July 10th, 2016: Persistence

[Snakeadelic]

I've studied snakes since I was in kindergarten. I've been catching and otherwise annoying snakes since I was just a few years older. I've had pet snakes--redtail boa, corn, and gopher--for the last 20 years. Currently I'm down to just one, a snow corn named Nevluk (clinging snow) whose Y2K hatch date makes her both a millenial and officially elderly (species average in captivity is 15 years). As much as I have loved all my creepy pets, I must and frequently do say they are NOT the smartest non-roaming (as in confined to a specialty habitat, not like cats & dogs left to wander the house) companion critters out there.

That said, the only snake I ever met that was dumber than a California king like the one above was an Australian spotted python. He was so far behind the curve we called him "Short Bus". His best trick: he was a heavy napper, and of course since he had no eyelids it was a bit hard to tell if he was awake or not. If startled awake, he would immediately and ferociously strike at and death-coil...the leaves of the plastic plants in his tank. Every other extra-stupid or super-greedy snake I ever met was a Cali king.