RUMFORD – Sixteen-year-old Melissa Kimball nonchalantly surveyed a sea of children Thursday afternoon while they, in turn, stared back, wide-eyed and pointing.

But it wasn’t the teenager’s appearance that grabbed and held the attention of more than 75 youngsters and 40 adults at the Rumford Library.

It was the 2-foot-long, live black-and-gold-splotched ball python contentedly curled around her warm neck, its head resting on her left shoulder.

Holding and showing large constrictors is old hat for Kimball, whose parents Rob and Kim White of Rumford own a handful of pet snakes that range in length from 2 to 8 feet.

That’s why she eagerly helped her parents educate the crowd about snakes for nearly 60 minutes. While the 3-pound ball python named Zeus gently held Kimball, the teen’s mom, Kim, held Delilah, their 8-feet-long red tail boa constrictor, and Melissa’s dad held their newest warm-blooded family member, Hercules.

Hercules, another red tail boa, was younger and shorter than 8-year-old Delilah, but fatter and darker colored. He was also more active, crawling up, down, around and over Rob White as if he were a tree trunk or rock.

Rob White began the library’s Summer Fest program by introducing a wild garter snake to the children. It was a thin, green snake he had found in a wall with other garter snakes at Gallant’s Furniture in Roxbury, where he is employed.

“I’m not trying to hurt it, so it’s not striking at me,” he said, while explaining what actions to look for should they catch or corner a wild snake. “They can go to the bathroom on you, try to bite you or slither away. Like any wild animal, they’ll try to get away.”

After returning the garter snake to a box, Rob White then slowly pulled 6-year-old Zeus out before demonstrating, with his hand and throat, how constrictors squeeze their prey as his voice changed several octaves. Laughter erupted around the room.

Ball pythons live in low grassy, rocks and on overhanging rocks in Asia and Africa, eating rodents. Rodents, he said, can be mice, rats, hamsters, Guinea pigs, rabbits or gerbils.

One of the unique features about ball pythons, he said, is its ability to curl up into a ball, fully concealing both its tail and head when fearful.

White also explained the differences between poisonous and non-poisonous snakes, when an adult asked if Maine has poisonous snakes.

“People will tell you that there are no poisonous snakes in Maine, but if you hear a rattling sound, don’t keep that thought in your head. Rattlesnakes have been found in Maine. They are pine rattlers and you will find them in rock quarries,” Rob White said.

When he pulled Delilah out of its box, some parents said they weren’t going to stick around. But they relaxed and even broke out in laughter when the mild-mannered, 30-pound snake crawled across White’s face.

After handing Delilah to his wife, Rob White pulled out Hercules and answered children’s questions before closing the program by allowing anyone to hold, touch or feel the snakes.

“I thought the snake was great,” said 4-year-old Nicole Welch of Dixfield, who held Zeus briefly. “It felt soft.”

Welch then petted the snake when her friend Kayla Provencher, 8, of Peru held it.

The White’s said they enjoy teaching people about their snakes, especially children.

“This is a good opportunity to show kids whose parents may be afraid of snakes that they don’t have to be,” Kim White said. “We love doing this stuff. It’s so much fun with the kids. It’s something we look forward to doing every year.”

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