Are any of members of GardenStew also reptile lovers as well? I've been fascinated with snakes since I was a child. My grandfather was head of exotic species at FWC here in SoFlo and so I had the opportunity as a child to learn a lot about many different invasive species of fish, lizards, snakes and other wildlife. I also had a few corn snakes that I caught in my own backyard but unfortunately, my parents wouldn't let me keep them long term. They had a catch and release philosophy. Aside from corn snakes, I raised two iguanas that my grandfather found for me on one of his walks! Recently, I decided it was time to get myself a pet snake. Something I've wanted for years. Thankfully, there are a lot of Ball Python breeders in this area so I was able to find a regular ball python for a reasonable price. So meet my female Ball Python, Tsarina (Royal Empress of Russia), aka Tsar, Cat, or Tsaritsa. She is three years old, about 3-4 feet long and super friendly! I've got a pretty simple tank set up for her right now with a heat lamp, heat pad, a hide for her and a nice sized water bowl. I'm planning on getting some fake vines for her as well. She has a pretty nice Exo-Terra tank too. In the future, I plan on making a tank for her out of a dresser when I find a cheap one on Craigslist. I also plan on making a bio-active vivarium for her when I have the time and extra $$ to undergo another project. So aside from having two Belgium Malinois females, my boyfriend and I are now the proud parents of a snake! Anyone else here a reptile lover?
I like snakes, but can't say I love them. Our snakes are mostly non-venomous and afraid of humans. I like to see them around the yard since they eat mice and other vermin. This is a Prairie Kingsnake that visited us last summer. He is pretty, non-venomous, and very shy.
I'm lucky enough to live in a pretty dry area and we don't get many venomous snakes, as they live closer to the wetlands of the Everglades. He's got some nice markings! Kingsnakes make good pet snakes. Although I'm sure that dude would rather live in your garden.
My daughter had a Western Hognose snake - sadly long gone. It had beautiful colouring and was able to be handled without any problems. Now she has a Madagascar Giant Day Gecko that she rescued. Gex is just over three years old and now fighting fit. We also has Red Eared Terrapins when my children were young that lived with us for many years before having to go to a zoo as they got way too big to keep. I think you can gather that we are reptile and amphibian lovers in our family!!
<raises hand> Me! Me! I love snakes. Had a red tailed boa for years, a 6 footer, we called him AC (for Alice Cooper because of markings around his head/eye area that were eerily similar ) I loved that guy! He'd hang around my neck while I did the dishes. I put lots of extra detergent in the water and made piles of bubbles, because he just LOVED to dip in and out of the bubbles as I was washing. The only part I didn't like was the feeding.
We have a corn snake who is beautiful and up until recently, we had a bearded dragon, but after fifteen years, he sadly left this mortal coil. However, my fave reptiles are our four tortoises!
My youngest daughter is a reptile lover and since she works at Pet Smart and is the animal care person there she gets her fill of all of them. I need to get her to send me the photo of her with a snake down her shirt and head sticking our at her neck. She had been bathing it when a customer needed her help so she stuck the snake between her work shirt and t-shirt to keep it warm while it dried off and went out to help the customer. She got some funny looks and a couple of squeals from the customer.
Ha! I think most snake parents have done that! I put Tsarina in my shirt in the car on the way home from her old home! I have heard that Petsmart is the worst place for reptiles though. I've heard so many horror stories from people that have purchased snakes from them. I think it is because snakes need very special, attentive care and Petsmart is a big corporation so the care really varies from store to store. I went to a Petsmart near my house to look at the ball pythons before purchasing Tsarina and most of the snakes looked extremely dehydrated and sad. I would have purchased one but the prices were absurd! Hopefully the Petsmart your daughter works at is one of the good ones! It really just depends on the employees and the management but the store near me is one of the unfortunate ones.
She is really happy with the way the store where she works treats the critters. She doesn't like some of the employees who try to do her job on her days off or after she goes home but she has never had a problem straightening people out when it comes to how they treat animals. Customers also have received lectures from her.
Here's my Leopard Gecko Blaze...she a "Super hypo tangerine carrot tail"...she's not long cost me £20 for less than 5minutes at a vets to have her nails clipped, so I've put foot scrappers in her tank to help keep them low
