# Snakes



## Jade Tigress (Jul 13, 2006)

We got my son a Ball Python on Monday. He has been wanting a snake for a while now. He had some anoles before and I had reptiles when I was a teen. They're pretty cool. But this snake is the best.

He's a baby..a couple weeks old. About 18" long. At first he was very shy. Would hide all curled up in his little "house" and when you'd take him out he would curl up in a little ball in your hand and tuck his head way down in the center to hide. Ball Pythons are head shy and will curl up "ball" and hide like that when they're nervous, that's why they're called ball pythons. He has beautiful markings and is a healthy thing, clear bright eyes, shiny skin, and ate twice before we took him home. 

I have been handling him briefly everyday. This morning I went to get him and he didn't cower when I lifted the little stone house he curls up in. He kinda looked up at me and I picked him up and brought him downstairs to the computer with me. He's been crawling all over me, very curious, checking everything out, not head shy with me anymore. Oh! He just climbed off my lap onto the keyboard! I keep having to move him. Anyway, he is very cool and I am in love with this little guy. 

He will grow about a foot a year to an average size of about 4 feet, and 5 feet if he's really large. He will be a super fat thing though...pythons are fat. 

Anyway, thought I'd share cuz I'm lovin how this little guy is getting comfortable with me. Now my daughter wants one too so we'll end up getting her one as well. 

Anyone else own a snake or other *unusual* pets? 
My niece has a chinchilla.


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## Jade Tigress (Jul 13, 2006)

Here's some pictures.

I had to hold him away from me to take the pics.


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## Shodan (Jul 13, 2006)

Hi there-

  My next door neighbor's little girl has a corn snake.  It's grown quite a bit already- she's had it over a year now I think.  I'm not really a fan of snakes, but this snake has awesome markings.....the underside is black and white checkerboard (she named it Checkers) and the back is like orange sherbet and white colored.  I have to say.....Checkers is a pretty cool snake!!

  My Mom used to feed opossums on our back fence at night.  She had one that sort of became a pet that she named "Billy".  Well....Billy showed up with little pink babies all hanging on her one night......this is when we found out she was a she!!  She would let us pet her and even put your hand down in the front pouch (like a kangaroo- opossoms have that pouch).  It was really cool.......but man do they have big teeth!!

  Mom also raised a few gray squirrels......2 boys, 2 girls at various times.  The boys were friendly with eveyone in the house......the girls would only let Mom handle them.  My favorite was the first.....which I actually brought home and named Sammy.  He would ride around the house on my shoulder- it was so fun.


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## Shodan (Jul 13, 2006)

What's his name?


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## MA-Caver (Jul 13, 2006)

Jade Tigress said:
			
		

> We got my son a Ball Python on Monday. He has been wanting a snake for a while now. He had some anoles before and I had reptiles when I was a teen. They're pretty cool. But this snake is the best.
> 
> He's a baby..a couple weeks old. About 18" long. At first he was very shy. Would hide all curled up in his little "house" and when you'd take him out he would curl up in a little ball in your hand and tuck his head way down in the center to hide. Ball Pythons are head shy and will curl up "ball" and hide like that when they're nervous, that's why they're called ball pythons. He has beautiful markings and is a healthy thing, clear bright eyes, shiny skin, and ate twice before we took him home.
> 
> ...


