Spending my early days catching lizards and evenings convincing my parents to “let me keep them for a week” is how I started this journey. I was fascinated with animals and learning how they survive. That interest grew as I studied great apes in college and spoke ASL to Koko the famous gorilla as one of my first jobs. Working in wildlife conservation, I’ve trained large cats and primates, done field research with endangered seabirds, and I’ve taught sustainable initiatives to help the environment.
The latter half of my career was caring for alligators and venomous reptiles at the California Academy of Sciences. Here I took on roles such as speaking about habitat restoration and conservation to the public.
Nowadays I don’t go catching lizards, but I do bring them into my house! In fact, the reptiles who attend schools, birthday parties and camps with me have all been adopted or confiscated from previous owners. I promote reptile rehoming I am passionate about teaching others how to purposefully and responsibly find a pet and care for it.
My approach for animal interactions is providing a safe and inclusive space for both human and animal participants. If you are excited, interested, or slightly curious about reptiles, this is the place to be!
Allow the animals to do the teaching for a one hour interactive lesson in your classroom. Students will learn the impressive skills reptiles have to survive as well as see and touch them in action! $100 per 1 hour class. $175 for 2 back-to-back classes.
Interested in a small group gathering, intimate birthday, or Scout class? Miss Piper will host groups of up to 6 for a reptile class at her home! The Reptile Room houses over 45 of my pet lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, and insects. I designed it for accessibility and safety. Students spend time inside learning about each animal and then head outdoors to watch more lizards basking in their sun enclosures and feed a free roaming tortoise. A visit to the outdoor zoo cannot be complete without a DIY reptile craft to be made in Garth the Chameleon’s Greenhouse. $400 9am – 1pm, weekends only. Snacks and lunch provided.
Feeling adventurous? Gather a group of 6 and accompany Miss Piper on a herping trip down the coast to discover forests where tree frogs sing and owls drop their dinner. Studying animals in their natural environment helps us learn what care they need in our homes. Start the journey early with a morning feeding my reptile pals in the Reptile Room and then head to Pescadero for a walking field trip to local wildlife hotspots. $400 9am – 1pm, weekends only. Snacks and lunch provided.
