Cleo's Blog (or 'My way of keeping a record')
Sunday 30th November 2003
Repta: Cal: C: Min: Vite: given to all.
Thursday 27th November 2003
Freckle moved in. 10 gms
Monday 24th November 2003
Recharge just sent me the list of weights and lengths from the October weighing. Can't figure why I didn't type them in then. Anyway, I have inserted them into Octobers listings now and this has given me a good look at the growth rates.
I guess I really don't need to be as worried about Tina as I have been. She has put on a third bodyweight in 4 weeks. So she is going forward. I guess, compared to the others, she is still small and that worries me.
Tonight, I shall attempt to measure them all. Recharge, if you read this, can you measure Poo and send that along to me please. :)
Saturday 22nd November 2003
Time to do the weight thing again. Recharge is here and has bought Poo around with him.
Agro - 118: Cleo - 92: Rex - 82: Rod - 67: Poo - 40: Vici - 33: Tina - 27.
And yes, you read it right, there are two more names in there. Rod and Vici. Rod being short for Rodent, the contents of his stomach when I got him, and Vici is short for BVS or Big Vicious Snake. Which she isn't, but desperately wants us to think she is.
Cleo and Rex, as usual, shed together. They are like clockwork those two and although they don't often hang out together anymore, you could set your watch by one doing something and the other following suit.
Agro and Teeny Tiny Tina Tart are about to shed. I think Agro will go first, she has 'that' look about her.
Friday 17 October 2003
Well, havn't I been slack ?
Recharge has had his new snake for a while now and they seem to be very happy together. He has called her Missy Moo. Didn't take me long, after Recharge was doing the proud Dad thing and telling me about the amount of bowel movements she had had, to nickname her Poo. So, Poo it is. :D
She is a lovely little snake. Completely different to any of mine. She has a different head shape, with a bigger, rounder jowl and a chubbier shorter body shape. Her patterning is rather like english cobblestone and her colour is that of Cleo, when I first got her, that lovely red chocolate.
Although she is as calm as my babies she still has a little wild streak, and, I discovered, she is happy to play peek-a-boo. Only, instead of baby giggles, you get a bite on the nose for your 'boo'. I havn't been 'got' yet, not for lack of wanting on her part, I am just too wary.
Cleo, Rex, Tina and Agro are all going well. Tina seems to be over her feeding problems now. The advent of live pinky mice helped that along and recently she has eaten four mice, two per day over three days. I am very proud of her. Visibly she doesn't seem to have grown much though. But then, you never notice that when you are close to someone or something. It is usually when someone says "My, she has grown", that you step back and look.
Cleo has become much darker, at times part of her looks almost black. The pigment in front of her eyes has whitened right up and it gives her a little bulldoggish look when she peeks out of the hiding box to watch you.
She has developed a never ending appetite and is always looking and watching for food. Can be quite unnerving when you see her staring at you, with this, "could I take that in one bite or two" contemplative look in her eyes.
Rex is a right gentleman. Always calm and curious. He never sits still and never gets nervy or upset.
Agro, well, the thought of remaning her Valium is very tempting. She is definately my favourite snake to take out and handle. She likes to hunker down on you and watch the world go by. Or will wrap herself around your neck and hang there, like a necklace, all night. Freaks people right out when they realise she is a live snake and not an unusual piece of jewellry.
All of my babies (and Poo) have shed again recently and they look wonderful. I am still measuring and weighing them, although I havn't updated the calendar page, and they are all growing well. Agro was the largest, but Cleo, although still shorter, weighs more now.
In weight order(gms): Cleo - 51: Agro - 48: Rex - 46: Poo - 28: Tina - 18.
In length order(cms): Agro - 67: Cleo - 61: Rex - 61: Poo - 49: Tina - 45.
