Fur-babies VII

[draggonlaady]

For this one, there's no fur involved.



Many many years ago, my boyfriend of the time went to the Herp show at the Puyallup Fair, and returned with a lovely ball python. I had Lady MacBeth for a long time (over 8 years), but not as long as I should have. I lost her while I was in vet school, because the heater of my house went batshit and cranked the temperature in my house up over 100F while I was gone. Between the sudden 40F jump in temperature, and the heater on her tank, she overheated and died. Believe me, this did not help make vet school less stressful and hellish.

About 2 months later, I got a call from the ever lovely sphynx_again, saying that someone had just dropped a python off at the Humane Society, and they didn't know what to do with it. Would I take him?

So I went over and checked Cassius out. He was about 3 years older than Lady had been, but quite a bit smaller. Turns out that the people who'd had him hadn't bothered to give him a heat source, and had only been feeding him one mouse a month. And you guessed it, he came home with me. With any luck, he'll still be around in 30 years, now that he's got a basking area and a decent diet.

Comments

[neogrammarian.livejournal.com]

That's one of the things that's so scary to me about keeping herpts- so fragile, in a way. We had 2 chameleons as kids, and my cat sat by the tank every day. Their heatrock shorted and fried them- totally random accidental death. The cat moved outside the door to the room they had lived in, and kept vigil for weeks.

As sorry as I was to lose the lizards, it was especially sad to see how badly my cat felt- I got her a mouse to watch, but she wasn't interested. Her chameleons were gone.

(I know I know- probably some simple feline behavioral reason behind it all, but you gotta admit, it was a weird reaction.)

Glad your rescue snake has a better home than the last.

[draggonlaady.livejournal.com]

Yeah. it's very hard to have a really good environment for them. The vast majority of problems that I see with exotics come from improper feeding and improper husbandry. I spend more time teaching people about what things are ok to feed than I do teaching them about actual diseases.

[olafthunderfoot.livejournal.com]

lucky snake! i almost had a 4' garter snake once, i caught it at the lake where i was fishin and put it in my rod caddy. some dumbass knocked it over and the snake got away though.

btw, nice butt!

[draggonlaady.livejournal.com]

I am not in favor of wild-caught pets.

And it's not my butt, but i'll pass along the compliment.

[julzerator.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

I'm still terrified of snakes. :(

[draggonlaady.livejournal.com]

Sorry. Wish I could make that go away, because they really are fascinating critters, and I am sad you can't share in that.

[jacksontwobears.livejournal.com]

He's cute!
I say that in a way only another python owner can.

While yours is teeny by comparison, I still think he's adorable.
Yeesh ... I get gah-gah over snakes.

Remind me to stay in bed when I randomly wake up at 3:45 am.

[draggonlaady.livejournal.com]

Well beautiful, if I was in bed with you at 3:45am I might have more say on that. ;)

Yeah, he's pretty little--comes of not having enough heat and food to grow, I guess. But he was 17 when I got him, so not much I can do about it now. 'S ok though, at least the largest thing I have to hunt down for him is a rat!

[jacksontwobears.livejournal.com]

If we were in bed and awake at 3:45am, I'm betting it wouldn't be a "random awake" thing.
It would be a "still awake" thing.

[draggonlaady.livejournal.com]

Or an awake again after a nap thing, which ever you prefer :)

[evil-egg.livejournal.com]

I need a belt like that...

[draggonlaady.livejournal.com]

Can you kill mice and rats to feed to it?

Should I be surprised?

[brainweevil.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

Do you think it's coincidence that the most phallic animal you house is also the animal that received the most rapid comment flurry... and that the discussion devolved into bed occupants and reasons to not be asleep?

Yes, I see that Rally got more comments (barely), but she was the first, so she's had more time to build a stack.

Re: Should I be surprised?

[draggonlaady.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I guess maybe I could have exacerbated that by saying that I keep him in the bedroom too?

Re: Should I be surprised?

[brainweevil.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

Well, that or in the shower. I know some people who keep that sort of thing in the tub area. Something about "easy clean up".

Re: Should I be surprised?

[draggonlaady.livejournal.com]

Does make it easier when they eliminate in the water.

[sphynx-again.livejournal.com]

Hey, glad to know he's still doing well. I always thought he was cute, but I'm also the only person at the humane society that isn't creeped out by snakes.