Week One journal  05/30/02 (Sat.)- First Entry! - Went to Thai of Athens to celebrate Spring's birthday. Rachel mentions she used to have a Sinoloan Milksnake (yellow, black and red) named Beckett. Remembering different events in my past leads me to start considering a new pet. I have never owned a reptile before, this will take some research.I begin on Aaron's computer searching the internet and continue when I leave to drop Matt off and return home. 05/31/02 (Fri.)- Having found wonderful resources online (particularly Melissa Kaplan's website) I am now considering one of three different species. These are all recommended beginner snakes that require no special lighting, etc. Out of Corn and Ratsnakes, King and Milksnakes, and Ball Pythons I am looking at the latter most closely. The first tend to be very active, the second very good, and the third the most docile. Further research yields that while Balls are docile they are very inactive. In addition, they can reach up to eight feet. Also, they have a fair degree of thickness to the body. When unhappy they rear back and hiss though this is mostly show.I begin with my second choice, King and Milksnakes. The first quickly becomes my favorite. Quite docile and easily tamed from the wild they are gentle snakes. When unhappy they tend to must you. Much better. :) I do more research to find information. Care and feeding are important, habitat being the primary concern. They prefer a temperature anywhere from the low 70's (at night) to around 88 degrees (daytime). Habitat needs include some size tank, (usually should be at least as long as the snake itself) either a reptile enclosure of a glass aquarium. Substrate (ground cover) should be absorbant and dry. I decide upon Iguana litter which looks a bit like wood pulp/bark and very natural. A heating pad should be installed at the bottom of one side of the tank. These normally come with rubber feet to lift the enclosure so where will be space between the bottom and whatever surface it rests upon (airflow beneath is crucial). A nest/hide box should be placed on this side with a heat lamp that shines into the enclosure. A thermometer should be positioned on the back wall. The opposite side of the tank represents the cool side and should include a water pool that's fairly heavy so the snake won't tip it over and big enough for it to soak in (important during shedding). The cover can be various things but MUST be secure. (I chose a full mesh top and use four clamps to secure it on each of the four short end corners. This makes it very snug.) I began looking after work and found a female(?) Desert Banded California Kingsnake at Petland. She was beautiful, alternating black and white. Her eyes blue and cloudy showing readiness to shed and very small, only six months old. She's about a foot long and slightly thicker than a pencil. Her head is smaller than the tip of my pinky finger. Matt convinced me after a few hours wandering and reading books to wait and consider it. 06/01/02 (Sat.)- I woke at 7:30am, took care of the dogs and administered flea treatment. They were washed the night before and so returned to their crates for it to spread. Glad to have waited, I called around further and found cheaper supplies. I made the decision to buy her and we went out getting everything. I set up the terrarium on my dressed, consisting of the following: 10 gallon aquarium, mesh screen top, four large clamps, Iguana litter substrate, heating pad, thermometer, heat lamp, hollowed half-log hiding place, large 'rock' pool, and a large grapevine branch that stretches across the pool. It looks quite nice. I take her in her linen bag and carefully let her venture into her new home. She is cautious and a bit stressed, though curious. After a slight time of burrowing exploration she retreats into her hiding spot. She remains there all day. At 10pm, I turn off her heat lamp to simulate night. The temperature is a nice 84 degrees during the day falling to about 75 degrees in the evening with the heat lamp off.06/02/02 (Sun.)- She is partially out at 9am when I wake and turn on her lamp. I take the initiative since she is more relaxed and decided to bring her out. I am a little nervous. I carefully lift her log and move her along a bit, keeping my hand straight up and flat. She moves across the tank, spreading out and I pick her up at her middle. I wrap her about my fingers and she calms. I am overjoyed. I keep her out until about 2pm (not usually a good idea) letting her begin to trust me and that nothing will harm her. She is very small and delicate. Her tongue tickles when it tastes me and her scales feel like silk. It seems that she enjoys it when I lightly stroke her. She fell asleep on me several times. She is both shy and curious. She enjoys exploring books. I let her near her pool and she sniffs and bends her head to drink. I was amazed with her, she is truly beautiful.06/03/02 (Mon.)