Ball Pythons are indeed magnificent animals. The one I had managed to grow to over 4 1/2 feet in length before I had to give her up (due to apartment restrictions against pets when I moved :miffer: ). They are indeed "head-shy"
but you're doing the right thing by picking it up and handling it on a daily basis. You can pet the head if you start from the neck and work your way up with firm/gentle contact so the animal knows it's being touched there. 
It's a constrictor and thus one must be on guard, especially when it becomes an adult. For one thing do not handle the snake after handling it's food (rodents and such). I had mine bite me without realizing that it smelled a rat that I had handled a few minutes before (moving it from bag to "food-cage"). This is why those with even larger (and more aggressive) snakes/constrictors i.e. Burmese Pythons must be exceptionally careful as the larger animals can kill a person. Since Balls rarely exceed 5 1/2 feet this isn't a problem with one tiny exception. 
A few times when I had mine draped over my neck, she coiled all the way around as I was typing on the computer she squeezed or tightened around it. I had difficulty swallowing but not breathing. I simply relaxed and waited. If she gotten tighter then I would've simply found her neck and would just unwrap her. It never came to that. After a couple of minutes she would relax and stay where she was. If the snake does bite and doesn't let go... do NOT try to open it's jaws in anyway. They're very fragile in the sense that they can be broken out of joint (they do it themselves to swallow food but in a way that they can put them aright when done). Don't panic and use a few drops of alcohol/booze down it's throat and it'll promptly let go. It won't harm the snake but put it back in it's cage so it can access the water you have for it there. 
Use a large heavy water (bowl) so it can lay in it and won't tip it over. Mine had a nasty habit of doing that until I found one of those large rock shaped bowls with a flared out base that prevented her from tipping it. She occassionally liked to lay in the water for a while. She didn't like heat rocks but each snake is different, you may have to experiment between rock and lamp. 
For a guy feeding time was always the best time. Lightning fast in her strikes and then hearing the bones crunch (and an occasional eye-ball popping out of the rat's skull) always got my friends who watched a kick out of it. It may be frightening to the very young. 
Study up on the habitat, find out what type of "bedding" would best suit your baby" and find out which would be best for *ahem* cleaning after it eats. The fecal matter comes in two parts. Brown and soft (and stinky) and large white chunks (large being relative to your snake's size). The white is what's left of bones after digestion. 
Also don't worry if it refuses to eat for a while. When I first gotten mine (a mature adult) it didn't eat for 4 months. I became concerned but not panicky because I knew that snakes were capable of self-depravation of food for prolonged periods. Eventually they'll start eating again and go back to a regular cycle that suits them. Mine ate one medium to large sized rat a week. There's no need to vary the diet as well. Switching to a small bunny or guinea pig isn't doing it any favors except yourself. Snakes aren't the type that'll whine and say "RAT! Again?!"
I would also advise leaving it alone prior to shedding and making sure there's some rough areas in it's cage to "rub-off" on. When it's skin becomes dull and the eyes are glossed over, leave it alone because that's when it feels it's most vunerable and likely to be aggressive. Don't help peel any of the skin off until most of it is gone. When you do help out, use a wet paper-towel and go with the grain of the scales and be very gentle. Balls rarely have their skins come off in one nice long piece. 
Keep the cage clean as possible. I found mine more "happier" when I kept her cage clean of debris, old skin and fecal matter and changed the bark/bedding monthly (probably due to urine smells). 
Oh one more thing... be sure that the animal has voided after eating (usually a couple of days) before taking it out to "play". Snakes can't be house trained and for that matter don't really play, they'll just try to find a spot to hide/escape to and will void when the time is there. 
You'll have a long time to enjoy your snake. It's indeed a pretty one.


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## Jade Tigress (Jul 14, 2006)

Shodan ~ Cornsnakes are very pretty. Is the one your neighbor has docile? I'm more leary of the smaller, faster snakes. 

Your mom is out of her mind!!! lol!!! I've never heard of anyone feeding possums. That's pretty cool though. I'm always amazed by people who befriend wild animals. That had to be an awesome experience for you.

Were the squirrels wild? Where did you get them? Sounds like you had a cool mom when it comes to pets. 

My son named the snake "Snapper". Personally, I would have gone with either "Fang" or "Ka" from The Jungle Book. 

MA-Caver ~ Thanks for the fantastic information. I have been reading up on Ball Pythons and appreciate the additional info. How long did you have your snake?


