Halloween may be over but the scaly crawlies were out in force Sunday evening at Carolyn Parr Nature Center.

The largest of the creatures, Scar — a 12-foot burmese python named so because of a wound it endured while eating a live animal — was the highlight of the center’s monthly Napa Reptile Club meeting.

On the first Sunday of each month, the club gathers at the center to talk reptiles. The group’s mission is to educate children and others by having local professionals come to the center to present animals and talk about them.

Joe Lam, Scar’s owner, who owns and operates Joe and Wendy’s Reptile Rescue and Rattlesnake Removal out of Vallejo, rescued Scar from his previous owner and brought him to Napa to share with the club.

“The guy got tired of him and was going to release him out in the wild,” Lam told the group of about two dozen snake and reptile lovers.

Lam, who also works at Silverado Veterinary Hospital, invited the group of mostly children to help him lift Scar from his container. After overcoming a small bout of nervousness, the children eagerly helped Lam lift the 50-pound python.

Scar’s favorite food is 15-pound frozen rabbits, which Lam thaws before feeding to him. Some pythons are less willing to be handled by humans and have been known to attack them, he said. That’s why Lam feeds Scar frozen animals — if Scar were to eat lives ones, the snake would get used to eating food that moves and that could spell danger for any small children, other pets or someone who is careless with the animal, Lam said.

Such an attack happened to Lam about a year ago, he said. He was feeding one of his pythons in a bathtub when the animal wrapped its tail around Lam’s arm. After a struggle, Lam was able to get away from the reptile and ran to a neighbor’s house for help. Together, the two men were able to calm the snake and get him back into his cage, Lam said.

“All reptiles have good days and bad days,” Lam said. “Nobody else wants to take these (snakes). It’s because they are so mean. They get large, and for large snakes you gotta eat large meals.”

Although Scar is already about as thick as a tire, he will grow even more, to be about 20 to 25 feet long, Lam said. But the creature didn’t start out big. To give the Reptile Club an indication of how much Scar has already grown, he brought Little Green, a much smaller 1-year-old python, to compare.

Scar and his little brother were joined by a host of boas that kept the snake discussion going at the center.

“They’re cool, I want a snake,” said Grant Hill, a 10-year-old 5th-grader at Browns Valley Elementary School. “I like the way they move.”

Tim Hill, Grant’s father, said “we are looking into it,” but said the family would not get a snake as large as Scar.

“We have a lot of other pets that would not be compatible with that snake,” he said.

The Hills often come to Carolyn Parr Nature Center for presentations about snakes and other creatures and learn a lot about wildlife, Tim Hill said.

“It’s just a good learning experience,” he said.

Aside from coming to the Nature Center, Lam said he travels to different schools, churches, birthday parties and 4-H Club gatherings to put on reptile shows. His house in Vallejo is a virtual habitat for snakes and other reptiles, he said. Together with his wife, Wendy, they operate the Reptile Rescue and Rattlesnake Removal service, traveling all over the county and other parts of the Bay Area to rescue and remove snakes.

Over the years, the center has offered informative presentations and workshops centering around wildlife in the valley.

“It’s important to let people know what’s in our backyard and to show respect of it,” said Karen Swain, associate board member of Carolyn Parr Nature Center.

On Saturday, Nov. 15, at 10 a.m., the center will feature a presentation on salmon in conjunction with the Napa County Resource Conservation District.