On Tuesday, Nov. 9, officials from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), the New York State Department of Environmental Conversation (DEC) and Nassau County police descended on Hicksville's LI Reptile Museum in a effort to save its animals from freezing to death.

As temperatures were dropping to dangerously low levels, the International Fauna Society was called in by officials to supervise the rescue and relocation of animals that were at risk of freezing in the unheated building. According to published reports, the temperature inside the museum, which is located at 70 Broadway, was as low as 50 degrees, well below the 100-plus degree temperatures necessary for the reptiles to survive.

The Town of Oyster Bay had recently cited the museum, which is operated by Steven Kates, with numerous building code violations including exposed wires and other hazards. As a result, the museum was closed to the public late last month, but the reptiles remained on site. According to published reports, both LIPA and KeySpan had cut off service to the museum due to nonpayment.

According to the Fauna Society, the museum "was literally a death trap for these animals as temperatures plunged well below freezing."

As a result, efforts were made through the night to save the reptiles from what would have been life-threatening respiratory illness or frozen deaths. "The actions taken saved lives," International Fauna Society President Bob Smith said, adding that the animals were placed in temporary safe havens to be rehydrated, fed and heated.

More than 180 animals were removed from the museum - including two 6-foot alligators, a 200-pound tortoise, a 15-foot anaconda and 12 highly venomous snakes - and placed on a 40-foot bus used as a mobile animal hospital before being transported to licensed animal facilities.

SPCA, in conjunction with local veterinarians, will determine when the reptiles can be released. Fauna hopes to give permanent refuge to some of the animals at its facility in Riverhead once the reptiles are given a clean bill of health. In the meantime, they are being kept at an off-site location where volunteers and Fauna representatives are caring for them. The animals must all be in good health before they can be relocated as the threat of disease and contamination could jeopardize the health of the Riverhead serpentarium's own animals.

"It's all about animal rights," said Smith. "We have to help these animals while safeguarding those already in our care."

Any schools that may have had field trips scheduled to the LI Reptile Museum are urged to call Fauna at (631) 722-5488. The serpentarium and edu-tainment center, located on Main Street in Riverhead, is prepared to accommodate schools that had planned field trips to the reptile museum.

- Victoria A. Caruso