How I Scared My Own Self (and the hubby) This Halloween

Wasn't it just a scant few weeks ago that I was holding a snake for the first time in many years, getting over my fears and trying to learn about these creatures?

So, why then, did I have a snake in my house the night before Halloween? Not in a tank or cage in my house, but literally IN MY HOUSE???

Here's the story:

For Halloween, we like to use the lights and fog we still have from our 80's rock show days and make a nice, scary spectacle. This year, we set this up at our neighbors house, complete with some kewl Halloween decorations and a scary CD playing scary stuff (except for that rendition of some Irish jig... what's that about?).


I decided my costume was going to be Mrs. Steve Irwin, The Reptile Hunter. Get it? I brought over my monkey-tailed skink Baby Doll and her climbing tree. Also brought a few leopard geckos and my toad in plastic tanks.

A friend of mine, Tim Cole, knew what I was planning and asked if I would like to borrow a snake for the event. Kewl! Great Idea! How better to scare the little children, my pretty.

So, the night before Halloween, Tim loaned me a very nice, very long, female corn snake named Corduroy. She's the longest snake I've held so far. She was very nice, somewhat active, and had very Halloween-appropriate coloring. Tim gave her to me in a small, antique suitcase with air-holes drilled in it. She was inside a knotted pillowcase in that suitcase.

After getting her home I thought hey, I have a large, deep container bin that she could spend the night in. Then she's not cramped inside that pillowcase all night. The bin was almost 2 feet deep and had lots of room to spread out in. I put her in with a bowl of water and some papertowels she could hide under.

After putting her in, I left her alone for a bit. I left the top of the bin off because I wasn't sure if it would provide enough air for her all night. Besides, the bin was 2 feet deep. No way could she escape from that.

Yeah, right.

I finally figured out how to secure the top and did so about 1/2 an hour after putting her in the bin.

Got up the next morning, and checked on her first thing.

She was GONE. WTF!?!?!

You mean there's a snake LOOSE IN MY FREAKIN' HOUSE?!?!? Happy Halloween!!!

Needless to say we spent the morning snake hunting. I got on the web and Googled corn snakes, only to read that they are expert escape artists. Guess I should have read that the night before, eh?

After almost 2 hours of searching, we finally found her. She had climbed up into a tower of drawers and was inside a drawer. I think she thoroughly enjoyed her freedom, because she didn't want to be caught. As I went to pick her up, the hubby's hand was near her head. Or should I say, near her mouth.

The hubby got bit by a snake!

(click to enlarge)
He says it didn't hurt. And, no, he's not traumatized by the whole event.


This clinches it though. I'm not cut out to be a snake owner. I'm a doofus N00B, so I think I'll stick to what I know... lizards.

Oy.

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