Sarah Glesner is passionate about reptile education, she started a project called Sacred Serpents. “I got my start in local non-profits at the zoo and with Roger Hill at the Snake Pit. From there, I discovered that a lot of people that own reptile or are interested in reptiles need help with how to care for and keep healthy they’re pet reptiles and amphibians.”

Sarah explains, “One of the other things I do is provide gentle experiences for people who want to encounter these animals, whether they have a fear or are kind of nervous about them.”

Sarah brought with a few different pets to The Lift studio:

The first is Luca, a ball python. They can grow to over 4 and a half feet, but Luca’s growth was stunted, as he had a tough life before coming to Sarah as a rescue.

Maxwell is blue-tongued skink, a ground dwelling lizards. He comes from the South Pacific. One of his defense mechanisms is his blue tongue. This makes him appear poisonous even though he is not. Maxwell is a rescue too.

Last we have Tank, an Eastern Box Turtle. “They’re not from the Duluth Superior area. They’re from more of the south eastern and central us through Texas,” Sarah explains she has no idea how old Tank is because she was illegally taken from the wild. She was left outside the zoo with a note that said she needed a home. 14 years later, she’s a great ambassador animal and will even be appearing at Zenith Bookstore storytime later in March.