In memorium…

Once upon a time, I had three large snakes in my room (not counting the garter snakes or the ring-necked snakes): Fester (ball python), a pine snake, and Charlotte (rat snake.) The pine snake only lasted two weeks—it escaped one night and I never found it or saw it again. It was a beautiful snake.

Fester and Charlotte became my core reptiles. I had Charlotte from when she was about a year old until I released her in 1997. As far as I know, she’s still living back by the rabbits. (The last time I saw her she was about 5 ½ feet long.)

One day when Charlotte was especially hungry, she escaped from her cage, climbed down the side of the chest of drawers (her 10-gallon aquarium was on top), slithered across the floor, climbed up a table leg, climbed up the chinchilla cage (it was a modified dog crate), and climbed up to where my hamster cage sat. Then she squirmed inside the hamster cage, ate the hamster, and then couldn’t get back out.

When I got home from work, I saw a strange black object in the hamster cage. It was Charlotte, looking about as embarrassed as a snake can get.

I found it all too funny (and I didn’t like that hamster anyway.)

From age 8 until 18, I asked for a boa constrictor for Christmas. I never got it. After I graduated from High School, I discovered that a family from church wanted to sell their son’s ball python. I bought Fester for $50.

Not long after I got Fester, his cage was on top of the chest of drawers. On one side was a space, and I had my twenty-some African violets sitting there (north side of the house, so it was a good spot.) Some of these I had grown from seed that I propagated myself. All were rather cool colors, and I was very proud of them.

On top of the chest of drawers beside Fester’s cage was a Christmas cactus that hung over the edge and looked quite nice as well.

At 3am one morning, I was awakened by a very loud crash. I bolted out of bed, switched on the light, and discovered that Fester had worked the suction cups loose from the lid of the cage (those things do NOT work) and escaped. He had curled around the Christmas cactus until it overbalanced and fell. The clay pot smashed all but four of the African violets, and Fester (still curled around the plant) ended up on the floor with the pot on top of him and the Christmas cactus the only thing that cushioned his fall. He was, surprisingly unhurt.

The only other time he ever escaped was in Columbus. His cage was on the divider as you went up the stairs (a flat place at the top of the stairs, you know…) and I evidently had not noticed that the yarn I had tied around the cage to keep the lid on (hey, whatever works) had snapped on one side. Fester took the opportunity to escape, but he went out the wrong side. Instead of landing on the floor in the hallway, he ended up at the bottom of the stairs. I found him at the bottom, hiding behind a cardboard box, again unhurt.

He was a sweet snake. We used to go to the elementary school together and I would show the kids Fester and tell them a bit about him. He loved to be petted. I brought him to my kindergarten Sunday School class when we had the lesson about animals, and he was always a hit.

He was never sick. The only time I almost took him to the vet was when he had problems shedding his skin, but a bath soon took care of that problem.

He slept in bed with me one night in the middle of winter when it was really cold in my room and I was afraid his heat rock wouldn’t be warm enough.

He liked to curl up in a ball on the top of the branches I had in his cage and sit there for days on end.

He liked to swim.

I took him outside on occasion and let him in the grass, but only when the cats weren’t around.

One time, after bringing him to my cousin’s house (I can’t remember the reason why) I carried him home inside my shirt. We stopped for gas and I went inside to get something to drink with a snake tail hanging out of my shirt. No one noticed.

I took him on a walk once or twice. We got weird looks from the neighbors.

He was the calmest snake I’ve ever been around. He never once struck at me or tried to bite anyone. He would hiss (not an angry hiss, more a surprised hiss) on occasion if you startled him, but he was a very gentle snake.

He was beautiful. I miss him.

This is the first time since I was about 8 that I haven’t had a snake. It feels weird.

Comments

Popular Posts