COVER STORY : Crawling in Love : People are warming up to cold-blooded pets. A variety of reptiles, amphibians and even insects are being taken into people’s homes--and their hearts. Some Valley pet owners claim the critters offer more affection than dogs or cats.

In the old days, when Junior whined for a pet, the family drove the wagon to the pound and came home with a dog or cat. These days, it would seem, dogs and cats are for wusses.

“Reptiles are just more me ,” explains Justin Van Leeuwen, a Woodland Hills teen-ager who owns five lizards, four snakes, four tortoises and two turtles, not to mention a tarantula, a scorpion and a frog.

Jason Saperstein, manager of the cavern-like reptile department at Reseda Pet Stop, calls these types of crawly critters the pets of the future, acknowledging their growing popularity. “We’re selling a lot more snakes and lizards than we used to,” he says.

But why would sane humans blow big money on something others would run away from on a camping trip? Where’s the thrill in owning a rat-gobbling monster that might scarf your cat if you had one?

“They’re very low-maintenance, they’re easy to care for and they live a very long time in the proper environment,” Saperstein says.

This doesn’t half explain the raptures of aficionados for reptiles and other creepers.

“I used to be afraid of snakes; now I’m fascinated with them,” says Josh Licano, a West Valley resident and employee of WM Adventures, a Chatsworth company that specializes in captive-bred reptiles and custom terrariums. “I’m fascinated by their coloring, the way they move--and their affection. They’ll coil up and sleep in your hand. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it.”

Lately, more people are experiencing it, according to Eric Akaba, a Santa Monica animal control officer and member of the 40-year-old Southwestern Herpetologists Society. “The movie ‘Jurassic Park’ created a big interest in cold-blooded animals,” he says.

Ralph Breyman of Newhall, the exhibit committee chair for the herpetologists society, says that although he doesn’t know of any statistics, one measure of the growth of reptiles’ popularity is the proliferation of reptile shows, where breeders come to sell and the public comes to buy. During the past five years, he has seen these shows in Southern California go from two a year to nearly one a month. And although they used to involve imported, wild-caught reptiles, they now focus on captive-bred creatures. He thinks the increase in shows is related to the fact that there are now many more breeders and much more knowledge about how to care for these animals.

He also noted that attendance at the shows used to be male-oriented but the events now attract more families, with lots of women and kids participating.

The trend toward keeping exotic pets has grown so big that Dawn Airen and her partner Andrew Lambros were encouraged to open an exotic pet shop called WM Adventures in November in The Promenade shopping mall. Several months ago, Airen says, “We suddenly had so many people wanting pet reptiles that we decided to look for a store.”

Though their shop did well and attracted a lot of attention, they moved last month to a showroom in Fred Segal’s Ecology Information Center in Santa Monica. They made the move, says Lambros, to take advantage of “the more high-end environmentally conscious crowd” that shops there.

Both by mail order and through the Fred Segal showroom, WM sells mice-eating pythons and boa constrictors; iguanas, monitor lizards and water dragons; tropical turtles, frogs and geckos. The company also markets hairier, leggier creatures--zebra and rose-hair tarantulas, whip tail and black emperor scorpions--as well as giant millipedes.

The atmosphere of WM’s world is gentle: New Age music plays and animals are presented in spacious, plant-filled settings, some with misting systems that mock rain-forest conditions, many with special lights, heating elements, pools and rocks.

Although many pet shops emphasize responsible pet ownership, many in the field of animal control and protection are disturbed by novelty pet trends. Dennis Kroeplin, a West Valley animal control and wildlife officer, decries the “macho guy who wraps a 12-foot python around his shoulders.” He believes, “Pets are for giving and receiving affection, not for showing off.”

In the same vein, Dr. James Isaacs, a veterinarian who treats exotic pets in his Encino practice, shakes his head over “people who are into monstro bugs, like giant hissing cockroaches. You bother them, they hiss--it’s like having a giant squeaky toy!”

Of greater concern to Isaacs, though, is that exotic pets often sicken and die because their owners don’t understand their needs--for certain foods and environments, for heat, moisture and even special handling. “Consumers do endless research before they buy a car,” he observes. “They should do the same when they buy an animal.”

