According to his friend and colleague breeder David Levinson, the distinctive color combinations
and patterns he developed at Renick Reptiles in remote New Florence, Missouri, generated "designer pets" that might fetch upwards of $100,000.
According to him, "Ben was doing things no one had ever seen before, and he had a number of 'world's firsts' throughout the years.
Reptiles, however, can potentially be harmful. Sam Renick rushed over and came to the most reasonable conclusion after Ben's wife, Lynlee, contacted Ben's brother on June 8, 2017,
screaming that she had discovered Ben face-down at the breeding facility in a pool of blood.
He claims that "my brother's head was smashed." "I could never have dreamed that someone would harm Ben, not even in my wildest nightmares."