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## stingg (Jul 14, 2006)

I've kept anoles for a long time. I've also had hedgehogs as pets. We've kept chickens/goats/sheep/steer calves but I don't really consider the stock to be pets. I'm in college now, and snakes aren't permitted, but my roommate and I have talked about it because we both like them. We're thinking about a lizard instead, but we'll both be studying abroad soon, so probably not, unless we can find someone equally enthusiastic with a different academic timeline!
Not that I don't love college but I'm looking forward to having my own place so I can have pets again.
Jade Tigress, Snapper is a beauty, many compliments!


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## mrhnau (Jul 14, 2006)

Jade Tigress said:
			
		

> We got my son a Ball Python on Monday. He has been wanting a snake for a while now. He had some anoles before and I had reptiles when I was a teen. They're pretty cool. But this snake is the best.



Nothing like a pet that can hug you. Then eat you 

Seriously though, I'd not mind a snake but my wife would go ballistic


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## Shodan (Jul 14, 2006)

Jade Tigress said:
			
		

> Shodan ~ Cornsnakes are very pretty. Is the one your neighbor has docile? I'm more leary of the smaller, faster snakes.
> 
> Your mom is out of her mind!!! lol!!! I've never heard of anyone feeding possums. That's pretty cool though. I'm always amazed by people who befriend wild animals. That had to be an awesome experience for you.
> 
> ...



  Hi Pam- 

  Yeah- Checkers the Corn Snake seems pretty docile overall......but tries to get out of it's aquarium a lot.  It crawls all over Maggie (the owner- age 6) and seems to love it.  I take care of their house when they are on vacation but have not had to feed the snake yet.......not really looking forward to that part!!

  All the squirrels were wild babies who were abandoned.  The first, Sammy- I found running around on the ground and climbing part way up a tree near my Dad's office.  He was weak and couldn't get up the tree any further.  I was walking on my way home and he started following me!!  So.....I took him home.  We learned a lot about squirrels after that- he started out on kitten milk mixed with applesauce.  He was great and let anyone and everyone pet him or carry him around our house.  Like I said earlier- he'd ride on our shouders.  Well- one day, he jumped from my shoulder to our couch and broke his back leg on the wooden part.  We took him to the vet and they actually ended up putting a little pin in his leg!!  He was okay for another year but that leg kinda went out to the side a bit.  He ended up getting some strange lymphatic problem involving his stomach.  We had to move him to UC Davis (2 1/2 hours away) cuz they knew more about wild animals than our local vets.  We missed him terribly.  They said the veterinary students would come in at lunch break and let him out and feed him peanuts in the room!!  He died there a few months later.

  The next was Cody.....a lady we knew got word about us having a squirrel for a few years and she lived right near a big palm tree.  Well......there was a nest of baby squrrels in her palm and a baby had fallen out and was on the ground in danger of being made lunch by the local cat!!  She asked Mom if she wanted another squirrel and Mom agreed.  We found out then how different the females are from the males.  Both females we had (Cody and Indy) were okay as babies....but when they get older, they pick one person to latch onto and give everyone else problems!!  Well, they latched onto Mom and we couldn't hardly get near them.  She could pet them, hold them, they'd climb up her leg and sit on her shoulder.....the rest of us.....they'd try to scratch and bite.  Mom had Cody for about 6 years I think....I can't remember how she died.  She was interesting in that she had a mal-occlusion (mis-alignment of top and bottom jaws).  Had she been in the wild, she probably would not have lived that long cuz their teeth never stop growing and she would have had issues with that.  Well.....Dad being a dentist....he brought her home a dremmel (tooth grinder) from the office.....and that squirrel would let Mom grind it's teeth down every two weeks!!  Mom is amazing with animals.

  The third was Dusty (another male)......he was awesome too.....he fell from that same palm tree.....different "litter" but proabably the same nest later on.  We only had him for about a year.  The vet gave him too much of an anti-biotic and he died.

  The final one was Indy.  She was a terror for us.....Mom loved her dearly.  She was another one from the palm tree.  She lived with us for about 8 years I think and I can't remember how she died either.  I will have to ask Mom about how Indy and Cody died.  

