A Victorian Snake

I'm still trying to get used to having Odin gone. It's hard to walk into the libray/snake room and see the corner where his cage was empty.

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to post about feeding but everyone ate without too much issue. Tybalt was being a bit reluctant, I could practically see his little head working away, wondering if he felt like eating a frozen/thawed pinkie or waiting until Wednesday for a live one. After much convincing on my part (which means I kept rubbing the mouse under his nose) he deigned to open his mouth a bit. Not strike, no, that's too much effort for a subpar meal. I was happy, though. Maybe I can get him back on the frozen mice. Here's hoping.


That's Topkapi, of course, inspecting my table, checking out the vanilla scented candlewax and the feather quill. Perhaps she has an important missive to write. Maybe to a lover on a distant shore somewhere. Very possible with her.

For Odin

Today I'm not going to post about feeding day.
My little baby Odin died yesterday and so today I want to dedicate the post to him. He'd been sick for a while, and while I hoped he'd get better, he was too little to respond well to antibiotics. It was a horrible thing to find him yesterday morning so still in his cage.
It's so awful to lose a pet. I will miss you, little Odin.

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 45

Ok, so today was a short feeding day. I'd fed Talulah and Tybalt (who is eating like a greedy little monster) on Wednesday when my sister brought the live pinkies, so I officially had just Coral, Damascus and Odin to feed. Topkapi is shedding so no mice for her.
Damascus ate with no problem, bless his little reptilian soul, but Coral also decided to begin shedding without warning me (I don't really know how she would have done that, but nevermind)so I had to give her mouse to Damascus also. Not a problem for him.

Next was Odin, who is sick. He keeps throwing up his food and I am beyond worried at this point. He's getting fluids but I need him to eat. He always looks hungry but can't seem to keep anythig down. I've checked and rechecked the temperature and humidity in his cage and nothing is off.
Warning: ye of weak stomachs, read no more.

Today I had an idea. I'd been feeding him pinkies that were a little bit bigger than the previous batch which made me think maybe they are too big for him. So, using my little head, I chopped the pinkie in half. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, chopped it in half with a kitchen knife, Ok, this was a frozen/thawed mouse, not a live one. I had visions of PETA knocking on my door.
Odin took it gladly, so now I'm just praying that he can digest it. I really, really hope so.
My poor little sick baby.

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 44

I thought, since Tybalt ate beautifully on Wednesday, that I could feed Talulah while he was still in the cage. He couldn't possibly be hungry, could he? Yeah, well, he was. He lunged at his sister's mouth to grab the frozen pinkie from her. Just picture me, looking down at this sibling war, screaming a slow-motion "Noooooo!" as I flung my hand down to stop the bloodflow. Yeah, yeah, it wasn't quite that dramatic, but it was a sticky situation.
I'd defrosted another pinkie so I gave it to Tybalt. Since when does he eat frozen mice? I mean, it would be great if he switched to them so I wouldn't have to worry about getting him live ones.

Odin is sick. He keeps throwing up his food and I have checked everything, temperature, humidity, ligh-dark cycle, everything. I think he may have to go on anti-biotics. We'll see.

Missing Pinkies

My sister had trouble bringing the pinkies home last night, so I wasn't able to feed the newly hungry Tybalt. I'm going to attempt tonight with frozen mice, and hopefully he'll be so hungry he won't care.

Everyone is in their cages *cough Coral cough* and they all looks pretty happy. Odin still has not eaten, though, which is freaking me out. I'm soaking him in a disinfectant for reptiles just in case it's a bacteria or something that's bothering him and he's also getting fluids. I hope he starts eating again soon. I'm worried.

