'Reptiles!' live at Des Plaines library March 18

Reptile lovers of all ages are invited to Dave DiNaso's fascinating up-close, live, hands on experience of reptiles from all over the world.

This free, fun and educational experience will take place on Sunday March 18 from 2 - 3 p.m. at the Des Plaines Public Library, 1501 Ellinwood St..

Brave audience members might be able to have hands-on experience.

This program is sponsored by Friends of the Library. For more information on the program or the Des Plaines Public Library, visit www.dppl.org or call 847-827-5551.

Dave DiNaso attended Illinois State University and started the Traveling World of Reptiles shortly after returning from college in 1993. When he was a child he spent his summers in Michigan at his family's summer home catching every critter he could find. I guess you can say he's been hooked ever since. Over the years he has cared for hundreds of different reptile species from alligators and crocodiles to tortoises and rattlesnakes.

Nearly every animal used in his show has been bred in captivity and personally raised and handled from the moment they left the egg or in the case of live birth when they were born. He has cared for and rehabilitated many local mammals such as armadillos, skunks, opossum, raccoons, squirrels and bats.

Dave is in his nineteenth year performing animal shows in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs with no intentions of quitting any time soon. He has personally performed nearly 7000 shows during this time. His interactive show is a unique blend of humor and education that has made the Traveling World of Reptiles the most popular animal show around.