The Scaly Ones In My Life

I've been meaning to post new pictures of the scaly ones ever since I got my new camera, but I just haven't. But I know that some of you might not wish to see pictures of them, or would appreciate some warning, so I'll blather on about nothing for a while before getting to them.

My first thought when the alarm went off this morning was, "I've got to remember to call in sick!" Then, as my mind cleared and I became awake and aware, I realized that I didn't have to call in sick because I'd scheduled a vacation day for today! Yippee!

Ok, so I didn't do anything, but I didn't go to work either. While doing nothing, I finished two more charity scarves.


Yes, there are two different scarves there. They are made from Moda Dia Cheri in Pink. Yeah, I know that's kind of obvious, but it is the official name of the color. I do have one more ball of this, so there'll be a third scarf coming soon!

I want to thank everyone for their kind well-wishes in yesterday's comments. I had a better day today, but I am still feeling very tired and weak. I think it's mostly from the sweats and sleeplessness I've been having. Tomorrow is the last day I have to take the stuff, thank goodness!

Now, if you don't want to see snake pictures, stop here. K?..
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If you're still here, I'm assuming you have no problems with snakes, or at least looking at pictures of them.

These are my babies.

First up, we have Sunset. He is an amelanistic corn snake--sometimes called a red albino. The term albino is somewhat misleading here, because he does have red and yellow pigment. He simply lacks melanin which in snakes is black pigment. Sunny will be 4 years old this summer. He has the sweetest temperament. He is my goodwill ambassador. He is the one I get out to introduce people to snakes.


Next up is Snow. She is a female snow morph corn snake. This type is the first color morph bred with a double recessive gene. Snow morphs lack both red and black pigments. She is an '04 hatchling, and is currently my longest snake--topping out right at 50". She is my other goodwill ambassador, and is the one I consider my baby.


This pretty little lady is miss Scarlett. She is a bloodred morph. As she ages, the lighter spots and black lines will fade even more until she is almost solid red. This is the baby I thought I was going to lose a year and a half ago because she could not hold her food down. After getting some solid advice from one of the top corn snake breeders in the U.S. (isn't the internet a wonderful thing?), she has recovered nicely and is doing better than I ever expected. She is still very small for her age, but is growing steadily and will soon need a bigger tank. She is an '05 hatchling, and will be 3 years old in August.


Here we have Blaze. He was a freebie. When I bought Scarlett, he was thrown into the deal at no extra charge. I guess that's why I haven't seemed to build as much of an attachment to him as I have to the others. He doesn't have much personality, but otherwise is a good snake. He is also an amelanistic, but he carries the recessive gene for lavender. If I were to breed him to another snake who carried the recessive gene for lavender, I might end up with some purple snakes. He is almost 3 years old.

That's all of my corn snakes. I also have a ball python. This was a rescue snake. His owner moved in with his sister who wouldn't allow him to keep the snake in her house. So he brought the snake to me--temporarily. It's been two years now, and I don't expect I'll give Slider back. Slider is 4 years old.

This one is Cody's snake. He'd been bugging me to get him a ball python for years, so when he turned 12, I bought him Monty as a combined Christmas and Birthday present. Monty is 3 years old now, and no, he was not named after Monty Python. Cody didn't even know who that was. He named the snake after Monty Montgomery, the herpetologist in the A Series Of Unfortunate Events books.

Finally, I present to you the king: Onyx. He is a banded California King snake and will be 4 years old July 24th. He is not the first snake I've ever had, but is the first one I got when I decided to get back into snake-keeping.

He is by far my favorite snake. He has personality in spades, and is totally unpredictable. He is definitely not a goodwill ambassador due to his quirky nature, and well, he just doesn't like strangers. He also carries the dubious honor of being the only snake I have who has bitten me!

So there you have them. I hope you've enjoyed getting to know my snakies as much as I've enjoyed introducing them to you.

If you've made it this far, you deserve a special commendation!