Airdrie plays host to reptile visitors 
Airdrie Paper - Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - Brooke Hogemann

     Reptile visitors greeted Towerlane Mall patrons over the weekend-much to the surprise of some people.  

    Dean Harper, who operates Wrappin About Reptiles, set up shop at Towerlane Mall this past weekend to educate people about reptiles-something which he and his colleague, James Barbas, travel all over Canada doing.

    "We're not here to scare people, we're here to let people touch the animals, to educate people," Harper says.

    The organization is based out of Olds, Alta., and since 1994, Harper and Barbas have been visiting malls, fairs, and schools from coast to coast.

    "It's just through reputation, word of mouth," Harper said of his booming traveling schedule.  "get a good name for yourself, you get more work,"

    Also through reputation, Harper has been contacted numerous times by the film industry about using some of the reptiles in his collection for movie work. 

    "About 5 of them (reptiles) are movie stars," he said.  "One of the snakes was in Shanghai Noon with Jackie Chan."

    With approximately 350 reptiles in his collection, Harper also has more than 90 himself as pets.

    He said that a primary reason for educating the public is to prevent people from buying young reptiles and then getting rid of them when they become adults.

    "If someone sees a big tortoise, maybe they will think twice about buying a baby in a pet store." he said  "Some of these animals are not pets.

    However, Harper added, there are some reptiles that are ideal as pets, since they are hypoallergenic and can be low-maintenance. 

    "Reptiles are the new pet for the jet-setter lifestyle," he said.

    "You don't have to worry about getting a neighbour to come by every day to feed and water the pet if you go on vacation." 

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