  I remember they loved Pine Nuts and all would let us feed them those.  Indy and Cody we had to feed thru the cage though or they'd scratch and bite.  Dad put a board across the bottom ladder rungs and enclosed our swing set from when we were little with Chicken wire and that's where all the squirrels were raised and lived one by one.  We also had a big stand up round wire cage for when they were inside and they'd run around inside from time to time too.  I remember one time Indy got out of the outside cage and went straight to the top of our big pine tree out there.  We were all freaking out trying to figure out how we'd get her back down and in the cage.  Well, I ended up shaking a bowl of dry cat food (which she loved as a treat) and she came down and jumped on me to get at the bowl.  I grabbed her around the waist and she turned and bit and latched onto my thumb!!  I handed her to Mom and she transferred her bite to Mom's thumb.....so we had matching bandages for awhile and still have matching scars today!!

  Yeah- Mom was great about us having pets......Dad always went along eventually!!    We had some wild (injured) birds from time to time too.  It was fun learning about such animals growing up.


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## mrhnau (Jul 14, 2006)

Jade Tigress said:
			
		

> Anyone else own a snake or other *unusual* pets?
> My niece has a chinchilla.



Not sure what you consider "unusual". Over the years I've had guinneas (bird), all kind of cage birds, chickens, horses and Sicilian burrows (like donkeys).

If I had my choice, I'd love a ferret 

edit: and peacocks


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## MA-Caver (Jul 14, 2006)

Jade Tigress said:
			
		

> <snip> MA-Caver ~ Thanks for the fantastic information. I have been reading up on Ball Pythons and appreciate the additional info. How long did you have your snake?




Oh for a couple of hours... 

Just kidding... about three years. She grew a good foot in length during the time I had her. I gotten her from my bud who raised it from a baby (same as yours). 

If I DO get another snake I hope it will be a Corn. They're gorgeous, which makes them expensive. :idunno: Popularity does have a price to pay.  

Enjoy your new pet.


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## bluemtn (Jul 15, 2006)

I don't have any strange or unusual pets-  just a dog that thinks she is a cat.  Beautiful snake, jade tigress!  I saw something about squirrels though!  When I lived in South Carolina, there were tamed squirrels that would just come right up to you for food.  I guess people just kept feeding them, and they got comfortable with human contact.  I have an uncle that had some kind of fox as a pet-  I have no idea why, but certainly unusual,  he kept that in a cage.


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## evenflow1121 (Jul 15, 2006)

Jade Tigress said:
			
		

> We got my son a Ball Python on Monday. He has been wanting a snake for a while now. He had some anoles before and I had reptiles when I was a teen. They're pretty cool. But this snake is the best.
> 
> He's a baby..a couple weeks old. About 18" long. At first he was very shy. Would hide all curled up in his little "house" and when you'd take him out he would curl up in a little ball in your hand and tuck his head way down in the center to hide. Ball Pythons are head shy and will curl up "ball" and hide like that when they're nervous, that's why they're called ball pythons. He has beautiful markings and is a healthy thing, clear bright eyes, shiny skin, and ate twice before we took him home.
> 
> ...


 
Nice snake, quick question I want to ask you: Is it true that the pythons have a short term memory and will never recognize who their owners are, or is that just a myth?


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## MA-Caver (Jul 15, 2006)

evenflow1121 said:
			
		

> Nice snake, quick question I want to ask you: Is it true that the pythons have a short term memory and will never recognize who their owners are, or is that just a myth?


Myth... snakes don't care *WHO* their owners are... as much as We'd like to apply emotional capacity to them, it's a good idea not to because they're cold blooded reptiles and they function on that level. If it's food for them they'll eat it. If they could they'd escape at the first opportunity... mine always tried.


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## Jade Tigress (Jul 15, 2006)

evenflow1121 said:
			
		

> Nice snake, quick question I want to ask you: Is it true that the pythons have a short term memory and will never recognize who their owners are, or is that just a myth?



I don't know. That's an interesting thought. 

