Cold-blooded and they make great friends

They are among Josh Lantz’s best buds. The first-year biology sciences major at the University of Cincinnati is fascinated by reptiles and amphibians. So much so that he’s starting UC’s first Herpetology Club.

Lantz lives in Calhoun Hall but since most animals are barred from residence halls, Teddy the bearded dragon, Troy the ball python, and Nori the Kenyan sand boa remain at his parents home in Maineville, Ohio.

They all have designated space in Lantz’s former bedroom, with a spiny-tailed lizard named Reggie, tarantula Groot, golden gecko Mango and leopard gecko Sunny hanging out nearby.

“My parents agreed early on that I could have the animals I want as long as they comfortably fit into my room,” says Lantz. 

His bearded dragon is a medium-sized lizard native to the arid environments of Australia and is one of the most popular reptile pet. They get their name from a defense mechanism of flaring out their spiny chin to look big and scary, resembling a beard, explains Lantz.

With the new Herpetology Club, Lantz wants to attract as many reptile and amphibian enthusiasts as possible to build off each other’s passion and create community. His application for official UC recognition is pending but looks promising.

“I want to create the most interactive and engaging learning environment as possible,” he adds.

So far the club has held three meetings, elected officers and has a faculty advisor, Bruce Jayne, PhD, professor of biological sciences in UC’s College of Arts & Sciences. 

Jayne gave students who attended the initial meeting of the club a tour of his lab and showed off a collection of reptiles and amphibians. It was a chance to build community and develop some plans for future activities such as a behind-the-scenes visit to the Cincinnati Zoo and meet with other animal enthusiasts off campus.

“If you have a local community to tap into for knowledge when it comes to taking care of animals, a group like this can provide a lot of very helpful guidance,” says Jayne. “You know some of what makes a good pet for one person is not a good pet for another."

When Lantz was about five years old, his family served as missionaries to help orphans in Mozambique and Madagascar in southern Africa.

“I got some super awesome close-up encounters with reptiles and animals of all sorts,” says Lantz. “In Madagascar, we had chameleons in my backyard. That was so cool to me. It fascinated me so much and it's what brought me into the world of reptiles. Ever since then it has been a growing passion.”

Located off the southeastern coast of Africa, Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest island and considered a megadiverse country with a high concentration of endemic species.

Photos above: A young Josh Lantz with his mother and siblings in Lichinga, Mozambique (left) and Lantz holding a Madagascar boa as his younger brother watches (right). Photos/provided

“Over 80% of the flora and fauna in Madagascar are endemic meaning they are found nowhere else on earth,” says Lantz. “I remember going to a place called Lemur Island as a kid where I actually had lemurs crawling all over me. They were so used to humans.”

Time in Africa sparked Lantz’s interest and is largely responsible for the mini-zoo he has at his parents’ home. He has several 100-gallon terrariums in his bedroom making for a hot and humid living environment, but he feels it's worth it.

“It took me three years to convince my mom to let me get a snake. When they realized how awesome pets they were, we got another snake,” adds Lantz. “Recently, she even let me get a tarantula."

Lantz was homeschooled when his family returned to Ohio. But during his junior and senior year he participated in the Cincinnati Zoo Academy, a local program for youth aspiring to be zookeepers.

While away in college, Lantz’s 13-year-old sister, Eliza, is the official zookeeper for his animals. She now has his old room. Other younger siblings also get in on the fun. They’ve learned a lot from their older brother who wants to be a herpetologist someday.

“My animals are all in separate enclosures. I do at times have certain amphibians like frogs cohabiting in a single enclosure but larger species like the larger lizards and snakes have separate enclosures. I like to give them a lot of extra space.

“I like to create more of an open zoo feel rather than a small, reptile breeder feel," says Lantz. “Because they are reptiles, the daily care is not a lot. Sometimes I will spend six hours on a Saturday and reset the tanks. Overall, I mostly just change the water and feed them."

“As cold-blood animals, they don't eat much. My ball python only eats once every couple of weeks or so,” says Lantz.

Lantz isn’t afraid of snakes, largely because he’s spent a lot of time looking at snake behavior. An early encounter while in Mozambique had an effect.

“In Mozambique there are lots of venomous snakes,” says Lantz. "In Madagascar there are hardly any venomous snakes. Late one night at our home in Mozambique, I was washing my hands in the bathroom and out of the drain in our shower came this snake.

“It was a black mamba, a highly venomous snake native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa," says Lantz. 

He told his mom about their visitor and she wasn't thrilled.

"She was in the other room and screamed, 'Get out,'" recalls Lantz. “I thought, ‘Why?’ I was just a kid. If you are calm and not bothering them at all they have no reason to attack you. the only time they would intend to inflict harm is if you make them feel threatened."

Lantz says if you come upon a snake just leave it alone. Good to back away slowly.

“They are not out to get you,” says Lantz. “You will hear some people say they will chase you but those are myths. Almost all the snakes you will encounter are non venomous and harmless.”

Featured image at top: of Aaron Owens with a bearded dragon at the UC Herpetology Club. Photo/Kallista Edwards/UC Marketing + Brand