Gerald is full of personality!
If you’ve visited the Zoo, you’ve likely met a lot of our more than 800 animal residents. Some animals are easy to spot, but others are often not as easy to see because of their habitat set up, their personalities or their sleep cycles among other things. We wanted to start a “Meet the Animals” section of our blog to introduce you to some of the residents that you may (or may not have) met yet!
Today, we’re shedding some light on one of the coolest – but often overlooked – cold-blooded Zoo residents: Gerald our 7-year-old Amazon puffing snake. Gerald has been a staple resident of our Venom House for years, and his curious personality has won over lots of frequent Zoo-goers.
Amazon puffing snakes are native to South America, most commonly in the Amazon River basin, where they inhabit the lush tropical rainforests. These arboreal snakes are known for their bright yellow coloring with black banding. They also play an important ecological role, serving as population control for small rodents and as a prey item for larger birds of prey.
Gerald arrived at our Zoo in 2019, but he wasn’t always the outgoing reptile that visitors have come to know. Gerald was once a much more nervous snake, but over the years his animal care team has watched him become the adventurous explorer he is today.
“Gerald is one of the most curious and inquisitive snakes I’ve ever met,” said Herps & Aquatics keeper Kaitlyn.
Gerald with his keeper, Carmen.
He’s always watching what his keepers are up to while working in the Venom House, and he will often slither out from his comfortable perch to pay them a visit if his habitat door is open.
Gerald’s spends most days hanging out at the very top of his habitat. He shimmies up to the highest branch to sun himself under the heat lamp. Other times you can find him coiled up on the ceiling’s viewing glass. Our best advice if you can’t seem to spot Gerald: look up!
His animal care team are masters at enrichment, and they’ve come to know Gerald’s preferences over the years. Water has long been a clear favorite.
“He loves tongue flicking prey-scented water and soaking in water dishes that we put out,” said Kaitlyn. “Sometimes, when we clean off the top window and there is a little bit of standing water left over, he will come down from the top of the habitat to sit in the puddle.”
The team has also developed and built a special board that
Gerald exploring his enrichment board.
encourages Gerlad to explore new textures, slither through tubes and find climbing opportunities.
“Lately, we have been placing his diet items in different areas of the board so that he must forage and explore to find his food,” added Kaitlyn.
The goal of our enrichment is to encourage the natural behaviors of each species while keeping their minds and bodies active, and this board certainly does the trick.
While Gerald’s animal care team doesn’t currently do any training with him during the day, they do have upcoming training plans that will benefit all of the snakes in our Venom House! The hope is to install a new box into the side of their habitat and encourage the snakes to enter the box to be fed or comfortably removed from their habitat for medical exams or habitat maintenance. This will encourage our snakes to exercise their use of choice and control, allowing them to follow through with cues when they choose to. Plus, training time helps develop their trust and comfortability with their animal care team!
Gerald is a great ambassador for his species, showing off that snakes are more than their stereotypes. Snakes are often incorrectly labeled as aggressive and harmful, leaving some visitors apprehensively skirting past Gerald’s habitat. However, watching Gerald explore his boards, enjoy some “pool” time or crawl into his keepers’ arms has certainly warmed some wary guests’ hearts along the way.
If you want to see Gerald for yourself, come visit our Venom House in the Rainforest Revealed loop to see what this snake is getting up to, literally!
Brevard Zoo is an independent, not-for-profit organization that receives no recurring government funding for our operating costs. Your generous support enables us to continue to serve our community and continue our vital animal wellness, education and conservation programs.