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SALT LAKE CITY — There was a constant sound of rattling coming from a large, glass cage at the Utah State Fairgrounds Friday evening. But James Dix, the owner of the rattlesnake, didn't even hear it until I asked him about it.
"It doesn't even faze me. This has been my life for 42 years now," Dix said.
Dix, who owns Reptile Rescue, was setting up his table area for the Wasatch Reptile Expo.
Dix said that some of his animals are illegal to own in Utah — like rattlesnakes — but he has a special state permit for these reptiles. He uses the animals to educate children, and he is often the person police departments call when they come across a loose reptile.
Lately, Dix said he's seeing a lot more illegal reptiles in Utah.
"We had 14 in a three-week period. That's quite a bit," he said. "I had a total of 35 alligators in 3 years. It's a lot. That's a lot to see in a state that they're not legal."
Dix has an albino rattlesnake that was found when police pulled a driver over. And the rattlesnake that was making all that noise during our interview was found when firefighters went into a smoking apartment.
"We do a lot of law enforcement training, we do animal control officer training all over the state, and we warn them and tell them what to do in certain situations," Dix said.
Cassie Mellon with the Division of Wildlife Resources said the concern is that when an animal gets too big for an owner, that owner might get rid of it by releasing it into the wild.
"They are a lot of work. They can be dangerous. And if the animal is not in their natural habitat, they're not going to survive," Mellon said.
"What are you going to do with an alligator when it gets up to 16 feet and a thousand pounds?" Dix said. "It won't fit in your bathtub anymore."
Dix said that if an owner of an illegal animal decides to turn it in, often they get away with a warning instead of a citation. He said that's better than what would happen if a venomous snake got loose and bit someone in the neighborhood.
"You can be brought up on negligent homicide charges. It's just better to turn it over and do the right thing," Dix said.
Dix runs a reptile park in Millard County. Visitors are welcome and volunteer opportunities are available.
If you have a concern about illegal reptiles in your area, call your local police department.
