Newspaper Page Text
— Griffin Daily News Thursday, August 11,1977
Page 20
Snake doctor displays some
very good cageside manner
By PAUL MITCHELL .
St. Augustine Record
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP)
— There are still some un
crowded, challenging profes
sions in this world.
Snake doctoring is one.
Dr. Jack Shuler, a young St.
Augustine veterinarian, moves
warily but determinedly into
this uncluttered field in con
junction with his more routine
services to the animal king
dom.
One of his snaky ungrateful
patients is a deadly, nasty-tem
pered Eastern diamondback
rattler with a sore mouth. Dr.
Shuler makes house calls to
treat the ailing rattler and oth
er reptiles at the St. Augustine
Alligator Farm on Anastasia
Island.
First moves include “getting
a handle” on the patient, Shu
ler says. His assistant — and
snake doctors must trust their
assistants fully — is Ross Al
len, world-famous reptile ex
pert and exhibitor. Allen per
formed for 47 years at Silver
Springs and now does his thing
daily before wide-eyed specta
tors at the Alligator Farm.
“I’ve been handling snakes —
the non-poisonous ones — since
I was a child and I guess it
grows on me,” Shuler said.
Here’s how a day goes in a
snake doctor’s life:
Allen brings out his patient,
the ailing rattler, in a metal
tool chest.
The lid is raised and Allen,
unbelievably nearing age 70,
zips his hand in and brings out
the big rattler. He maintains a
firm grip behind the snake’s
spear-shaped head. Alien’s left
hand grasps the snake’s coiling
body as he lifts him clear of
the tool box.
Shuler moves in quickly with
a cotton swab saturated with a
red mixture containing iodine.
The rattler responds to the
pressure of Allen’s fingers on a
strategic spot on its neck by
opening its mouth fully, ex
posing the curved white fangs
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capable of squirting a deadly
hemotoxic poison that attacks
the blood components and mus
cles of the snake's victims.
Shuler slowly maneuvers the
swab around the fangs and
paints the deep recesses of the
rattler’s inflamed throat.
Carefully, and with the ease
of many years spent handling
deadly snakes, Allen lowers the
siake to a table. The snake
doctor moves in closer and
dabs medicine on an infected
area on top of the rattler’s
head.
Treatment over, Shuler steps
back and Allen lifts the patient
and puts him slowly back into
the metal box. His final move
ment — dropping the snake’s
forward section and quickly
slamming the lid — takes a
split second.
“There’s not a lot written
down about the diseases and
treatment of snakes,” Shuler
explained. He hopes to change
this by working extensively
with sick reptiles — and
healthy ones, too — and by
publishing his findings in Amer
ican and international veter
inary journals.
“Snakes have problems, too,”
Shuler added. “They can get
pneumonia and are bothered by
parasites.”
What was wrong with the rat
tler he’d just swabbed?
“I treated him for a bacterial
infection, primarily of the fang
sheath and venom sacs,” Shu
ler replied.
"During capture and early
handling, the snake had a
rough time Adjusting and he
struck so aggressively at his
cage that he injured his mouth.
This caused swelling, and the
parasitic bacteria present in
the snake’s mouth moved in
and caused serious infection of
a type that is usually fatal if
not treated.”
Pneumonia is more prevalent
among snakes in captivity than
those in the wild, Shuler said.
Living with other snakes and
reptiles, some snakes succumb
to ailments that man has done
little research on, he added.
Cancer and tumors also
plague the reptile world, Shuler
noted.
Shuler became aware of the
dearth of basic research on
reptiles before he graduated in
1974 from the School of Veter
inary Medicine of Auburn, Ala.,
University.
Shuler now has many of the
world’s available books and pa
pers on treating reptiles on his
desk in his clinic on U.S. High
way 1 South.
“My present goal is to build
experience and read what is
available on reptiles and am
phibians, including gators,
snakes, turtles and frogs,” he
said.
“We also hope to work out
normal values for these ani
mals and to recognize their dis
eases in the wild and captive
states, and to learn to control
environmental factors bearing
on their good health. This in
cludes housing and nutrition.”
Camera angles
Beginning of vacation
is time for reminders
By IRVING DESFOR
AP Newsfeatures
So you’re going on vacation
and want to return with a good
photo record of where you’ve
been, who you met and what
you did?
OK, that’s reason enough to
repeat all the annual reminders
and suggestions to prevent a
foul-up in the photography de
partment:
Don’t go off with a brand new
camera that you’vj never used
before. Test a new camera in
advance — or even an old one
that’s been on the shelf a while
— and make sure you under
stand its handling and oper
ating features. See the results
of one or two rolls and be satis
fied before embarking on a
train, plane, bus or auto. And
carry the instruction manual to
consult as a reference guide in
an emergency.
