Jim Bass

By: Bridgette Gigi
Jim Bass
WSED Staff

Hey Members, My name is Jim Bass, and I’ve been into Reptiles for going on 60 years, when after catching my 1st Lizards, Snakes and Turtles on Homestead AFB (Fl) my folks took me to see Bill Haast do his Cobra show… Hooked on herps ever since. My Dad got transferred back to Norton AFB, in Highland Ca.,where I was born, and grew up to young adulthood. My Parents didn’t care for snakes, so I was never allowed to have any… so the day before I turned 18 (still in HS) I bought a car, rented an apt, and packed my bags. I was born on my Mom’s birthday, so the next day it was all about HBD Mom… Cyaaaaaaaaaaa. Within several months (given I went to work for Fontana Reptile, as a commercial collector) I had like 150 snakes in a 1 bdr apt… half of them venomous :O. So of course, knowing little to nothing about snakes.. I got tagged… BAD… nearly lost my arm. A year later I got tagged by another So Pac., and very nearly died.

I went to work for Jett’s Petting Zoo, and traveled up and down Ca. for the next 6 years, and then moved to Hawaii for another 6. Upon returning to So Cal, I came to learn that I had a 7 year old son in San Jose (from my petting zoo days lol )… next thing you know, I marry my Son’s Mom, and we have another son on the way… followed 2 years later by my boy/girl twins. The Ex and I had divorced, and I ended up with full custody of my 3 youngest, whom I raised as a single dad, from Kindergarten through High School. During that time, I returned to College to eventually earn a degree in Bio Psychology and certification as a drug and alcohol counselor. In the late 90’s, I started doing Live Local Reptile Ed talks, and joined the North American Field Herping Association, where I soon became Education specialist, and an International Board Member.

My Kids all grown and moved out, and having just retired from 20 years of doing free Herp Ed talks, I ended up here on FB, bout 4 years ago, where I found Mike’s groups, and further noticed he needed some west coast guys… So I volunteered. So… here I am, your Big Bland Admin… JIM 🙂

About

Wild Snakes : Education and Discussion My “regular” job is a web developer and I.T. nerd. I utilize these skills to maintain the WSED.org website, and build more of a social media presence for our mission. How did I get into snakes? A few years ago, I stumbled upon the Snake Identification group and really became obsessed with learning about and how to ID snakes. I joined the staff in October of 2017, and consider it a real honor. I learn so much every day from my team and our members. Our only goal is to help people learn and become as fascinated as we are with these extraordinary creatures. I’m also raising my daughter to love snakes as much as I do!

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