Khamari Gibbs stood still as Mike McClelland placed a 12-pound red-tail boa on his shoulders.

“At first it was scary, but after a second I got used to it,” Gibbs said. “It was heavy. It felt slick and itchy, like it was peeling on the bottom.”

Gibbs and other students visited the Selma-Dallas County Public Library to see an African ball python, South American red-tail boa, North American corn snake and two baby alligators from McClelland’s Critters Zoo in Banks, two hours southeast of Selma.

“I was excited today because I just wanted to see the snakes, plus hold them and touch them,” said Bonnie Hasberry. “They were soft and kind of mushy. The alligators were hard.”

Mike McClelland, zoo owner, has more than 200 animals on his 70-acre zoo.

Opening 15 years ago as a place for special needs children to see animals, the zoo is now open to the public.

After obtaining a zoo license, he started his collection of animals with an African Barbary lion.

Children and adults can now see monkeys, tigers, leopards, ligers, bears, wolves, kangaroos, camels, raccoons, horses, snakes, deer, ducks, sheep, goats, emus and birds on a guided tour through the zoo.

“I love any type of animal,” McClelland said. “Those are my kids. I don’t have any biological children.”

McClelland encouraged children to touch the reptiles at the program, but to stay away from them in the wild.

“I tell them you can touch these, but they know if the see one behind the house or in the woods, run to your mom and dad,” McClelland said.