three boba drink flavors: mango bango, thai coconut and pitia colada. "I think the new menu ..........H; is pretty cool," said Blake Kilgore a junior busi- ness major from Oxnard, California. "I noticed that they added scones but I'm not really into those so I'll probably still stick to their sugar cookies." Fortunately, customers are still able to order old menu items, but they have been moved to a secret menu. So as long as you remember your favorites, you can still order them. Although nothing is certain, the owners are considering expanding Swig to Las Vegas. |