Snake! Maize is our newest pet. Well, technically she is Cole's but we have all been enjoying her. She is a pretty little Corn Snake (Elaphe Guttata). Her coloring is dark olive gray and grayish white. She is intricately patterned. One of her most interesting patterns is her belly, which looks like a checkerboard. Her other is on top of her head where the pattern starts. She has a heart on the top of her little head. She measure in at almost 14 inches and is probably slightly smaller around than a pencil.
I was a little hesitant to handle her at first but she is very gentle and curious. She will twine around your hand and look around tickling you with her little tongue as she smells everything. I was very surprised at how she feels. She is silky. While she doesn't eagerly jump into your hand when you pick her up she seems content to hang out for a bit.
We fed her for the first time on Wednesday. She eats pinkies, which are frozen newborn mice. We had to thaw it to room temperature and then feed her in a separate container. This is so she will not associate your hand or her tank with food. That would not be good. It also prevents her from ingesting her bedding and becoming ill from that. We were shocked at how quickly she ate that mouse! She immediately went to it and had it completely eaten in less that two minutes. We could still see a little lump in her a day later. You can see the food as it works through her. Fascinating.
Wednesday was her regular feeding day at Petco and we could tell that she was hungry because she started to investigate every inch of her tank and look for a way out. She even climbed to the top of the tank-straight up the corner! She then managed to get on the lip of the inside of the tank under the lid and crawled all the way around the perimeter. She then extended half of her body over the lid of the tank while the back half stayed on the lip. She checked out the air holes in her lid, looking for an exit. None was to be found, so after 30 minutes or so she lowered herself and dropped back down.
Another funny thing she did involved her house. We bought a coconut once and did not pay attention. It contained no milk or flesh, it had a nut in it. A huge coconut seed was what we had bought. We saved the outside and used it for a hermit crab hut. The hermit crabs have since departed but I have a tub that I keep pet things and we found it for Maize. One of the eyes of the coconut had been punched out to drain the nonexistent milk. As soon as Maize went in her head peeked up through that hole and she slithered out that way. She found the back door!
The younger sisters have been interested in her. Grace thinks she wants to hold her but then doesn't quite seem to make it. She is still more at the petting stage. Bitsy had a funny remark. Nicole asked her if she would like to let Maize crawl on her hand and Bitsy said, "Don't you mean slither and slide?" We got a kick out of that.
Now we have a house pet that does not make anyone sneeze! I think we are going to get a Beta fish next. I think they are the best kind of fish to have. They are attractive and can live for several years. Our last Beta, Stellaluna, had learned her feeding times and when I came to the kitchen in the morning she would swim to where I would drop her food in and swish her fins at me. For a fish that impressed me. Barry commented that we were on our way to having a menagerie, but I kind of like it and so does he. Sometimes you have to prompt the kids to take care of things but pets teach invaluable lessons. There are all the fun moments with a pet but there is also responsibility and loss. I have heard people remark that they would not get their children pets because they are a mess and would just die eventually. Now don't get me wrong, I don't look forward to losing a pet, but that is a part of life along with the good and having a pet is a way for a child to learn about death and loss. Our pets have been the source of many interesting conversations about death, responsibility and even reproduction. Having a pet is like having an affectionate science project for the long term!
Love,
Shawna
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