A Basket of Scales

Barbossa ate two mice on Sunday! Yay! This week I'm getting him three because he was asking for another one. The glutton.
He is curled up right now in his basket, like a little baby, albeit with fangs. And scales. And a tail. Okay, so not like a baby, but like a cute snake in a basket.
I'm concerned about Odin, he hasn't eaten in two weeks. It's not a long time snake-wise, but he's so little and so thin. I had my sister give him fluids, but he looks so weak, I'm really concerned.
I don't know what else to do to make him eat. I've tried live pinkies and frozen/thawed ones, and nothing. I can't tell if he's sick or if he's just being a reluctant eater. We'll see what happens.

Picture Day!

A group picture! Not all my babies are here (especially Coral, since milksnakes actually eat other snakes.

So on the picture, Barbossa on the bottom step, Topkapi on my lap, Damascus doing all kinds of crazy stuff in the back and Odin between my hands. Next time I have to get the other three, so I can have a complete picture to frame up or something.

Topkapi the Vampire Slayer

I just finished holding Odin. He looks huge. Every time I see him, he's grown a few centimeters. He is calmer, but I still have to be careful when I go to grab him or he starts hissing and lunging in fear. I'm sure he'll grown out of this when he gets older. Just look at Topkapi, she was a little ball of fangs when she was little and now you could do cartwheels around her without disturbing her.
Speaking of Topkapi, today she was on the couch with me and I am convinced she could actually see what was going on in the screen. We were watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the last two episodes of season two, which for any Buffy fans are MAJOR episodes. So I Topkapi was caught up in the drama that is Buffy and Angel.
You had to see her, her little head lifted in attention, flicking her tongue occasionally at the movement before us. Adorable.

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 38

Coral is shedding yet again. You know what that means, she's eating a lot! I think I'm going to have to put her on a bit of a diet, for a few weeks at least so that she doesn't run the risk of exploding.
Topkapi just finished eating. She gave me such a smack when she struck, my hand actually jerked back. She's getting so strong.


Odin is eating beautifully, as is Talulah. All I have to worry about is Barbossa on Sunday. Since it's turned cooler and I've not been able to take him out walking, who knows.

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 35

What is going on with my snakes? It seems like everyday I find another one out of his or her cage! Am I not taking care of you as well as you'd like? Am I being inattentive, mean, cruel, am I starving you? Please guys and gals stay put!
Today it is Coral. I came into the library/snake room and found one of her doors slightly open, with a groan I looked. Of course, she was gone. She had finished shedding and decided it was time to take a trip, an adventure awaited. Yes, well, Coral, now you're running around without water and making me worry about the temperatures at night...Argh!
One of these days they are all going to get together and make an exodus out the front door. I'll walk in the next morning and see empty cages and Barbossa cowering in the corner, shell-shocked and remorseful. It could happen.
My angel Damascus ate. Odin did not seem too happy. I changed his cage for another tank and I think he is mad at me because he refused the pinky I offered him.

The juggling of seven ophidian relationships is taking its toll on me. Poor me.

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 33

Today's feeding was over in about five minutes. Odin was the lucky boy who got two pinkies because Coral is shedding.
You might well wonder why Coral would be eating a pinkie, well let me share. Since she's been so finicky with her food lately, that the only way I've convinced her to take her frozen/thawed mice is to first entice her with a pinkie. It works like a charm. But today she was dull colored and blue-eyed. She has gotten so much better, I can pick her up without her squirming at all. I'm pressed at her trust level.
Damascus ate without problem and Talulah did not eat because she had two live pinkies on Wednesday. My sister brought them for Tybalt but he was also shedding. They really should leave me notes so I can plan ahead. I'll start leaving them pen and paper nearby and see how that goes.

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 32

I think Coral is getting used to the whole live mouse thing. She now scoffs at my poor offerings, laughs in my face as I beg her to please try the frozen/thawed mouse. Mwhahahaha.
Probably too dramatic, but I can assure you that's what it feels like when she flicks her tongue over the food and violently turns her head in another direction. I'll let her go hungry this week and see if she can get back on the prekilled mice.

