University of Virginia Library

Could You Tolerate Scaley Roommates?

By BARBARA HAND

How would you like to have
25 snakes as roommates?

Second-year student Jim
Bonavita, who has owned
snakes since he was three years
old, couldn't part with his
snakes when he left for school.
So, he brought them with him
to live in his apartment.

Though his three
roommates aren't overly
enthusiastic about sharing their
apartment with 25 other
creatures, Mr. Bonavita said
they "tolerate" his hobby.

"My manager walked in the
other day and jumped back
about five feet when he saw
my snakes," he said, "but he
didn't seem to mind"

The snakes are kept in
13-feet long cages that are
eternally luminous.

"I make sure that all my
venomous snakes are kept in
escape proof cages," he added.

Mr. Bonavita treats his pets
to a tasty meal of rats and mice
every ten days. The food
comes from the University
hospital and biological
companies.

"Snakes can go several
months without eating," he
explained, "especially in the
winter when their metabolism
slows down."

A six-foot long Indian
python, which can gulp down
four full-grown rats at a time,
is Mr. Bonavita's largest snake.

His extensive collection
includes nine rattlesnakes, a
water moccasin, two bamboo
vipers, green tree snakes and
boas.

Having no fear of snakes,
Mr. Bonavita frankly admitted,
"I will probably be bitten
sooner or later...It's like being a
race car driver–no matter how
good you are, you'll probably
be in an accident some day."

Mr. Bonavita called snakes
"the most universally hated
creatures" even though they
are the most efficient rodent
control in the world.

"One black snake in a
summer will eat 150-200
mice...their sense of taste and
smell is so acute that they can
follow a trail two days old," he
said.

For snake-hunting, the
second-year man goes to dirt
roads in rural areas. Since
many snakes are nocturnal, the
best hours for hunting are 5-9
p.m.

"If the snake is not
venomous, just grab it...you
have to know snake patterns
well to be able to identify it
ahead of time.

"To catch venomous snakes,
we use sticks which we slide
under them–they curl up on it
and then we drop them into a
bag," he explained.

Though his parents are
terrified of snakes, Mr.
Bonavita commented that they
have always absorbed his
interest. "The more I know,
the more fascinating they
become," he said.

"I used to keep as many as
my mom would let me...I
would hide them around the

room in show boxes," he
continued.

Though he has caught half
of his snakes himself from
along the east coast, many of
his specimens are from Africa,
India and Southeast Asia.

Upon the request of the
science departments, Mr.
Bonavita was invited to give an
informal lecture about snakes
last spring.

Attended by about 250
persons, the lecture featured a
slide show concerning means of
snake hunting and displayed
live specimens and venom.

A similar lecture will be
given again this year.

If you are ever in need of a
pet or a roommate, just let this
snake-happy student know...he
might have the perfect
companion for you.