Do some research on the
area you’re headed for, special
ly if it’s a foreign country. It
may influence you to go at a
particular time when there’s a
local festival or celebration
which could produce more col
orful or exciting pictures. Con
sult guidebooks, travel bro
chures and official tourist
agencies to plan on seeing and
photographing the area’s histor-
ft’’A
I r
111 dfcMtofrl II ' • ..
FOR SNAKE’S SAKE— Jack Shuler, St. Augustine,
Fia., veterinarian and snake doctor, right,
ministers to rattler patient held by assistant, Ross
Allen, world famous reptile expert and exhibitor.
f v?’'JU
BSr JAk3f
r ■ ~ Jr
TRAVEL PHOTO WINNER. This graphic view of a
Taos Pueblo Indian in New Mexico by Jeffrey Sch
wartz, Portland, Ore., is one of the winners in a six
part Nikon photo contest. All the major winning
pictures will be published in a Fall issue of Nikon
World magazine. Currently, dealers have entry
forms for the 1977 Nikon International photo con
test.
ic or scenic landmarks.
Investigate the possibility of
getting a personal contact in
that area before you go. Too of
ten, a relative, friend or busi
ness associate tells you about
someone you should have look
ed up .. . after you return.
Be prepared with a pocket
phrase book if a foreign lan
guage is involved. The native
idiom for “May I take your pic
ture?” and “Thanks!” — along
with a genuine smile — are in
ternational passports which
help establish friendly foreign
relations.
If at all possible, have a sec
ond camera to continue picture
taking if anything happens to
your No. 1. Dependence on only
one camera is a risk that may
be avoided.
Travel pictures can be im
proved if your equipment in
cludes a wide-angle and a tele
photo or zoom lens. A small tri
pod will help you get sharp
time exposures and night shots.
To avoid battery problems, car
ry spares or put a fresh set in
your cameras and flash unit.
Take more than enough film!
lake running out of gas on a
highway, it can cause grief and
anguish. Estimate how much
you think you can shoot — then
add up to one-half more! Re
member, you can always use
film that you bring back, but it
may be impossible or difficult
to get when you run out of it,
or more expensive.
Before leaving, insure photo
equipment against theft or loss
and re .aster foreign cameras
with the U.S. Customs’ office at
the point of departure. It will
avoid a possible hassle about
paying a duty when returning
to this country.
When leaving, hand carry
your cameras and film for per
sonal inspection to avoid having
film x-rayed at security check
points. Several x-ray exam
inations can fog film by accu
mulation.
Don't shoot pictures with the
camera resting on a window
ledge of a vehicle in motion:
plane, train, bus or auto.
There's vibration involved
which means fuzzy pictures.
Brace yourself, hold the cam
era firmly and shoot near the
window, and at an angle from
it, to avoid reflections.
For a complete story, shoot
when you first come across
anything of interest. Do NOT
wait for a sunnier day, a more
colorful native, etc. You can al
ways shoot again later.
COMING SOON: GASOLINE
AT A DOLLAR A GALLON
Brock Adams, Secretary of Transportation
U. S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
AUGUST 15, 1977
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Energy fraud
Consumers can be burned
when trying to cool costs
By GREG MacARTHUR
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA (AP) - If you’re
considering investing in a solar
heating system for your home,
be careful: You might get
burned.
And that warning goes for
other kinds of energy saving
products ranging from attach
ments guaranteed to reduce
your electrical consumption to
that cure-all — insulation.
Spiraling utility charges, pro
posed federal tax breaks for
homeowners who insulate or
switch to solar power and per
haps the patriotic desire to re
spond to the national goal of
conservation have made the
energy field wide open to fast
buck artists and con men.
In the field of solar energy,
the main problem, according to
Tim Ryles, administrator of the
Georgia Governor’s Office of
Consumer Affairs, “is that solar
energy for buildings is such a
new field that hardly anybody
knows what they’re doing.
“As a result, gyp artists with
a pseudo-scientific sales pitch
hit people with promises of su
per fuel savings, free energy
and advance technology.”
Ryles said the problem of ex
aggerated claims and inflated
prices extends into other ener
gy-related fields.
“There are some 60 different
devices being marketed now
that make claims about cutting
your electricity bill from 30 to 40
per cent,” Ryles said. “Our
office probably has investigated
more of these devices than any
one else in the country, and so
far we haven’t found one that
works as advertised.”