Odin ate spectacularly as always as did Talulah. Tybalt did not eat on Wednesday because my sister could not get a pinkie, poor baby.
Topkapi will eat tonight.

Today was a really quick feeding day.

Oh, I've had another poem published so if you're interested here is the website to get a copy: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/33481

Movie Star

Just wanted to share Odin in his full splendor. He shed last night so it felt only proper to brag about his beauty. He is also much tamer than when I first got him; now he only tries to chew off one finger, not the whole hand. No, I kid, he is becoming a very sweet animal. Pretty much like any snake, or any animal in general, all he needed was attention and gentle care. He doesn't even hiss anymore when I place my hand inside his cage.
Aren't his patterns absolutely gorgeous? I can't get enough of him.



A close up. He could be a movie star, the camera loves him.
Ok, maybe he won't upstage Brad Pitt, but Johnny Depp? In a pinch.

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 31

Damascus is magical. I'm convinced.
It's the only way he could have made it outof his cage yet AGAIN! HOw does he do it? I have so many books, huge, fat textbooks, piled one on top of the other, I don't know how he can lift them. When I find him again, I have no clue what I'm going to do with him!

Other than that, everyone has been in a jolly mood, eating without issue. Odin is the quickest snake when he eats, and Talulah is a ball of sunshine. You can practically see the smile on her face when it's food time.
Coral ate on Tuesday a leftover mouse, and Tybalt ate Wednesday night his pinkies. Actually two.

Where the hell is Damascus?!And why does he do this to me every time the weather gets cooler?
I know why, so I can worry even more. Mean snake.

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 29

So we are back from the bookfair! My sister and I alre exhausted but full of reading goodies. Honestly I have no idea where I'm going to put all these books. I think the only free place would be under my bed. We'll see.

I fed everyone although I am exhausted because I felt guilty in making them wait. Talulah finally finished shedding and she was starving. I had barely put the mouse in front of her when she pounced in her best imitation of a viscious snake. You're not fooling anyone, Talulah.
Odin continues eating beautifully as does Damascus.
I just have Topkapi to feed in about an hour and I am done!

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 28

Today was a short feeding day. Talulah is still shedding so no food for her. I gave her pinkie to miss Coral, who had absolutely no qualms in taking it. She actually ate wrapped around my hand again. She really feels no intimidation in having me hold her as she swallows.
Yesterday, my sister sent the woman who used to own Coral a picture of her. She texted back saying how wonderful she looked and how much she's grown. I haven't noticed the change because it's so gradual, but it's good to hear.

Damascus ate yesterday and Odin was his crazy little eating-machine self.
Tonight Topkapi will get hers and that't it for today.

Queen Topkapi int the picture of course, enjoying a patch of sunlight. I think she was actually posing. Her profile is so pretty, isn't it?
I'm such a geek.

A close up

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 28

Odin ate, even though he has blue eyes. This little animal surprises me more each day, I love how feisty he is! When it comes to snakes, feistiness is definitely a good sign.
Damascus ate wonderfully, like always, as did Talulah.
Coral, on the other hand, is being really picky. She refused once again to take the frozen/thawed mouse. I was hoping that this week she would give in, but no, she felt it was beneath her.
I'm not going to give in that easily either. I'll give her one week without eating, maybe when she feels a little hungry she'll be willing to take the frozen.
Since she is a grown snake, a week is no problem.
We'll see. I do have a hunch I'm going to have to start buying mice for her as well as Barbossa. Argh!

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 27

I had high hopes for Tybalt today. I woke up with the certainty that today was the day Tybalt would take a dead pinkie. Alas, my hopes were shattered. Woe is me.

My sister was unable to get live pinkies this weeks, so I attempted to feed frozen/thawed to everyone.
Odin had absolutely no problem. I think I can stop feeding him live because he seems to have no objections to the mice pops. Which is wonderful.

