Northwind Reptiles History

To bolster what I learned in college as well as to further my experience in animal husbandry I interned at the National Aquarium in Baltimore working in the Biological Programs department. When the internship came to a close, I volunteered for a further 2 years at the Aquarium continuing my duties where I left off as an intern and was exposed to new animals and new skills. I also eventually took a paid position as a technician in the seahorse breeding facility at the Aquarium, where I assisted in the early stages of the famous “Seahorses, Beyond Imagination” exhibit.

This brings us back to the beautiful Baja Mountain Kingsnakes. These stunning animals got me hooked when I opened that package. I raised these babies to breeding age. During this time I attended many reptile shows, did a fair amount of research and talked to many established reptile breeders. I also acquired a pair of Brazilian Rainbow Boas (Epicrates cenchria cenchria). My passion for Herpetological husbandry and herpeteculture grew very fast.

I have immersed myself into every aspect of this business including advertising, accounting, rodent breeding, cage construction and obviously, reptile breeding. Probably the most significant thing that happened, is that I became well aware of the values that I feel are important to my business and the entire industry. These values were clear to me because they were the same values that made me comfortable as a customer when making reptile purchases in the past. These values are honesty, quality, courtesy, and education. Northwind Reptiles stands firmly behind every one of them.

In 1997, a medium sized package arrived for me at the Baltimore Washington Airport, from Tuscan, Arizona. On the outside of the package were labels that read, “Live Harmless Reptiles.” On the inside of the package were three hatchling Baja Mountain Kingsnakes (L.z. agalma). These three little snakes were the beginning of Northwind Reptiles.

This was not, however, my initial experience with reptiles. As with most people in the reptile industry, I have kept snakes and lizards as pets throughout most of my life and they have always been an object of my fascination. Of course, I read plenty of books, went collecting in the field, and watched all the National Geographic and Discovery Channel reptile documentaries I could find. I went to Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) and majored in biology in order to gain a much more comprehensive understanding of the natural world. I received my bachelor’s degree in biology in 1996.

At roughly the same time that I began volunteering at the Aquarium I secured a job at The John’s Hopkins University in a molecular genetics laboratory. Later, the lab moved to The University of Maryland, Baltimore. It was here that I established a firm understanding of relevant molecular genetic techniques as well as general scientific methodology. It was also during this time that I began the Northwind Reptiles business venture.

Feeding the Sharks. The first time I did this, the shark didn't let go of the pole and I had to drop it. While using another pole with a hook on it to retrieve the first pole, a saw fish knocked it out of my hands. The third pole was a charm...