Snake expert performs for local children

At age 7, Daryl Sprout found a speckled king snake in his great grandmother's backyard. It was the first snake he had ever seen, and he was thrilled when his mother told him he could keep it. Sprout was fascinated by the snake and soon took a trip to his local library, where he soaked up all the information he could find about the species.

Today, as an experienced herpetological humorist, senior field herpetologist for Snake Removal and owner of Snake Encounters, Sprout uses his passion for performing and knowledge of snakes to educate and entertain his audience through live presentations across the country.

On June 18, Sprout performed his live educational show of snakes, comedy and magic at the Frisco Public Library for children in elementary school.

Sprout has spent his entire life as a performer. He had his first part on stage when he was 6 years old. By the time he turned nine, he was performing as a ventriloquist to an audience of 600 people at his church.

"I grew up on the stage," Sprout said. "I thrive on it."

After speaking at the Cedar Ridge Preserve, a woman in the audience asked Sprout if he would perform at her child's birthday party, which is how Snake Encounters was created. With twenty years of experience, Sprout now performs his live show at schools, libraries, museums, festivals and birthday parties.

Sprout's live presentation at the Frisco Public Library included a variety of reptiles such as the Amazon tree boa, Venezuelan rattlesnake, Ball python, Malaysian blood python, Amelanistic Burmese python and a Tegu Argentinean lizard.

The Venezuelan rattlesnake was the only venomous snake at the show, and with a perfect safety record, Sprout handles all his snakes with caution.

"The Venezuelan rattlesnake is never around anyone else but me, and it's always at a safe distance," Sprout said. "It's cool to have at least one venomous snake in the show."

Although his act of comedy, magic, and storytelling is geared toward children, Sprout believes people of all ages can enjoy his show.

"My show has something for everyone," Sprout said. "My favorite part about performing is making the audience laugh. All of the scary moments in the show turn out to be funny."

Sprout hopes that his audience walks away from his show with a little more appreciation for snakes and conquer any fears of the animals.

"I'm changing hearts and minds on behalf of something I feel a part of," Sprout explained. "I'm dispelling myths and healing the fear of snakes in people. There are so many people in the audience that would have killed a snake before that won't after seeing my show."

Snake Encounters aims to educate the audience on snakes and snake safety through magic, storytelling and comedy.

"It's really all about educating people," Sprout said. "My show is very educational, but the crowd has too much fun to notice."

On June 25, the Frisco Public Library will hold a Slick Juggler event, for children in kindergarten to elementary school. For more information about Daryl Sprout and Snake Encounters, visit www.snakeencounters.com.

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