Tybalt, on the other hand, adamantly refused to even smell the horrible stuff I was putting in front of him. It's not junk food, Tybalt, it's the same stuff you like, just bought in bulk!

Damascus ate fine, and Talulah was the lucky girl who got two pinkies. It's funny, because today I was running late and so I fed her in her cage, not in another container, so while she was eating, her brother slithered by her and she tightened her grip on the mouse. The last thing Tybalt was going to do was try to steal her food when I was pestering him to eat his own.

Tomorrow I have my French class. It's going really well, but slooooooowly. There are some people who are having a lot of trouble, so the teacher has to stop and repeat things. A million times.
If I were her, I would fling my book in the air and storm out of the classroom. Patience is not one of my virtues.
Yeah, I'm not teacher material.

A Thanks

I am slowly getting back to normal after the loss of my baby snake. It seems to be a year of loss in the ophidian department. It sucks.

Animals can really bless your life. Even as I grieve for one of them, my other snakes have taken it upon themselves to help me out by being their most wonderful selves.
Odin is a laugh riot, with his posturing and hissing. I swear he thinks he is a Cobra mistakenly stuck in a corn snake's body. Sorry Odin, you'll never be a Cobra. Maybe in your next life.
Barbossa with his many different neuroses; Topkapi with her delusions of grandeur; Coral as Ms. Speedy Gonzalez; Tybalt and Talulah being so adorable I want to cuddle them forever, and Damascus staying in his cage. I am blessed with riches and I thank them all for allowing me to share my life with them.
Big cold group hug.

My Baby, Maat

Maat died last night.
I am still reeling from the shock and the grief. I wasn't sure I was going to post anything today, but I think some things need to be said.

A few days ago, while I was giving her Pedialyte, I thought that she had a bit of grey in her mouth. I had my sister hold her while I opened her mouth, and sure enough, her top palate was teeming with grey patches of skin. That can only mean mouth rot.
Since she has never eaten since I've had her, and I've been extra meticulous with her heating and humidity, it means she's been sick since the moment my mom bought her at PetCo. It really comes as no surprise, but it hurts.

I am just so tired. Tired of going into the pet stores and seeing the reptiles with empty water bowls and looking so dehydrated that their skin has grooves and wrinkles. I am tired of complaining, someone telling me they'll take care of it, and then everything staying the same. I am tired of people taking care of their shoes more than living creatures. I am tired of people buying fancy cases so their iPods don't get scratched but passing by an empty water bowl and not filling it.
I am tired, but I am also angry.
I feel ashamed at sharing genetic code with these beings that, just because they have opposable thumbs, think that the world is theirs and every other creature is inferior and therefore of less value. We, as the more intelligent creatures (although I am seriously having doubts), have a responsibility, an obligation, to take care of those that are weaker and defenseless. This increases ten-fold if we have them in cages. If we have the nerve of putting a wild animal in a cage, the very least we can do is make sure he or she is happy. We (I most definitely include myself) tell ourselves that even though they don't have their freedom, they are at least well-fed, healthy and safe. We trade off freedom for safety. It's not a fair choice, because we are not GIVING them a choice, but it's something that exotic pet owners deal with every day. We can live with it.
We cannot live with the mistreatment of these, or any, animals.
I did everything I could for Maat, but it makes my blood boil that she never had a meal in her short life. She was sick probably from the moment she hatched in whatever hell-hole they keep the eggs, while they wait to make money off of them.
My little baby didn't even have the hope of anti-biotic treatment because, since she's never eaten, the medication would have destroyed her organs. The only thing that I could do, and what I did do, was give her fluids. I'd been injecting her with liquid fuel for the past few nights, but that didn't stop her from getting weak and lethargic. The only consolation, and it's a poor one, that I have is that at least she didn't die alone. Odin was wrapped carefully around her, keeping her company. It's astounding that a little snake, a supposedly "stupid" being, has more compassion and understanding than all the "higher beings" who work in these pet stores.

It is a sad day.