SPEAKERS:

Roxana Peña Popo - Research Coordinator at Amphibian Foundation - "That's Eft Up, life stages and habits of biphasic newts"

The 27 year old, afro-Colombian Roxana Peña Popo is the Research Coordinator at the Amphibian Foundation, where she runs various conservation and research projects with staff, faculty, and Research Assistants in AF's Conservation Research Bridge Program. She got her bachelor’s degree in biology at Kennesaw State University. Although she always knew that she wanted to work in wildlife conservation, her love for amphibians developed once she began volunteering for the Amphibian Foundation in 2022. She has been able to explore her passion for amphibian conservation, as well as her curiosity for wildlife through coordinating the research initiatives at AF. Outside of amphibians, you can find her at home doing her nails and relaxing!

Michael Cole - UsarkFL/ Ballroomsouth - “Everything Indo: The challenges of importing, exporting and captive breeding Indonesian reptiles”

I have been a reptile keeper and enthusiast since the age of 4 when I got my first North American Garter Snake as a pet.. I have had over the years in and out of our facility a collection of reptiles and amphibians that is more numerous and diverse than any zoo I am aware of in any country. That list consists of Venomous snakes , Crocodilians, Pythons, Boas, Colubrids, Chameleons , Monitor lizards, Skinks, Geckos, Tortoises, Turtles, Frogs ,Salamanders, and even Scorpions and Spiders. I run our company, Ballroom Pythons South, and the Wildlife Exploration Foundation 501c 3 non profit with the help of my wife, Lisa, and 17 year old Amphibian Specialist and son, Bodie. At our facility we specialize in Ball Python breeding and mutations to help cover costs , monitor and other blood python and colubrid breeding as well as import and export of specialized Indonesian reptiles. As we have a partnership with the largest legitimate government approved breeding facility in Indonesia .We also house numerous animals including Boa constrictors, Burmese Pythons and Reticulated Pythons both normal size color and pattern mutations that we own and have on breeding loan at other licensed facilities across the state and country. I deliver, with the help of my son Bodie, Boy Scout and local school educational talks about reptiles and amphibians and their proper husbandry and habits. I have worked with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ( FWC) on adopting the Conditional Species laws that they have in affect I am also working on the removal of non native species from state lands program and its permitting. I also work with local law enforcement and FWC when they have a reptile confiscation and no place to place it properly. Our facility and our affiliates have been actively involved in science based studies of the Dwarf Burmese Python to determine its variances and similarities to normal Burmese pythons as well as with a Reptile Veterinarian in identifying and treating of reptile ailments . I have and will continue to aid governments both in the USA and abroad to do population studies, identify and protect reptile and other animals species. I am one of the largest exporters of captive bred wildlife to Zoological facilities around the world.

Mark Miles - “ Boelens Pythons , Captive Husbandry And Reproduction Of Simalia boeleni”

Couple of buddies of mine in the fourth grade asked me if I wanted to go herping with them and I’ve been hooked ever since. The first snake I ever bred was a California kingsnake in 1986. The first python I ever bred was a Burmese Python in 1991. I was an auto mechanic until 1994 when my wife Tina and I decided to open a retail pet store with a heavy emphasis on fish and reptile. I retired from the store a couple of years ago. My daughter Courtney runs it now. I now live on my farm in north Missouri. Here at the farm I work with Boelens Pythons, Green Tree Pythons, Bismarck Ringed Pythons, White Lipped Pythons and Suriname Red Tail Boas. I have bred Boelens 5 times.

Mike Stefani - Mike’s Monitors- “Worlds first: A forty year Varanid keeping journey resulting in success with Varanus togianus”

Started with a three toed box turtle my Mother gave me as a Birthday present. Since then I have been keeping and breeding all sorts of Reptiles and Amphibians. My passion for Varanids started with a Peachthroat Monitor. Shortly there after I started breeding my Monitors. Tree Monitors, Peachthroat Monitors, V. Cumingi, V. Mertensi, Sulphur Water Monitors and the world's first breeding of V. Togianus from the Togian Islands. I have 8 children all of which are into Animals as well. I Love to help folks and share the knowledge I've gained over the last 50+ years of keeping and breeding!

Bonnie Person- Verdant Vivariums - “The design, scaping and maintenance of a verdant vivarium”

Cameron Lamb - “Reproduction, husbandry and maintenance of aquatic turtles”

Philippe de Vosjoli - Author - “Barons Racer: the care, breeding and display of Philodryas baroni”

Philippe de Vosjoli is one of the founding fathers of modern US herpetoculture. He was the publisher of the Advanced Vivarium Book series that established guidelines for the proper care of popular reptiles and amphibian species and is the author of thirty-five books and a hundred articles on herpetoculture.He was a co-founder and president of the American Federation of Herpetoculturists (1988-2000), publisher of the renowned Vivarium magazine. With his friend, the herpetocultural pioneer, Bob Mailloux, he achieved the first captive breeding of many frog species, including the popular Chacoan horned frog. With Frank Fast, he was responsible for introducing crested geckos in US herpetoculture, for the discovery of most of the remote island forms of giant geckos and rediscovering the lesser rough-snouted gecko. As president of the Responsible Herpetoculture Foundation established by Dmitri Tkachev, his current goals are to promote the personal, social, and cultural benefits of herpetoculture.

