Burrowing, Rodents, Brick Walls
So Shiva the corn snake is burrowing and hiding, probably to cope with all the unexpectedness of yesterday. The UnSullen freaked out last night because he couldn’t find the snake, but I put my foo down and told him to go to bed and leave the damn thing alone. This morning he changed the water in the vivarium (daily water changes are necessary) and lo and behold, there was Shiva. Right where I said he’d be. I suspect once we get a climbing branch for him, he’ll hang out on that and stop burrowing. Right now, though, he’s just taking a moment. I don’t blame him. Must be awful frightening for a little guy.
For those of you who asked, right now he eats pre-killed mice. Frozen pinks, to be specific, that should be defrosted in a plastic bag under warm running water. Live prey is not a good idea for him, since he’s so ickle. And frankly, I don’t mind snakes but I think I’ve mentioned how I feel about rodents. I have no qualms about feeding Shiva little rodents. This is part of why I don’t mind snakes–I look at them and see efficient rodent control.
I was feeling pretty down this morning, hopped on the treadmill and that’s helped. I should take exercise equipment as a tax deduction. If I could just find the way to make it fly…but I suspect the guvmint would not appreciate that. I am not rich enough for the IRS to ignore me and I suspect I never will be.
ANYWAY. Today there is shopping for a certain little boy’s birthday presents, since his party is soon. I even got him a pinata. Awesome fun–I never got a pinata when I was little. I suppose I could take a halfhearted whack at one now if the kids insist.
And that’s all the news that’s fit for printing in my neck of the woods. The revision, she is not going so well–I am beating my head against a brick wall, the way I usually do at this part of the process. I’ve got a week, plenty of time. Plenty of time.
I’ll just keep repeating that until hard work fixes the story. Argh.
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March 12th, 2009 at 11:21 am
I never got a pinata when I was little.
me either, but that didnt stop me from practicing on my older brother…
March 12th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
On pinatas. My mother grew up in Mexico, so my siblings and I did get them for birthdays.
Here is one idea that my mom used to make this game more exciting. Instead of simply hanging the pinata from a fixed spot, she fixed it so that it would slide up and down a clothesline. One end of the clothesline was fixed. A person held the other end of the line so that they could raise or lower their end to make the pinata slide along the line. This made hitting the pinata more of a challenge. Contestants would line up for this game in order of size, smallest to largest. At their turn they would be blindfolded and spun three times. The person controlling the movements of the pinata would make it easier for the smaller players so that they could get in a few hits, but the game would be more challenging for the older players until the pinata was finally broken in the end.
I’m not sure if my mother made this idea up, or if it was how the game was played while she was growing up. I do know that a little space is required to play the game this way, but that it was a lot of fun for older kids and adults along with the younger kids.
Anyway, I hope your son has a great birthday, and you all have fun at the party!
March 12th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Congrats on getting a corn! I have one myself and she is wonderful. They don’t really climb much, she does have stuff to climb on and she just likes to burrow under the bedding most of the time. She is smart and she knows when feeding day is, so that’s the only time that she’ll be out cruising around, waiting to be fed. Just make sure that your tank is escape proof. Make sure that you have a locking closure on it so that he can’t get out. She somehow managed to get out when she was a hatchling and we couldn’t find her for 2 weeks. We finally found her curled up under the stove, since it was winter. Also, even when he does get big enough for live, keep him on frozen. Feeding snakes live food will make them more aggressive and they will strike at your hand, thinking that it’s food when you reach in to get them. My boyfriend had a sand boa that refused to eat frozen and she would bite every time that you reached into her tank. Ok. Enough of my ranting. If you have any questions about him, feel free to ask. I also work at an exotic pet store, so I get to play with different kinds of snakes and lizards all day. We did have a serval in for a few months and she finally found a new home at a feline sanctuary. No one wanted her as a pet because she had been abused and wouldn’t let anyone near her.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Perfect new shovelgloving exercise–smash the pinata!
March 13th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Since they reached their full size, I’ve only fed my corn snake live food, and he has a fine temperament so based on that experience I can’t agree with Tiffany’s comment about it always causing aggressive behavior.
However, I do wear a glove on one hand on the day that I feed him, and I switch him to a “feeding tank” to separate him from his roommate (my rat snake); so it’s possible that he associates the glove routine with food which is why he isn’t aggressive to my bare hands.
I DO agree with Tiffany’s comment about making sure you have a locking closure for your vivarium. Even with the tank setup that I have I still keep a weight on the lid just to be safe as these guys have managed to use their muscles to shift and pop up a “locked” lid when they were younger. Needless to say, I use a sturdier lockable lid now and the added weight (a nice hefty smooth river stone) and they haven’t managed an escape in the past 15+ years.
Happy Birthday to your boy — and have fun with the pinata!
March 13th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Aw you make me want a snake of my own. But I prefer a dog or a cat instead. I can hug them and cuddle them than something held in my hand that won’t take hugs with my arms. Hmph.
March 15th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
A lifetime ago I worked as a naturalist in a Nature Science Museum. We had a bunch of snakes but my faves were the corn snakes. Those were the guys I would take to schools to do education classes. I have some fun stories because even though they are fairly docile…they can be unpredictable (had one crawling through my hair while I was talking and got my hair all knotted around him. Had to cut the hair—started pulling hair up and in a tail after that)
I agree with staying on frozen. It also eliminates the chance that the rodent will whip around and bit the snake. Cold blooded creatures do not heal wounds well.