Drew's Close-up

It seems like Drew has been growing a lot. Here's what he looks like now. It was so funny because Brian was taking the pictures and Drew was checking out the camera like he was thinking, "What is this in my face?"

Lucky

I guess I have never really told much about Lucky. She's a Texas Rat Snake. She was my second snake, and I got her from a couple of high school boys who didn't want her anymore. Since rat snakes are one of my favorite types of snakes, of course I wanted to keep her. She is about 5.5 feet long now. When I first got her a few years ago she was about 3 feet long. I think she is a pretty snake. She is also my best snake to take to reptile classes. She does not mind being looked at and touched by all the students. She is my hungriest snake. I don't think she likes being fed only once a week, and she seems to be hungry even when she is obviously full! This might just be an instinct, though. I think if she had a chance she would eat until she couldn't eat anymore.

A funny story...one time she got out of her cage. I only had two latches to keep the lid down and she squeezed out. When I went to check on my reptiles one morning, I found out that she wasn't there! I looked all over and even got Brian to help me. Finally we found her in Brian's closet. She was curled up in the corner taking a nap. She is my only snake to escape, and I hope it never happens again!
I understand that some of you reading this may be a little freaked out by a snake loose in your house. I was only worried because she is a special friend and I didn't want to lose her.... if your dog or cat ran away, how would you feel?

This is the only picture that I have of Lucky right now. Other pictures of her were taken before I got my digital camera and I don't want to take the time to scan them. This is not the best picture of her because you can only see part of her body in her cage. Also she was going to shed soon so her skin looks darker and drier than usual. I will try to get a good picture of her and post it soon.

Lucky's First Bite

On Friday I got Lucky out of her cage because I thought she would want some time out. Well, I think she was hungry because they usually get fed on the weekends. It seemed like she was looking around for food. I only held her for a few minutes and she bit me! She's been with me for over 3 years and this is the first time she bit me. I was sliding my hand down which happened to be right in front of her face and she bit my pinky finger. It surprised me because she hasn't done that before but I just put her back in her cage.

It is not the first time I have ever been bitten by a snake. It doesn't really hurt to get bit, or at least the times I have been bitten it didn't hurt. It's not like the snakes sink their teeth in and pull back. I guess they can but it hasn't happened to me. When I have been bit, the snakes just bite and let go. So there is little pin-pricks left. When Lucky bit me, I had 4 little pin-pricks on one side and 5 little pin-pricks on the other side of my finger. My little rat snake, Drew, bit me once when I was reaching into the cage. But that was like one little pin-prick on my finger.

I think a scratch from a cat hurts a lot more. I can't believe people keep those dangerous cats in their house! Ha!

Reptile Update

I just thought I would update everyone on how my reptiles are doing. Well, they are doing fine. One of my mice recently had babies so my two little snakes will be very happy soon. I am going to feed them tonight, and they'll be able to go to sleep with a full tummy!

Class at the Refuge

Yesterday I volunteered at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. A lot of schools from southwest Oklahoma came to the refuge and there were several stations set up. At my station I taught about snakes, and I had Lucky and Drew with me. There is only 20 minutes and then the students go to the next station. So I mostly "show and tell" but that's about all I can do in 20 minutes. The groups are about 20 - 35 students in size. I had a great time, and I think the students enjoyed their day at the refuge. Drew was excited at first and kept moving around. He eventually calmed down. Lucky was her usual self--calm and relaxed. She stayed around my neck most of the time. Sometimes she wouldn't even be moving around. She would just move her head a little to get a better look at the kids. I think she likes to be out of her cage and be outside.

Why is it...? Part 2

Wow! All the snake stories I hear! Right now I'm on a kick about people being ridiculous about snakes.

Why is it that when I am at someone's house or some other event with people, they found out I like snakes, and they just feel compelled to tell me their snake stories?

For example, I was hanging out with some friends. One friend asks me how my snakes are doing. An innocent question. I answer that they are fine. Well, here they come! First, my friend has to tell a story about an encounter with a snake. Of course, the story ends with a shovel and a snake in several pieces. Then another friend has to tell me about the zig-zag lines mowed in the yard and the snake that didn't get away but became fertilizer. Well, then that leads to the story about the snake that was in the road. He had to run it over because it was a "big 'un". Then he had to back up, run over it again, back up, run over it again...and you get the picture. One story leads to another and everyone has a snake story to share.

As I listen, my stomach is turning, and I can just feel the acid rising in my throat. These people are sick. Don't they understand that I like snakes?! But they think that are sharing something important with me. Oh, and it's so hilarious too! (Read that last sentence with lots of sarcasm, please!) By the time they are finished telling their stories, their faces are glowing red with tears running down their cheeks!

