LOCAL snake expert Joshua Maandig said they won’t encourage the public to be loose and friendly in dealing with reptiles, though he appealed that sparing the endangered ones from wanton killing is enough of a soothing “relief” for pet lovers like them.
While assuring that “udto-udto” (rat snakes) of black skin with red tail are not venomous, Maandig said the one with glossy black top body, completely black tail but “red-bellied” must be avoided for mortality’s sake.
“Kay mao na siya ang tinuod nga udto-udto nga delikado sa tao. (The one with red color in the surface of stomach is the real mid-afternoon snake that’s quite dangerous to human),” Maandig said.
Maandig and the Yin Yang Exotics and Serpentem Venator group are grateful to Mayor Gomer Sabio for inviting them in the 1st Tagoloan Pet Expo and Dog Show on December 14 to 15 at the Tagoloan Dome of Misamis Oriental.
The mayor’s wife, Rita May, literally moves heaven and earth in courting them to yield the rare White Lucy Snake in their possession for some money, but to no avail.
“It’s their prize catch from Texas, USA, wala nga klase in our country. Ila sa daw i-breeding aron modaghan so pasensya mag-wait na lang ko,” the city’s first lady said.
(It’s their prize catch from Texas, USA, we don’t have that in our country. They will breed its kind first, so I will have to wait.)
Maandig said they love to reproduce snakes of native species, particularly the highly-mistaken “udto-udto” rat snakes that become more vulnerable to cruelty.
“Many of them have died at the hands of the misinformed individuals so, nag breeding `mi amo ra gihapon ibalik sa wild para dili ma extinct (we had to breed it and we will just return it back to wild so it will not be extinct),” Maandig said.
Among those who enlivened the show are the Cagayan de Oro Maligators, Serpentem Venator, CDO Northern Mindanao German Sheperd Inc., Golden Retriever Enthusiasts Active Tails, the LGU-Tagoloan and Furcare Veterinary Clinic.
For Dogs Show in the All Breed Show Winners and Special Awards, citations were given to Shiniest Coat in Show, Most Synchronized Owner and Dog, Smallest Dog in Show, Largest Dog in Show, Most Behaved Dog in Show, Best Handler Award and Mayor’s Choice Award for Favorite Dog, among others.
(Last of two-part story)