Even though they aren't fluffy, reptiles need love, too.

“They are the biggest throwaway pets,” said Stefanie Feineigle of Middlesex Township. “It's sad.”

Feineigle's love for these creatures started at an early age.

“When I was little, I would always look under rocks and look for snakes, but my mom wouldn't let me bring them in the house.”

Now 47, Feineigle does take reptiles home, acquiring and re-homing unwanted pets. She also helps people remove wild snakes from their homes and releases them in her yard.

“I probably get five or six calls (to remove reptiles) during the summer,” said Feineigle. “One time the Middlesex Police called and that was great. I loved it.”

The police called because a “venomous” snake was lying on a front porch in Glade Run.

“Usually people will call and say, ‘I have a copperhead in my yard' and I'll go over and it's a water snake,” Feineigle said.

She removes the snakes very carefully, wearing heavy gloves and using snake hooks and a bag.

Once Feineigle rescues the snake or other reptile, she will make sure they are native before re-releasing them in the woods by her house.

“You don't know how many garter snakes I've let go around the house here,” said Feineigle.

Feineigle's mother, Judy Herman of Chicora, remembers the first time Feineigle brought a snake inside.

“I told her to get it out and I locked myself in the bedroom and wouldn't come out,” Herman said.

Herman worries for her daughter's safety at times, but knows it's her passion.

“She has such compassion for all animals, reptiles or whatever.”

Working on her own, Feineigle will take in exotic reptiles, specializing in carnivorous snakes and lizards, and find people to adopt them.

“I always tell people ‘I'm the last resort. Please try to find it a good home first or try to take care of it if you can,'” said Feineigle, who operates as All God's Creatures.

During the end of summer, Feineigle receives the most phone calls about taking in unwanted reptiles.

“A lot of time it's people are going to college and their parents will call and say, ‘Well my kid left his snake here,'” Feineigle said.

Feineigle explained that many people don't do the needed research before purchasing their first reptile, herself included.

She purchased her first snake at 21 and went for the biggest one she could find.

“For $50 I got a 2½ foot baby Burmese python; within a year-and-a-half he was probably 10-foot long.”

She regrettably had to give away Ivan because she did not have the means or experience to handle him.Feineigle said people make the mistake of thinking that if they don't feed it, or give it a bigger cage, it will stop growing, but instead it slowly kills the snake.“A snake will take a long time to die and it's just so sad,” Feineigle said.She tries to educate the public about reptiles by doing presentations for different clubs and groups, such as the Boy Scouts.“My main objective is to spread some tolerance and understanding of these incredible creatures. They are so surrounded by fear and misunderstanding.”While Feineigle enjoys catching snakes, she understands the need of safety precautions when dealing with anything wild.“I do not recommend people catch wild snakes.”Captain Robert Nestor, with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, said the commission does not remove reptiles from homes.He suggests calling a professional or using a snow shovel and bucket to remove unwanted reptiles.“Sometimes you have to look at the reason why they are in the home,” Nestor said. “Usually snakes are after some type of rodent.”Nestor suggested patching any cracks or holes where reptiles can enter.“We found that moth balls put in crawl spaces and such seems to work well also,” he said.

There are three types of venomous snakes in Pennsylvania; the Northern Cooperhead, Timber Rattlesnake and Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake.According to Andrew Shiels of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, there are four key ways to identification if a snake is venomous in Pennsylvania.• An indentation or pit on each side of the head between the eye and nostril. Nonvenomous snakes will not have these pits.• Vertically elliptical eye pupil resembling that of a cat. Nonvenomous snakes will have round pupils.• A single row of scales on the underside of the tail. Nonvenomous snakes will have two rows.• Rattlesnakes usually display one or more rattles. However, these can be missing because of natural causes.For more information on snakes and other Pennsylvania native amphibians and reptiles visit www.fishandboat.com.