Kingsnake.com
Doug Hotle
Work in a Zoo
March 1, 2007

PHFaust: On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us at kingsnake.com, I'm very pleased to welcome Doug Hotle to our Ninth Annual Chat Week.

PHFaust: For over 27 years Doug Hotle has called the animal field his career. As General Curator of the Abilene Zoo, Doug has his hands in a variety of wildlife ventures from daily animal care issues to global conservation programs. Doug has a passion for all nature and is at home around his elephants, jaguars, raptors and a host of others that make up his zoo, yet it is the belly-crawlers that are his true infatuation. Doug has also served as the Supervisor of Herpetology and Aquatics with the San Antonio Zoo before moving on to Abilene. Don’t let his Texas surroundings fool you, Doug originally hails from Indiana where he served with the Indianapolis Zoo for 11 years working with species from penguins to sharks, and of course; always his beloved herps. Doug attended Indiana/Purdue Universities and in 1993 piloted Indiana’s Timber rattlesnake conservation program where he then spent the next number of years studying these remarkable snakes in the deep forests of Southern Indiana. “I’m a fairly old fashioned type of guy. Just give me a snake hook and an audience and we can change some attitudes. I’m certainly not much of the salamander on a treadmill or lab coat kind of curator.” says Doug.

PHFaust: Thank you so much for joining us, Doug, and welcome!

DougH.: Thank you. Glad to be here.

PHFaust: Doug could you tell us a bit on how you started your work at the zoo? And a little bit of what you do day to day.

DougH.: Well, I started working with exotic animals at the age of 13..and that culminated into a career with the Indy Zoo many years ago. Day to day now, I oversee the animal husbandry and conservation programs for the Abilene Zoo.

Emeraldtreeboa23: How can someone get a job in a zoo?

DougH.: A degree in biology or zoology or one of the life sciences is helpful...volunteering for your local zoo or nature center is helpful to get your foot in the door and gain experience.

DemonFrog: Doug, always one of the first questions, what was your first reptile/amphibian?

DougH.: An eastern garter snake that I caught at the local creek and kept in a fish bowl of all things, I was about 8 at the time.

PHWyvern: How much leeway/input do you have in regards to what type of animals that are procurred on behalf of the zoo. Is there any special redtape that has to be gone through or specific places to acquire animals or is it similar to the pet trade where you can just call up a supplier and say you need such-&-such?

DougH.: Yes, good question...We are bound by AZA ethical guidelines as well as always being under public scrutiny..

DougH.: A nimals normally come from other zoos where there are permits local, federal and international involved. Any animals coming in have to be part of our recognized animal collection master plan... ..they must undergo veterinary pre-testing..and are then quarantined as they come in to the zoo, and again checked by the vet before they go out into the overall collection.

DougH.: But, to answer your other question...yes, I oversee most of what comes in and out of the zoo, species wise, on a personal level.

DougH.: ..and yes, LOTS of red tape.

snake_gal: What animals did you start working with when you were 13? Where do you go to get a degree in zoology? College or University?

DougH.: When I was 13, I began working with an exotic animal compound doing everything from cleaning bear cages in trade for corn snakes (we called them red rat snakes back then). I attended the Indiana University and Purdue University - both in Indiana.

dougle: There is alot of private breeders out here espically the ball pythons , how do you feel about the hobby as a buisness?

DougH.: I think the hobby as a business is a wonderful thing. I breed snakes on occasion. I dont have racks full of them, that's never been quite my thing, but plenty of my personal friends are breeders as well as a large amount of people in the zoo business breed as well. I'm breeding Chinese Beauty Snakes right now.

Slacker6848: What is the hardest part overseeing reptiles? Would you say it is education, health, nurtrition, or keeping up with the changing levels of knowledge?

DougH.: Good question. I would say health and nutrition when we're talking about a large number of animals...just keeping up with observations on a large number of animals can be tough, ensuring everyone is getting what they need on a nutritional level and veterinary level is a full time job. Keeping up with changing levels in knowledge is something that we all must do professionally, but I enjoy as a hobby. I'm not sure I've ever read a fictional book in my life.

