Snakes E-Book

Russ Case

• Herausgeber: CompanionHouse Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 117

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2007

Beschreibung

A Beginning Vivarium Systems guide, Snakes is an entertaining and educational introduction to the world of snakes of all sizes, colors, and personalities. Beginning snake keepers of all ages will find intriguing information about common and unusual snakes in this colorful guide by herp expert Russ Case. The book offers readers who are looking to adopt a snake the right guidance for purchasing a healthy specimen and for creating a safe, comfortable home where the pet snake can thrive. Beginners will learn about the anatomy of snakes and their behavior in the wild and in captivity. The chapter "Snake Food" is a lesson in how to feed snakes so that owners meet all of the special needs of their pets. The chapter "Great Beginner Snakes" present the most common species for newcomers to snakes, including such favorites as the corn snake, California king snake, ball python, and the rosy boa, each illustrated with color photos and explained in clear everyday language. Additional examples of "Other Amazing Snakes" are included, such as the boa constrictor, Burmese python, reticulated python, king cobra, rattlesnake, which are fascinating to read about though not recommended for beginners. A chapter on potential health problems gives a basic overview of how to care for and maintain captive snakes in the best of health. Sidebars throughout the text give the reader good advice on dos and don'ts to avoid common mistakes keepers make with these pet animals. Glossary included.

Leseprobe

June Kikuchi, Vice President Chief Content Officer

Jarelle S. Stein, Editor

Karen Julian, Publishing Coordinator

Tracy Burns, Jessica Jaensch, Production Coordinators

Cindy Weston, Designer

Melanie Irwin, Design Concept

Copyright © 2007 by I-5 Press™

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of I-5 Press™, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Case, Russ.

Snakes / by Russ Case.

p. cm. — (Beginning vivarium systems)

ISBN 978-1-882770-94-6

eISBN 978-1-620080-31-3

1. Snakes as pets. I. Title.

SF459.S5C37 2007

639.3'96—dc22

2007012729

An Imprint of I-5 Press™

A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC™

3 Burroughs

Irvine, California 92618

Printed and bound in China

14 13 12 11 10      2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Manufacturer: BestywellDate of Production: Winter 2010Printed & Bound in: ChinaPrint Facility Location: ShenzhenPrinter Job Number: P10013666-2

Contents

1 Reptiles as Pets

2 The Truth About Snakes

3 Where to Get Snakes

4 Your Snake’s Home

5 Snake Food

6 Great Beginner Snakes

7 Other Amazing Snakes

8 Potential Health Problems

9 Dos and Don’ts for Snake Owners

Glossary

Recommended Reading

Photo Credits

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

Reptiles as Pets

Compared with other animals, reptiles (our scaly friends—snakes, lizards, and turtles) sometimes get a bum rap. Lots of people think reptiles, especially snakes, are slimy and want to bite and squeeze people and maybe even use their fangs to inject people with poison. So when the time comes to choose a pet, most people pick animals that seem friendlier.

Green tree python

Take dogs, for example. Dog owners can play and exercise with their pooches, brush their hair, dress them up, and perhaps enter them in dog shows. There are special dog beaches and parks, where dog owners gather by the dozens. There, you see dogs running around, playing, barking, and having a great time. Dogs are loved because they give love back. They may lick people’s faces, jump on their owners, and want to be with them all the time.

Reptiles are different. I’ve never been to a snake beach or a lizard park, where people frolic and play with their scaly pets. Snakes don’t jump up and down when their owners come home from school or work. Lizards and turtles don’t lick your face to show how much they love you, and I’ve never seen a snake riding in a car with its head hanging out the window and forked tongue flapping in the breeze. This is because pet reptiles aren’t as interactive as dogs and some other pets are. A pet snake or lizard may not want to be handled all the time, generally won’t snuggle with you (some snakes might be willing to snuggle with you for body warmth), and may not respond to your affection (although many will tolerate some handling).

Golden ball python

“Which way to snake beach?”

Although reptiles are not usually interactive, they still can make great pets—especially for kids!

