Snakes, Snakes, and more Snakes
Talking about snakes, today, readers. So if that makes you all squirmy (no pun intended!) may be best to move on. But, as part of my recent move to doing a sabbatical in Israel, I found myself in need of transporting my two year old ball python from my house in Sharon, MA, to the snake foster parent, who is a graduate student of mine who lives in Rhode Island. So, how to transport a snake effectively?
Apparently not the way that I did it, which was to take the entire cage out of my house with the snake inside, and leave the cage wedged on my front passenger seat for the entire one hour drive to Kingston, RI. It did work fine, in that the snake got where he was supposed to be, but apparently what I was supposed to have done was to put the snake in a knotted pillowcase and/or underneath my shirt to share some of my body warmth with it. *NO THANK YOU. No I did not do that.
On the way from URI to the snake foster parent’s house, however, she apparently put the snake inside her jacket pocket (inner pocket). And then the snake tried to escape. Life lesson? Snake handlers beware. What is interesting though, is that the snake was very not used to being handled by humans, but that nonetheless gave her no real troubles in terms of trying to bite or damage her in any way. Another life lesson? We chose a good foster parent for our snake. Also, snake handlers should always beware.
On a serious note, though, much research shows that having pets helps everyone’s mental health, and snakes are extremely easy pets, so if you are wondering why I am so calm and in such good spirits, the answer is the python, who, coincidentally, has been named “Snakey” by my middle child, on the occasion of his 4th birthday two years ago.
Happy snake-ing, readers! Share funny pet stories below.