DemonFrog: What does your zoo use to control humidity and temperature in your reptile cages? Do you have a computer system doing it or is it done a lot like the hobbyists do with misting and more bedding?

DougH.: No fancy computer systems here. We do it the old fashioned way, through substrate, mist bottles, and overal room control. This is how we did it on a large scale at San Antonio Zoo as well. And it seems to work better than relying on computers.

DemonFrog: ok thank you

DougH.: You're Welcome

PHAlex: What kinds of venomous snakes do you keep and which is your favorite?

DougH.: Gee, that's like asking which is your favorite kid...

PHAlex: lol

DougH.: Currently, we keep a plethora of native pit vipers which make up the brunt of our collection. We're gearing up for a new Herpetarium, and will be bringing in a large number of elapids and other vipers as well.

PHAlex: I love rattlers too!

DougH.: Although the timber rattlesnake has always held a favorite place in my heart, and oddly enough, I like the cottonmouths too, there's just something about them.

TSUSnakeGuy: Hi, I am about to graduate college and I am currently trying to find a job as a reptile keeper at a zoo. I am a biology major graduating in May and I want more than anything to work at a zoo with reptiles. I am doing intern work at a zoo nearby for now. I have had interviews with a few places but I am still trying to find somewhere. Do you have any advice on what I could do in the interview process to help my chances? Also what type of questions should I ask the people interview me that might help let them know that I am right for that job and very interested? Also will you hire me....haha just kidding.

DougH.: LOL..hired!

TSUSnakeGuy: lol Thanks be there on May 12th haha

DougH.: I assume you're going through the AZA.org and looking at their positions?

TSUSnakeGuy: all the time

DougH.: Email me at Doug.Hotle@abilenetx.com and we can discuss in more detail than we perhaps have time for right now, but would love to help you get going in that direction.

TSUSnakeGuy: thank you a lot

DougH.: You're quite welcome

PHLdyPayne: Out of all the animals you have worked with, which did you find was the most fascinating? Both herp and non-herp animals.

DougH.: I really like my bats..I love these little bug-munchers.

PHLdyPayne: oh bats are cool :)

DougH.: And weirdly enough, I found the giraffes a lot more fascinating than I thought I would when I started working with them. But I find all animals thrill me to some extent. I'm one of those people who gets excited over a walking stick equally as much as a great white shark. I'm kind of corny that way. But never bored.

PHWyvern: You mentioned a Collection Master Plan previously. What does that entail exactly?

DougH.: Every year we examine our entire collection and what direction the zoo wants to go. From there we look at our collection and formulate a plan of animals we would like to acquire and those that might be surplused out to other zoos.

DougH.: This would coincide with new exhibits going up and possibly older exhibits closing...as well as changes in conservation programs globally.

IPOCKalypse_nr: what is normal defacation period?

Emeraldtreeboa23: What do you think is the most difficult species to keep in a zoo collecton? And what is the most diffcult species at your zoo that you maintain?

DougH.: Probably the most difficult can be the smaller animals that depend on a myriad of life support equipment, such as marine fish and invertebrates.

Emeraldtreeboa23: I ment reptile wise lol sorry

DougH.: These are a little trickier than, say an elephant, where you open the barn door and let them out for the day...not to say that elephants are without their problems either.

DougH.: Ah..okay...reptile-wise some of the montane species...and some of the more delicate arboreals...they can be a real headache at times..

Emeraldtreeboa23: I would agree.

DougH.: It's usually a balancing act getting just the right parameters, but once we find these and can keep these stable many times the animals will fare well for us.

DougH.: In our collection right now, usually anything wild-caught that can be a problem feeder. We will occasionally collect things from West Texas such as black tail rattlesnakes or color variant western diamondbacks that may be problem feeders and these can be a little tricky to get going at times.

DougH.: GA

PHFaust: beardie

beardielover_nr: hi umm I have a b dragon and it has a40 gallon breeder tank but it keeps getting to hot with 150 watt spot lamp and a sand underneth warmer. It gets to be 130 F in there wat can I do?