Eight Reasons Reptiles Make Great Pets

If adults at home are not sure about letting a snake into your house, ask them to think about the following points:

1. There are some great harmless beginner reptiles.

2. The risk of injury to responsible keepers is much lower with a reptile than with a dog, a cat, or even a parakeet.

3. Compared with other pets, reptiles are low maintenance.

4. Reptiles don’t have to be fed every day (but they shouldn’t be starved).

5. Reptile foods are readily available at pet shops and grocery stores.

6. Reptiles aren’t hairy, so they make great pets for people with allergies.

7. Keeping reptiles teaches young owners about caring and responsibility.

8. Reptiles are really cool!

People Really Like Reptiles

Reptiles have become really popular over the past several years. Go to any pet store, and you’ll see what I mean. For one thing, you’ll find many different types of herps. There are even pet stores that sell only reptiles. You won’t find dogs, parakeets, tropical fish, or cats there, but you are likely to see many different types of snakes, lizards, and frogs.

In addition to seeing lots of cool reptiles in pet stores, you’ll find oodles of stuff to help you take care of herps. Many companies sell items that make it easy to provide pet reptiles with happy homes. These items include different types of lights, gizmos to keep your herps warm, branches for them to climb on, cages to keep them in, and bowls for their water and food. (You can read more about stuff like this in chapter 4.)

What’s a Herp?

Herp is a nickname for a reptile or an amphibian, and it comes from the word herpetology, which means the study of reptiles and amphibians. A scientist who studies these animals is called a herpetologist.

People have been keeping pet herps for decades, but within the past ten years, the hobby has become really popular. I can tell you one reason: it is because of the movie Jurassic Park. I don’t just write books about reptiles; I am also the editor of Reptiles magazine. The fact that the magazine came out about the same time as Jurassic Park was really lucky! People saw the movie and loved it, and as a result, many wanted to learn about reptiles and how to keep them.

Young people’s interest in dinosaurs often leads to an interest in keeping pet reptiles.

Dinosaurs are fascinating. Of course, it’s impossible to keep one as a pet (even if you could find one, it would be really expensive to feed it!), but many people think the next best thing to having their own little T. rex is having a pet reptile. And although it’s great that so many people became interested in reptiles after seeing Jurassic Park, there is a sad side to their new popularity.

Something You Should Never Do

After Jurassic Park, many pet herps were bought on impulse by people who didn’t know how to care for them. People would (and still do) see a neat-looking reptile in a store, and they would buy it right then and there. After all, these animals are very interesting, and some are really colorful. Often, however, the animal would slowly fade away because its new owner didn’t know how to take care of it. Even today, many reptiles die or end up in animal shelters because people don’t know how to care for them. That is why you should never buy a pet reptile on impulse!

Yellow rat snake

Get the Facts First!

Don’t purchase any reptile until you have fully researched its housing, feeding, and care requirements—and know how big it will get!

If you’re a smart, caring owner, you’ll have a lot of fun with your reptile pets—even though they won’t jump up and down when you come home or lick your face. Reptiles are great pets in their own right. Congratulations if you’ve decided you want to try keeping them. Now let’s take a look at the amazing world of snakes, the reptiles you came here to read about!

CHAPTER 2

The Truth About Snakes

Even though snakes are fascinating animals that many people like to keep as pets, lots of other people are afraid of them. On the “fear-o-meter,” snakes rank right up there with spiders and other bugs and creepy crawlies that give some people the shivers. There’s even a special word to describe a fear of snakes: ophidiophobia (pronounced oh-FID-ee-oh-FO-bee-ya), which comes from the Greek words ophis, meaning “snake,” and phobia, meaning “fear.” This is a very common fear. Even swashbuckling movie adventurer Indiana Jones, famous for his bravery when battling villains in scary places, was afraid of snakes.

California kingsnake

In this chapter, we’ll discuss the myths that surround snakes, which add to people’s fear, then take a close-up look at how snakes are put together.

Snake Myths

Some people who have ophidiophobia are scared of snakes because they think these reptiles are slippery and slimy. This is not true! Snakes are smooth and dry. Some can even give good hand massages as they crawl between your fingers. Snakes may give the appearance of being slippery because the scales of certain ones have a shiny appearance. But take my word for it—snakes are not slimy.

