Outnumbered Again
We have a new addition to the family. For CJ's birthday earlier this month, his main gift was a trip to the pet store to choose a reptile friend for himself. He is a real animal lover, and recently developed a fondness for the slimy, scaly members of the animal kingdom. I was hoping for a cute little chameleon, or perhaps an unassuming turtle of some sort, but that was not in the cards.
We visited a few pet stores, and CJ carefully considered his options. He had many questions for the reptile guy at the store. What does this one eat? How often should I feed it? Does it like to be held? He carefully read the signs on the cages for any and all tidbits of information that would aid him in his decision-making process. Noah soon lost interest in the process and spent the rest of his time in the store begging for a chinchilla.
After much consideration, we were now the proud (and freaked out, I must say) owners of a one-month-old Ball Python. Ew.
As is customary in our home, the addition of a new pet was not without it's drama. The pet store guy assured us that the snake, who is now named Pygmy, would need to eat in a few days. He sent us on our merry way with a two-pack of frozen adult mice. Not ones to disregard instructions from supposed experts, we dutifully thawed one of the nasty little buggers and gathered the family for some good old snake feeding fun. We knew right away that this sucker was way too big for our little Pygmy to handle. He was not at all interested.
A few days and a few conversations with other pet store personnel later, we were the proud owners of a tub of a dozen frozen "pinkies". These poor little buggers look like they were kidnapped at birth and promptly thrown into the deep freeze. Luckily John the Husband is in charge of the thawing and snake food delivery in this house. I can't bring myself to touch them. Anyhow, Pygmy barely showed more than a passing interest in his cute little corpse entrees. At one point he appeared to be cuddling up with one, but no actual eating took place. After three weeks he still hadn't eaten and it was time for drastic measures.
To make a long story short (too late, I know!), we found a local store called Radical Reptiles. These guys know their freaky creatures. As young as Pygmy is, they believe that he hadn't actually been fed yet at Evil Chain Pet Store, and had not yet learned how to eat. They had us bring Pygmy in to them and performed what they called an "assisted feeding". That basically entails holding the snake at the base of the mouth/throat area and stuffing in a tiny, squirming mouse. It was quite a spectacle. All other activity in the store came to a halt as employees and customers alike came over to check it out. I took that moment to discreetly walk away and look longingly at the turtles, lamenting what might have been. A few minutes later, another little mouse joined Pygmy in the box and was promptly constricted and swallowed. By George, I think he's got it!
And that's how we solved the snake dilemma and lived happily ever after.
Um, NOT!
The drama isn't over yet, people. Yesterday John the Husband announced that it was time for Pygmy to eat again. We took ourselves back to Radical Reptiles where John the Husband asked for two "hoppers". They brought the mice out in a brown, wiggling paper bag that was stapled shut. It wasn't until we got home that we realized that the two mice consumed last week are what are known as "fuzzies". Hoppers are smaller adult mice. One is plenty for Pygmy. He stalked and ate one of them like a pro, so at least the eating issues are over. We are now, however, stuck with an extra mouse for about a week until Pygmy needs to eat again. CJ and Noah have named him Shadow, and have begun lobbying for him/her to become a permanent part of the family. *Sigh*
The pets in the house now outnumber the humans 6 to 1.
Stay tuned for snake pictures.
We visited a few pet stores, and CJ carefully considered his options. He had many questions for the reptile guy at the store. What does this one eat? How often should I feed it? Does it like to be held? He carefully read the signs on the cages for any and all tidbits of information that would aid him in his decision-making process. Noah soon lost interest in the process and spent the rest of his time in the store begging for a chinchilla.
After much consideration, we were now the proud (and freaked out, I must say) owners of a one-month-old Ball Python. Ew.
As is customary in our home, the addition of a new pet was not without it's drama. The pet store guy assured us that the snake, who is now named Pygmy, would need to eat in a few days. He sent us on our merry way with a two-pack of frozen adult mice. Not ones to disregard instructions from supposed experts, we dutifully thawed one of the nasty little buggers and gathered the family for some good old snake feeding fun. We knew right away that this sucker was way too big for our little Pygmy to handle. He was not at all interested.
A few days and a few conversations with other pet store personnel later, we were the proud owners of a tub of a dozen frozen "pinkies". These poor little buggers look like they were kidnapped at birth and promptly thrown into the deep freeze. Luckily John the Husband is in charge of the thawing and snake food delivery in this house. I can't bring myself to touch them. Anyhow, Pygmy barely showed more than a passing interest in his cute little corpse entrees. At one point he appeared to be cuddling up with one, but no actual eating took place. After three weeks he still hadn't eaten and it was time for drastic measures.
To make a long story short (too late, I know!), we found a local store called Radical Reptiles. These guys know their freaky creatures. As young as Pygmy is, they believe that he hadn't actually been fed yet at Evil Chain Pet Store, and had not yet learned how to eat. They had us bring Pygmy in to them and performed what they called an "assisted feeding". That basically entails holding the snake at the base of the mouth/throat area and stuffing in a tiny, squirming mouse. It was quite a spectacle. All other activity in the store came to a halt as employees and customers alike came over to check it out. I took that moment to discreetly walk away and look longingly at the turtles, lamenting what might have been. A few minutes later, another little mouse joined Pygmy in the box and was promptly constricted and swallowed. By George, I think he's got it!
And that's how we solved the snake dilemma and lived happily ever after.
Um, NOT!
The drama isn't over yet, people. Yesterday John the Husband announced that it was time for Pygmy to eat again. We took ourselves back to Radical Reptiles where John the Husband asked for two "hoppers". They brought the mice out in a brown, wiggling paper bag that was stapled shut. It wasn't until we got home that we realized that the two mice consumed last week are what are known as "fuzzies". Hoppers are smaller adult mice. One is plenty for Pygmy. He stalked and ate one of them like a pro, so at least the eating issues are over. We are now, however, stuck with an extra mouse for about a week until Pygmy needs to eat again. CJ and Noah have named him Shadow, and have begun lobbying for him/her to become a permanent part of the family. *Sigh*
The pets in the house now outnumber the humans 6 to 1.
Stay tuned for snake pictures.
posted by Jenn at 9:22 PM
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