UNION — Essex County’s Turtle Back Zoo recently paid a special visit to Vauxhall Library.
Education specialists Katie Fenyar and Jared Moloshok hosted the children’s program. The children had a chance to see animals up close and learn facts about them.
The first animal shown was an Eastern box turtle named Mr. Mailbox. “We can find him right here in New Jersey,” said Fenyar. “They live with their shell for their entire life.”
Moloshok said, “Turtles have nerves in their shells. They can feel hands on their shell.”
The next animal was Cypress, an Eastern indigo snake. Cypress is 4½ feet long and growing. She can grow up to 9 feet.
Eastern indigo snakes live in Florida and are black to camouflage.
Fenyar explained that snakes eat rodents, eggs and fish in the wild. They do not chew their food but swallow it.
Moloshok added that, after a meal, a snake’s body slows down quite a bit. “It takes them longer to digest,” he said.
Fenyar said that some snakes in New Jersey are venomous, such as the rattlesnakes in the Pine Barrens. She said, “You’re more likely to hear them.” And she warned that, if you should hear them, stop where you are – it means they are close by. In a worse case scenario, if you are bitten by a rattlesnake, you can go to the emergency room to get treated.
Moloshok presented samples of snake shedding that the children were allowed to touch.
The last animal to learn about was Miss Sandy, an American chinchilla rabbit who came from a rescue. She was somebody’s pet. Miss Sandy weighs almost 10 pounds and likes to burrow. At the zoo, she is fed lettuce, peppers and hay, which is dried grass. Moloshok explained that carrots being a big part of a rabbit’s diet is a myth, as that’s too much sugar. But they could have a little bit of carrots.
All the children were invited to pet Miss Sandy.
Ricky, 5, said, “What I liked about the program was the black snake.”
Mikaela, 7, liked the chinchilla rabbit. “It was so soft,” she said. “They have to kick up their feet when they have to run.”
Valentina, 8, liked petting the rabbit. “It looks so cute,” she said.
Sophia, 5, said, “The snake was so cute. I like how it grows and it blends into some things.”
To learn more about Turtle Back Zoo, visit https://www.turtlebackzoo.com/.
Visit Vauxhall Library at https://uplnj.org/hours-and-locations/vauxhall-branch/.
Photos by Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta
