Tim Muxlow Brings Exotic Animal Show to Saline Community Fair

Visitors to the 90th annual Saline Community Fair can expect to see a wide array of farm animals including sheep and goats, cows and chickens. But they may be surprised to see alligators, turtles, and pythons as well.

Tim Muxlow of Muxlow Exotics Live Reptile Encounter brings his trailer filled with animals, talking with visitors as they browse through exhibits of snakes, turtles, alligators and more.

“When I started the business twelve years ago, I focused on education. I do believe you learn more by interacting with the animal rather than just staring at them through glass. I have three animals out today. Hopefully, by the end of my presentation, you will either have a greater appreciation of these animals or maybe you will learn a little something.”

Muxlow recruited Bennett Bender from the audience to display the first snake.

“This snake is a Honduran Milk Snake, and his name is Blaze. Blaze is completely harmless. However, he does look like a dangerous species of snake we have here in the United States called a coral snake. Coral snakes are a venomous species. He wants you to think he’s a coral snake because you’ll think he’s dangerous and just leave him alone. That is his form of defense.”

Muxlow explained to Bennett and the audience that snakes will twist and turn to better anchor themselves. Bennett enjoyed petting the snake as it wriggled around his arms and shoulders.

“He’s not slimy at all. He’s super soft.,” Muxlow said. “ That is the biggest misconception I get about snakes. They have scales, and those scales are made up of keratin, the same material as your fingernails. They are not slimy or rough to the touch but really, really soft.”

The next animal to make an appearance was a six year old American alligator named Reggie.

“You might look at him and think ‘Wow, I thought he’d be so much bigger at six.’ But alligators can live a very long time in captivity. They can live 80 years, and an alligator isn’t actually mature until they’re ten to twelve years old, and they’re typically ten to twelve feet.”

Muxlow recently took in two alligators that were confiscated in Lansing. He noted that because of their size and their strong bite, alligators make terrible pets.

For the finale, four volunteers came to the stage to help hold the eleven foot Burmese Python named Hurricane Irene.

“Burmese pythons are popular now because they are the invasive species that live in the Everglades. You may have heard that irresponsible pet owners let them go because they got too big. I’m sure that happens on occasion. But more likely, they break out of their enclosure because these snakes are so powerful.”

Muxlow said that a big surge in the python population occurred after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, when a breeding facility was taken out and an unknown number of snakes got loose.

Tim Muxlow has been bringing his exotic reptile show to the Saline Community Fair for three years.

“It’s a very nice fair. It’s close knit, and I know a lot of people here,” he said. “It’s a well organized fair, and it’s fun to interact with people.”

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• 90th Saline Community Fair Has Many Activities on Sunday The 90th Saline Community Fair will soon be history. We invite you to come out and help us celebrate our 90th fair.