Admin Mamba923 here – Look what I found today! It’s one of the first blog posts we published on our site almost three years ago – during the first year of Dewey’s show, Gone Herpin’ on the Roar and Soar Network (check your local listings). I’m reposting it today while we wait for our site to be rebuilt. And in case you’re one of the few people out there who doesn’t know, our site ihatejunenash.com was hacked recently, for the third time, and all of our content deleted. I’m thinking that June had something to do with it so if anybody sees her in person, feel free to accuse her! And get it on video! And send it to me! Anyway – until we get the site back up, enjoy this trip down memory lane with one of Dewey’s best friends, Herpetologist Sal Scibetta 

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I’ve been in Costa Rica for a week, visiting a couple of different areas around this beautiful country. I just left the lodge in Sarapiqui headed to the forests around La Fortuna and the famous, picturesque Volcano Arenal. As I was enroute to Arenal, I received a message from an old herping buddy, Dewey Nash. He was in fact staying in the area. I offered to pick him up at his hotel since I had my trusty Toyota FJ40. He gave me directions to the lodge. It was a little outside of town so I was picturing a rustic jungle lodge. When I arrived, I had to double check to make sure it was the right place. It was a very fancy “hotel and spa”! Has Dewey gone soft? I knocked on this upstairs room in the corner and he was dressed ready to hit the jungle. Before we head out, he wants to grab lunch. Rice and beans? Not quite, the restaurant at the hotel was fancy. By the way, the guy in this photo with us – he’s the same driver we had on a trip back in our sophomore year of college! Can’t believe the guy was still here.  (Admin Mamba923 here – sorry guys, that photo wasn’t in my computer. Sal must have sent it after he’d sent the rest of the article. It was a great photo though)

We enjoyed a three-course lunch finished off with a nice steak. During lunch I asked him about the place. He said while it looked fancy, there were some gardens on the grounds that were great for frogs. At night he would look for frogs and during the day iguanas and other lizards were commonly seen on grounds. He has yet to find a snake, even though the staff says they see them. I mention to Dewey my objective for this trip. “I’m not looking for tree frogs, I want to find the biggest baddest snake in Central America, Bothrops asper, the Terciopelo” His eyes lit up with the chance for something big and dangerous. I guess his sister is trying to bring him down and “wussify” him (his word). While she was enjoying the spa amenities of the lodge, we would hit the jungle to find the most dangerous snake in the region.

After lunch Dewey gave me a quick tour of the hotel grounds. There was a nice small creek behind the property. True to his word, there were some tree frogs hiding out on the leaves. Coming back at night would be better to see the iconic Red Eye Tree Frog. I convince him to leave the froggies a lone and go find some snakes. He agrees, walks off to make a quick phone call. I meet him back at the FJ and he’s ready to go. Leaving the lodge I head back north to La Fortuna and head down the main road to Parque Nacional Volcan Arenal. There are some good areas where would should be able to find the Terciopelo.

During the drive, I’m reminded why this is called a rain forest. The typical early summer rains in Costa Rica hit right on schedule. Fortunately the road we are on is a really nice road (for Central America). Not 5 minutes down the road we spot a large snake in the road. Dewey is exciting and thinks we found our Terciopelo and jumps out with his snake hook. I’m a bit calmer, even from the distance and through the rain, I can tell it’s a Common Boa Constrictor. Dewey runs up on the snake catching it by surprise. The snake coils and as Dewey approaches the snake launches at him and grabs him by the leg. The needle-sharp teeth latch on to his pants. Dewey tries to jump back and the snake is stuck with him. In response, the snake starts to coil around Dewey’s leg. He tried to pull the snake off, but it just causes the snake to tighten around his hand and his leg now. A typical small motorcycle whizzes by us. I can see the rider laughing at the two gringos in the rain. Sadly I did not grab my camera to capture Dewey in this predicament. I decide, against my better judgment, to help him out. There is an old trick I learned in the zoo field. When a large snake is holding on, grab the tail and bend it backwards. This usually works, and fortunately in this case it did. The snake releases its coil and Dewey is able to pull himself out of the loose coil. I move quickly and grab the snake behind the head. Very angry with this move, the snake opens its mouth and starts to constrict my arm. I carry the snake off the road and put it down on the side of the road. Realizing it’s chance to escape, the snake slithers off into the forest. As we head back, I thank Dewey for not closing my door. We sit back down in the FJ and Dewey looks at his phone and swears. “Dude, I’m sorry. I gotta go back. June is freaking out”

“Is she your sister or your wife?” I laugh at him.

“Shut up…and don’t tell her about the snake,” He quips.

I turn around and head back to the lodge. By the time we get back, the rain stops and the sun is starting to come out. During the drive he tries to explain is odd relationship with his sister and the even stranger relationship she has with his fans. I laugh at the notion that he has fans but says his little show has a pretty strong following. “So I guess they don’t want to know about your boa dance back there” I laugh. He just chuckles.

We get back to the lodge and I head back to his room with him and coiled at the bottom of the stairs, is a Terciopelo.

Sal Scibetta

Admin Mamba 923 here again – Hahah! Of course they’d find the snake back at the lodge! Thanks again to Herpetologist Sal scibetta for this wonderful trip down memory lane. Sorry I can’t find that photo of Dewey. He’s just gotten that leather jacket that you see in his author photo on his latest book, 20 Minutes to Death: 12 Fatal Black Mamba Encounters. This is the book he was signing at Reptile show at The Strand, his hometown Horseshoe Bend, Arizona, a few weeks ago. Yeah – that convention! LOLOLOLOL!!!  Anyway – I’ll continue to rebuild the site and if you have a bad encounter with June (like any are good?) drop us a note on the submit page. Pictures are always great!  

Good Adventures!

Dewzer Power