Adrenaline junkie? (snake photos)

[spark]

Here we go.

This is Anthony, the ball python.




And yes, he is curled around a giant My Little Pony. He's nearly four feet long, which is pretty much as big as he's getting. It's hard to get a photo of him uncurled though, they're called ball pythons for a reason, and he doesn't like to un-ball himself. His actual gender is uncertain, but as I have no plans to breed little baby balls it's also irrelevant. He's named Anthony after the husband of Cleopatra, who was said to have worn a small ball python around her wrist as a decoration. (See second photo. ) He is dumb as a rock, but very good with people.




This is Badger. The upper pic is him now, the lower is when I first got him. Badger is a corn snake. He's the "normal" morph, rather than the various mutations that are absurdly popular in the pet trade, but I don't mind that, he's really pretty. He is also good with people, but unlike Anthony he never holds still, he's always trying to get into things. He's named badger because he likes to burrow, and because his face markings are a bit like badger stripes. And because badger, badger, badger, badger snaaaaaaaaaaake, snake, woah it's a snaaaaake.




And here's Gertrude. She is a pacific gopher snake. The upper pic is the day I caught her while camping last year. The lower is her in the travel tub this afternoon when I'd packed her up to go release her back into the wild. She's now been returned to her habitat, where hopefully she'll live out a long and happy life.

[AdminAssistant]

LOL, when I was a kid, there was a king snake that lived in our sheds that we named Gertrude. She wasn't a pet or anything, just a snake that Dad liked keeping around since she kept the mouse population down. (Well, her and the bajillion farm cats that we had.) Mom haaaates snakes*, but Gertrude stayed in the sheds and Mom just stayed away from there.

*There's actually a pretty funny story involving Mom trying to shoot a water moccasin and nearly blowing Dad's shop up...but for another day, perhaps.

[LillFilly]

Awww, she's a little beauty. Give her lots of love!

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Badger is beautiful. He looks like something someone made, sitting there on your arm.../wants

[spark]

Well, corn snakes make very good starter snakes, they're a lot less touchy and require somewhat less specialized care than many snakes. And I've never seen an ugly corn snake, there are so very many gorgeous varieties out there. Though one should always do some research and make sure one is up to the necessary care of any new pet.

In this case the thing that puts most people off is the need to handle dead rodents. Took me a little getting used to, but now nobody around here blinks at the bag of rats in the freezer, or the bowl of them thawing in the bathroom on feeding days. Also even a small snake needs a fairly large tank, which can get a bit expensive and takes up space. But the snakes cost me less than the cats do, truth be told. You don't have to get them neutered or vaccinated, for starters. Though I have had a few reptile vet visits to pay for.

[Miss Maple Leaf]

Aww...all your snakes are so gorgeous! You're so damn lucky, you know that?

I just want to take them all home with me.

[spark]

My husband got some AWESOME photos of Chroma.

The full-size photos are here: http://imgur.com/a/FwAPU (Just click for the larger versions.)

I cropped a few of them so you can see the "rainbow" in "rainbow boa." The camera flash sets off the effect just enough to see it, though if we can get her out in sunlight it would be much more dramatic. Hopefully she'll eventually cooperate with such a plan. For now, have a photo:

[Miss Maple Leaf]

Those pictures are awesome!

Chroma is just lovely. And I'm sure it won't take you long to coax her outside. She'll come around eventually.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

That is a heartstoppingly beautiful animal.

I used to have a Corn named Loves the Rain. She was a shy girl, too, but when it rained, she got visibly excited and came out of her rockpile. I would take her outside if it wasn't too cold and let her sit with me in the rain. Your girl might enjoy some warm rain sometime, too.

[spark]

That's cool. Chroma doesn't seem to like being misted, (I mist the enclosure, as she needs high humidity) but it's entirely possible she'd like real rain. Rain forest is her natural habitat!