And how many times have I heard these stories? Seems like I've heard them from the same people at least ten times. But then I have to count all of the other stories that sound just the same but from other people. It's not just my friends who feel compelled to tell me these stories. It's people I meet anywhere. I go to a party for Brian's workplace...The stories are there. I teach classes about snakes...the stories are there, too. Everyone wants their turn to tell me their snake story.

I just don't know how to explain my feelings to someone who doesn't feel the same way that I do about snakes. Well, maybe I can explain, but I am not very convincing. People just don't get it.
So all I do is sit there with a fake smile on my face, nodding my head. I let the words go in one ear then out the other, and I feel my eyes glaze over. As soon as possible I change the subject. If this is not possible very soon, then I feel like I am a prisoner of war. I must take this time of torture for the good of the cause!

I don't blame you if you are reading this and you are thinking that I am the crazy one. All I ask is that you try to have empathy for these snakes and their situation. Just put yourself in their scales and slither around for a bit, then see how you would feel :(

Why is it...?

Why is it that some people can be so weird about reptiles? For example, one of my friends, Wim P. (names have been changed to protect the ridiculous...oh, I mean, innocent) was over at my house last night with his family. His wife and kids are not scared of the reptiles, but Wim P. will not even look at them. Every time his family comes over to my house, the kids ask to see the snakes and iguanas. They will touch the snakes and even hold them.

We were all sitting on the couch talking and having a good time. One of the kids went over to her dad, Wim P., and she accidently startled the cat. The cat hissed and took off running. All of the sudden, Wim P. jumps up and runs to the kitchen. We are all wondering what is going on. Wild-eyed Wim P. says that cats are scared of snakes and if the cat is running then a snake must be around. So after much reassuring, Wim P. sits back down on the couch.

Why are people like this? It is so utterly stupid and irrational! I offered to show Wim P. the cages so he could see that they are securely fastened, but he is too scared to even do that. He really has no reason to be scared of snakes. He says he just doesn't like them. I just don't understand this behavior. I can only think of my fear of heights and try to relate. But I have even done things that went against my fear of heights and I was grateful that I did. For instance, it took me much longer to climb/hike this mountain at the Quartz Mountain State Park. All of my friends were climbing and I was so scared because these huge boulders were steep. At times I thought I might fall off the earth. Now I know that was a dumb thought; it was just my fear talking. But I made it to the top and it felt wonderful.

I have another friend whose only been in my house once! He came over with his sister and mom. His mom wanted to see the snakes and wanted to touch one. So I took out my ball python, Ophi, who was about 3 feet at the time. He took one look and went running out of my house screaming! We could not get him to come back in and he has not been in since then. It is just so stupid!

I don't really know exactly the best way to deal with people like this. I laugh a little and shake my head, but I can't say much because I know it won't make a difference. I feel sorry for these people. I just hope that they can tackle their fears, whatever they are, and not be content in their weaknesses. (And yes, I do see giving in to irrational fears as a weakness.)

Feeding Day

I haven't posted in a while because there hasn't really been anything happen. Today I fed Lucky and Ophi. They each ate one adult mouse. Nothing really exciting there.
My other two snakes ate pinkies the other day. Nothing really exciting going on with my reptiles. I'll let you know when I think of something.

Isabella Passed Away

On Wednesday, March 1, Isabella the iguana passed away. She had not been feeling well for the last month and I am glad that she will not be suffering anymore. I wasn't surprised when I found her dead on Wednesday morning. I could tell the night before that it would happen and even my dog was sniffing at her and acting very strange around her. So I think Raddy knew, too.
Ferdinand doesn't seem to be affected very much by Isabella being gone. Actually, I think he's happy to have the cage and food all to himself.

UV Light

Well, I mentioned before that Isabella hasn't been feeling well. I noticed that Ferdinand has not been letting her eat. He's been pushing her out of the way and also sitting on her so that she cannot get up. Meanwhile he eats the food! He doesn't even eat it all but he continues to sit on her. I don't know why he started acting this way all of the sudden. He has not done this in the past. But I have an idea...
I noticed that he just recently started doing this after Isabella was looking down and out. About a month ago the UV bulb burned out. Not long after this Isabella started acting different. Today I just put that connection together. I haven't made the trip to Petco to buy the UV bulb but I will tomorrow. I feel so bad now because I'm thinking this is why she's acting different. And now that she's weaker, I think Ferdinand is taking advantage of it. Males are usually competitive with each other. Females stay out of it and seem to just do their own thing. This is why it's been okay to keep them together in the same cage. Also they've just always been together and I haven't really seriously thought about separating them. But Ferdinand has been bullying her all this week. I don't even know if he might be trying to mate with her. I was told that she laid eggs in the past but it has never happened in the three years they've been with me. So I just don't know what is going on right now and I've been looking on the internet to try and find answers. If anyone knows, please help!
(In case you didn't know, iguanas need UVB light to get their vitamin D3 and use their calcium. So I need to have a UV bulb that is supposed to put out UVB rays and the iguanas absorb this into their skin. If they don't have this they can get weak and ill.)