Wednesday 20 August 2003
I rang Recharge today. Told him I was sorry, but I can't let Agro go. I explained that I had already spoken to Geoff and lined up another snake for him. Born (hatched) the same time as ours and female also. He took it really well. I feel like such a bitch for doing that to him, but I love Agro and can't bear to see my beautiful wild baby with someone else. Damn I am selfish.
Tina ate again tonight. I put the mice in the snake feeding box while I cleaned out their cage. Gave them a goodly time to leave their droppings and smell all over the feeding box and then put them back in their cage. Popped Tina in the feeding box and lidded it. Left her in there with the mouse smell for a good 15 mins. I was watching her and during that time she went almost glazed, frantically tasting the air and flicking around the box, I think, looking for the source of the smell.
No sooner had I opened the box and dropped a pinky in, and she was on it, killing it and starting to eat.
Again I sat by and as soon as the legs of the first were about to disappear, I slipped pinky #2 in after the first and again, she swallowed it down, not a prob.
I am so pleased. Looks like Tina's non eating days are a thing of the past.... I hope.
Monday 18 August 2003
Cleo had started the shed when I left for work. She had her front half clean and beautiful, but the mid to tail region was still hanging on tight. I popped her in the bath when I got home and after about 5 mins soaking, I ran my fingers gently down her body and the rest just peeled right off. Damn, she and Rex make a gorgeous pair now.
Although I am a little disappointed. Her strong red brown has been slowly fading off to a darker brown, losing the red choc colour. I was hoping that the shed was the cause. But I see now that her colour in the new scale is also darker. Looks like she is changing colour as she gets older. We had noticed pigment change on her face lately too. It had me a little worried, but it was clearly scale colour and not mites or scale damage.
I sent Geoff a macro photo of it and he agreed, tis just a change in pigment.
Again, just like Rex, after the shed Cleo was ravenous. Taking a large fuzzy rat without so much as a please. She had her eye on my fingers too. Worried me enough that I got the kitchen tongs to feed her with.
Interesting observation.... Cleo, during the lead up to and since the shed, has become very clingy and doesn't mind cuddles as much as before. Being happy to sit quietly rather than go exploring. I shall have to watch this behaviour and see if it settles down and make sure it is not a sign of unwellness. (Is that a word ?)
Sunday 17 August 2003
Wow, Geoff is spot on. Woke up this am and Rex had shed. Bugger him, sneaking out of his clothes during the night while we couldn't see him. But damn, is he gorgeous. His new scales look like velvet. Not shiny at all. But velvety and the colour is so rich. He looks all fierce again.
Rex and Cleo had gone off their food prior to the shed, so we offered a fuzzy rat to Rex tonight and he gobbled it down quick smart.
Rang Geoff to share the news and he said to bathe Cleo again tonight. See if we can get her to come along too.
Saturday 16 August 2003
Cleo and Rex look like they are due to shed. I had been worried about the wrinkly Grandma/Grandpa look they were both getting to them, so Jokesta and I popped into Geoffs' place with Cleo today.
He said she is really close to shedding, and to bathe both her and Rex for a while.
So, we got home, ran the bath and popped 'the kids' in. Rex is ok in the water, Cleo hates it.
Tried feeding Tina again tonight. Got the teaser out, this time a new mouse I picked up on the weekend that is a tad flighty, and popped it into a container within the feeding box. Slipped Tina in there with it and immediately Tina was interested. I grabbed a pinky and waved it under Tina's nose as I reached to pick the mouse up and out of harms way.
Stupid mouse, it jumped away from me, straight out of the container it was inside (in order to keep Tina from getting it) and as I have previously said, "that Tina snake could put Cleo snake to shame", as she snapped and had the teaser in one go.
Dumb mouse.
Unfortunately she didn't get it on the head though and the mouse spun round and straight away attempted to bite Tina. I went into major protective Mum mode and immediately grabbed the mouse by the scruff and lifted it's mouth away from Tina. It was still trying to snap however and Tina was still curling and in possible danger, so I did the only thing I could think of and shoved the edge of the plastic container it had been in, into it's mouth. Thereby giving it something other than Tina to chomp on and rendering it incapable of biting her.
