A Valley woman’s garage is home to dozens of exotic reptiles

WASILLA — Jonathan Huntington can easily relate to a reptile. She said that she hates the cold and prefers to step out of her house, into her warm garage that doubles as an emporium with the 65 reptiles and other exotic animals she’s rescued and takes on educational outings.

“I don’t know why I live in Alaska because I could be in a desert and be totally happy. So I like it warm. My house is set to 70 degrees but it still feels to cold when I come out of here,” Huntington said with a laugh.

Huntington owns and operates Jonathan’s Reptiles, the Valley’s only rescue, rehabilitation and educational operation.

“It’s so awesome because I have all my dream animals here and I like spending time with them. They don’t back-talk, except for that one,” Huntington said as she pointed to Rikki, a yellow, wheezy Burmese python that still has respiratory issues that she’s treating with medication. “It’s a pain and you don’t realize it’s a pain until you try to give a 65 pound python an injection every 72 hours.”

For Huntington, this is a labor of love and she sure does love it. She has 36 snakes in her care along with a plethora of other critters like frogs, lizards, tortoises and even a 15-year-old tarantula.

She said that she invests at least $700 a month on average to rescue and maintain all these creatures. A majority of the rescued animals are reptiles, but she also takes in any kind of exotic pet that the owner no longer wants.

She offsets the high cost for maintenance by taking the reptiles and other critters on the road, offering educational workshops for a variety of venues. She’s been to libraries, birthday parties, events and schools in search of those who wanted to learn and be entertained.

While some animals have been in her care for quite some time, all of them are candidates for adoption. They’re up for adoption to anyone, with one condition. They must be fully educated and show her that they are fully committed to taking on a pet that’s not as straightforward as a dog or cat. Otherwise, she said, they will just end up right back where they started and need an additional rescue or worse, face certain death.

“We do what we can,” Huntington said.

Huntington said that she doesn’t have to euthanize terminal pets very often, but when she does, she takes them to the veterinarian. She said that she’s glad that it’s a rare occasion.

“I take it hard. I don’t handle it well but it comes with the territory,” Huntington said.

She has names for all the animals in here care. She said this is because it’s easier for records instead of using labels like “gecko 1” or “gecko 2.” Plus, she enjoys naming them since she spends so much time with them and learns about their various personalities.

“Obviously, everything here poops,” Huntington said.

She said that she spends about an hour or two each day taking care of the critters. She has a fridge full of frozen mammals like mice and rabbits. She said that she trains all the snakes (even the picky ones) to eat thawed meals rather than live ones because it’s more cost efficient and it’s safer all around.

“We have bearded dragons that only want to eat bugs and you’re like, ‘you also have to eat your salad, and today’s salad day.’ It’s like, ‘eat your veggies!’ I feel like a mom all the time,” Huntington said.

There are numerous books about reptiles on Huntington’s shelves. She said that she does a lot of research, reading a lot and watching a lot of videos to understand each animal she takes on, from their diet and behavior to containment and foliage preferences.

She said that pretty much all reptiles like to have a way to hide in their box. Otherwise, the stress can weigh on them and if left in an unknowledgeable pet owner’s hands for too long, can even “stress to death.”

She said that she has about three to four steady volunteers who help her maintain her grassroots emporium, plus various friends or people who show interest helping out.

“I have amazing volunteers and an amazing support system,” Huntington said.

While she may have an easier time understanding reptiles better than humans at times, she certainly enjoys having people around.

“It’s sometimes nice to have company too because I love reptiles and read their body language very well and to me, they just make more sense than I guess the average mammal, but it can be very quiet. So I’m always having to turn on music or I have this awesome couch so you can come sit on the coach and hold an animal and tell me about your day,” Huntington said.

Jonathan’s Reptiles will be holding a demonstration at the Wasilla Library May 4 from 2 to 4 p.m., and will also be at the Big Lake Library July 11 from 1 to 2 p.m. They will also be at Colony Days in Palmer and at the Fourth of July Parade in Wasilla with their animals.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com