Bullsnake

Here's my bullsnake. This snake doesn't have a name. He was actually found in a parking lot and I decided to keep him. I haven't had him for a year yet and he is not even a foot long yet. I thought a bullsnake would be a good addition for teaching my classes. People ask me a lot about bullsnakes. It seems that everyone has seen a bullsnake but they really have no idea what one looks like. By this I mean that when people around here see a snake, it must be a "bullsnake." I think the yellow and black on this snake makes it look pretty.

Drew

Here is Drew. He is a great plains rat snake. He's about 1.5 feet long. In one of the pics you can see his pretty light brown eye. Drew is a snake that I would use at my snake class. He's native to this area. If you have ever seen a corn snake in the pet store, Drew is related to that kind of snake. Corn snakes are usually yellow and orange colored.
I got Drew when he was about 9 inches long. I found him on one of my herp hunting trips. I don't recommend anyone just getting snakes and taking them home as pets. The first class that Drew did was at Frontier City, an amusement park in Oklahoma City. Like my other snake, Lucky, Drew received his name from students. Students from a Lawton high school worked with me and Randy at Frontier City and they were the ones to name him. One of my favorite types of snakes is the rat snake. Drew is not big enough to eat full-grown mice so he eats "pinkies" or "fuzzies." These are the hairless or very young mice. If I feed him pinkies I usually have to feed him about 4 of them depending on how big they are. But if I feed him fuzzies, it's just one. I feed my small snakes as often as my mice have babies. This is about once a month. I also do freeze pinkies then thaw them out to feed my snakes later. Sometimes they do not want to eat these.

Isabella's Skin, Toes, and Tail

I talked earlier about Isabella's skin, toes and tail. I think by looking at the picture of Isabella's leg, you can see how her skin looks "baggy" and kind of hangs off of her bones. This is because at one time her tissues were excessively filled with fluid as a compensation for weak bones.
The other picture shows her toes. It doesn't really show how they are bent but you can see they are abnormal. Also the claws are very long and basically useless for climbing. In the same picture you can see the spines on her back and how they are broken and bent.
The last picture shows her tail. The portion on the left is the part that has grown back. It is just dark brown. The right side shows her tail before the break point. You can see it actually has bands of orange and brown with short spines along the top. Buddy has a tail that was broken before, too. So his tail looks similar to this.

Ferdinand

I haven't posted any pics of Ferdinand, so I thought I'd better. I took these today. At first he didn't want to open his eyes but he eventually did. I think he looks pretty good.

Buddy's cage

Here are some pics of Buddy's cage. It is 4X4 feet and 6 feet high. I designed it to be large enough for him to climb around but also be easy for me to clean. The floor is covered with a waterproof barrier and the shelves and climbing beams are covered with astro-turf. The shelves and climbing beams are all easily removable and easy to shift around. A large door on the front lets me get in the cage to clean and feed. Most of the time he hangs around the top where his UV lamp and heat lamp are located.

Ophi

Besides iguanas I also have snakes. Actually snakes are my favorite reptiles. Ophi is a ball python. Right now he is almost 5 feet long. Ball pythons are from African jungles. They eat rodents. I try to feed all my snakes about once a week. Sometimes they are shedding or for some other reason they do not eat. But most of the time they eat regularly. This week three of my four snakes shed and Ophi is about to shed his skin. Ophi is a very gentle snake. He was my first snake and I purchased him at a pet store when he was only a foot long. Here's a pic of Ophi just after he spent some time in a wet pillow case. This helps them shed their skin properly.