By the time Tina had killed the mouse I had the shakes something dreadful and was pleased to let go of them both. I thought I was going to be sick, I was that shaken up.
I also figured that Tina wasn't going to be able to eat the damn thing anyway.
She had a bloody good try though. I will give her ten points for effort. After a couple of hours of solid work attempting to get the head past her jaws, she spat it back out.
One $8 mouse in the bin.
Agro is really settling down well. I am taking her to work almost daily. (Poor Rex and Cleo are missing out, though I doubt they are too worried). She hasn't attempted to snap at me for a few days now and I am really pleased at how calm she is becoming.
She definately doesn't like rapid movement in front of her face. Instead, is happy to be the one that makes the enquiring move.
If you bring your hand up under her chin, you are pretty much guaranteed to get a good reception. Although she still hates any rapid movements around her. Always watching every move that anything around her makes.
I make a point of opening the snake house when I am home and touching and patting all the snakes in turn. Not removing then, just stroking them and then leaving them be. Getting them used to being touched, without panic. Mainly for Agro's benefit though as the rest, Cleo, Rex and Tina, are calm enough not to care anyway. Still, can't hurt them to be touched, it is all (hopefully) positive training.
We had a sleep together this afternoon. I was cuddling her and was all dozy. She settled in my armpit (remind me not to kiss that snake) and slept there as I dozed. (I would never have been able to do that with Cleo the explorer.) I am not looking forward to giving Agro to Recharge. I think I made a big mistake allowing her to stay here, I am becoming too attached.
She still scares the guys in the office.
Friday 15 August 2003
Recharge popped over tonight. He and I went to the snake house to get Agro out for him and couldn't find her. Ripped the snake house apart, double checked their trees, looked for cracks.... No Agro.
I remembered the last time I had seen her was wrapped around Jokesta's wrist as he started to make dinner and asked him if he put her back ?
He couldn't remember. He remembered her being there, then not. Panic ensued.
Between the three of us, we pulled the stove and fridge out and apart. Crawled around on all fours with torches, checked rooms beside rooms. My heart sank as I realised just how many holes this house has and how easy it would be for a baby snake to disappear into one of them.
Eventually she was found. Recharge and I were checking Jokesta's desk and Recharge found her curled up by the router, under the joystick.
I knew I cared a great deal for Agro, due to the amount of time and energy, also love, I had put into her and in calming her down. But I hadn't realised just how much until I nearly pushed Recharge over in my haste to reach her and cuddle her and tell her how worried I was.
I got a bite on my ear for my troubles.
Monday 11 August 2003
Took Tina to work today. Decided to give Agro a day off and Rex and Cleo have full bellies, therefore are due for a big poo each. With Rex's track record of dropping his stinky load on me, I am not going to risk him or Cleo repeating that. (Had to wash two shirts at work thanks to him already).
Over the weekend Jokesta and I had talked about Tina's lethergy and tiny size and figured the lethargy was possibly due to a slow metabolism. Caused perhaps by a lack of food. IE: She was slowing herself down, to use up her food resources less. We deduced that in order to increase her appetite, we had to speed up her metabolism and get her active and hungry.
During the day at work, I thought more on Tina's lack of desire to eat and wondered if a teaser would work ? So, after work I popped into the local pet shop and bought Tina a mouse. Bob the mouse. He has no tail.
Got them both home and I defrosted 2 pinky mice for Tina. Got them ready for her and prepared to move Bob to a small container to allow Tina to see, but not reach him.
Forget that idea. As I was holdingTina in one hand and attempting to catch and move Bob with the other, Tina spotted Bob. Went rigid and the tounge immediately started the rapid small flick that I have come to know as food interest.
I dropped Bob, grabbed a pinky mouse and waved it under her nose. She scared the hell out of me with the speed at which she took it. Cleo has nothing on Tina for killer instinct.
