Dumbass the snake

[giza]

So, I've been snake sitting for omnibahumut because his school didn't like him having a boa constrictor in the dorm. I've been trying to handle the snake on a regular basis so that it gets comfortable with human contact.

The snake has no name, but I've taking to calling him "dumbass", because he has a tendency to curl around anything within reach. Like the paper tray on the top of my file cabinet:



There were originally 3 more trays interlocked on top of that one, but I had to pull those off so I could try and coax him out of the bottommost tray.

What a dumbass.

Comments

[simbab.livejournal.com]

boomeroo took to calling the cat he had "shithead", something that, when his mother took the cat (and subsequently got him fixed to calm him down and prevent him from pissing all over everything), she said she would never do, even renaming him from "Gargamel" to "Mel". We were over there a few days ago and, well, "shithead" was being a little terrorist and running all over the garden.

[giza.livejournal.com]

I'm told that in the book Mr. Undesirable (http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Undesirable-Scott-Carpenter/dp/1414038534), the main character names his dog "Ratfuck".

[kellic.livejournal.com]

Be careful. He might eat Stitch.

[giza.livejournal.com]

Actually, he was sniffing at him (and the rest of my plushies) earlier.

[firedhusky.livejournal.com]

Anyone that snakesits a constrictor, must be an awesom friend !

*has a beer on you*

btw, dont forget to sleep with an eye open or might wakeup half inside the snake :)

[omnibahumut.livejournal.com]

He's harmless! D:

[firedhusky.livejournal.com]

*wags* was just teasing, I ve held other animals in my paws (including lions) but never a snake, im kind of afraid a little bit of snakes

[skippyfox.livejournal.com]

Before Austin Powers, a neighbor once had an overfed cat he called "Fat bastard."

[mapdark.livejournal.com]

I'd like to snake sit ,

never had a pet snake and I wonder how it is with snakes and stuff.

I recently got to pet rats and it was an eye opener for me as I thought they would be the same as hamsters but bigger .. but I was wrong (they're very calm and social), so maybe keeping a snake for a few days could teach me a few things about them

[sirfox.livejournal.com]

Snakes make neat pets, (I have one of this same species, a red tailed boa, myself) but i'd encourage anybody looking at caring for them, long or short term, to do some good research first. There are plenty of good resources out there. Caring for snakes is 95% about caring for their environment. Depending on the breed, there can be very specific requirements for humidity, temperature, diet, objects in their environment to hide in, climb on, explore, etc.

For instance, ball pythons are often very curious, and love to explore... but they're really shitty climbers. if they get a big climbing tree, they'll try and climb it... but they're more likely to fall off and hurt themselves. Other breeds seldom hang out anywhere else but a treebranch, and if you gave them a little cave to occupy, they would stress out and get sick.

Since many breeds can live for a few dozen years, it's always a good idea to know what you're jumping into beforehand.

[sirfox.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, i forgot, one last bit of advice for anybody looking at caring for a snake, even for a day.

I try not to generalize... but snakes... Every one of the little bastards is an escape artist. They want nothing more than to get out and hide where they can do the most damage, or get the most hurt. Inside appliances, inside furniture mechanisms, into electrical connections... So having a secure enclosure for them is *essential*

Improper housing, escaped snakes, bad publicity when somebody's cat gets eaten... Irresponsible stuff like that gets legislation passed to ban keeping them as pets.

This ends tonight's homily

[kitsunefoxman.livejournal.com]

Jeez, did he get bigger since he was in Omni's dorm?

[giza.livejournal.com]

No, just fatter.

[omnibahumut.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he's consistently been fed rats since being at Gizas. He was just graduating from mice when I had him.

[rigelkitty.livejournal.com]

Snake's gotta hold on to something.

[danruk.livejournal.com]

Bring him to Anthrocon and let him file the conbooks, or organize the volunteer slips. .... I"m just SAYING!....

[giza.livejournal.com]

Nah, he'll just poop everywhere (http://giza.livejournal.com/516730.html).

[triggur.livejournal.com]

Back when I had a ranch, we had a barn cat.

Since I dont much care for cats and barn cats in particular are just sort of a mouse-catching utility more than really a pet, I didn't see a point in naming it.

So I just dubbed it Barn Cat 12 and the name stuck.

[sylverwolfe.livejournal.com]

For the love of little apples! *I'd* be tweaky about having that fellow in a dorm, and I *like* snakes!
'course, knowing their tendency to find the warmest spot in the area and claim it, I'd wind up wearing the thing around my waist and torso, and that's...a bit tweaky all on it's own, him being a boa constrictor and all.
Looks like he likes to climb, too. Poor lad wants a tree...and probably a small woodland creature to snack upon. Stitch should be glad he has no heat signature.
Good luck snake-sitting; they're a bit dim, but once you get used to their instincts, they can be great fun.

[wildw0lf.livejournal.com]

How do you um, know that he won't constrict around you!?

[giza.livejournal.com]

I'm not "prey" to him.

[wildw0lf.livejournal.com]

To be fair, I did have a Boa Constrictor around my neck when I went to Summer Camp a LONG time ago. It was fun to have around my neck, and I was too young to think of the potential harm then. There were other staff around then too, but I don't know what they would have done if the snake ever did decide to constrict...