Random time to update

[kitewithfish]

My sister is getting a corn snake shipped to her from a breeder in Texas- this is because, tho she fell in love with some itty bitty snakelets in a petstore, pet stores are generally evil and I was able to convince her that she should patronize a reputable snake breeder. And also make sure that she could deal with handling dead mice on a regular basis, because this is what baby snakes eat. And not to get those from a pet store either, because pet stores are kind of evil.

Have I mentioned that I used to have two corn snakes when I was a young girl, making this honestly a very unweird pet choice for her? Because once you've wrapped your mind around getting a snake (and how cool were my parents for letting me get one in the first place?), having one later in life is not that weird- there's a certain pattern to the whole thing. And corn snakes are honestly just wicked easy to take care of, as reptiles go. Tank, hot pad, hidey holes, nice place to chill, dead mice in the freezer and a few toys, and you have a cute little low maintenance pet.

(I am honestly kind of jazzed that my sister is getting a snake. It seems pretty damned cool of her. I just wish she were doing this before I freaking left for Chicago.)

Having a snake taught me some ridiculous things, actually. Like that snakes only have one lung. And how to get one off of you without hurting her if she bites you and doesn't want to let go (that only happened the one time. And, for the record, since this is information I think everyone should know, you get a bucket of warm water and hold your hand with attached snakes underwater until the snake lets go to breathe. No muss, no fuss, just trickery and a band-aid later you're fine.) And that snakes are generally adorable and the smelling-with-tongue thing tickles like crazy.

Comments

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

I dated a Suicide Girl style punk chick who worked at Petsmart by day. She had a corn snake, which she would rest around her neck as we watched movies together. Made making out with her a little tricky. She's bring home live mice for it too, not dead ones. She'd even breed mice at home. One time, we went out on a date, and she had the snake's food in a bag. Scratching and scritching its way for dear life.

By the way, novel revisions are underway. I've just almost completely redone everything in chapter five (the post-acid chapter) after the meeting with Fields, and tweaked a lot of stuff before then. I really like the way the new arc is shaping, and how Harvey still feels like the Harvey of earlier, just going more crazy organically. I dunno what your life is like these days, but I'd love it if you'd ever be up to share your thoughts, either nowish or when I'm finished down the line. If you can't, no sweat.

[thelauderdale.livejournal.com]

It's great what water works with. Back when I was keeping mantids, one of my females latched onto another female. It was early December and I didn't want to have a cannibalism that late in keeping them. I got hold of them in such a way that the perpetrator wouldn't be able to chew or anything, sprinted for the bathroom, and put them under the tap. Instant release.