I managed to carefully remove her from my hand and pop her in a feeding box as she proceeded to 'kill' and swallow the pinky mouse. As she opened her jaws to take the last of the mouse in, I was not slow in grabbing the other pinky and pushing it's head up behind the disappearing first. Without batting an eyelid (which she couldn't do if she tried), Tina proceededto swallow that one also.
Well, wasn't I one proud Mum as, after her feed, I gave her a cuddle, told her how clever she was, put her back in the snake house then proceeded to write email to everyone to let them know Tina had eaten.
Saturday 9 August 2003
Recharge met Agro today. Got on like a house on fire. She hid in his shirt and he was the proud Dad all day. We headed off to Pet City to pick up snake food and get some aquarium bits. Recharge proudly showed Agro off to the staff behind the reptile counter.
I had to admit I was a little worried. With Recharge not fully understanding her biting, I was scared that someone would get too close, would get bitten and we would be in deep shit. Luckily, my fears were in vain.
Attempted to feed Tina and Agro today. Both turned up their noses. Agro I am not at all worried about. She has been on a diet of good healthy red human blood for the last week. She can take care of herself. (Plus she is huge, lots of reserves there).
Tina however, with her bad feeding history does have me worried. Tried all sorts of things to get her feeding, but no, not interested at all..
Friday 8 August 2003
The cow bit me again. Agro cow that is. She is really flighty and quick to snap if you move near her. Got me twice this morning as I attempted to remove her from her cage.
Didn't get her anywhere though, as I still got her out and shoved her down my top and took her to work.
Behaved herself very well within my top though. But when I took her out at one stage to show her to a visitor at the office, (warning him well not to get near her, as she bites), again she snapped at me. Rather effective after the warning and he certainly didn't attempt to get very close at all.
She has all the guys in the office on the run too. Whereas normally they would hold and say hello to Cleo and Rex, with Agro they back off and are more than happy to look from a distance.
Everyone wanted to see my bite marks and I proudly showed off the tiny little red spots I was sporting, like a trophy, on my wrist and fingers.
Tina is sooooo tiny though. We affered her a feed and she turned her nose up. She seems so frail after the other three, and Agro in particular, that you just can't help but be gentle when you hold her. She is such a delicate little lady.
Thursday 7 August 2003
Well, who is an addict then ?
On the weekend we popped into Geoffs place to say hi and have him look over Cleo and Rex.. While we were there I saw a delightful little snake, absolutely tiny, almost half the size of Cleo and Rex and the spitting image of Sybill, the snake I had originally chosenl. I asked Geoff about her and was told she wasn't for sale as she wasn't feeding too well. I asked him to let me know how she goes and tonight I received email from him.
It seemed she was feeding, albeit a little slowly and if I wanted her, I could have her.
Well, I couldn't get Jokesta, Cleo, Rex and the key in the car quick enough.
We arrived at Geoffs and he had two snakes out. The last two he had for sale and naturally, I had to look at them both.
The tiny one, (which, on the spot, we named Tina, only to find that was exactly what Geoff had been calling her) was adorable. Immediately she slid up around Jokesta's neck, made herself comfortable and proceeded to eye everyone off over the duration of the night from the safety of his collar. Sealing her fate to be ours forever by that move.
Geoff was handling a much larger Juvenile. From the same clutches as ours, but very well fed and well grown. Clearly a snake that liked her food. She was quite stirred up and snappy. Having a bite at anything that moved and constantly on the run. Geoff tried a few settle tactics with minimum success and I asked if I could try and hold her.
Understand this..... I wanted to be bitten. Yeap, I did. I had a fear of being bitten that I figured I would need to experience to get over. If any snakes bit me later, when they were larger, I feared I would possibly lose my nerve, so I wanted this over and done with while they were small. To this end, I was happy (albeit nervous) to handle this snake we were calling Agro and if it happened, get this bite I needed to have, over and done with.
I got my bite. Five of them to be precise. And you know what ?