Ari Flagle - “Nesting Ecology and Biology of Simalia boeleni in the Wild”

Ari R Flagle’s fascination for reptiles and amphibians, during childhood progressively developed into an avocation of obsession.  Since 1997, appreciation and concern for the species, Simalia. boeleni, has directed Ari to embrace herpetology as a career. He has dedicated his life to these pythons and has been traveling, and living in West Papua New Guinea for over a decade. The author of two books and a fallow up book in preparation has led to the publication of the first comprehensive guide on the subject of Simalia boeleni in 2009 entitled Black Python and his most recent book, Serpents in the Clouds: The Search for the New Guinea Boelen's Python (2018). He has written numerous articles and has given presentations at conferences and herpetological society meetings all over the world on his field work in West Papua on the conservation of these pythons and tribal groups. With the continuation of his field research, Ari hopes to shed more light on the species’ natural history, ecology and biology and to expose behaviors and activities that could help to reach sustainable captive populations. For captive breeding might be the only hope of saving these snakes for future generations as human populations grow and spread and habitat dwindles, even in the remote mountaintops of New Guinea.

Armen Keuylian - HerpTime- “Micro But Mighty: An Overview of our Planet’s Smallest Geckos”

Armen Keuylian of HerpTime is a reptile breeder focusing on small and uncommon lizards. Using social media he aims to promote the animals he breeds and make the under appreciated species he works with appreciated. Working with mainly small tropical species, he has taken a liking to “micro geckos” in recent years. “Micro geckos” (in this case Sphaerodactylus and Gonatodes) have become a major part of HerpTime’s breeding efforts and Armen will explain the ins and outs of their natural history, care, and breeding.

Ed KammerEd Kammer- Kammerflage Kreations - “Creating Living Art For Decades: A Panther Chameleon Breeder & Keeper’s Story”

Ed Kammer has always been an animal lover. He began his journey with reptiles when he was only 5 years old. They were like living dinosaurs after all. In 1980 at only 19 years of age, his love and passion became his first business, better known as West Coast Reptile, Inc. This was a wholesale reptile company that provided every variety of reptile to the pet trade - primarily to Mom-and-Pop pet stores. West Coast Reptile, Inc. successfully continued on for 23 years until a new passion took hold. In 1998, his wife Liddy fell in love with a female Veiled Chameleon hatchling of only 2 days old, which her friend Gigi de Vosjoli sent home with her. From that point on, Ed and Liddy along with their two young children - Briana and Travis - embarked on a journey raising this special girl ‘Tubby” to adulthood. The fascination Tubby brought to their family, sparked Ed and Liddy’s desire to breed chameleons. Instead of bringing flowers home to his wife Liddy, Ed began bringing home beautiful chameleons of many different species. In fact, 17 different species that they successfully bred over the following years! Fast forward 27 years later and Kammerflage Kreations’ sole focus is the breeding and caring of Panther Chameleons. They have proudly bred Panther Chameleons into more generations than anyone else in the world (F11 - CG17)! As the Kammers approach their 45th year in business, they are grateful to be a part of the reptile community.

Roy Arthur Blodgett - Wellspring Herpetoculture-“Wild Interactions: Exploring Mixed Species Vivaria”

Roy Arthur Blodgett is the sole proprietor of Wellspring Herpetoculture, where he focuses on keeping and breeding select species from the Guiana Shield region. Roy places a strong emphasis on naturalistic care practices and mixed species vivaria to encourage a broad range of natural behavior in the animals within his care.

Zac Loughman - "Keeping Giant Water Monsters: Natural history, care and breeding of False Water Cobras”

Dr. Zac Loughman is a professor of biology at West Liberty University, where he serves as co-chair for the Department of Biological Sciences and oversees the university's Zoo Science degrees. Dr. Loughman is a skilled scientist, herpetoculturalist, and science communicator. In addition to teaching and conducting scientific studies on herpetofauna and crayfish, Dr. Loughman co-hosts the podcast Colubrid and Colubroid Radio and is one of the founding organizers of Colubridfest, a multi-day event focused on colubrid-based herpetoculture. He is also the director of the Applied Herpetology and Herpetoculture lab at West Liberty University, overseeing field and lab studies that focus on reptile and amphibian natural history, conservation, and herpetoculture.