My pet project

[BFM_Ben1]

I feel like I didn't know what a snake was before reading this thread!

[BFM_JANE]

Attention! I've been craving it! 


Had a scare tonight. I hope he doesn't die :(  I always say that, but I really mean it this time!

The snake shed today, he's bright and shiny and very clean. I decided to feed him tonight since he hasn't eaten in two weeks.

I've been feeding him in his regular tub (rather than take him out and feed him in a feeding tub, then put him back in his regular one). I dropped the first one in and he grabbed it and ate it.

When I put the second one in, he missed it and grabbed the washcloth* right next to it, started eating it and working it down. I grabbed him right away, but one has to be careful when trying to get something out of a snake's mouth. They have very thin teeth (mainly used for gripping) and if you pull something out of their mouth (usually a finger), you could pull out a tooth with it. Or fang, whatever they have. Anyway, if a tooth comes out, the hole could get infected and they get sick, and so on.

I wasn't pulling much at all, mostly just taking up the slack, but he wasn't letting go. I brought him to the sink and ran some cold water over his head. He hated it and eventually released the cloth, but it snagged a little on the bottom jaw.


So this is the kind of stress that can make a snake regurgitate. A "regurg" is bad for them, considered to be an emergency situation. It messes up their stomach and it takes a while to get back to normal. If they regurg their next meal, it's really bad.

I'm worried for the little thing, I feel terrible. So far he hasn't thrown up the first mouse (didn't give him the second, even though he really wanted it**) and he's coiled up on the warm side, which is where he should be when he's digesting.



* I put a washcloth in as something in can hide under/in that I can wash if it gets dirty. Not the most aesthetic of snake furniture, but he seems to like it. Maybe too much...


** He was in feeding mode, so when I picked him while tugging on the washcloth he was eating, he started constricting. The upper half of his body around the cloth, the lower half around my thumb and wrist. Even after I got the washcloth out, he was clamped around my thumb and looking for food. He wasn't trying to bite the hand he was wrapped around, but when I used my left hand to try to unwrap him, he opened his mouth and went for me. I was sure this was the day he'd bite me! It was close.

[BFM_JANE]

These little devil rats are startin' to bug me!

They're supposed to nibble on you as they get to know you. I've read that. I've also read that if they bite, you're not supposed to pull your hand away because they figure out that's how to get you to leave them alone.

So I'm letting them nibble on me as long as I can take it (about an eighth of a second), then moving my hand/fingers around to their backs. They turn around to get me again, but eventually give up. But they do intentionally go after my fingers, I can see it. Devils!

Well the brown one bit my finger knuckle and when I pulled my hand away, he didn't let go! There was a little blood. Very little, but still

They're constantly moving, unless they're eating or hiding, and only one of those presents an ideal photo opportunity.

     

[BFM_JANE]

He bit me!

Not the devil rats, they've gotten past that phase, mostly just casually nibble my fingertips now.

But the snake, he got me and he got me good. It nearly scared me to death. I didn't die, but I made a noise like "erp!" and I jumped big time.

I had just finished feeding him (in his small feeding container) and was putting the hand sanitizer gel on my hands (not to sanitize them, but so they have a strong, repulsive odor that lets little snakes know I'm not a mouse). Moving my hands got his attention and he started coming out of the container to investigate. I didn't want him to fall out or tip the container, but my hands were still really wet from the sanitizer. I put my forearm out for him to lean on, trying to keep my hands as far as I could from him, and before I knew it, he struck and bit me.

Naturally, I took a picture for those with a very morbid curiosity. Fair warning, it's a horrible wound and an awful reminder of what fragile creatures we are. Hug your loved ones tonight.


Click to enlarge IF YOU DARE!



It's disgusting! And I'm not talking about my sparse arm hair, though that's pretty gross too.



Of course I've been waiting for him to bite me, practically daring him to do it. What a thrill!