It didn't hurt.
In fact, it was so much of an anti climax that I thoroughly hurt Agro's feelings by laughing at her attempts. The bite from a baby carpet is tantamount to hitting yourself with the bristles of a toothbrush. Occasionally she drew blood. But the toothpricks were so small, the blood would surprise you by the very fact that it happened at all, as at no stage did it feel like the bite was capable of bleeding. At one stage she attempted to bite me on the finger and quick as a cat I pinned her lower jaw to my finger with my thumb.
That gave her a shock and for the next few minutes she spent her time whipping around trying to free her jaw. I finally relented and let her jaw go and not surprisingly, she didn't attempt to bite me again. Although she still remained wary and flighty.
Geoff got a large live fuzzy rat from his breeders and attempted to feed her, thinking perhaps she would settle with a full tummy. But she showed no interest whatsoever and the poor rat was left waddling on the table.
Ever thoughtful Rex decided to take matters into his own jaws and with a minimum of effort, put the young rat out of it's misery and while Jokesta nad I looked on in utter amazement, he killed and ate his first live feed. (Well, live feed that we knew about anyway).
I tell you, this fuzzy was almost the size of a full grown mouse and we couldn't believe it. Although Geoff clearly knew he was capable, Rex had us almost too shocked to speak. Naturally though, with our propensity to talk, that silence didn't last long. Nor did the rat.
We had agreed to take Tina, lock stock and barrell to be ours and a sister to Cleo and Rex. Geoff was in a bind as the baby cage he had been using for these little tykes was no longer available for their use. As Agro was going to have to look forward to living in a pillowcase until another cage could be aquired for her, I agreed to take Agro home and keep her with our snakes,until either I fell in love with her or another home could be found for her.
To be honest, I doubt this snake can be ever tamed to be trusted, but she is here, with us now, and we shall see what happens.
I rang Recharge on the way home with the snakes and told him we had found his snake. I warned him in advance that she was snappy and perhaps wouldn't make a good pet. However, if she turned out ok, he could have her.
I don't think he knew what to make of the whole situation.
Friday 1 August 2003
Wow. I have been slack. Gracie came to visit for the school holidays and I got a little tied up with sightseeing and entertaining and enjoying her company. She absolutely adores the snakes and I had to be very careful with her and them together. Not for any real reason except that I am totally paranoid about both of them. I don't want snakes crushed and I don't want Gracie bitten.
As well as having Gracie come to visit, the snakes got a new home.
In this big old delightfully run down house there is a built in cupboard. It spans the distance of the wall under the window to my left as I sit at the computer. The ends, left and right, consist of cupboards and drawers and the centre span consists of a cupboard with swing doors that once upon a time had glass in them. (Although the glass was long gone by the time we arrived here). Until the rebuild, it had been used to store computer parts and CD's in and was a rather messy eyesore.
However, with the snakes growing and ultimately requiring new quarters, a rethink was necessary and the cupboard had the potential to be a wonderful, convenient snake home.
With Recharges help, we emptied the cupboard of all computer items, cleaned it out thoroughly, invested in some black mesh for airflow, glassed in the doors and fitted locks..
The cupboard had already had a power supply to it at some time in it's life and so we were able to use the old line to pull a new one through, fitted a powerpoint, installed a fan, the thermostat and the lighting, a few pot plants, water bowl, rocks and moved the snakes in.
They have never looked back. The cupboard is large enough to allow them enough space to truly stretch out. There is room for many snakes to have their own private place and with the swing doors, access is easy. The cupbaord is also very neatly finished and is now a focal point for the room. With the overhead lights off, the heating lights in it give a warm glow that is comfortable to sit by and idle away the time.
Cleopatra and Rex have continued to be very good. Both in temperament and interaction, as well as in being easy to feed. They will eat almost everything placed in front of them and Cleo paved the way to larger meals by taking a Fuzzy Rat. I have to admit, we thought there was no way she would get it down but she surprised us both. Needless to say, next feed Rex was offered one too and that disappeared equally quickly.