This little snake does recognize me in the fact that he relaxes and doesn't hide (ball up) with me anymore. He is very comfortable climbing on me and will rest on my lap. He still balls up with other people and has actually sought out my arm when I'm standing next to someone else holding him.

Here is a quote from "Herp Care Collection" by Melissa Kaplan. She is specifically addressing Ball Pythons in this quote.
"Daily contact with each other will begin to establish a level of trust and confidence between you and your snake." 

They have to have some sort of memory or it would be a useless point. 

What do you think MA-Caver? Did your Ball Python recognize you?


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## evenflow1121 (Jul 15, 2006)

Thanks guys for your replies.


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## Cryozombie (Jul 15, 2006)

Jade Tigress said:
			
		

> Anyone else own a snake or other *unusual* pets?
> My niece has a chinchilla.



I had a Savannah Monitor for a while.


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## MA-Caver (Jul 15, 2006)

Jade Tigress said:
			
		

> What do you think MA-Caver? Did your Ball Python recognize you?


Well Amanda (her name) became accustomed to almost anyone picking her up and handling her. I never attributed that to her memory or anything else. It can be said that snakes have intelligence enough to figure things out, like escaping from cages and perhaps working their way through mazes and such and knowing enough to give up after checking out every possible escape route. 
As far as memory that says "oh that's Ralph picking me up or Bud his room-mate is picking me up... I don't want to give that much credit to them. I will allow the possibility of "scent memory" but one would say that is used for finding a familiar  "game trail for them to lie and wait for something tasty to come along.


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## Jade Tigress (Jul 15, 2006)

MA-Caver said:
			
		

> Well Amanda (her name)  I will allow the possibility of "scent memory" but one would say that is used for finding a familiar  "game trail for them to lie and wait for something tasty to come along.



I agree. Any form of memory is most likely in this vane. Ball Pythons are excellent escape artists, we have to have a locking lid on the tank.


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## Shaolinwind (Jul 15, 2006)

Jade Tigress said:
			
		

> We got my son a Ball Python on Monday. He has been wanting a snake for a while now. He had some anoles before and I had reptiles when I was a teen. They're pretty cool. But this snake is the best.
> 
> He's a baby..a couple weeks old. About 18" long. At first he was very shy. Would hide all curled up in his little "house" and when you'd take him out he would curl up in a little ball in your hand and tuck his head way down in the center to hide. Ball Pythons are head shy and will curl up "ball" and hide like that when they're nervous, that's why they're called ball pythons. He has beautiful markings and is a healthy thing, clear bright eyes, shiny skin, and ate twice before we took him home.
> 
> ...


 
Are you making sure to only feed him pre-killed mice?


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## JBrainard (Jul 15, 2006)

Jade Tigress said:
			
		

> Cornsnakes are very pretty. Is the one your neighbor has docile? I'm more leary of the smaller, faster snakes...Were the squirrels wild? Where did you get them? Sounds like you had a cool mom when it comes to pets.


 
I've read that cornsnakes are very docile and particularly good for kids (as far as reptliles go).

We used to have a squirrel that we trained to take nuts out of our hands. The funny part was that it got so tame that if we were'nt outside to give it nuts, it would get up onto the window box and dance around to get our attention until we came out with some nuts.

As for "real" pets, I had an iguana for a long time, but she got sick and died


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## JBrainard (Jul 15, 2006)

mrhnau said:
			
		

> If I had my choice, I'd love a ferret


 
Ferrets are rad cuz all they do is act mean and stink a lot


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## Ceicei (Jul 16, 2006)

mrhnau said:
			
		

> If I had my choice, I'd love a ferret



We caught a wild black mink (very savage and mean!) in our garage and kept it for a couple of days.  Because of its ferocitiy (and I was afraid for my kids, I didn't want them sticking their hands in the cage), we had to give it to the forest services to return it to the wilds.  That resulted in us wanting a tamer version (domesticated ferret).

We used to own three ferrets.  Love 'em!!  Intelligent critters, each with their own personalities!

