Welcome, Shiva!
We are now the proud owners of Shiva the baby corn snake. Shiva is a lovely terracotta reddish, with redder spots and a black and white houndstooth checkerboard on his belly. He was brought home from the pet store and settled in his new vivarium, where he ran laps several times, looking for escape routes, and finally settled in the water dish. Now he’s half-in, half-out of the water dish, just kind of hanging out and observing. We watched him run his laps and get settled, all of us rapt with wonder.
I may have pics later. Right now it’s imperative we give Shiva a few days to settle down and get over the stress of moving. He was just fed earlier today in the pet store, so we were ultra-careful–setting the container down in the vivarium and letting him come out in his own time. (It took about two seconds. He’s a very curious and active little guy.) Corn snakes are supposed to be smart, docile, and very hardy; just about the perfect snake pet for us. The UnSullen One is over the moon with delight, having satisfied his birthday request for a creepy-crawly pet.
Me, I like snakes. I’m glad we’re getting a “beginner” snake; and I’m so, so glad we didn’t get a tarantula. Tarantulas aren’t very social pets, whereas Shiva will be a lot of fun when he gets used to his new home.
At this moment Shiva is still half in, half out of the water dish. He’s settled and is digesting his meal from earlier, and seems quite content. We’re happy to have him with us.
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March 11th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
My daughter is really, really into snakes. She catches them outside and I make her let them go since they’re wild ones. I may be caving on a ‘grown in captivity’ one, soon. Right now, she has a black rat named Kisten. (Yes, she’s a Kim Harrison fan.)
March 11th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
The UnSullen One is very lucky! I always wanted a snake or a lizard but was never allowed to have one. Then again given I shared a room with my Sister, and she was a slob at the time, it’s probably a good thing. The poor snake might have crawled over to her side of the room and never been seen again!
March 12th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Yikes! Snakes scare the beejeesus out of me..just reading the post gave me the willies! NO thanks..but i’m glad someone enjoys them. Good luck with the goddess!
March 12th, 2009 at 8:10 am
Erm, what do corn snakes eat?
I ask b/c of how I came about having pet rats when I was in college (roommate’s boa constrictor was off his feed).
March 12th, 2009 at 8:35 am
I’m really glad you didn’t get a tarantula too. My irrational fear dictates that no one should own a tarantula as a pet because, be it known, they are icky.
March 12th, 2009 at 10:09 am
A snake is something I always wanted. When I was 7 I was bringing one home & it reached around & bit me. Told my Mom when I was 40 & she had a heartattack. Told her I thought shed notice cuz the bite stank. I washed it good. Alcoholed it as when she took my temp it stank. Then little girls perfume & it still stank! Oh well, as I keep telling Mom I survived. It was a tan snake in Oregon. Still want one.
March 13th, 2009 at 7:21 am
I have both a corn snake and a rat snake that I got when I was at university and worked part-time at a pet store. My corn snake, Copper, has the best temperament and seems to appreciate being handled. He’s only bitten me once and that was totally my fault. My rat snake, Ghost, is pretty crazy and doesn’t like to be handled at all, but these two room together well in their tank.
It’s interesting to watch them communicate with each other (body language) and react to my attention and their environment. They’re both about 20 years old now and I’ve had them since they were just a few weeks old. Yeah, that’s a lot of mice that they’ve eaten.