The are both feeding in what I call the 'snake boxes', one each, which are simply clear, lidded plastic boxes. Although we still sometimes hold them and feed them by hand (a great experience), there will come a time when to continue doing so will be dangerous to fingers and hands. So using the boxes to feed in now seemed like a smart training move.
I alternate between them, daily taking them to work to socialise and to get used to being handled and shipped around. I don't want fussy difficult snakes and I have used my Fathers advice about rearing children, on the snakes. He always said, (about raising children), "when they are young, get them used to your routine. Do nothing special or ordered that they will come to rely on. Instead, let them know from an early age that there will always be change and allow them to get used to that. This way, you don't create a rod for your back later on if a routine cannot be followed".
Geoff has been a fount of information and he must be pretty tired of me by now. Every little wrong move, odd look, strange behaviour, and I am on the phone to him. But so far all is well and we are all happy.
The snakes have both been visiting often. Most recently to a Pet Shop in Brisbane where they were both a great hit. The staff all fell in love with them and wanted photos taken around them. (I have yet to send their photos to them though... slack. If any of you read this, then please email me an address to send the pics to.)
We have discovered that they like the sunvisors in the car. Happily hanging from them as we travel around. Watching everything and alternating from keeping an eye on us, to keeping an eye on the road.
Personality wise, Cleo is far more flighty than Rex. Where Rex will happily curl in your shirt and appreciate the warmth, Cleo has to roam and watch everything that is going on around her.
Rex loves to hang in Jokesta's shirt, with his tail wrapped around Jokesta's necklace he will curl up, peeking from the front of Jokesta's collar, watching.
Cleo will curl up on my stomach as I lay watching TV. But I am not allowed to move, lest I upset her and start her wandering again.
Saturday 28 June 2003
Rex defecated today, so he gets his pinky rat tomorrow. He is not a 'good' feeder, having no instinct (that we have seen yet) to roll and wrap his prey, and by holding it, making it easier to consume. He may have probs getting a pinky rat down. We shall see.
I picked up a tree today. Just a little Lychee, small enough to be able to sit on my desk and big enough for the snakes to wind themselves up in. Will report and trim it tomorrow, to make it presentable and then introduce it to Cleo and Rex.
Friday 27 June 2003
Rex accompanied me to work today. Showed himself off to everyone and wanted to do the wander thing. He was an instant hit and Mikey would have taken him home to live with him had I closed my eyes for one second.
After show and tell, he happily settled into his travelling box and alternated between snoozing and watching me all day.
Yesterday Cleo finally emptied her body of the mice she had consumed last week, so it was decided to try her with a pinky rat. We defrosted said rat and popped Cleo into a box that we have decided to use for feeding purposes. We placed the defrosted room temp rat in with her and we both decided it was way too big and she was never going to be able to eat it.
She showed immediate interest. Going into a rigid staring state for a few minutes before slowly approaching the rat and flicking her tongue all over it. This is as far as she appeared to be prepared to go however and after watching her do this for 10 mins, we became certain she had decided that although she was hungry and interested, she herself felt she wasn't capable of devouring this huge beast.
Her excitement was obvious however in the rigidity and watchfullness she displayed. I was very happy I had chosen to feed her in a box when I reached beside the box to pick up the camera laying there. Cleo, quick as a snake can be, turned and struck at my moving hand, hitting the side of the frosted plastic box in mid strike. Poor baby. (With a bit of luck however, this may teach her a small lesson, this is yet to be seen.)
She did not seem to be unduly worried or hurt however and she quickly returned to the licking of dinner.
I thought to move the pinky rat, I had read about snakes that need their food 'jiggled' to create interest, so, thinking of the safety of my hand, I grabbed some kitchen tongs. No sooner had I touched the rat, not yet even getting a grip on it with the tongs, Cleo struck. She was so quick the movement really couldn't be seen. One moment she was rigid and watching, the next she was wrapped around the rat and doing a crushing death roll around the box.
