Winter is the wrong time to be writing about snakes in Nebraska -- unless it's about snow snakes.

Never heard of 'em?

Some folks have.

They're the imaginary snakes your older brother might have told you to watch out for while walking across a snow-covered field. He may have mentioned that snow snakes are tough to spot because they're white.

Yeah, got to love older brothers.

Dennis Ferraro wouldn't play such a joke on youngsters. He's a herpetologist. He takes snakes seriously. But that doesn't mean he doesn't like to have fun.

"I'm a herper and I love it!" Ferraro recently told an audience of people who came to hear his talk: "Reflections of a Nebraska Herpetologist."

Not only is he a herpetologist -- a scientist who studies reptiles, amphibians, crocodiles and turtles -- but he's a Nebraska herpetologist. It says so on his license plate: NE HERPS.

"It's hard to go to a bar. People look at you and they don't EVEN go near your truck at all!" he jokes with the audience.

Some folks may read the license plate and at first glance think herpes, the contagious viral disease. Those who get it figure the truck could have a snake or two inside. If it's the right time of year, they could be right.

As an extension educator and resident herpetologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's School of Natural Resources, Ferraro spends his summers crisscrossing the state talking to people about snakes and searching for them under rocks and other places where they like to hang out.

Ferraro said he especially likes talking to youths "to instill an appreciation of the environment and native natural resources."

He typically drives 3,000 to 4,000 miles, combining speaking engagements with snake expeditions. Most of his time is spent in western Nebraska.

When he's not on the road, Ferraro is in the classroom or taking care of the university's extensive reptile collection with the help of some students. His speciality started out to be salamanders, but over the years he broadened his interests to include the "conservation of our native animals in Nebraska." Ferraro's current project is rattlesnakes.

"The second most abundant animal in a prairie dog town in the heat of summer is a tiger salamander," Ferraro tells the crowd that came to Hardin Hall on a rainy October night. That's because a prairie dog burrow is cool and moist.

Tiger salamanders live to be 25. They eat their cousins but not their brothers and sisters. They can regenerate an appendage in 31 days. And for some unknown reason they are in decline in eastern Nebraska.

If you think Ferraro knows his salamanders, you should hear him talk about the Western Gray Tree Frogs (40 percent of their bodies turn to ice in the winter), Blanding's Turtles (more found here than in the rest of the world) and the 29 snake species found in Nebraska, including four that are venomous. (Three of the four are fairly rare, according to Ferraro, and the most common is the prairie rattlesnake.)

"The western black snake is the only tree-climbing snake in Nebraska," Ferraro said. "It's also known as a black rat snake."

Fortunately, it's not poisonous. And it's found only in a handful of counties bordering the Missouri River and Kansas in Southeast Nebraska.

Ferraro pulls out the slithering black beauty from a pillowcase. It's his favorite way to hold and transport snakes - the fabric is thick enough so snakes can't bite through, and they're nice and comfy for the snake, too. In a pinch, he can loop the pillowcase through his belt. That way he can carry several snakes.

People always want to know about the state's venomous snakes: Osage Copperhead, Timber Rattlesnake, Prairie Rattlesnake and Massasauga Rattlesnake. For the record, there are no venomous water snakes.

But what about that cottonmouth you saw slithering across the lake one summer?

Sorry. That was only a water snake.

"The farthest north a cottonmouth has ever made it is the southernmost county in Kansas," Ferraro told the crowd.

The best part of Ferraro's talk is when he takes the snakes out of their pillowcases. Without hesitation, he puts his hand in and brings out a colorful milk snake or a very hyper coachwhip snake found only in southwest Nebraska.

"I've been bitten by all of the snakes in Nebraska - except for the venomous - many times," Ferraro said, noting that his body doesn't react to the bites. "Not even an itch."

Other people may react differently, and he urges caution when handling snakes. Insect sprays and sunscreen can irritate their skin. Better yet, don't be touching them because some snakes can get nasty.

"A water snake will vomit on you if biting doesn't work," Ferraro said.

Snake puke.

Ewww!

But Ferraro likes the odor of an Osage Copperhead.

"I swear if they put that in a bottle I would wear it as a cologne!"

Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.