I have a freckle further down on my arm, but cropped it out, so no visual size comparison. It might be hard to tell how big my injury is in the huge image, but the teeth fang marks are approximately half a centimeter across. I'm lucky to be alive.

[Zeek]

well that does look like a major bite. hope it heals fast.

[BFM_Crimson]

It was nice knowing you.

[MrMxyzptlk]

I say that you should bite him back!

[BFM_JANE]

Nom!

He hasn't killed me yet, and I haven't killed him, so took some pictures:

     


And the gerbils are doing well too. The brown one isn't very sociable, but is friendly enough, doesn't like to be handled. I only had to get peed on once to figure that out.   The black one is pretty awesome and funny. They're both very fast and remind me squirrels.

The brown one's boring, but the black one will hop in my hand and either wait to be lifted or will climb up my arm if I take too long. He'll run around on my legs and up to my shoulders where he'll sit and check things out for a second before running to another perch.

It seems their personal mission is to pee in the exercise wheel as soon as I clean it. 

[Øụ†₭ąṧ‡]

Are you fattening the gerbs up for the Steve's Thanksgiving Dinner? 

[BFM_JANE]

Since I'm pretty well hooked on snakes, I got two more (ordered online from a breeder, being received later today). I was only going to get one, but the shipping ended up being more than the snake itself, so I got another one to make the shipping worthwhile. That's reasonable, isn't it? 

One is a "High White Ultramel Okeetee Corn", otherwise known as a "snake". Babies don't look like much, but the ultramel will look something like this as an adult. Here's the breeder's pic of it:




The other one is the one I really wanted. It's a miami corn snake, and the perfect adult miami looks like this. Love those colors, looks like a sunset! It's the silvery background that makes them "perfect" (since usually the background is more tan or orange -- how undesirable), and that's what I'm hoping for in this one:




They're both female, but I hate calling animals "she", so they'll both either be "it" or "he". Probably "it". 

[BFM_JANE]

Got the snakes and they are settled in now. And they are so tiny and cute! Maybe a foot long and skinnier than a pencil, with little heads. The pics above make them look huge, but no. Tiny.

The ultramel is definitely the prettier baby with its lighter colors, but they're both really nice looking. Will take some pics next week once they've had a chance to get used to things.

[BFM_Ben1]

Jane would you say that snakes require "a lot of work" overall?

Judging from the thread is say yes if course but in a random argument Witt some FreeBSD they said a snake just lies around and feeds it self 

[BFM_JANE]

They're barely any work at all, once you get everything set up. Get the heat source in and the temperature right, put all the furniture in their enclosure, then dump in a snake. They really do just lie around all the time. Take out their poo twice a week, feed them once a week, hold them for a little while a couple times a week.

I think I said earlier in the thread (if you were READING! ) that they're really low maintenance. Too low, I had to get more, lol.

Also, Witt and FreeBSD? Are you on a phone?

[BFM_Ben1]

They're barely any work at all, once you get everything set up. Get the heat source in and the temperature right, put all the furniture in their enclosure, then dump in a snake. They really do just lie around all the time. Take out their poo twice a week, feed them once a week, hold them for a little while a couple times a week.

I think I said earlier in the thread (if you were READING! ) that they're really low maintenance. Too low, I had to get more, lol.

Also, Witt and FreeBSD? Are you on a phone?

Almost tempting me to get one, but i dont really do animals :/

And yea i was on my phone  (edited now!

[BFM_JANE]

Snakes don't like people, so it'd be perfect! But you're at that age where you could be moving away from home soon, and might not be able to take a long-lived reptile with you. Do continue to enjoy snake ownership vicariously through me

I got an order from the mouse company today, bigger food items for the red snake. They have fur on them, poor little mousies. Of course, the best part of the shipment was the dry ice, and I stood over the sink watching it bubble for several minutes until it was all gone. It will be the highlight of my day, I'm sure.

The babies are still hiding, but the miami comes out when it's been dark for a while. Goes back to hiding when I turn on the light. They're so tiny! I'm going to be cutting pinkies in half for a few weeks... gag.