About Me

Greetings, friends! My name is Grayson Kent, owner and operator of Rock & Roll Reptiles. Ever since I was a little boy, I have been utterly fascinated by animals. Extant, extinct, even mythological, I love them all and it has been my mission in life to learn as much about them as I can and share that knowledge with any and all who will listen.

At the age of four I received my very first pets, a pair of fire-bellied toads named Joe and Tony, but it was a chance encounter with a kingsnake named Elvis that sparked my passion for reptiles. It wasn’t too long before I was keeping a variety of snakes, lizards, and other creepy crawlies. I have roughly 30 years of owning and working with all manner of creatures, from domestic pets and backyard wildlife to venomous snakes and sign-language using chimpanzees.

After receiving my degree in Paleobiology from UC Santa Barbara in 2010, I went to pursue my dream of working with animals. In the course of my career I have served as the animal curator of a children’s museum, reptile specialist at a major chain pet store, assistant/technician in a veterinary clinic, and keeper/educator at an exotic wildlife facility, and currently work as an instructor at a non-profit academy for gifted children. I also serve as an officer and board member of the Southwestern Herpetologists Society and have participated in a number of zoological/paleontological studies.

My family has always put great emphasis on education and I started my teaching career as a young teen educating my brother’s second grade class about Indian wildlife. It was while working at the children’s museum where my passion for outreach developed and In 2012 I decided to turn that passion into something more tangible, so I started Rock & Roll Reptiles to bring my love of zoology and paleontology to kids of all ages (and adults, too!).