This is where we hold a lot of our animals, [animals] that are not on display for various reasons either because they're babies, back-up [animals] or [being used for] breeding purposes. In zoos now, especially here, we're trying to get away from a lot of vegetables and fruits because it's kind of like candy for them. To [continue to] help them grow, they get a nice little salad to munch on once a week, but throughout the week they [mostly eat] leaves and hay. [Today] is their treat day.

It doesn't take much to stop a tortoise, you just have to give them a little scratch [under the chin]. The tortoises are like gentle giants, but they think a lot of things are food. You have to make sure that they're not coming after you for food. We work closely with a company in Missouri that created a crock pellet, and they've done really well creating a food for a lot of the different species [we have here].

To many people [that visit the farm], alligators are an absolutely frightening animal. We hear stories all the time from visitors who say [that they found] an alligator in their yard, [and they] called [animal control] to have it removed. Many people just don't realize what goes into [removing an alligator], and how many alligators are destroyed yearly because people don't know how to interact with them in the wild. I love to be able to educate people, show them how amazing [reptiles] are and share my love [of the reptiles with] them. I can really see people learning and [realizing] just how amazing these [reptiles] are. I love everything about this place. When I got the job here, I told my bosses that I feel like I've died and gone to heaven.