Onceupon a time...
There was a little girl who loved to catch bugs, lizards, and snakes. She had very accepting, patient, understanding parents, who let her keep everything she caught or bought.
It all snowballed from there...
Almost four decades later, the little girl grew up and had a little girl of her own! With her daughter's help, they now care for mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates of their very own!
In 2017, Nocturnal Gallery officially became an LLC with plans to vend at their local reptile expo in the near future!
Salutations, everyone!
I'm Melissa, and we lived in Southern California for 19 years before we moved to our current (and very permanent!!) home in Rochester, New York during the fall of 2004. The change in environment and climate was incredible, but we much prefer it to the broiling heat of Southern California. I miss seeing lizards sunning themselves everywhere, but at least we have snakes and amphibians galore here! It also seems that New York is teeming with insect life! Before we moved here, we had never seen so many different species of insects -- it's wonderful!
I grew up catching anything and everything that I could to inspect and explore what the natural world had to offer. From butterflies to moths, pillbugs to centipedes, alligator lizards to fence lizards, I caught and released hundreds of specimens throughout my childhood. I spent nights with my father and best friend cruising slowly through canyon roads looking for snakes and lizards warming themselves on the streets. I spent days hunting through log piles and brush with crickets tied to sticks to lure out hungry lizards. At the ranch/stables, my sister and I sloshed through swampy creeks and ponds catching tree frogs during summer. I had the kind of childhood that I hope my daughter will have, though I'm raising her to be much more considerate and conscious of animals and their ecosystem. My parents, like many of their generation, simply let my sister and I run amok without their supervision, but it's a joy to have my little girl by my side as we explore the wilderness together.
Growing up, I've worked with everything from spiders to salamanders, horses to Asian spiny mice, chickens to springtails, dogs to degus, and reptiles to roaches. From the age of 6, my sister and I owned and worked with horses through to High School. Being so small, I was also about the size of a jockey, so I did particularly well rehabilitating and retraining ex-racehorses that the ranch owner rescued from horse auctions before the slaughterhouses bought them up. Through High School, I kept about 500 gallons in aquariums; I'm well-versed in aquarium hobby. I have a parrot, Kai, who is my constant buddy, so I have experience with birds, also.
I've been bitten by no-see 'ums, trampled by cows, rolled over (on accident) by a horse, have had my shins sliced open repeatedly by roosters, had a yellow anaconda sink its teeth into my arm, and have been mauled by rats -- so it's safe to say that I've been privy to a whole spectrum of animal-related injuries! The worst pain I've experienced by far, however, was going through labour! All else pales in comparison. One must understand that if one chooses to work with animals, they WILL get hurt occasionally, it's just a hazard of the hobby. Accidents happen, but it helps to remain alert and vigilant at all times to one's surroundings as well as the body language of the animal, prepare mentally in the event something does happen, and take precautions to prevent what one can.
I am always actively involved with handling and supervise my daughter when we handle animals; it is in everyone's best interest and safety! She understands that she must ask for permission to give animals food or to handle them -- and only with an adult's supervision! She knows to notify me immediately if she notices an ill or injured animal, if someone else is opening an enclosure, or is trying to handle or feed an animal without my permission. We practice proper handling and safety techniques, to respect an animal's "no" (personal space, as well as if an animal is not feeling up to being handled), making her conscious of body language and the tendencies of particular species, as well as the individual personalities of each animal.
Sharing my love of animals has always been a passion of mine, and I enjoy teaching others about them whenever I can. I have plans to do outreach, as well as live animal exhibits and shows, to educate and encourage young and old alike to appreciate, respect, and love animals of every size, shape, and species!