living with slithery pets
Slithery fun Continued from Page 13
for pets or otherwise), are appealing because they play dead when confronted by people. But by the time they’ve been in a pet store for a few weeks, they don’t do that any more. Their one trick is over. And after that, they just sit there, at the bottom of their glass cage. Amphibians and reptiles don’t move much, Longenecker said — not unless they have to, which they don’t in a terrarium. So kids get bored with them pretty quickly. Things heat up a bit when you feed them. A bearded dragon lizard — a large, nonthreatening lizard that Longenecker said is kind of affectionate — will actually snatch a cricket out of your hand. But feeding them can be problematic, because for snakes it involves either thawed bits of frozen mice (buy the food at pet stores or through the Internet) or — not for the squeamish — live mice. Some people are fascinated watching a king snake wrap itself around a live mouse. Others hate to hear the mouse squeak. You’ve got to know — which one is your child? (Or better, which one are you, since you’ll end up doing it.) And if the snake won’t eat the mouse, now you’ve got two live creatures to deal with. And, creatures being creatures, you’ve got to clean up after them. Which entails lifting them out of the cage or pushing them aside, wiping surfaces and replacing bedding. Then there are heat lamps and thermometers to buy, not to mention escape-proof cages … . “It can get quite expensive,” Longenecker said. “At a store, a corn snake may be $200. And it’s another $200 for the cage and the lights and the heating. And what do you do if they get sick? It’s hard to tell when a snake is sick.” A few animal clinics in the Asheville area treat “exotics,” which is what reptiles and amphibians are called. Among them are Haw Creek Animal Hospital and Sweeten Creek Animal Hospital (your regular vet may have a referral, but don’t bring your slithery creature in — call instead). But for the right kind of child, owning and taking care of a snake, lizard, frog or turtle can be fascinating, Longenecker said. Watching them go about their lives,
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Owning a snake is not for the squeamish. Parents should make sure they and their children are OK with feeding their snake live animals, for instance. SPECIAL TO WNC PARENT
For the right kind of child, owning and taking care of an amphibian can be fascinating, says Steve Longenecker, a local expert. JOHN FLETCHER/JFLETCHER@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM on the little stage that their cage provides them, is spellbinding, an activity that has led many a child into careers in herpetology, animal husbandry, veterinarian sciences and the like. There’s plenty of information on caring for amphibians and reptiles on the Internet. The Western North Carolina Nature Center has several habitats for snakes, and your children can learn a lot by looking at how they are set up. Owners of amphibians and reptiles seem to be happy to pass along what they know.
Shane Cook is president of the Southern Appalachian Herpetology Society in Asheville. He has several large snakes — anacondas and Burmese pythons. But he’s held several smaller snakes, the kinds children might have as pets, and seen what children like in them. “When you handle them, your attitude toward them really changes,” Cook said. “It’s the way they feel on you. And they flick their little tongues on your arm. They won’t lick you or kiss you or come when you call. But they know who you are.”
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