PDA

View Full Version : Can't believe it


Oliverian
11-11-03, 01:00 AM
Well, my baby rat snake escaped about a month ago, and I've been searching ever since. I was especially upset because I had just got him from Tim and Julie B, and I was so exited about having my first rat snake. So, it really sucked when I found his cage empty. I told everyone to keep their eyes open for him yesterday, even though I thought he must be dead or pretty close to it by now. (I knew he wouldn't need food just yet, but a month without water is pretty harsh.)

So, tonight, my mom and brother took off for hockey. I had made supper, and me and my younger brother were just watching TV. The phone rings, and my dad answers it. Suddenly he comes running in, saying something about 'get in the car, hurry!' My aunt is really sick, so I was thinking along the lines of 'she's on her deathbed, and we have to go see her now.' I ask him what's wrong, and he says, "they found your snake." I just about have a heart attack and jump up to get my shoes on, (with the huge fat cat on my stomach, so he rolls off and scratches me a good one on the belly)

Off we go to the arena, doing about 100 because my dad knew I was almost about to die of exitement. We get there, and my big brother is waiting in the changeroom. He had put the snake in his bag, and it was just sitting there curled up. I would be scared too if I had no food or water for a month, and was suddenly shaken around and then dumped out of a skate. (let me tell you, the ladies at the arena sure freaked when they heard about it)
He looked fine, other than moving slow from being cold, and being very skinny...

We brought him home, and I put him above water. Well, the poor guy drank for a whole minute, literally. I dont even think he took a breath. He was severely dehydrated. Although, now that he has water in him he looks a lot fatter. I'm not feeding him tonight... Would probably be a bad idea. He's probably very hungry, though.

I'm just so glad we found him. It was total luck that we found him before he died, or that he didn't get out in the van or at the arnea. I put him in a nice enclosure, not too big. Just until he gets healthy again. Now i'm just going to leave him alone, as he is very stressed, and I don't want to disturb him at all. God, i'm so glad we found him.

I've decided to either name him stress, or fluke, or something along those lines. I'm not sure yet. But man, the moment you find a lost snake is so awesome. Poor little guy.

-Tammy R

mykee
11-11-03, 01:16 AM
Wow, that was a neat story. Glad you found him, in the most unlikely of places.

ohh_kristina
11-11-03, 01:26 AM
what luck! good luck with him.

Tim and Julie B
11-11-03, 01:39 AM
That's fantastic Tammy!:D You are right about not feeding him right away. Just give him plenty of water for 24 hours and warm him up then feed him. Good luck, and I think Fluke is a great name.

Julie

Man I am glad you found it! Those little guys are great. Congrads!

Tim

marisa
11-11-03, 01:42 AM
Cool story. Glad you found him!

Name him skate. :D

Marisa

Oliverian
11-11-03, 02:19 AM
Lol Marisa. I was actually about to explain to you how I wanted to name hime something to do with his escape, but then I actually thought about it. :p I havn't really decided on a name yet. Fluke and skate sound good, though. I'm going to wait until i'm sure he'll eat before I name him. Knowing him though, he probably will. He really is a beautiful little snake.
-Tammy

Weather1
11-11-03, 02:21 AM
It's great to hear you found your little guy.

althena
11-11-03, 03:49 AM
Yeah, I'm happy to here that you found him as well. :)

My baby corn snake escaped while a friend was babysitting him for a weekend in January 2001 when I was living in MA. That's like... freezing everday with obscene amounts of snow. Somehow he survived and 3+ weeks later the janitor found him and brought him to my boyfriends room. Anyway - I definitely know how happy one feels when you find a lost snake. : )

burmer
11-11-03, 01:37 PM
Thats great!!! I'm glad you found him.

SerpentLust
11-11-03, 02:08 PM
Great you found him. That's like I found my Spotted in mom's suitcase...my mom tavels out of town on a weekly basis, THAT would have been funny

Jenn

Oliverian
11-11-03, 02:40 PM
I still can't believe how small he is right now. The kingsnake I got at the same time was only a little bigger than him when I got them, and now the rat snake looks so tiny! I don't even know how he used to take down pinkies. I'm going to try feeding him a pinky leg tonight, because he looks a lot better. He's still pretty freaked out though, and he's been in his hide a lot. I think he'll be fine.

Jenn, that would have sucked! he might have gotten out somewhere out of town and then you'd never find him! Glad you got him when you did. :)
-Tammy R

Invictus
11-11-03, 02:56 PM
Great story Tammy, thanks for sharing. :) Glad you found him.

RachelS.
11-11-03, 07:35 PM
OMG wow!! That's totally amazing! I'm so glad you found your snake, that rocks!! Good job :D

CDN-Cresties
11-11-03, 08:27 PM
Congrats on finding your snake!!!

-Steve-

Lisa
11-11-03, 08:30 PM
Cool, it's always great to find a snake.

Simon
11-11-03, 08:32 PM
Nice find~
it's always a nice thing to find your lost snake.

congrats and hope that he will do very well in the future and fatten up for you~

Oliverian
11-12-03, 11:23 PM
Well, posting an update for you guys. I fed him a pinky leg last night, and he took it no problem. He was starving! I waited for about an hour and he was looking for more food, so I gave him the rest of the pink. He took that no problem too, and is now doing extremely well. Fully hydrated now and full of mouse. He's very curious and acting normal. I put my finger near him to see if he was responsive and he shook his tail pretty good. I've never seen that before in any of my snakes so it was pretty neat. He seems perfectly fine, so i'm fairly sure he'll stay well.

I named him Skate. Good idea, Marisa. ;) I actually think 'he' is a she, judging by the shape of the tail. Not totally sure, though.

Do you guys know how to do a subcaudal scale count to determine sex in rat snakes? Or even corn snakes if it's the same?

So, s/he is doing great. Thanks for all the kind words. :)
-Tammy R