Ok... these are some of the scale-babies from over the years.
Out of respect for the fact that many folks strongly, strongly DO NOT like snakes... these are just going to be inserted as thumbnails, so those folks don't have large pictures popping up in their faces.
If you don't like snakes, don't click on the thumbnails! LOL
First one here... this was an albino California Kingsnake of my Bear's... he nicknamed this critter "Elttar," because of his behavior. Yes, it's "Rattle" spelled backwards. Yes, it was intentional. This breed of snake is very small for much of it's life
(though it will eventually reach a good 4-5ft in adult size), and it has developed a rather interesting defense mechanism.
The tip of it's tail has a hardened group of scales on it, and when threatened or aggressive, this animal will shake it's tail - HARD - back and forth against a hard surface. The effect produces a sound that is fairly similar to that of a rattlesnake's rattle. They've also mastered the art of the "rattlesnake s-curve" as well. They are quite fiesty. This little guy was convinced he was a big bad rattler.... LOL
This is for size comparison - on my Bear's hands...
And this is what I meant about the rattlesnake S-curve. This was his enclosure. These guys don't appreciate a lot of moisture, except when they are getting ready to shed, and even then they don't really like a LOT of it.
And this would be our African Rock Python - he was named Ka the Second, and was the tamest rock python we've ever worked with, to be honest. These photos were taken when he was a juvenile, not long after we got him. He was a rescue animal that became a family member scale-baby and we kept him. These guys hatch at a pretty good size right out of the egg. They're a pretty aggressive breed, but when we got him, he was about 4 foot long, so he was still pretty young. The former owner had gotten him as a hatchling, and was not prepared for the aggressiveness, nor did he know how to deal with it. Basically, he was afraid of the animal, and wanted to get rid of it.
We took him in, and worked with him very heavily. By the time he was eight foot long, he was rather docile with us for the most part, but we did not ever allow him out of the tank around any but the three of us. Our daughter was very little when we first got him; she's kind of grown up around a whole menagerie of critters.... mostly my fault. LOL
These animals are very, very strong, extremely methodical, highly inquisitive, and
very, very smart as snakes go. Rock pythons are one of the few snakes that will actively hunt. And they will operate on land, in the trees, AND in the water. They are known for stalking common water holes, and will submerge all but their nostrils. And there they will sit, until something comes along that they think they can make a meal out of. In the wild, crocodiles are on the menu for these guys. Having one in the home is a very interesting experience, I do have to say. You have GOT to respect the animal, and they have GOT to be handled on a regular basis, or they will very quickly revert to a half-wild or full-wild state, unlike most pythons.
Part of keeping him securely contained in his enclosure involved about fifty pounds of weights to keep him from pushing his lid off. By the time he died, he was 17 years old, and measured in at about 12 1/2 foot long. He just died of old age, really.
And this was Kali. This little thing was just your common Corn Snake. Far too many people confuse these guys with the poisonous Copperheads...
These also do not get very big; about 4-5 foot long at their full grown size. Kali was a juvenile in this picture. These guys also REALLY like to climb... and they are experts at using the ends of their tails to anchor and swing from...
And this was si'Haya - she was a Ball Python. Again, these max out around 4-5 foot long, but they tend to be rather fat-bodied snakes, though the females have more bulk than the males. This animal was also a rescue... though we "rescued" her from a rather horrid little pet store. She had mites, infected bites from being fed live food, mouth rot, she had multiple layers of shed remnants in a few spots showing both dehydration and a lack of proper environment for her to shed in, she was both malnourished and dehydrated.
We actually didn't expect her to survive. We expected to bury her within a day or two, and my Bear thought I was completely nuts when I insisted on taking her home. But sick or not, this little thing stood right up in her tank and stared RIGHT AT ME when we first spotted the tank. And I do mean stared. We really didn't think she would live, but dangit, I had to TRY!! I couldn't make myself walk away from her. LOL
We pretty much went from the pet shop straight to an exotics vet. She surprised everyone - including me and my Bear - she lived about 15 years, and actually did recover nicely, which is.. very, very rare for snakes, especially young ones, to do with the kinds of things she had wrong when we took her home.
I took perhaps a little too much satisfaction in turning the shop in, as well. They had horrible, horrible conditions in there for all of their animals, but the reptile enclosures were REALLY bad. But she actually lived quite a long time, considering the type of state she was in when we first brought her home. It took a lot of work to get her healthy, but it was worth it.
Anyway. They are called Ball Pythons for a reason. THIS is what they like to do - she was still a juvenile here...
And this was Tsu. He was a juvenile Burmese Python... also a rescue and eventually went to a good home.
Yes, we've done a lot of rescues over the years when it comes to the reptiles. Really, you KNOW you're a Herp caretaker when you open your freezer to pull meat out for dinner, reach PAST the bag of frozen snake food, and you don't even THINK about it. LOL
Other snakes we've worked with over the years... hrm. Let's see... An Indonesian Tree Boa named Tabitha. Adult, fully grown mature size : 12 inches. Yes, INCHES. lol An Indonesian Ground Boa... adult size, 3 foot long. We've also worked with/rehabilitated reticulated pythons, columbian red-tailed boas, bullsnakes, rainbow boas...
This past winter was the first winter we've had in our entire marriage, that we did NOT have a snake of some sort in the house. And lacking that animal, the field mice have been coming in regularly... Daisy has definitely been earning her keep with mousing! We never had ANY mice in the house before... this is not a coincidence, IMO.
Let's see... I've also trailed raccoons, various birds, gerbils, rabbits, chipmunks, and squirrels through the house at one point or another... oh, and then there was the one red-tail hawk from years ago... I nicknamed him Screech, LOL. He was just barely old enough to be flying around on his own, and got caught up in someone's porch gutter... I called him Screech because that's what he did when he was unhappy about something. Happily released him once his wing was functional again and he was eating again. I still have a couple of small scars on my arms from his talons...
I would not have dared try that with an adult, but Screech was just a juvenile and small enough for me to work with.
My Bear has put up with me dragging an entire zoo through our house at one time or another. LOL We have not had any dogs during the course of our marriage, but I think the kitties and snakes more than make up for that. We've had reptiles for so long, that our daughter doesn't even bat an eyelash at them - but she will jump out of her skin at the sight of a pencil eraser-sized spider!
Those who have asked my husband how he puts up with the constant trail of critters (seriously, sometimes they're only here for a day or two until we find their original owners or maybe a week or two to find a good home...).
Anyway. He tends to just laugh at people who ask him that question. "It's part and parcel of being married to a Native girl. You get used to it.. and you stop asking questions. At least she doesn't bring anything poisonous home."
LOL