DougH.: Try a 75 watt light bulb

beardielover_nr: ok

DougH.: ..and maybe a rheostat on your under-tank heater. See if that helps.

beardielover_nr: what should the temp be

DougH.: High end, I wouldnt go much past 95 degrees, a good basking temp for beardies.

beardielover_nr: thanx

DougH.: They may be able to go a little higher, but I wouldnt push much past that.

TSUSnakeGuy: Do you do any type of research or scientific work with your reptiles? Any type of breeding endagered animals or anything like that.

DougH.: Currently, we are working with Arizona ridgenose rattlesnakes (crotalus willardi willardi), as well as the Coahilian Box turtle. With the new reptile building, we will have approx. 25 species that are part of zoo and federal and local conservation programs.

TSUSnakeGuy: Wow ok, and when is the new building expected to be done?

AsianTurtles_nr: impressive projects DougH

DougH.: We also house a number of endangered species for which we do educational programs, but not necessarily breeding programs at this time.

TexasReptiles: Hiya Doug,

DougH.: We hope to have the new building done by July.

TexasReptiles: Your old boss will be picking me up at the airport in the morning!

dougle: dougle?

TexasReptiles: This is Randal Berry.

DougH.: Hi Randal

DougH.: Tell Alan 'hi'

dougle: I am increasing my ball python collection , is it possible to microchip ball pythons or other reptiles to keep track of them such as gentics?

DougH.: Avid chips are always a good idea for any pet. Your veterinarian can implant these for you. It's a nice way to identify your snake should it be stolen as well.

DougH.: Avid chips can be read by scanners across the country, so no matter where your animal ends up it can be identified.

DougH.: Since patterns change, it's much more reliable as far as identification.

dougle: Thank you for the advice I will do this for my whole collection

DougH.: You're welcome

PHWyvern: Recently, a zookeeper was mauled to death by a jaguar and before that another I believe was attacked by a tiger through a feeding door and I think lost her arm. In light of zoo training/safety procedures regarding dangerous animals such as the big cats ... how common are such accidents? Do you feel it's just a over familiarity of a predictable schedule/routine that causes keepers to forget some of the basic precautions and/or let their guard down?

DougH.: We still dont know, and perhaps never will, what happened in Denver. It's a tragic incident nonetheless. All zoos constantly run safety drills, escape drills, as well as having a multitude of safety protocols in place. How that particular door came to be unlocked to let that animal into the same shared area with the keeper is unknown. It's a dangerous job, fortunately, accidents are very rare when one considers we do this day in and day out.

DougH.: Although much like venomous snake bite in the private sector, it is major news when it happens (as it should be)...We try to not let ourselves become complacent. Normally everyone has a backup keeper that keeps them from becoming complacent.

DougH.: We try not to forget what it is we're working with. Unfortunately, like anything, accidents still happen.

PHWyvern: thanks

DemonFrog: Have you heard of the Amphibian Ark program? If so is your zoo thinking about participating?

DougH.: Oh, certainly I've heard of it. And I (we) are very active in the Amphibian Ark initiative.

DougH.: We are receiving 25 of the Panamanian Golden Frogs within the next week.

DougH.: These are the flagship species for the global frog initiative. And within our new herpetarium an entire wall is dedicated to the plight of the amphibian in decline, as well as major space in the backup area for frog breeding and rearing programs. The zoo will also be actively taking a role in working with the Costa Rican government in setting up breeding stations within many of these frog's native habitats.

DougH.: ..to try to slow the decline until we can get a better handle on some of the issues causing these frogs such grief.

DougH.: The Chytrid fungus is only one of many problems facing these animals globally. But the Abilene Zoo is working hard using our resources both financially and professionally to do what we can for these little guys.

DemonFrog: Glad to know that zoos are actually participating

DougH.: absolutely

PHFaust: On behalf of Kingsnake.com, Jeff B, and myself, I want to take a moment to thank Doug Hotle for being part of our chat week. Thanks for taking the time out to chat with us on your work in the Abilene Zoo.

PHFaust: Doug, thanks for coming! We really appreciate it!

PHAlex: Thank you Doug!

DemonFrog: thank you doug

DougH.: Thank you for having me. Delighted to be here. Wonderful group of people, great questions from all. Thank you.