One reason snakes have gotten a bad rap is because some old stories, often religious in nature, have presented them as evil figures. In the Bible, for instance, Adam and Eve ended up getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden because a snake tempted Eve to eat an apple.

Western diamondback rattlesnake

The snake’s reputation wasn’t helped by the story of Adam and Eve.

Not all stories give snakes a bad reputation, however. The Aztecs worshipped a snake god named Quetzalcoatl (pronounced ketz-ul-KWAT-il) as the master of life, and the Aborigines in Australia believed the creation of life had something to do with a mythical serpent (serpent is another word for snake). Snakes have also been linked by Greek legends to medicine, and to this day, two snakes (or one snake, depending on which part of the world you’re in) wrapped around a staff is a modern medical symbol.

Quetzalcoatl was a feathered snake god worshipped by the Aztecs.

Baby green tree python

No Reason to Fear

There have been some pretty odd myths about snakes through the years. One was the tale of hoop snakes, which were snakes that supposedly put their tails in their mouths to form a hoop before rolling downhill to escape danger. Other stories have told of snakes sucking milk from cow udders (the milk snake is a common pet in snake collections, but it doesn’t drink milk), snakes with poisonous breath, snakes chasing people, snakes that can hypnotize you, and snakes that will swallow their young to protect them from danger. I even read one tale that says snakes grow beards as they get older! You never know what people will come up with about snakes.

Even though a snake may puff up and hiss at you, as this hognose snake is doing, snakes generally avoid attacking anyone if at all possible. They prefer to avoid confrontations.

Despite those myths and stories that may say otherwise, snakes are, in fact, fairly gentle creatures. They mind their own business. Yes, they have to eat, and many of them eat living animals. That’s nature. This also allows them to perform important jobs, such as rodent control in farmers’ barns. And some snakes may be grumpy once in a while. But overall, they’re docile animals that aren’t out to “get you.”

It’s too bad Indy and other people are afraid of snakes because the vast majority of snakes are actually quite gentle. If you ever hear people say that a snake chased them, they are probably fibbing. For the most part, snakes just want to stay out of people’s way. Any snake that bites someone is doing so usually for one of two reasons:

Respect People’s Fear

You may like snakes and want to keep them as pets, but not everyone does. Never force your snake on someone who is afraid of it, even if you’re just trying to be funny. And never take your snake outside where it could come into contact with people who are afraid of snakes. Keep things safe and calm for everyone, especially for your snake, by avoiding these situations.

Some snakes, such as this emerald boa, are naturally aggressive. Others become aggressive through conditioning, improper handling, hunger, or stress.

1. It is scared and defending itself.

2. It is confused and thought someone’s finger or hand was its supper.

A cornered snake that’s being pursued by someone in nature is very afraid. Wouldn’t you be, if a giant chased you, then trapped you in a corner and reached down with giant hands to scoop you up? You would probably defend yourself by kicking or punching or scratching—or biting. That’s all a snake is doing. It doesn’t have legs or arms so it can’t kick or punch. But it does have teeth to bite with, and that’s what a scared snake might do. It might also twist its body all around trying to get out of the giant’s grip. It might even go to the bathroom on the giant’s hands (something you might or might not do if you were in the snake’s shoes, so to speak)!

Snakes that are kept as pets often get used to a routine, meaning they learn to recognize that certain events will be followed by other events. For instance, to feed a pet snake, you will have to open its cage, either by opening a door or removing the lid. After you’ve opened the cage, the food item (often a mouse or other rodent) will be dropped into the cage for the snake to eat. So a snake learns to associate the opening of its cage with feeding time.

A pet snake that bites its owner is often confused and “jumping the gun” at feeding time. This has happened to me. On several occasions, I have placed my hand into a snake cage when my snake knew food was coming, and it was so anxious to get the food that it struck out at the nearest moving object: my hand. It was an honest mistake. My pet didn’t mean to hurt me.

If a snake bites its owner, it is usually by accident. Of course, if that snake happens to be a gaboon viper like this one, your life would still be in danger! Beginners should never ever keep venomous snakes.

A similar accident can happen if you go to pick up your snake after handling mice or other prey items (meaning food for snakes). A snake has a strong sense of smell and will be able to smell the mouse scent on your hand. A bite could result.