Photo by Brandon Sullivan Daniel Marchand of the Phoenix Herpetological Society drapes a rescued Asian water monitor over his shoulder.

Jon Brophy’s snakes have their own room. His turtles have taken over his backyard.

To be fair, the snake room isn’t large, just a small space attached to the rear of Brophy’s house in Mesa. But for snakes, it’s a paradise. Brophy keeps the temperature at a steady 78 degrees. He’s given all of his snakes a heating pad or bulb in their cases, which Brophy makes himself out of wood and sliding glass – being sure to attach locks to that sliding glass, of course.

About 18 king snakes and small pythons slither and hiss away their time here. It’s also a bit of paradise for Brophy, who spends his own long hours here, watching his cream-and-black striped snakes – which grow to about three-and-a-half feet in length – eat pre-killed rodents, wrap themselves around tree branches and hide themselves among the stones and rocks that decorate their cages.

Brophy isn’t unusual in the Phoenix area. He’s one of a large group of local pet owners who prefer something more exotic than a Fido or a Princess. Pet owners like Brophy favor exotics, everything from pythons and boa constrictors to tarantulas, iguanas, monitor lizards and sugar gliders, a small gliding possum native to Australia and New Guinea.

Most Valley owners of exotic pets are like Brophy: They’re experienced, they know how to care for their unusual pets, and they’re not afraid to spend money to do so.

Others, however, aren’t so skilled, and those are the owners whom Brophy and other fans of exotic animals would like to see forbidden from ever picking up a tortoise or boa at their nearest pet shop.

They’re the people who take out ads on Websites like

PhoenixSuperAds.com. In January alone, one could find at least 20 ads either seeking or hawking a number of exotics, such as boa constrictors, iguanas, sugar gliders, ferrets, anacondas and box turtles. Such ads, Brophy says, are signs of owners who have either grown tired of or had no idea how much work exotic pets are.

“It’s a real shame when you see people get into this when they can’t handle it,” Brophy says. “These animals require unique care. Some of them can live up to 30, 40 years. They are not disposable. Their owners have to be in it for the long haul. Whether you spend $10 or $10,000 for an exotic pet, you are taking on a long-term commitment. If you get tired of it, no one else is going to want it.”

Brophy’s homemade zoo continues past this side house to the outdoor ponds and pens – landscaped with shrubs and grasses – that provide homes to a dozen box turtles and six African spurred tortoises. The spurred tortoises are especially impressive; they’re the third largest turtle species in the world.

The shelled creatures live a life of routine, sunning themselves in Brophy’s yard or slipping into their ponds to cool off from the glare of the hot Arizona sun. Brophy’s box turtles live in 5-by-10-foot pens that include medium-sized ponds. But the African tortoises, of which Brophy’s largest weighs an impressive 65 pounds, have full run of Brophy’s large yard. They munch the hibiscus plants growing there or nestle their large bodies among the honeysuckle patches. And when Brophy shows up with his tubs of fruits and vegetables for feeding time, the turtles slowly but steadily follow him, drawn to him as if he were a magnet and they were made of tin.

“Tortoises have a lot of personality. That’s something people don’t realize,” he says. “They associate you with food. As long as you realize that the only reason they’re interested in you is because you are the food guy, you can really enjoy spending time with them. They are actually very smart. You just have to keep in mind that they’re showing you all this attention because you’re the food guy, not because you’re their friend.”