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Oak Mountain State Park held an educational program to teach children about snakes and reptiles. (Reporter photo/Lizzie Bowen)

By LIZZIE BOWEN | Staff Writer

PELHAM – It was a fun time for all on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. as Oak Mountain State Park held an educational event at the Interpretive Center to teach children about reptiles of all kinds.

The event featured snakes of various breeds and allowed kids to get up close and personal with the reptiles.

Briana Day is an employee of Oak Mountain State Park and held snakes out for children to touch, observe and ask questions about.

“I love snakes,” Day said. “We all love animals here.”

The snakes vary in size with some of the snakes featured in the show being fully grown and others small babies.

“This is our baby,” Day said as she holds a small blue tinted snake. “He is a California King snake. He is also not a snake that is native to Alabama. He is a pin-stripe snake which is self-explanatory because they have little stripes.”

The children appeared enamored with the tiny snakes as Day continued to share fun facts about the animals.

“He is so cute,” Day said. “He has a little heart shape here on his head. His name is Obsidian and he will eventually grow up and be as big as all our other snakes. They are very slow growers. He is probably near a year-and-a-half old.”

Day educated the children in attendance of the snakes’ diet.

“There are frozen mice which is what we feed all our animals,” Day said. “There can be issues with feeding live. But in the wild, this little one would go hunt him a meal and squeeze it and eat it.”

Day noted how every snake is different and that many of them seem to have a mind of their own.

“Snakes are so funny,” Day said. “They all have their own personalities and it is just hilarious. I love animals so much.”

More information about the educational events held by Oak Mountain State Park can be found at Alapark.com.

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