The buzzing sounds of bees and the slithering of a snake are some of the familiar sounds that welcome him home.

Junior Riley Keller has never had quite a love for animals, but more of a fascination with them.    Owning more than seven different types of critters, there’s nothing this exotic animal keeper is afraid of.

“I don’t really love animals; I do appreciate them though. I kind of have a passion for them,” Riley said. “I guess my fascination really started in fifth grade when we did a 9-mile walk and at lunch time the people who worked at the park, the LBJ Grasslands, brought out a bunch of snakes to show people. And that was kind of a moment for me. That’s what made me want to get my pet snake Ernie.”

Not only does Riley have a pet snake, but his collection consists of two hermit crabs, two dogs, four cats, a tarantula, a Vinegaroon scorpion, an Asian Forest  scorpion and three beehives.

“I’ve always somewhat liked animals since I was little. I’m not really entirely sure myself why I have so many, but I kind of like them each for some of the cool abilities they have,” Riley said. “Like, the Vinegaroon [scorpion] can spray his vinegar-like substance on you. And it smells like vinegar. And the bees…I just thought that would be kind of neat. I’ve only had like, one mauling from them so far.”

Riley raises bees for their honey and plans to collect some this spring. He admits to not wearing a full bee suit, although sometimes he wishes he did.

“One time I had a suit on, but it was only a top part suit, and long story short, a bunch of bees chased me and I had to dive into a pond  to escape them. I counted eighteen stings at least afterwards,” Riley said.

This isn’t the first time Riley has had a strange encounter with his animals.

“When I was little I went to my tarantulas cage and saw that it looked like it was growing all these different legs and mutating,” Riley said. “I was freaked out but then it turned out it was just molting.”

Although he has a great respect for animals, he does not plan to pursue a career involving them in the future.

“I do appreciate animals but I don’t want to have a job that requires me to work with them all the time,” Riley said. “But I will probably still have them as a hobby and continue keeping bees as a side job. It’s what I enjoy doing.”