Anyone who likes cupcakes, birthday cake, pizza, or anything made of grain can thank a snake for their favorite foods, said wildlife educator Joy Marzolf.

Marzolf, who runs live animal and nature programs with The Joys of Nature, brought some scaly critters to the Wareham Free Public Library on Friday, July 12 and explained that all animals – even the scary looking ones – have important jobs in the wild.

From behind a table, Marzolf took out an eastern rat snake that was greeted with oohs and ahhs from a crowd of youngsters and adults.

The eastern rat snake, said Marzolf, is responsible for eating rats and mice in fields – ensuring that grain and vegetables can grow and be used for all types of foods and drinks.

“If we did not have them eating all of our rats and mice, we would all be starving,” she said.

Ryland Kenyon, 6, had a chance to hold the eastern rat snake, which he described as “soft.”

Meanwhile, 12-year-old Maddy Yelton got to hold a Texas rat snake, a cousin to the eastern variety. She confirmed that the Texas rat snake was also “pretty soft.”

According to Marzolf, the Texas rat snake hitched a ride from Texas to Connecticut on a truck full of parakeets, which is how she came to care for it.

In addition to the pair of rat snakes, Marzolf showed kids a veiled chameleon, a blue-tongued skink and even a Morelet's crocodile.

Johnny Girvalakis, 9, was the first volunteer to touch the crocodile. He said he wasn’t scared at all because “it’s not going to harm us unless we harm it.”

Marzolf didn’t just show off endangered critters, she explained how people – even kids – can do their part to protect the environment and prevent harm to endangered animals.

“Sometimes people don’t understand that all animals have important jobs in nature,” she said. “They all have a place they need to live in the wild.”

According to Marzolf, plastic bags and balloons can wreak havoc on marine animals like sea turtles. She asked kids to raise their hands if they would make sure to only use balloons inside the house.

She explained that while photographing endangered sea turtles off the coast of Falmouth, she found 75 deflated balloons in the water and added that “almost every single turtle that ends up in the New England Aquarium has plastic in their bellies.”

Eight-year-old Aubrey Kearney, who got to hold a snake during the presentation, said she “liked learning how [she] could protect endangered species.”