One got accidentally run over by my husband's car.  The other two, a family friend saw them and fell in love with them and begged and begged and begged to have them, so finally I agreed to give them to her.  We were going out of state on an extended trip that year, so it probably would be just as well--not many others would be willing to watch them for us.  At last contact, they are doing well with her.

- Ceicei


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## Swordlady (Jul 16, 2006)

mrhnau said:
			
		

> If I had my choice, I'd love a ferret



I like ferrets too.    I got to play with a couple ferrets at the community center where I used to work.  For a while, I toyed with the idea of getting either a pair of ferrets or rats.  However, I also had roommates during that period of time, and none of them were cool with me bringing home a ferret or a rat (especially a rat).  So I decided to get two cats instead.    That is probably for the best, since cats are easier to maintain than ferrets or rats.  Not having to clean a cage helps a LOT.

I'm also digging your new snake, Pam.  Reptiles are cool.  :ultracool  I wouldn't mind owning a ball python, but I'm afraid it would eat my cats if it escaped.

I'll have to settle for "borrowing" other people's snakes.    I came across this one fellow last Friday while walking around downtown.  He rescues snakes and uses them in photography:


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## Jonathan Randall (Jul 16, 2006)

Well, when I was in elementary school in Florida, I showed my pet "king snake" around and gave an adult a near heart attack - my pet "king snake" that I had captured in my backyard and kept illicitly was actually a Coral Snake. I got in a little bit of trouble for this...


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## Swordlady (Jul 16, 2006)

Jonathan Randall said:
			
		

> Well, when I was in elementary school in Florida, I showed my pet "king snake" around and gave an adult a near heart attack - my pet "king snake" that I had captured in my backyard and kept illicitly was actually a Coral Snake. I got in a little bit of trouble for this...



OMG...it certainly wasn't funny back then (thank God you or anyone else didn't get bitten!), but it's pretty funny now.

And you just got into a "little" bit of trouble?  I would've grounded you for a month.  :uhyeah:


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## Jade Tigress (Jul 16, 2006)

> Are you making sure to only feed him pre-killed mice?



We haven't had to feed him yet, but yes, he will be fed pre-killed mice. 



> If I had my choice, I'd love a ferret



Ferrets are cool. My brother-in-law used to have one. They're awesome fun. 



> I came across this one fellow last Friday while walking around downtown.  He rescues snakes and uses them in photography:



That's a beautiful snake, and you look quite the natural with him Jennifer!  



> Well, when I was in elementary school in Florida, I showed my pet "king snake" around and gave an adult a near heart attack - my pet "king snake" that I had captured in my backyard and kept illicitly was actually a Coral Snake.



:xtrmshock OMG! You are sooo lucky. You, or anyone else, wasn't bit. It's funny now, but...damn! Coulda been ugly.


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## Ceicei (Jul 18, 2006)

My instructor owns a few snakes.  This is one of his that he sometimes brings to the studio (on his neck).  Second picture is MA-Caver with the snake.  The third is of MA-Caver and snake posing with my two daughters.  - Ceicei


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## Jade Tigress (Jul 18, 2006)

Ceicei said:
			
		

> My instructor owns a few snakes.  This is one of his that he sometimes brings to the studio (on his neck).  Second picture is MA-Caver with the snake.  The third is of MA-Caver and snake posing with my two daughters.  - Ceicei



Cool. I wonder how old that one is. It's a nice size. Not too big. Beautiful kids Ceicei.


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## Raewyn (Jul 21, 2006)

Oh my god!!!!!!!!!!!   I have never even touched a snake!!!!   We have them at the zoo, but we dont have wild snakes in New Zealand!!!!   Unfortunatley we cant grow them in our climate!!    You are very lucky to experience having a pet like that!  Having a snake as a pet over here is unheard of!!


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## Cryozombie (Jul 21, 2006)

Ceicei said:
			
		

> Second picture is MA-Caver with the snake.



Caver with a Snake?

I'm sorry... but it looks a lot more like that Snake has Caver.

LOL


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