Ryles said the devices, which
sell for |125 to $6,000, usually
are attached to existing utility
equipment and reduce voltage
but not the kilowatt hours used.
Steve H. Bowman, a professor
at Georgia Tech’s Engineering
Research Station, said “dozens
of people are trying to get into
the (solar) business. The fact is
that this technology is just in its
infancy, and there’s still a lot to
learn about the long-term
operation.”
It always helps to ask for
technical information before in
vesting in any sort of com
plicated machinery, but the in
formation is less useful if, as in
the solar field, nobody has yet
established formal standards
for testing.
“People can fool around with
test results, and manufacturers
tend to want to make their
product test out the best,” Bow
man said.
“Some of them claim they can
furnish up to 75 per cent of your
heating needs when, in fact,
they can only provide 30 per
cent,” he said. “Then you have
to start thinking about back-up
systems, and that can get very
expensive.”
Residential solar heating sys
tems, whose rooftop collectors
transform the rays of the sun
into usable heat, are far from
cheap. Bowman estimated they
are being sold for $5,000 to
$15,000.
Other possible problems,
Bowman warned, include re
placement parts. “Some rooftop
collectors are made out of
aluminum, and they may work
great for a few years and then
begin to corrode,” he said. “If
the company you bought them
from is out of business, you may
be out of luck when you try to
find a collector that fits the rest
of the system.”
But Bowman emphasized that
the main problem is lack of
practical experience. “A lot of
systems are tested through
computers. Well, collectors get
dirty and that effects efficiency,
but they never get dirty in the
computer,” he added.
Another problem is that sci
entists still don’t know just how
much sunshine any particular
part of the country gets.
Bowman said the National
Weather Service has estimated
Georgia receives 2,800 hours of
sunlight a year. “The problem
is that the weather bureau
doesn’t ordinarily measure di
rect solar radiation on a clear
day. That’s the most useful kind
for collectors. They measure
total radiation, including
scattered sunlight on a cloudy
day.
‘ ! So you’re left with trying to
figure out the state’s cloud cov
erageandthat’sa very uncertain
measurement,” he said. Bow
man added that Georgia Tech is
in the process of trying to
calculate the state’s yearly total
of direct sunlight. “Right now it
looks closer to about 2,000
hours,” he said.
The most practical approach
to energy conservation would
appear to be insulation. That
realization has caused such an
increase in demand for in
sulating materials that manu
facturers have run short and
are allocating the material to
retailers.
“There’s a fast and ready
market for insulation now and a
lot of people are jumping into it
who don’t know anything about
it,’’ according to Tom
Lawrence, a marketing execu
tive with Georgia Power Co.
Firms who “are in to get the
money and hit the road are
claiming an insulating job will
cut your electricity bill by 50 to
60 per cent,” Lawrence said. “A *
more practical figure would be
20 to 30 per cent.”
Lawrence said misrepresent
ation goes even farther. “At *
least one company we know of
has been going around claiming
that they are approved by •
Georgia Power and that if the
homeowner uses them, Georgia
Power guarantees so much in
savings,” Lawrence said. “We *
don’t endorse companies that
way and we would never make
that kind of guarantee,” he em
phasized.
Lawrence said he has heard
of instances in which unscru
pulous firms have insulated •
walls which already contained
insulation. “We also know of
one company that offered to put
foam (insulation) in a woman’s *
attic,” he said. “Foam is
useless unless it is in sealed
cavities, otherwise it begins to ,
disintegrate.”
Lawrence cautioned that ex
aggerated claims can mean the
difference between a practical «
investment and a waste of mon
ey. “If your utility bill is, say
SSOO a year, and you pay $2,000
for an insulation job that saves *
you only 10 per cent, you won’t
break even for 20 years.”
Don Schafer, an Atlanta area *
insulation contractor, said he
can save a homeowner 50 per
cent on his heating bill, “but his
house has to be in really bad •
shape and we have to do the
whole thing.
“A 20 to 30 per cent saving is
pretty realistic, and when I hear *
some of these foam outfits
saying they can save you 50 per
cent, I just can’t believe it,” ,
Schafer said.
“Everything I’ve ever heard
or read about the insulation
says that 70 per cent of the heat •
escapes through the attic,” he
said. “How are you going to
save somebody 50 per cent if *
you just pour the stuff in the
walls?”
Lawrence recommended con
sumers use the following guide- a
lines when dealing with in
sulating contractors:
“Don’t get high pressured. «
Watch out for the guys claiming
big savings. Ask for references
and check them out.”
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