Manheim resident Jesse Rothacker and his son, Kenny, 12, spent the second half of February taking a deep dive into South Florida's wilderness, with a goal of finding and filming as many wild snakes as possible. Joined by Jesse's friend Harvey Bird of New York City and Harvey's son, Harvey Jr., 11, the Rothackers wanted to share their love of reptiles with the rest of the world. They recorded their adventures and then edited hundreds of hours of video into a 60-minute educational film now available on YouTube. "Father/Son Everglades Adventure" provides an up-close look at snakes, with the goal of fulfilling the Rothackers' mission of giving reptiles a chance.

Jesse, who operates the nonprofit Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary, said he took his first adventure trip to Florida with his lifelong friend Harvey in 2010, before either of them had families. "We always hoped to go back, but it's hard to kayak with crocodiles when you're raising infants and toddlers," Jesse joked. Thirteen years later, Harvey suggested the boys were finally old enough to join their dads on their return trip.

Jesse explained that the four didn't go into the trip with an hourlong video in mind. He's done similar trips that turned into short videos, he said, but when he returned home from this adventure, he knew he had plenty of entertaining footage.

One of the goals of the trip was to find a Burmese python, which didn't happen for the adventurers, but they still learned a lot about the invasive snake. "We spoke to several Burmese python hunters down there who had been finding them," Jesse recalled. "The video features a 9-footer that our friend found while we were there and another 126.5-pounder that other researchers found while we were there, and we interviewed the guys who caught those pythons." The fathers and sons did find a lot of other invasive species, including locating North America's largest snake, the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake. They also got to "road cruise" a few venomous cottonmouths, a term for finding nocturnal snakes crossing the street after sunset.

Kenny said the road cruising was his favorite part of the trip. "We saw a lot of snakes, like corns, rats, kings, cottonmouths, garters and more," he stated.

The trip provided an opportunity for the fathers and sons to make lasting memories as well. They kayaked with crocodiles, walked alongside manatees and tracked down invasive chameleons. "We also had a good time doing normal stuff, like swimming in the pool, going to the beach, going out for ice cream, throwing baseball and football at the park and going to the movies," Kenny remarked.

Jesse hopes families will watch the video together or teachers will use it as a free resource. He noted that although viewers will see the four adventurers having fun with reptiles, people should use caution around wildlife. He added, "Please remember, we are trained professionals with decades of experience, and make sure you give wildlife plenty of space and respect when you encounter them."

To watch the video, visit http://www.youtube.com/c/ForgottenFriendReptileTV.