White Center resident Aimee Kenoyer is a full time scientist who does leukemia research at Fred Hutchison. She also happens to be the president of the Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society (PNHS) and keeps "some smaller pythons, geckos, and dogs" as pets.

"They don't all play on the floor at the same time," she pointed out. "The dogs would eat the snakes."

This weekend Kenoyer has been riding heard over snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs, mice, vendors and attendees in what she calls "the reptile community" at the Emerald City Reptile Expo at the Lake City Community Center. The event is sponsored by both the PNHS and the Bean Farm, which sells herpetological supplies out of Carnation.

Lizard lovers roam from booth to booth to examine exotic, slothful wide-eyed lizards, plastic tubs filled with baby turtles with out-stretched necks reaching toward the light bulb clipped above, and slithering snakes, some tiny that resemble elongated colorful jelly beans, others long, dark and thick, wrapped around goth-dressed young adults with tattoos-a-plenty and multiple metal face piercings.

Many potential customers are young boys and girls fascinated with the array of reptiles, their scales, forked tongues, and those bulging lizard eyeballs that appear to allow them to look behind them.

The PNHS meets monthly at Highline Community College in the life sciences classroom. Kenoyer arranges guest speakers, as she did for Saturday's expo.

He was Bob (with wife Marilee) Applegate, a retired firefighter who raises king snakes in Campo, California, about 60 miles east of San Diego near the Mexican border. He brought dozens of colorful baby King snakes to sell, each about five inches long.

"We live around wild snakes, and 500 of our own," he said, referring to those they raise. "There are nine different species of king snakes, 50 different sub-species, and probably 200 variences of color," he said. "These are all babies. Most get about 3 feet long. You're looking at the perfect pet, 10-gallon aquarium, feed it once a week, doesn't howl at night, doesn't poop in the neighbor's garden."

He also brought a "Heloderma suspectum", a gila monster and a "Heloderma horridum", a beaded lizard, both illegal to keep in Seattle and White Center, but otherwise legal in Washington. A special permit was issued to show them in Lake City which is part of Seattle. The beaded lizard was bulkier than a house cat.

(On 3/7 we corrected two points in the above paragraph that were previously incorrect, thanks to a sharp-eyed area Federal wildlife biologist. Thanks!)

Kenoyer explained, "'Poisonous' means if you eat it you get sick. 'Venomous' means if it bites you you get sick. These two are rear fang venomous. They have fangs way in the back that secrete venom and are not harmful to humans.

"In 2007 Washington State passed a dangerous animals bill," she said.

The law reads: Summary of Law: No person may possess or breed a potentially dangerous animal after July, 2007. A potentially dangerous animal includes but not limited to Large cats, wolves, bears, hyenas, non-human primates, elephants, alligators, crocodiles, water monitors, crocodile monitors; and various species of venomous snakes.

"I think there are certain people who should not keep dangerous animals so I understand why the laws are in place, but I don't like a lot of restrictions on my pet ownership either so it's kind of a fine line to walk," she said. "I understand that we want the general population to be safe. I wouldn't keep one. I think venomous animals are great at the zoo."

For more info: http://www.emeraldcityreptileexpo.com/