Reptile habitats: Detroit Zoo keepers build them by hand
ROYAL OAK. David Blanchard has spent 30 years at the Detroit Zoo shaping reptile habitats from concrete, wire, plants and natural substrate. He and fellow keeper Reine Sovey, three years in, research each species' native range before they build: sandy dunes for Aruba Island rattlesnakes, a wooded marsh for eastern box turtles, an underground burrow with a viewing window for the eastern indigo snake.
The Holden Reptile Conservation Center houses more than 50 species. One habitat, a concrete face built for the zoo's reticulated python, took the keepers an entire summer. "We do this for the animals," Blanchard said. "Our first priority is always to make the reptiles feel comfortable."
Look closely and there's a foam skull buried in the sand, one of the jokes the keepers hide for each other. They add Halloween touches to the habitats each year for Zoo Boo.
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