For Stanley Heath-Stephens, it all started with a David Attenborough documentary. “I was about six or seven,” he says. “It was about the Amazon jungle and it featured some amazing and beautiful snakes which I immediately fell in love with.”
Now, as he prepares to graduate from University Centre Reaseheath at Chester Cathedral on November 6th, that early fascination has turned into a career reality – he’s just secured a keeper role at Capel Manor College in London, caring for reptiles and other exotic species.
“When I was eight, I got my first reptile, a leopard gecko who lived to the grand age of eighteen,” recalls Stanley who hails from Bow in London. “Now I look after my boa constrictor, aptly named David Attenboa.”
It was this lifelong passion that led Stanley to study a BSc (Hons) in Zoo Management at University Centre Reaseheath, where the on-site zoo at the Nantwich-based campus and the enthusiasm of his lecturers sealed the deal.
“Reaseheath Mini Zoo and the lecturers, especially Ellie Rose and Olly O’Malley, really drew me to the course,” he says. “Their passion and interest in animals and their care really stood out.”
Stanley’s fascination became the focus of his dissertation, exploring how enrichment can improve the welfare of snakes in captivity.
“My lecturers knew my fascination with snakes,” he says. “Olly loves enrichment and Ellie loves reptiles, and they both helped me shape my project and decide what gap in enrichment knowledge I could help fill with my research.”
His study tested climbing peg boards designed for snakes to explore and exercise on.
“They were like climbing walls for snakes,” he explains. “Removable, cheap, and easy to use so they could be replicated by anyone who needed them. The snakes had a brilliant reaction, especially Banana the king snake – she was obsessed with it and would slither over, tongue-flicking whenever I approached with the board at the ready.”
Even species not known for being active surprised him. “The behaviour of the royal python surprised me most,” he says. “They’re stereotypically slow and uninterested in enrichment, but one individual really took to the board and showed great behavioural diversity while using it.”
For Stanley Heath-Stephens, it all started with a David Attenborough documentary. “I was about six or seven,” he says. “It was about the Amazon jungle and it featured some amazing and beautiful snakes which I immediately fell in love with.”
Outside of his research, Stanley volunteered at Reaseheath Mini Zoo, where he developed confidence and leadership skills. “It helped with my confidence working alone with the animals and gave me a better understanding of what my research needed to help with,” he says.
“The keepers at the zoo, were really helpful especially when I was Head of the Herpetology and Entomology Society. They gave us room to design and help construct new enclosures, which helped me put what I was learning into practice.”
Looking ahead, Stanley hopes to continue growing his career in zoo management and eventually fulfil a lifelong ambition.
“My absolute dream is to work in the Ectotherm Department, specifically with reptiles, at London Zoo,” he says. “I’d love to gain experience with venomous snakes and other species in their amazing collection.”
For future Reaseheath students, Stanley’s advice is clear: “Use the resources available to you and get to know your lecturers. Mine were amazingly interesting people and incredibly helpful, with a wealth of knowledge and experience.”
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