MEXICO — After Rob White had finished showing his seven snakes to the roomful of children in the Calvin B. Lyons room of the Town Office, he asked, “Does anybody have any questions?”

The children only had one: “Can we touch them?”

White laughed and said, “I think I have a new slogan to use: ‘Can We Touch Them?’ It’s perfect!”

Though it was not his first visit to the town, children and their parents still showed up in droves Tuesday morning to watch White handle his seven snakes. White’s presentation was the first of the Mexico Free Public Library’s Terrific Tuesdays program. Library Director Valerie Messana said this year’s theme is “Where the Wild Things Are.”

With his grandson, Damien, at his side, White removed his snakes, one by one, from their cages, explaining the characteristics of each one.

“This one’s name is Neptune, and he’s a ball python,” White said as he pulled a thick, dark-colored snake from the cage. The python immediately moved from White’s hand toward his neck.

“See, Neptune feels comfortable,” White said as the python curled slowly around his neck. “He goes around my neck when he’s comfortable. He doesn’t choke me either; he just likes to relax.”

“If he was choking me, I’d sound like this,” White said, talking in a low, raspy voice that made the children laugh.

White later explained that snakes only eat every other week, and he made sure to feed them a week before he brought them before the children.

“You see, when snakes are stressed out, they’ll vomit up their food so they can move faster,” White said. “I made sure to feed them before I brought them here, and now, the food is being digested. All of them have eaten, and they’re not due to eat again until this weekend.”

White smiled at the children and said, “None of you little ones have to worry. They’re not looking for dinner.”

After showing the children his two ball pythons, White brought out a thin, brown-and-white striped snake named Zorro.

“This is a kingsnake, also known as a banded California kingsnake,” White said. “They call it a ‘kingsnake’ because he’s a snake-eating snake. If he goes up against a rattlesnake, the only winner will be the kingsnake. He can outstrike a rattlesnake, if it comes down to it.”

White also said that, unlike the ball pythons, kingsnakes are much more aggressive when it comes to eating food.

“When I put food in their cages, the ball pythons will wait for the mouse to come to them and then they’ll strike,” White said. “With the kingsnakes, they don’t wait. They’re very aggressive and will go right after the mouse as soon as I put it in.”

The last snake that White showed the children was the most aggressive.

“This is Mufasa,” White said, holding out a thick, light colored snake. “He’s a red-tailed boa, and he’s a little rougher than the other snakes.”

As he said this, Mufasa began to wrap himself around White’s arm while baring his fangs.

“Mufasa hasn’t learned his manners yet,” White said as he grabbed the snake around the neck, preventing him from biting. “I used to have a red-tailed boa named Delilah, and she was so friendly that I could take her out around preschoolers. I’m hoping Mufasa will get there eventually.”

Following his presentation of the snakes, White allowed the children the opportunity to touch and hold the snakes.

White’s snake presentation was the first of several events. Next week, Joshua Sparks from Sparks’ Ark in New Gloucester will visit to show children the animals that he has rescued.

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