I'll be completely honest; the day I brought my beautiful baby snakeling to her new home I knew next to nothing about snakes and snake ownership. I had read a care-sheet I found on the internet and "The Boa Constrictor Manual" that I had picked up from PetSmart and that was the extent of the knowledge I had. Unfortunately, my limited knowledge led to a lot of mistakes in the care I provided. Luckily, I learned from those mistakes.
Now, the day I brought my baby to my boyfriend's place (my apartment wasn't suitable for keeping snakes in due to size and a roommate), I let Shiva climb on this Giraffe statue that stood next to the DVD case for a while before I had to leave for my Korean class.
"You don't have to put Shiva away yet. You can let her climb on the statue for a while." Said my boyfriend.
"Are you sure? Don't fall asleep before putting her back. I don't want her to get lost."
"Don't worry," He assured me "I'll keep an eye on her! She won't get lost."
Two hours later I returned to find him asleep and Shiva MIA. I panicked. I woke up my boyfriend and the two of us searched frantically for Shiva. We finally found her coiled up amongst the DVDs in the DVD case. Relieved, I put her back into her enclosure. Sadly, this would not be the last time snakes were lost due to stupidity.
One day, shortly thereafter, I went to check on Shiva and discovered these odd little white marsh-
mellow looking blobs in her cage. I freaked. What in the world were those?! Was my baby sick?! It took many hours of internet research but eventually I found my answer on a forum for snake owners. The little white blobs were Urates (calcified pee) and quite normal and natural for snakes (and lizards and birds). I felt relieved, yet a little dumb. It was obvious to me that I had a lot to learn and a long way to go before I really knew what was going on. In order to help my learning, I joined the internet forum I had found my answer on, and began to post my questions and read as much as I could to learn as much as possible about snakes.
After Shiva's first week with me, I took her to the vet to have her probed to find out if she was really a she or a he. The vet was very kind, and Shiva reacted calmly to him handling her, inspecting her skin and eyes, and even the probing. We left the vet with a clean bill of health and verification that she was a she.
We returned home, and since it had been seven days since she last ate, I defrosted a pinky mouse for her to eat. I placed her in a box that was separate from her enclosure (as had been highly recommended by other snake owners) and offered the pink to her. She refused to eat it. Instantly I turned to the forums - sometimes snakes take a couple of weeks to break into their new home before they will eat. So I waited another week before offering her food again - refused. Distraught, I put her back into her enclosure and waited a couple more days. Finally, I noticed a new behavior! Instead of sitting on the warm side of her cage, Shiva had moved to sitting beside her water dish. This time, instead of taking her out of her cage, I offered her the pinky mouse while she was in "hunting mode" beside her water dish. She took it instantly! Baby Shiva was eating! Oh happy day!
These first couple of weeks I learned a lot about snakes and snake behavior. There was also a lot I should've learned but continued to make mistakes on.
- I should've learned that leaving my snakes out and under the watch of an irresponsible person was a bad idea... but I didn't.
-I did learn, however, that snakes urine hardens into white-yellow clumps called "urates".
-I also learned that some snakes need a break-in period and hungry snakes will move to the "watering hole" and wait for a snack to wander by.
Now, the day I brought my baby to my boyfriend's place (my apartment wasn't suitable for keeping snakes in due to size and a roommate), I let Shiva climb on this Giraffe statue that stood next to the DVD case for a while before I had to leave for my Korean class.
"You don't have to put Shiva away yet. You can let her climb on the statue for a while." Said my boyfriend.
"Are you sure? Don't fall asleep before putting her back. I don't want her to get lost."
"Don't worry," He assured me "I'll keep an eye on her! She won't get lost."
Two hours later I returned to find him asleep and Shiva MIA. I panicked. I woke up my boyfriend and the two of us searched frantically for Shiva. We finally found her coiled up amongst the DVDs in the DVD case. Relieved, I put her back into her enclosure. Sadly, this would not be the last time snakes were lost due to stupidity.
One day, shortly thereafter, I went to check on Shiva and discovered these odd little white marsh-
mellow looking blobs in her cage. I freaked. What in the world were those?! Was my baby sick?! It took many hours of internet research but eventually I found my answer on a forum for snake owners. The little white blobs were Urates (calcified pee) and quite normal and natural for snakes (and lizards and birds). I felt relieved, yet a little dumb. It was obvious to me that I had a lot to learn and a long way to go before I really knew what was going on. In order to help my learning, I joined the internet forum I had found my answer on, and began to post my questions and read as much as I could to learn as much as possible about snakes.After Shiva's first week with me, I took her to the vet to have her probed to find out if she was really a she or a he. The vet was very kind, and Shiva reacted calmly to him handling her, inspecting her skin and eyes, and even the probing. We left the vet with a clean bill of health and verification that she was a she.
We returned home, and since it had been seven days since she last ate, I defrosted a pinky mouse for her to eat. I placed her in a box that was separate from her enclosure (as had been highly recommended by other snake owners) and offered the pink to her. She refused to eat it. Instantly I turned to the forums - sometimes snakes take a couple of weeks to break into their new home before they will eat. So I waited another week before offering her food again - refused. Distraught, I put her back into her enclosure and waited a couple more days. Finally, I noticed a new behavior! Instead of sitting on the warm side of her cage, Shiva had moved to sitting beside her water dish. This time, instead of taking her out of her cage, I offered her the pinky mouse while she was in "hunting mode" beside her water dish. She took it instantly! Baby Shiva was eating! Oh happy day!
These first couple of weeks I learned a lot about snakes and snake behavior. There was also a lot I should've learned but continued to make mistakes on.
- I should've learned that leaving my snakes out and under the watch of an irresponsible person was a bad idea... but I didn't.
-I did learn, however, that snakes urine hardens into white-yellow clumps called "urates".
-I also learned that some snakes need a break-in period and hungry snakes will move to the "watering hole" and wait for a snack to wander by.
(Photo: Shiva coiled around my neck about a week after she came to live with me)
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