Bobo's new adventure
I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, "No way. Heather can not possibly have yet ANOTHER pet story to tell. Between the tragic drowning of Lola, the vicious maiming of a 6 year old at the playground, and the poop, what else is there?"
Well, remember when I said snakes make good pets?
That's still true. But I've just learned something new about them. They also make great escape artists. I know, I know, what the heck is WRONG with us, people?
My sister and her family are visiting, and they are sleeping in the room with the snake. They said goodnight to Bobo in the evening, and went to bed.
In the morning, no Bobo. A small opening in the lid of the cage said it all.
My sister was less than thrilled. And hearing the story about our cousin's missing ball python showing up weeks later curled up next to their son in his bed didn't help much either.
We turned the house upside down looking for the sneaky reptile, and for most of the day, no luck. My sister insisted that there was no way she was sleeping in a room where there existed the possibility of a midnight snuggle with a python. Somehow the thought wasn't at all cozy to her. And she also I think partially refused to believe that a 4 foot mouse eating ball python could not possibly eat her 8 year old son. Mothers. Sheesh.
The story does have a happy ending, by the way, for those of you who are horrified by the image of a nocturnal nuzzle with a cold, slithery beast. This evening, DH and my BIL truly put their brain power together to think like a snake. If we were a snake, they asked themselves, where would we hide?
My BIL discovered that the bookcases in Bobo's room were actually hollow in the bottom with an opening in the back. DH and BIL lifted up the bookcases, and there lay Bobo curled up, cold and almost certainly glad to see his owner. Well, we tell ourselves that anyway, even though in all likelihood the snake was probably quite perturbed we found him in his cozy hiding spot, and really couldn't care less about the human who discovered him. He is now secure in his cage, probably ticked as heck to be caught. My sister feels better though.
Maybe we should get a um...an...uh...shoot, I can't think of a pet we haven't already tried. We are truly headed for the pet owners circle of hell.
At least Bobo didn't bite anybody. Or drown. I suppose in some ways, that's progress.
posted by Heather O. at 4/05/2006 09:34:00 PM
17 Comments:
I hear pet rocks are easy to take care of... *grinning, ducking and running*
At least it didn't hide away for longer, go into partial hibernation, and then regurgitate a half-digested rodent after you found it. That's what happened with my brother's family's python last month.
I don't think there is a better small pet out there for kids that rats. But you need to keep at least two because they are social animals. My almost 4 y.o. and my 15 month old LOVE the rats. And, unlike hamsters & gerbils, rats actually like to be handled & will interact with you. And they are so darn cute. (Go visit my blog if you need proof!)
Which would make me vomit more: waking up next to a snake or a rat? I'm geting queasy just thinking about it. (Really; my skin is clammy and my stomach is just a tad sick.) I am a firm beliver that if there is an exterminator out there whose job it is to rid a house of a certain animal, said animal should not be welcomed into the home as a pet. Ick. (No offense, I'm sure your rats and snakes are very nice.)
Maybe frequent visits to the zoo would be a better choice for your family. You could tell the kids that the elephant is really theirs, but you need to share it with the rest of the town. Seriously, what kid doesn't want an elephant?
Just found you through Froglegs. I am also a Mormon Mommy. Come visit.
"My husband has a policy that we should have no animal that is "prey"."
Well, that's just ridiculous. Every animal is "prey" if you go far enough up the food chain. We're even prey if you consider very large snakes, and possibly hungry wolves and large members of the cat family.
Personally, I can't imagine having a pet that you feed LIVE animals too. I don't see how that can not impact the value your children place on living creatures.
And to mimi, "I am a firm beliver that if there is an exterminator out there whose job it is to rid a house of a certain animal, said animal should not be welcomed into the home as a pet." Haven't you heard that a weed is just a flower growing in the wrong place? There are dog and cat catchers who are called in to "exterminate" those animals, too, though they may not be in your house.
I'm sorry, but not surprised, to see that people are so ignorantly biased against certain animals. I don't expect everyone to love rats, and don't really care, but if you're going to make hyperbolic and ignorant statements, I see no reason to allow those to slide by uncontested.
Wow. Ouch.
"And while you see everything as prey, you don't like pets that feed on prey. Interesting."
I don't dislike snakes, but I don't think children need to grow up seeing live animals being killed by their "pet". You can feed snakes "sausages," (specially made for snakes) and this is actually safer for the snake, as they don't run the risk of being bitten/scratched. Too often, though, people enjoy the feeding of live animals to their snakes, and this is what I don't like. My own reason for not having a snake is just that I don't think snakes supply the level of interaction that I like in a pet. They spend most of their time lounging around in their cage. I prefer watching fish.