Still however, she appeared to be having probs with it and when she hadn't done much else after a period of time, we lifted the box up onto the cupboard and went off to make our own dinner.
Returning to the box 10 mins later for a peek I was extremely amazed to find the carcass already consumed. Cleo happily looking at me with a smirk that said. "See, I CAN do it and you missed out!" The huge bulge making it's way down her throat however, removed a little of the gravity from my reply.
I removed her from the box, to assist her by giving her fingers to move around to help the 'pushing' of the rat down her throat, also to assure myself, after the strike, that I could still handle her. To show her that I was not afraid of her. She was fine and after the rat had lodged in her belly, I placed her back into her home to sleep it off.
That sure as hell couldn't be comfortable to be that extended. The pinky rat was clearly visible in her body and her scales were so stretched apart that her skin (?) between them was easily visible.
Wednesday 25 June 2003
It was suggested we weigh the snakes on a regular basis. Logic really, we are measuring them, keeping a record of their eating, of course, why not go the full hog and weigh too ?
So we did.
Again, this was not an easy thing to do. Theoretically, as Cleo is the more nervous flighty snake, logic would say she would be the more difficult. Not so. She sat nicely in the glass as we weighed her and was very co-operative. Rex however, wanted to gallop (sans legs) about and look at everything we wanted to do and examine it all for his own benefit. Seriously, he is such a sticky beak.
Cleo weighed in at 27 grams and Rex at 26 grams.
We bought a pot plant in from outside and set it up on my computer desk, then introduced the snakes to it. Well, they bolted for it, loved it, slipped and slid around inside, found little nooks and crannies between leaves and stems and happily curled up in them for the evening. I would regularly peek through the foliage to see little faces watching me in turn as I went about my business on the keyboard. Cleo in particular, watching watching, always watching.
Monday 23 June 2003
Measured Rex, this was not an easy thing to so, as he would not allow himself to be straightened and would not do it of his own accord either. Perhaps he did not want confirmation he is smaller than Cleo ? Anyway, he came in at around 47cms and allowing for snake curves, we estimated this to be about 49 in reality.
Sunday 22 June 2003
Snakes in the park.
Took Rex and Cleo to Roma Park for a BBQ today. They were an instant hit with everyone they met and I was surpised how few people backed off. Most coming forward to ask questions and meet the snakes. (Note to self: Be prepared. Do heaps more reading and find out the answers to the basic questions that get asked. Telling someone you have no idea and to ask the snake itself, was perhaps not productive.)
Both snakes behaved very well with the odd tongue poke and although they did not appear to be worried or stressing about the situation, we made sure to give them plenty of 'alone' time in their box.
A couple of hours after returning home, we decided to offer Rex a feed as he had not fed with us yet. 1 Pinky mouse was defrosted and Rex was placed in a box with the pinky. He showed immediate interest and while appearing to be less experienced at eating than Cleo (he did not roll and 'kill' or use his body as a lever), he soon tucked in and had it swallowed down.
Jokesta went to pick him up after the mouse had been finished and Rex struck at him as he reached around Rex's body. Jokesta did not see this, as he had his hand in front of the snake, but I clearly saw Rex lift and strike. Surprisingly however, Rex stopped before touching Jokesta. We don't know if this is because Rex was confused and thought Jokesta's fingers were another mouse or Rex was aggresive after his feed. However, we took it as a good sign that Rex did not complete the strike and for whatever reason his little snake head held, he chose to break off before impact.
It was however a fascinating thing to see from my point of view as I clearly saw him rear, he opened his mouth and launched at the same time. Then, closing his mouth and actually stopping only millimetres before Jokesta's fingers. Of course, Jokesta didn't see it at all and consequently didn't react in any way.
I told Jokesta of this and Jokesta made a point of handling him then to show him that that action will not be gotten away with. After 20 mins or so, Jokesta put him in his box and another defrosted pinky was offered. This was again immediately taken.
