Biography

Biography

Site Author:

Freight Freitas: (36yo), born, raised, and still living in New England (U.S.)

Education:

Diman Reg. Voc. Tech. High School 1988.

Associates in Biology: Bunker Hill Comm. College 2004. Award for excellence in Biology 2004.

B.S. Zoology: University of New Hampshire 2006.

Work history:

Heavy equipment operation, welding/fabrication, mechanic.

Reptile experience:

8yrs reptile husbandry, rehabilitation, habitat design and construction.

Have worked extensively with turtles, tortoises, snakes, and lizards.

Specialize in the husbandry of rare and difficult reptile species.

3yrs part time vet assistant with Dr. Greg Mertz (The Odd Pet Vet).

Successful captive breeding of Cyclemys dentata (Asian leaf turtle) 3 years in a row.

Gonyosoma project:

Developed protocol for effective initial treatment of wild caught/fresh import.

Design and build effective captive habitats and husbandry protocols.

Successful captive breeding of both G. oxycephala and G. janseni (Sulawesi black tailed).

First known captive Gonyosoma hybridization of G. oxycephala (green), and G. janseni (Salayar black) to form the Oxy-Jansen hybrid.

Developed a process to artificially incubate and manually assist hatching for captive bred Gonyos.

One of the first and only known captive breedings of G. janseni (Sulawesi black tailed) in the U.S.

Successful captive bred hatching of 33 Gonyosoma babies to date!