I like the story of the pantry rat. Domestic rats are quite different tempermentally from wild rats, as those in the pet trade are typically bred for "friendliness" to humans.
My mom had a pet duck. It fell out of the sky into our backyard and she nursed it back to health. It walked on a leash and would ride on your shoulder. It liked to curl up by your neck and sleep. One day it flew away and returned to it's little ducky world.
My friend had a great rat, we used to hold her all the time. Then one day she went nuts and started biting everone. Certainly not representative of EVERY rat, but makes me a little gun shy about them.
I'll stick with my guppy thank you. At least when I accidentally kill it I only have to pay 2 bucks to replace it. Not that I know or anything...
Hey, I had a pet rat! Her name was Hairy Ann. My favorite memory of her is when I would eat Doritos and she would lick tiny Dorito crumbs off the outside of my lips. I know, gross, but she had the most adorable tiny pink tongue... rats really deserve more of a chance. They're so cute - if you can get over them actually being rats.
However, now that I'm a mom and have been through five pooping (four subsequently potty-trained) children, 2 pooping cats, several constipated goldfish and a couple of tiny turd-leaving hamsters, I am DONE with pets. This post is the very reason why I now have books and plants instead of animals. NO POOP! (and no hiding - I think that's the ultimate rude animal thing to do)
Naddin J-
How exactly can you tell if a goldfish is constipated?
CAUTION... TMI ALERT...
Heather, you can tell by the lovely trail of poo hanging from the goldfish's little fishy bottom.
Naddin J-
Thanks for the laugh!
My 5yr old son keeps telling me that he needs a dog, and you all have helped me stay strong in my no's.
Well Heather, when my Dad was in college one of his frat brothers had a pet python that escaped and they couldn't find it until the horrible smell started. That's right, it crawled into a wall and died there, and they just had to wait until it rotted enough to stop smelling. Ew ew ew ew ew. Though I'm sure the frat house didn't smell that good BEFORE the dead snake in the wall...
I think it was President Monson, or Elder Holland, that had a snake come out of the tap in the bathtub. The water wasn't working right, and next think he knew, there was the snake.
I can't stand snakes, but I guess there are people that love them. Phobia's yuck! I wouldn't want rats either, but that is besides the point.
Good thing we all have different tastes in pets.
May I suggest a bird?
Lovebirds make great pets for kids. They're fairly low maintenance, live for a really long time, and love human interaction. If you get two you don't need to worry about them getting bored and plucking out their feathers (or other self-destructive behavior). They bathe themselves, you only have to change the newspaper at the bottom of the cage once or twice a week. And they are adorable! They can be loud, but not much louder than your average 2 year old.
Starfoxy-
We tried a bird. She drowned.
I do like them, though.
Mindy, I'm not all that philosphical about my pet snake versus a pet rodent. My issue with the rodents have more to do with the poop and stink factor. Rodents poop a lot and they stink. Plus, I have been peed on by mice before--yuck.
I think snakes are cool, really. I'm not that wild about giving him a live mouse to eat, but I honestly don't think that Jacob thinks less of live animals because Bobo eats them. It's part of nature--eat or be eaten. I'm more concerned with the ethical morality issue of keeping a wild animal caged rather than feeding it live animals. In the wild, it would be eating live animals, not sausages. I also highly doubt my snake would eat sausage at all, unless it was one that could simulate movement, etc. It was raised on live mice (not my choice, but I didn't raise it), so it likes to hunt. Sausages just don't do it for him, I'm guessing. Also, smaller live mice that don't move (i.e, baby pinkies) also don't tempt him. He needs something to catch.
FYI, my sister has piled up about 25 books on top of Bobo's cage. He won't be escaping any time soon.
"I'm no realtor, but I'm thinking that having to add "python loose in house" to your disclosure statement wouldn't have helped the home sell."
How right you are, whatsherbucket. We actually have the snake stored at my mother's house, because having a python in a house would indeed be distracting to a prospective buyer, to say the least. DH especially felt bad that a reptile was loose in his mother in law's house. Somehow he felt that no mother in law should have to deal with a loose python.
Just an addendum to finding the snake: the next night during the night I would wake up, sit up, check, yes, snake is in the cage, go back to sleep. I did that at least 4 times. Then we were gone for a few nights, no thoughts of snakes. Came back, slept in that room again, and dreamt about constantly chasing a snake that kept escaping from its cage no matter what I did. Thanks for the memories!
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