Akaba agrees, pointing out that “it’s hard to please an animal used to running around a great area once you cage it.” This is especially true of iguanas and other lizards, he says, which are by nature very active, eat often and are used to basking in the sun. In contrast to most captive snakes, iguanas need special lights, more heat, more space and handling and more frequent, varied meals.

Akaba says that although iguanas are one of the most popular scaly pets, they are turned in to the Herpetologists Society (which maintains a reptile adoption program) in great numbers by owners discouraged about how big they grow. “They haven’t done their homework,” he says. “They buy them at one foot, they get rid of them at three feet--and that’s only half their growth!”

Partly to ensure responsible ownership of reptiles within city limits, Los Angeles requires a $70 annual ownership permit for all snakes and lizards. “We inspect all quarters an animal will live in before we issue a permit,” says Kroeplin. He says that because pet shops are not legally bound to inform customers about permit requirements, they aren’t always observed. Pet owners may also be unaware, he says, that venomous reptiles (seldom found in stores) are prohibited in the city of Los Angeles.

L.A. County requires a permit for any snake except gopher or king snakes but does not require them for lizards. Theoretically, says Bob Ballenger, an animal-control officer for the county, people may be allowed to own venomous snakes in L.A. County, but “it’s a discretionary matter. We don’t have to issue the permit.” County snake owners must apply to the L.A. County animal care and control office, pay an initial license inspection fee of $50 and then a $125 annual permit fee.

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Glendale does not require a permit for reptiles unless owners are also breeders. In Burbank, snake owners must apply annually for a $5 permit.

Whatever the animal, says Isaacs, it’s the owner’s job to have it checked at least once a year by a vet. “It’s much easier to read the signs in a whiny, sick dog than in a bug or reptile that doesn’t even move much,” he explains.

Emotive or not, even the least likely little beast can command a great outpouring from the human heart. Airen of WM Adventures tells of one customer who came in crying because his tarantula had died.

Justin Van Leeuwen, 15, lights up when telling stories of his favorite pet, Schmee, a green iguana who rolls and wrestles with him. “He loves me more than my dog ever did,” Van Leeuwen declares.

Over the years, Justin’s mother, Fran Van Leeuwen, has become a reluctant supporter of her son’s passion. “When he said, ‘Can I have a snake?’ I said, ‘No way!,’ ” she recalls. “Now I say, ‘No more come in unless you get rid of one first.’ ”

In the two years he has owned most of his pets, Justin has proved responsible and conscientious. He comes home from school and chops vegetables for their dinner, he cleans all nine of his terrariums daily, and he has even gotten part-time jobs to defray the cost of his animals’ upkeep. He has also, his mother says, read extensively about reptiles and has designed several school projects around them.

Harvey Fischer, curator of reptiles at the Los Angeles Zoo, applauds such passionate animal husbandry, which, he says, leads to good relationships between humans and pets. But too often, he thinks, neophyte owners forget one thing: “These are wild animals. You buy a foot-long iguana, soon it’s three or four feet. It whips you with its tail; it scratches you; it’s behaving normally. Don’t expect it to be a nebbish.”

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Kroeplin reminds owners that many wild animals--and particularly large reptiles--are potentially dangerous. “A snake 10 to 12 feet long is totally capable of harming an adult,” he says. “And if it’s hungry, it won’t understand that a small dog or cat--or even a toddler--is off limits for dinner.”

But if Kroeplin worries for owners, he feels even worse for the captive beasts. “I personally would like to see all wild animals go free,” he said.

As to arguments on the other side, Fran Van Leeuwen, whose son hopes one day to go into the business of breeding reptiles, explains that one of Justin’s teachers helped her overcome her resistance to his pets. “She told me, ‘If he has this love for a field of knowledge, you’re doing him a disservice not to promote it.’ ”

Which is not to say that Mom is at peace sharing quarters with the scaled, the slimy and the hairy. “It’ll be interesting to see how they fit in his college dorm,” she says. “They’re sure not staying home with me!”