Baby Green Tree Python When they become adults, their color changes to Emerald Green Another incredible color variation
Heeeeeey, that sounds pretty good. Must add cranberry juice to grocery list. I used to like vodka and cranberry juice.
In my teens, I had a Boa Constrictor. He was very friendly. When I got him, he was only 3 ft. At the time, I didn't know how big he would get. A few years later, he was 12 ft. & 80 lbs. And, unlike a cat or dog, a snake can't live on processed food; he has to eat whole animals. I didn't want to have to start feeding him rabbits. I gave him to a zoo, where he lived in a huge enclosure - with a girlfriend.
A friend's daughter recently got married to a guy who is an herpetologist. He's extremely knowledgeable, and travels around the state putting on informational seminars in libraries & other such venues. He always brings a couple of small green snakes to give folks a chance for some "hands-on." Here's his website. Facebook: Herping Virginia
She handed me her grocery shopping list once to hold for her. It read: Milk Eggs Noodles Paper towels Rat On the other hand, my granddaughter's step-mother had a boa that absolutely refused to eat one rat she put in the tank. The rat slept in the boa's coils and they lived very peacefully. She took the rat out and put another rat in and the boa promptly ate it. She put the original rat back in and they continued to peacefully coexist for months. Periodically, Rat #1 was taken out, new rat put in, new rat got eaten, old rat moved back in. Maybe they were star-crossed lovers in a previous life?
It's rather amusing that some people consider every snake venomous. Or somehow......evil. A woman at this park told me "Be careful; there's a Rattlesnake near the playground. When I saw that it was a non-venomous Gopher Snake I said, "I'll move him to the other side of the park." The look on her face when she saw me pick him up: PRICELESS.
California has only one venomous snake - and he's very easy to recognize. Rattlesnakes have a triangle-shaped head that is much larger than the neck, a thick body & those rattles. (note the small head & slim build on the snake I'm holding). None of the 9 snakes I've handled for hours at that park have ever bitten. Even if he did bite, his tiny sharp teeth couldn't do much damage - much less than a cat scratch. And since he's cold-blooded, he can't transmit the diseases that warm-blooded mammals can. The whole U.S.A. has only 4 venomous snakes - & they're all easy to recognize. Rattlesnake: Copperhead: Water Moccassin (also known as "Cottonmouth" (found only near water - swamps, etc) Coral Snake:
I remember when my great uncle was bitten by a copperhead. He decided to just ride it out at home without calling a doctor. Next day he ended up in the ER and spent some time in the hospital. He recovered, but it was very serious for a day or two, likely because he tried to ignore it and because of his age.
Yeh, there's a set of folks who hear that it's not a neurotoxin, so they blow it off. There's no way of knowing the concentration or volume of venom that's been injected. You better believe if it happens to me (and I've been real close to a couple of them here), I'm calling 911 and screaming like a schoolgirl.
Teach me, sensei. What is this pit pith of which you speak? I don't know that I've ever picked up a snake.