Youth get up close and personal with reptiles at Breese Public Library

Collin Wallin from Tye-Dyed Iguana in Fairview Heights allows youth to pet Bert, the blue-tongue skink.Scarlette Tehandon has albino python Cruella wrapped around her neck during the reptile show at Breese Public Library on Thursday, July 23.Collin Wallin from Tye-Dyed Iguana in Fairview Heights presented a reptile show as part of the Summer Reading Program at Breese Public Library on Thursday, July 23.
    A packed room of both youth and adults saw, touched, and held various forms of reptiles and insects.
    The first reptile Wallin showed the audience was a blue-tongue skink named Bert. These reptiles are native to Australia and parts of Indonesia and use their blue tongues to deter predators. The tongue also can secrete a sticky mucus to help catch prey.
    The second reptile Wallin brought out for the youth to see and touch was a python named Cruella. Some of the brave youth allowed Wallin to put Cruella around their neck.A youth holds Aladdin, the bearded dragon, during the reptile show at Breese Public Library.
    Cruella is an albino python and has a yellow and white pattern. Albino pythons have pink or red eyes that are sensitive to light. They originate from west and central Africa.
    The third animal Wallin showed was Jerry the Madagascar hissing cockroach. The hissing cockroach is a wingless insect that uses a hissing sound for communication, defense and mating.
    The next reptile Wallin showed was Aladdin the bearded dragon. Aladdin had a broad, triangular head and flattened body.
    Wallin finished the show by displaying the biggest animal he brought — Hercules the Burmese python. He was 11-1/2 feet long and weighed 50 pounds. The Burmese python is one of the largest snake species and is native to southeast Asia. It typically grows between 10 and 16 feet in length and can weigh over 200 pounds.
    Groups of five youth at a time came up and touched Hercules.
   The Summer Reading Program concludes on Thursday, July 30, with a bingo party. Collin Wallin from Tye-Dyed Iguana in Fairview Heights allows youth to pet Bert, the blue-tongue skink.Other events during the Summer Reading Program were a magic show on July 9 and a parrot show on July 16.
    Another upcoming event Breese Public Library will host is syndicated travel journalist and broadcaster Bill Clevlen on Thursday, Aug. 6. Clevlen will highlight his latest book "Presidential Road Trips - 100 Places to Explore and Experience the History of American Presidents." Spots will include George Washington's Mount Vernon, Jimmy Carter's childhood bedroom, the home library where James Madison first envisioned the U.S. Constitution, presidential retreats, grave site, libraries and museums.
    The presentation begins at 6:30 p.m.