He was then picked up and handled again with no strike show at all this time, before being returned to his snake house to sleep the afternoon away.
Who knows why the strike happened? Perhaps Rex did think that Jokesta's finger was another mouse. Perhaps he was aggressive and hungry. Perhaps he had had enough of being handled for the day ? Was Jokesta's lack of reaction the reason he stopped ? Was it a show of power ? It was certainly a very interesting experience.
Saturday 21 June 2003
Packed everything up nice and early, including Cleo and headed over to Geoffs place so Jokesta could take a look at the snakes too. He was, as I suspected, smitten and very quickly chose a snake of his own. Hence Rex came to be a part of this odd family. While we were there, Geoff discovered, while cleaning the snake house that there were a couple of small mites. So lucky Cleo, by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, through no choice of her own, copped a mite treatment as did all the rest. Poor Cleopatra.
We were introduced to Childrens Pythons today. Interesting snakes those. More like Elapids than a python. Very distinctive patterning that appears to be rather uniform throughout (at least the 4 we saw were.) I imagine however that a Childrens Python keeper would tell you otherwise.
We also 'saw' (from a respectable distance) a couple of Carpet Pythons that had been neglected. Fed and housed yes, but not handled and therefore had reverted to a 'semi wild' state. These were undergoing handling to 'calm' them as unhandled, they were dangerous and apt to strike.
Popped around to Recharges place for a coke after and Cleo excelled herself by urinating on the coffee table mat. Well done Cleo.
Rex has settled in and seems to be an 'up' snake. By this I mean that in the past week, it has been our experience that Cleo will always go in a down direction and look for a dark secretive spot to hide. Rex however, likes to go up. He is always looking up, climbing up and is quite happy to settle to sleep in the open. Curling up quite happily for a snooze in the middle of Recharges table mentioned above. (Carefully avoiding Cloe's little mess).
Friday 20 June 2003
Cleo appears to be drinking again. Although she does not like water, she regularly will dip her nose (snout) in and although I cannot actually see her drinking, I will assume this is so.
Thursday 19 June 2003
15 mins of sunlight as Cleo played 'Big Brave Wild Snake hunting in the pot plant'. Cleo spent a great deal of today happily curled up inside my shirt, only becoming restless after roughly 5 hours.
Urinated ( on me :P) no solids seen.
Wednesday 18 June 2003 - Food taken
5.30pm Cleo passed faeces, consisting of solids and liquids. STINKY! We washed her with dove soap and rinsed her immediately in a tepid bath. Note to self: Cleo does not like baths.
12.15pm upon returning inside, I offered a defrosted pinky and this was immediately eaten.
At 11.40am I took Cleo outside and we sat in the sun for 30 mins. The sunlight was weak and overcast by thin clouds.
Tuesday 17 June 2003 - Food taken
PM - Pinky mouse eaten
Defrosted a pinky by running warm water over it, then dried and offered the pinky to Cleo as she sat in Brices hand. She showed immediate interest, moving around it and flicking her tounge against the body repeatedly. Finally she found a position she liked and proceeded to wrap herself around it, then eat.
At no stage did she appear to be disturbed about eating while on Brice's hand and after consuming she continued her typical investigations of her surroundings.
Upon being placed back into her house, she yawned (aligned her jaws?) drank and disappeared for a nap.
AM - Uneaten pinky from yesterday removed from the cage. Cleo appears to be yawning and appears to be drinking.
Monday 16 June 2003 - Food taken
1st Pinky mouse offered and eaten immediately.
2nd Pinky mouse offered and no interest was shown.
Measured: 51cms
Saturday 14 June 2003
Cleopatra moved in.
Collected Cleo in a pillowcase and transported her home via motorcycle. She seemed to travel well with no outward signs of stress when removed from her pillowcase and placed in her new home. After thorough investigation, she curled herself around the light stand and appeared to rest.