Buddy

Let me tell you about my other iguana named Buddy. He came to live with me about two years ago. I was working at a wildlife refuge at the time and a co-worker had found him in a field near his home. He caught him and we tried to find a home for him. Well, I know it is hard to find homes for even cute, cuddly dogs and cats, so you can imagine that we did not have any luck. But seeing as how I have a soft spot in my heart for animals, yes even reptiles, I took him in. It turned out to be good. For a short time he actually lived in my bedroom free-roaming. This was okay, but he needed his own space. (Or maybe I needed mine.) Anyhow, my husband and his grandfather followed my plans and built a cage for him. Buddy was already 2.5 feet long. He seemed healthy enough but he has several scars all over his body and at one time must have lost his tail although it has grown back. He is very gentle, so I know he must have been handled a lot.
Being the responsible person that I am, I put a ad in the newspaper for a found iguana. No one claimed him. Maybe people who own iguanas don't read the newspaper, they just line the bottom of cages with it.
I named him Buddy because he was so gentle and I figured I could use him for classes. At the time I was doing several reptile classes with two of my snakes. I thought Buddy would make a good addition and his name might show people that he may look a little scary or intimidating, but he can be a friend. In fact Buddy's first and, sadly only, class was a Bass Pro Shop thing that lasted all day long for four days in a row. He did well, and for the most part the people's reactions were positive. But the long days of thousands of different people were hard on him. He has not done a class with me since. But this is also because my classes were about native reptiles and Buddy is not one of these. They may live in Florida as feral iguanas but they are native to central and south America. Also I do not have a demand for classes now that I am not working at the wildlife refuge at this time.
Buddy is an example of what a really nice, gentle iguana can be if someone will take the time and effort to be nice and gentle to them.

Isabella and Ferdinand

I thought I'd write a little about my iguanas. The male is named Ferdinand and the female is Isabella. They are the king and queen of iguanas! I got them "second-hand" from a science teacher. He told me at the time I got them that Isabella was about eleven years old and Ferdinand was about nine years old. I have to confess that I am the one who named them, so you can blame me for being cheesy. The science teacher actually did not give them names. I found this a little sad and that is why they have such royal names.
They are both about 4.5 feet long from nose to tail tip. And to be honest, but not disrespectful to the science teacher, I don't think they were in such good health when I recieved them. He fed them a diet of romaine lettuce and roma tomatoes. This is not good at all. Also he did not provide UV light or water. The only water source was in their food. So Isabella was puffy because her tissues held as much excess water as possible to protect her bones from breaking. It is a condition that iguanas get to compensate when they lack adequate calcium in their diet. After a month on a good diet with me she lost the puffiness but her skin has been large and wrinkled ever since. (I don't really know how to describe this so I will try to get a picture to show it.) Isabella also has a problem with her front toes and claws. I was told that as a young iguana she tried several times to escape her glass terrarium and would slam into the glass. This must have broken the bones in her front toes and they are permanently bent to the side. I think her claws grew abnormally long; probably to compensate for broken toes. For this reason Isabella is not a very good climber. She can only use her back legs to climb objects. Isabella also has broken spines along her back and I am not sure why. However, despite all of these problems I think she is a happy iguana; at least now.
Ferdinand looks decent but his wrists on the front are bent permanently. This problem is not so noticable and he climbs around just fine. This seems to be the only problem I could see that resulted from his diet. I know that iguanas have to receive adequate amounts of calcium and that certain foods are better than others. I try to give my iguanas fruits and vegetables that I would eat (not ugly, bruised, or rotten). I skip the calcium:phosphorus powder and just put the straight calcium powder on their food at least once a week. I figure they get enought phosphorous in the foods they eat. I also provide water on a daily basis. I know that this is important because I have seen them drinking it often.
I also try to give them a good environment, at least as best that I can provide. I give them a UV light which they can sit under and a heat lamp as well. I also have a heater to keep their room warmer in the winter time. And I also use a humidifier when I need to. I hope all of this makes them happy. I think it does because when they first came to me about three years ago they were not gentle at all. I think this was because of the lack of handling and possibly their diet. I have basically left them to themselves this whole time until recently I started trying to handle them. In the past they rejected any touching from me so I did not push it. Recently I tried again and they have let me touch them to move their tail or leg out of the way as I feed them or clean their cage. This gave me courage to pick them up. One day I first tried the male because I accidently left the cage lid open and he was sitting on the edge. I gently picked him up and put him back in. A few years ago this would have resulted in a fight, with me eventually getting him back in the cage with the wounds to prove it. Next I tried the female. Now I think for the most part they are not scared of me and we have an understanding. Besides they have learned that I am the source of their food. When they see me they do get excited if their food bowl is empty because they know it will be filled. Well, they get as excited as iguanas can get!
I hope that I am doing enough for them because this is important to me. Yes, keeping reptiles and enjoying them in nature as well are a hobby of mine. But Ferdinand and Isabella are more than just a hobby. They are living creatures and I know that although they can look scary to many people, they do have feelings of comfort or pain. With them being about fourteen and twelve years old (which I think this is old), I just want them to be comfortable. This just makes me feel good.

Isabella

Today I spent time with my female iguana named Isabella. She has been worrying me lately because she is not eating like she used to. She has lost weight and she is slower in moving around. So today I gave her half a banana and some collard greens. I also let her sit in the tub for a while. She drank the water and relaxed. Now I am just letting her rest on the floor before I put her back in the cage. Mayber this time out will help her feel better.