- At work I have started this journal. Currently I am wanting to look for an African name for her. If I can, I want to find one that reflects her gentleness and beauty. She is small and very vulnerable but she has placed an amazing degree of trust in me. I value that very much. The mere fact that two animals so different can find comfort and security in one another is incredible. I look forward to leaving work, I need to pick up some things. Today her eyes have cleared up and she defecated on me. :( I think having a friend over made her too nervous. Plus, she was partially blind before with the cloudy eyes and I think her new home overwhelms her. When that happened, I let her retreat into her home. She loves hiding under the water pool now, that's normally where she always is located.06/04/02 (Tues.)- I got home and she had shed her skin! :D I filmed her terrarium a bit with the skin and then took her out. She is so beautiful and shiny! I'll keep the skin somehow but am uncertain how I'll do this. It wasn't quite a complete shed...almost! I took her out for a little while and let her explore a towel on the desk. I took several pictures with my pc cam. After holding her for longer and introducing her to my roommate Mary, I put her back so she could relax.06/05/02 (Wed.)- This morning I sent an email off to work with five pics of her. I've sent these to a few people and posted to thekingsnakepit, a Yahoo Group. I'm looking forward to responses. I think I'll measure her soon but I may end up waiting until Friday to get help from Matt. He can measure and I'll hold her. (smile)Today is feeding day! Glenn at The Pet Store couldn't find any feeder tongs but Matt came through with some long, thin forceps. She's been eating two pinkies a week and I'm excited about her feeding. Thusfar, I've never seen a snake eat. I start planning to add a snake page to my website. I end up feeding her two defrosted frozen pinkies at 8pm. Wow!!! She is quite aggressive them and snaps at the air a few times... She wraps tightly around it and pokes it to check for movement, then begins eating. I film it. I wait until her first is about half down and give her the second. I then slide her back from her feeding enclosure (a large Critter Keeper box) back into her terrarium. She remains a little twitchy and hyper, still in hunting mode and then retreats below her pool. This is now her most favorite spot. I feel sorry for the abandoned half-log. :) 06/06/02 (Thur.)- Today she digested. :) Snakes need a full 24hrs (at least) after they eat to get to the point where stress or fear will not cause them to regurgitate.06/07/02 (Fri.)- I call Petland to ask the reptile guy I'd been speaking with a question. He tells me that someone just left offering to give away a male Aberrant Albino California Kingsnake who's about 2yrs and 3ft long. He comes with the enclosure and everything - FREE. I begin considering seriously and get all the information as well as the guy's name and phone number. I leave a message with my friend Steven asking him if he knows any interested parties. As the day continues, I check it's vet records at UGA Vet School and become more serious about adopting him myself. After work, I pick up Steven and we meet the guy. He gets the snake out and it musks him but seems better when I and then Steven hold him. He's beautiful! I decide that he looks as though he hasn't received the best care and decide definitely to take him. We go home with a mouse for food and then set up his enclosure. He hasn't eaten in two weeks, so i put him in the feeding enclosure. We feed him and it takes him a while to find them but he seems to enthusiastically enjoy them. He is much more calm and gentle compared to my female. :) She's a little monster! (laugh)Steven films the feeding process while I scrub out his enclosure and prepare it. I replace the newspaper with Iguana litter and wash his bowl. I supply a temporary hide box of cardboard since his old one is very tiny and dirty and I didn't bring it with me. He also has a heating pad but since this is a plastic enclosure, I'm not secure about using it. I set up a desk lamp for light cycles and simply leave the ceramic heat element on all the time at a good 85 degrees. After he's finished eating and his food is halfway down, I return him to his much improved home and let him digest. I'm letting the female continue to digest. Steven wants to call him Cecil and I begin to submit until I find out it means 'blind' in Latin. :( 06/08/02 (Sat.)- I decide to name my male Addae. I go out with Spring and purchase a branch, more Iguana litter and a cover for the ceramic heating element so he won't burn himself. He gets to celebrate lots of substrate now (an inch deep!) and enjoys the branch a little, exploring. He first ventures into his water bowl that I've seen, I'm excited! My female never does this as she loves to hide. :) I hold him after removing him myself for the first time...Matt and Spring are a little intimidated by his side, as am I. He soon calms down and crawls over both Matt and later Spring. We enjoy the visit very much. He goes back into his enclosure to rest. We also play with the female a little bit and I let Spring hold her. (Note!: It is VERY important to wash your hands both before and especially after handling snakes as they carry Salmonella bacteria!!!) Kingsnakes eat other snakes and so we make sure to thoroughly wash our hands before taking another out. I don't anyone to get accidentally struck by a snake thinking they might be food. The day ends well. :)Entry Gatekeeper Tea Room Gallery Nest Box Music Book of Wisdom Quotes Gates    © 1998 skadiwolf@yahoo.com
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