For Snakes Sake, Update

Nothing much to report here, i got my self ready to take Herb out.

I made sure to take some extra precautions in case things went awry:

1. small burlap bag in case he gets "bitey"
2. my Rubbermaid laundry bin was handy in case i had to lock up herb to "get rid of him"
3. old towel on the bed in case he decides to strike (they have a lot of tiny serrated teeth)
4. antiseptic in the bathroom to clean out any snake bites


(Yeah, like i said I'm a bit nervous about this)


so i psyched my self up to do pull him out, i figure i need to be confident and sure so he doesn't smell fear. (i don't know if they can really smell fear or not, but why take the chance?)

but when i went i climbed up on his tank to take him out...
(yes, i had to climb on the tank, it's big, you see?)

i noticed that his eyes were all white...

see, snakes have scales all over, including their eyes. so when they're about to shed their scales start coming lose on their bodies, including their eyes! unfortunately while their eyes are all opaque they cant' see to well, and to top it off their very grumpy/irritable. (shedding for a snake is like a chick on her period... so i need to buy chocolate rats).

needless to say, I'm going to wait a couple days till he sheds so he will be less grumpy...

I'm taking my time with this because I'm trying to ease him back into being handled

so tonight i just stood there on the edge of the tank petting him... it's funny, the reason I'm worried he'll strike me isn't because of the pain, it's because it will mean i lost him...


(For those of you not interested in Snakey Current Events, here's a vid of a chick getting 5 inserted at once!)




Exile

For Snakes Sake

Recently it has come to my attention that I have been neglectful to Herb (my
pet snake) and that this may wind up biting me in the ass (literally).

See, it is a cardinal rule that when you have a pet snake you must play with
them on a semi regular basis. it doesn't have to be much, but once or twice
a month should do it.

the reasons for this are:
1. it keeps them healthy, forcing them to stretch instead of laying curled
up
2. allows you to inspect them for any health issues (cuts from rats, etc.)
3. it keeps them from becoming mean...

it's number three that has me concerned right now. see, a while back (as you
may recall) I wrote up a post about how Herb shit on my couch, while I was
on the couch not less. when this happened I
was quite perturbed. I mean, here's my pet that I've taken care of for
nearly 10 years and he took a dump on me!

unfortunately this bothered me more than I though and I didn't take him out
for a while... ok, I haven't taken him out since that day (boo & hiss, it's
ok.)

but now I'm worried, see, he's been in there this whole time with out being
played with. (yes I've been feeding him, and cleaning out his poop, just not
playing with him). my concern is that he may be getting vicious, and seven
feet of vicious snake isn't a good thing.

Two weeks ago I attempted to take him out, but when I took him to the tub to
take a bath I thought he nipped at the towel rack (it may have been my
imagination). so I quickly put him away.

since then I fed him a big fat rat which he devoured and he'd had time to
"digest".

now the moment of truth is here, I've decided that tomorrow is the day I
will take him out of his tank and play with him. if he's a good boy and
remembers me everything will be ok and I'll resolve to be a better owner. on
the other hand, if he strikes at me I will have to get rid of him, and
depending on how vicious the strike is I may have to... well, you know.

needless to say the prospect of "getting rid of" such a long time pet is not
a possibility I'm looking forward to.

so this Thursday there will be one of two possible HNT pics. either it will
be me posing with Herb, or a picture of a large bandage on my arm...

wish me luck!

(the reason I'm waiting till tomorrow is that when I go to the Chiropractor
they put wax on my hands and I can't wash the smell off... why take the
chance...)

exile

HNCP- Half Nekk'ed Cellphone

pictures are amazing things, they have the ability to seal away a moment in time. the picture can be viewed at any time to flood you with memories.

and sometimes they even have the ability to transport you to a time and place that you've missed out on.

one such moment that i feel like i miss out on far too often are spending the simple moments with Hella. the simple moments are things like trips to the store, chilling on the couch, and even taking a walk at sunset.

luckily i have a girlfriend who is always thinking of me and send me pics of where i want to be the most...

I'm a Lucky monkey!



Here's a close up of that shot, for those in the back row


And yes, my cellphone back ground is my girlfriend. she's far more beautiful than the tropical beach that comes stock on the phone. hehehe


And speaking of my favorite dirty girl...


Exile

Original_exile@hotmail.com

You Can Always Count On Your Friends To Take A Shit On You

I have a small collection of friends. it's a small group because i only keep people as friends if they are trust worthy. The Jeff, Jenna, Elena, Amber, and Herb (if you don't know Herb's story click here. (in case you're wondering, Hella is definitely in the trust worthy category, but her girlfriend status trumps the friend status.)

So tonight i decided to unwind on my couch, it had been a long day and i felt like watch'n some TV. needless to say Herb eventually joined me watch'n cause he does that, and so did Amber.

We were all chill'n, Herb did his usual thing of knocking everything off the coffee table and Amber did her thing of hiding from Herb. (She likes him, she just doesn't like him touching her.)

Amber enjoys watching these reality surgery shows where they take take physically revolting people and show gut wrenching close ups of their surgery. well, unbeknown to Amber and myself the surgery is pretty gut wrenching to snakes as well...

Yeah, a surge and a gurgle and Herb Shit On The Couch! For those of you uneducated about snake shit let me let you in on a few fun facts.

• Snakes make a mookey stink only once a month. so if you've ever followed your dad after he's used the bathroom, realize he goes every other day. Herb stores it up for a month.
• Snakes have what is called a Cloaca. A cloaca is a what birds, fish, and reptiles have to expel waste. What this means is that when a cloaca owner goes to the bathroom this multipurpose anus/urethra/birth canal/penis thing opens up and the animal excretes feces and urine at the same time.
• Snakes have a linear digestive system. This makes it so when they go poop they really go, and seeing as though he's mainly made of muscle, he didn't just defecate, but expelled his bowels.

Snake shit stinks. his tank is full of kitty litter just to make sure that the smell is contained... the couch is a giant sponge... so the cushion is destroyed, and so is the blanket that took one for the team. (and my t-shirt...)

and of course, once the situation was cleaned up, Amber began to laugh so hard i nearly lost another cushion.

I've had Herb nearly 10 years now, not once has he done anything like this. Never has he given me cause to question my trust in him... until now

Thanks Herb...

(seeing as thought it is HNT today i thought i'd show off a classic Herb HNT, and check out the hot chicky chick in the background)

now before, you get all uppity, i 'm not dwelling on this to make Herb feel ashamed. but if you come over to my house and SHIT ON MY COUCH i will do a post about you too.

Exile

Original_exile@hotmail.com

HGT- Half Gifted Thursday

As my mind floats off to thoughts of my last weekend with Hella, I feel a HNT from those wonderful days is most called for.



Needless to say my Herb was happy




Exile

Original_exile@hotmail.com