Mark Jukes’ fascination with reptiles began at the early age of 5 when he first saw a green anole, a kind of lizard, crawling along the pavement. Making the connection to the scaled giants of the past, Jukes has since thought of all lizards, snakes and other scaly friends as the dinosaurs of our generation.

“To me, an avid animal lover, (reptiles) are a direct link to our prehistoric past,” Jukes said. “All kids love dinosaurs.”

Since then, Jukes’ herpetarium, Reptile Realm, has had a history in the city of Jamestown, first as a showcase of various reptiles downtown and now as a sanctuary in his residence that’s about to be expanded into the vacant property next door.

Jukes has a lot of projects on the horizon, from giving out memberships to view his more than 30 scaled creatures to hosting an upcoming YouTube show titled “Playing with Dinosaurs” with his family.

Two blue-tongue skinks. These lizards stick out their bright blue tongues on occasion and enjoy being handled and having their heads and chins scratched.

His wife Alicia, daughter Camryn and son Conner have all become part of the lives of the reptiles they care for. While Jukes jokes that his wife may want her house back eventually, all four of them seem content with the caged habitats sitting in their first floor office space.

As a self-professed troublemaker years ago, Jukes said his life really came together once he started actively taking care of reptiles. He recalled a story that has stuck with him and inspired the rest of his life’s work.

“After we had our son, and when he was 7, I was gifted a carpet python from a kid outside RadioShack,” Jukes remembered. “Upon taking it home to my son, and much to my personal pride, he was enamored by and with it. There was a direct connection, shared with his sister and mother, that we, as a family, made the decision to open a herpetarium.”

Nowadays, Conner teaches the ophiophobia class, a course of instruction that eases people out of what Jukes calls an irrational fear of snakes. He said it’s hard for others to be afraid of non-venomous snakes when his 12-year-old son is handling them with ease.

Jukes said he has focused on providing a reptile sanctuary and prioritized care over letting just anyone gawk at the creatures. Once the herpetarium reopens, the Jukes plan on offering single, couple and family memberships to people they can trust with the animals.

Toshiro, the Argentine black and white tegu, who sticks out his long, forked tongue. Owner Mark Jukes thinks of kaiju, large, typically reptilian monsters that popularized a Japanese film genre, when he holds the hefty Toshiro. P-J photo by Eric Zavinski

“The well-being and contentment is first and foremost,” Jukes said, “not showing off to others because we possess restricted reptiles.”

Providing food, heat and love for his reptiles isn’t all Jukes has become known for. He has worked with the Jamestown Police Department to rescue reptiles when they are on the loose. The most notable incident of this occurred years ago when Jukes, with the assistance of first responders, saved an iguana traveling a precarious route along a city telephone wire.

He’s also relocated a timber rattle snake for the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, rescued one of his own 16-foot pythons and still answers calls from the JPD and city Department of Public Works to recover small reptiles. Jukes has also worked with Tim Pickett of Animal Control whenever a reptile-related call would come in.

“As my reputation grew, I also became known for rescue work,” Jukes said.

The Jukes family also sometimes cares for reptiles that seem injured or mistreated past the point of no return. A water monitor lizard was once rescued and brought back to good health by the family after the person who gave the creature to them thought it looked too unhealthy for them to accept.

The Jukes want to give their reptiles better lives and are working to set up new habitats and a swimming pool for the critters that enjoy the water. On the marketing side, plans are progressing to make the work-in-progress herpetarium semi-public. A new website is underway, and the YouTube channel will have several episodes finished and produced before the upcoming online premiere.

Jukes has been seriously involved with the care of reptiles since he was 15 years old. He’s glad he’s made a name for himself in the community and turned his life around, transforming his reputation with local police officers from delinquent to friend and partner.

“In between all of that was the love and rescue of animals,” Jukes said.

The Jukes family prides itself as having made some people go from having a fear of snakes to wanting one or a similar creature as a pet. When Reptile Realm was open downtown, Jukes remembers kids imploring their parents to stay and look at the reptiles and sometimes even crying about having to leave. Instances like that, for the Jukes, has made the sanctuary experience all the more fulfilling.

Jukes has had some children on probation even participate in community service with him by taking care of the reptiles. While they are learning alongside him, he said he wants to instill in youth a passion for learning, not just about reptiles but about philosophy and pop culture too.

“We plan to entertain as well as educate,” he said. “We’re trying to offer something different and something life-changing.”

Providing an escape from everyday life is part of the Jukes’ mission, Jukes said. Even with decades of caring for and observing reptiles under his belt, he said he is still fascinated every time he picks up one of his creatures.

“I’m still that 5-year-old kid when I’m holding one of my lizards,” Jukes said.

To support his animals and feed the monitor lizards, the family has started a fundraiser online — gofundme.com/new-freezer-reptile-enclosursfeed — to raise money for a replacement freezer to store meat for the assortment of monitor lizards and other reptiles.

“It’s a weird, quirky lifestyle we have,” Jukes said.