Wrangler Elisa Wilke has been wrangling animals since she was 14 years old.
Wilke brought this experience to 2 shows at the Fall Business Showcase and Tradeshow on Nov. 7, showing kids and adults alike all about her reptiles friends.
From exotic lions and tigers to camels at the West Edmonton Mall petting zoo, Wilke had an early start. She even worked with Safari Jeff traveling all across Canada until she settled down with her kids at her own Wrangler Elisa鈥檚 Reptile Adventure.
She wants to share what she鈥檚 learned with animal lovers all over Saskatchewan. Being a rescue organization, she鈥檚 seen lots of animals in need of rescuing because their owners were not expecting the work that goes into them.
鈥淗aving us come out and do shows, it spreads that information so when a kids goes into a pet store and sees a little lizard, they know that that (particular) lizard could get 4-5 feet long when it鈥檚 full grown.鈥�
Along with her knowledge of those that slither and crawl, Wilke also brought some friends with her to the tradeshow.
Mr. T is a 9 year old Sulcata Tortoise that was released in the wild near Grande Prairie. A young boy found it and after finding out that Mr. Turtle, as he was called, could live up to 150 years, Wilke was called to rescue the tortoise.
鈥淏eing such a big committment animal, he鈥檒l be with us for the rest of his life.鈥�
Mr. T has pyramiding on his shell which is actually a sign of a nutrient deficiency. Since it is now getting the right vegetables, Mr. T鈥檚 shell is flattening out in some places but those pyramids are going to be a part of his shell the rest of his life, says Wilke.
Little Foot is a 9 year old American Alligator. When the laws changed in Alberta and her owner could no longer keep her, Wilke stepped in to take it into Saskatchewan. Laws in Saskatchewan state that as long as they live outside of Saskatoon, anyone could own one an alligator.
Wilke says that yes you can own them in Saskatchewan but don鈥檛.
Wilke says that even she gets nervous with her sometimes, despite her years of experience.
鈥淭hey are not a pet that is for everyone. You need to know what you are doing to have one of these guys.鈥�
When Little Foot is angry, even a trained professional like Wilke says just walk away.
A full grown alligator can reach over 10 feet long. When she is older, Little Foot will go to a sanctuary in the United States.
Phoenix, a deep red Milk Snake, has been doing shows with Wilke for 5 years. Her species is related to the King Snake, named because they eat other snakes, since they are immune to snake venoms.
When I went to record Phoenix hiss, Wilke said that I won鈥檛 hear anything from her.
鈥淭hey only hiss when they鈥檙e very anger and there is no way to get this snake angry.鈥�
Wilke鈥檚 own kids were 10 days old when they held Phoenix with mom. Snakes are very misunderstood says Wilke, which is why she does these shows.
鈥淟ots of people come into these shows being scared of an animal, tarantula, snake. By the time they leave, they鈥檝e touched that snake or have even held it and they鈥檙e comfortable with it.鈥�
The misconception with reptiles is that they have no personality. Wilke has 14 of her own snakes and have met tons through her rescue and every one of them has a personality of their own.
Wilke says that the biggest thing she is trying to do with her rescue organization is try to give all her reptile friends a second chance at life.
At her rescue, Wilke has nursed an iguana back to health from having been beaten and having its tail broken. Without surgery, it would have died from brain swelling and internal bleeding.
It will always need that special care.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we do shows like this, not only to raise funds but to increase education on that. We want everyone to have an animal, not just a for now pet but a forever pet.鈥�
