Shannon Hiatt

Shannon is a 60-something hobbyist who has cultivated reptiles since age ten. Like many reptile breeders, Shannon spent his wasted youth chasing all that slithered, croaked, or skittered across the ground. That continued into his wasted twenties and thirties as well, as he “herped” around the US, Thailand, and South Korea. After a four-year hiatus from keeping Colubrids, following a major life-changing event, he’s back breeding Leopard geckos, along with a pair of AFTs, in order to feed his soul on a daily basis.

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    Shannon’s “Not-So-Quickie Interview” With Rebecca From Dragoon Gecko

    I remembered that I had visited the Dragoon Gecko (DG) web site in 2011. Although it was in German (and my college German isn’t only rusty—it has died along with my Irish whiskey-damaged brain cells), I was fascinated with the scope of the DG projects and the fact that one of the most interesting aspects of their hobby was maintaining older, less commercial lines of Leopard geckos. “What a concept,” I remember remarking to no one in particular.

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    Shannon’s “Quickie” Interview with Travis Kuhse of Enigmatic Reptiles:

    Have you seen the Acid Stripe Leopard Geckos produced by Enigmatic Reptiles in California? If you are answering in the affirmative, then you KNOW what I mean when I say “you’ve gotta see these”! If you haven’t seen them yet, head to Travis’ web site (http://enigmaticreptiles.com/) or to his FaceBook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Enigmatic-Reptiles/226575520734555) and enjoy the “eye candy” provided by these spectacular Leopard Geckos. More

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    Keeping Records and Marking Breeder Trays: Do I Have To?

    One of my personal strengths is that I am very good at organization. One of my personal failings is that I am poor on following through with all the items I’ve organized.  That can present a problem. Let me share with you how I got my breeding records and Gecko room organized for the 2012 breeding season. More

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    Shannon’s “Quickie Interview” with Albey Scholl: the Halloween Mask Trait

    With this issue, Gecko Time introduces a new feature: brief interviews, conducted and produced by Shannon Hiatt. Gecko Time’s previous interviews were published in standard interview form with alternating quotes from the interviewer and the person being interviewed. Shannon, who has already written several interesting articles for Gecko Time, presents this interview as a narrative, combining his very readable style with the content he has acquired through direct contact with his subject. More

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    Why Do We Do What We Do?

    Why do we keep geckos? Paint? Write lyrics? Or poetry? Why do we have this compunction to have hobbies? The answer is not that simple, but one writer, Thomas Moore, has given me some insights I’d like to share with you. If you don’t want to take this philosophical journey, and this IS a philosophical journey, abort this mission now. More

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    Biosecurity for the Gecko Breeder

    Are you practicing good biosecurity? Maybe you are only vaguely familiar with the term. Most herpetoculturists I talk to are ill prepared to meet the bio threats that can devastate their collections. The threat is real; all reptile collections are at risk. The threat is any type of infectious agent–viral, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic. More