// Academy / Flagship Programs
19 signature, long-form programs led by the practitioners who define each discipline. Not a lecture series — the complete working philosophy of a career, taught at depth and recorded properly while the people who built this field are still here to teach it.
Kevin McCurley
The complete working philosophy of one of the most influential breeders alive. Husbandry systems, collection management, and the operational mindset behind New England Reptile, told by the man who built it.
IN PROGRESSTom Crutchfield · Kevin McCurley · Ty Park · George Van Horn & more
How the modern hobby was actually built — the keepers, breakthroughs, failures, and pioneers who forged a path where none existed. The lineage, on the record.
IN PROGRESSDr. Steve Dinkelacker · Kevin McCurley · Ty Park
Connecting captive knowledge to wild outcomes: habitat loss, field research, relocation, invasive species, and the conservation work that captive expertise makes possible.
IN PROGRESSKevin McCurley · Guest instructors
The world's longest snake at depth — husbandry, scale, temperament, genetics, and the realities of keeping and breeding retics responsibly.
IN PROGRESSCitadel Faculty
Keeping and handling the giants. Space, strength, safety, feeding, and the operational discipline that powerful species demand.
IN PROGRESSTy Park · Kevin McCurley & more
The foundation discipline: enclosure design, gradients, humidity, light, substrate, cycling, and daily observation — the complete system that lets reptiles thrive, not just survive.
IN PROGRESSKevin McCurley + faculty
Heredity, morphs, inheritance patterns, lineage, and responsible genetic stewardship. Moving breeders from random pairing to informed decisions.
IN PROGRESSCitadel Faculty
The full reproductive arc from conditioning and cycling through ovulation, incubation, and neonatal care — taught as a serious responsibility.
IN PROGRESSKevin McCurley · Ty Park · Tom Crutchfield · Stacy Crutchfield
The most intelligent lizards in the hobby. Enrichment, socialization, space, diet, and the bond-building structure these animals require.
IN PROGRESSTom Crutchfield
Reading reptiles accurately: body language, defensive signals, stress, feeding response, and the science of low-stress interaction.
IN PROGRESSGeorge Van Horn · Kevin McCurley · Tom Crutchfield & more
Hot-keeping done right: lock systems, hook and tube work, transport, bite protocols, and the professional discipline that keeping venomous demands — taught by handlers who do it for real.
IN PROGRESSGeorge Van Horn
Responsible care and management of medically significant species — venom biology, lock systems, transport, emergency planning, and professional-grade discipline.
IN PROGRESSGeorge Van Horn
The procedure, the science, and the safety architecture behind venom extraction — taught by practitioners who do it for real.
IN PROGRESSCitadel Faculty
Long-lived chelonians from hatchling to giant — husbandry, diet, enclosure scale, and the multi-decade commitment they represent.
IN PROGRESSKevin McCurley + faculty
Running collections and facilities at scale: design, SOPs, biosecurity, inventory, staffing, and turning passion into professional structure.
IN PROGRESSSurprise instructor
The unique radiation of a continent — pythons, monitors, dragons, and elapids — and what makes their husbandry distinct.
IN PROGRESSCitadel Faculty
The apex discipline. Care, handling, facility standards, and the protected-contact protocols large crocodilians demand.
IN PROGRESSCitadel Faculty
In-depth species courses for every species currently available — from leopard geckos and bearded dragons to crocodile monitors and scrub pythons, and everything in between. Real, working care, taught species by species.
IN PROGRESSCitadel Faculty
An overall course on the crocodilians — alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and gharials. Biology, husbandry, handling, and the facility standards they demand, top to bottom.
IN PROGRESS