Sometimes I wonder what love is, and do I really love my kids.Now I know. I have a snake living in my home. I've peeled back millenias of evolutionary repulsion in order to make my kid happy. Must be love.
It's a ball-boa. It eats 2 mice every second week, and poops once in the same time-frame. It doesn't bark (huge plus), and the shedding is contained to its tank, not my trousers and sweaters. Actually, it's not as horrifying as I thought. I'm able to keep the shuddering to a minimum.
My son has spent a goodly portion of the last three months researching reptiles, memorizing facts, navigating through the internet in order to get the information he wanted. Just because he was interested. That sort of thing makes my heart glad.
Yesterday morning I called our homeschool centre to find out if I had any funding left. Turns out I hadn't submitted anything at all. I checked my reciepts, subtracted, and found out we had, more or less (... well, a little less) enough to buy a snake and its accoutrements.
Patch is over the moon. And I, apparently, am the coolest mum ever. Not a bad return for suppressing a few basic instincts, huh?
6 comments:
I LOVE ball pythons! And I got past it too because ours is a rescue (you do not even want to know) and he's got his own food supply in a pantry right next to his habitat. We named him Steve from The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. He's very sweet and cuddly. Who knew?
You know what's really neat? Every time my daughter comes home with a new animal's hair on her (she visits pet-enabled friends now and then), the snake gets extra timid as soon as she walks in the door. They're amazingly sensitive. I think I'm getting fond.
This guy's name is Steve too. Steve McQueen, King O'Cool.
*Shudder*. You are SO brave. I came across a snake a few weeks ago when we were on a hike. We made eye contact and I literally froze. It was the worst sort of terror. Of course, this was a poisonous snake, or so Jeremy told me.
That's really wonderful that you're able to foster your son's interest though you yourself are not as into the idea. I only hope that when the day comes when Luna wants a snake (should she want one, which I hope she doesn't!), I'll have the same sort of courage to go through with it!
Well, now that we've broken the reptile-barrier, Patch is online looking for leopard-geckos!
Actually, the snake isn't that bad. He's so timid and quiet (doesn't bark!), and mostly just likes to sleep. Of course, it's not at all poisonous, so there's not that hurdle to jump.
You'll do all sorts of things you wouldn't otherwise, just because Luna wants to. It sort of grows on you as they develop. I never thought I'd see the day when things with scales shared a house with me!
When I was a wee lad, between the ages of about 12 & 14, I had a few pet snakes & tarantulas which I'd caught in the wild (a common practice in those days) and refused to part with so, as punishment, my mother made me move down to the dirt floor single light bulb basement with my new friends.
Well, I was elated with my 'punishment', not only did I have my own cool pad, but it came with it's own private entrance to the big outside world, 24/7!
That's really a beautiful snake you've got there mum and very good thinking on your part in allowing it in the house.
It's better to keep the family happily together than to start sending people into exile.
Ohgoddon'tsaytarantula...
SHUDDER.
Your mum was a funny lady - it didn't occur to her that all 13 year old boys WANT to live in a cave?
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