Corn Snakes!

[hcarlton]

The local herps have started showing up in the yard again...
Toad by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Piberius was not pleased I disturbed his nap...
Piberius by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Reynard by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Kingsnake grass is sprouting well this year...
Halailah by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Rare moment with Halailah where she's not trying to eat fingers...
Halailah by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
And I've taken over care of Bindi the carpet python again!
Bindi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Bindi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Bindi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Leah by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Leah by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Despite being very skittish, Rebel still somehow regularly sets up well for selfies
Rebel and I by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
3 house snake babies left...
Cape house baby by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Cape house baby by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Cape house baby by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Tsela no longer fits in one hand
Tsela by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Tsela by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Marmora wish be photographer snek...
Marmora by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Above camera was also used for this photo
Marmora by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

 

[hcarlton]

Sweet girl Domhara...
Domhara by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Domhara by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Domhara by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Fun story about her though; she's apparently gotten big enough that she figured out how to push her way out of her tank lid even with another tub sitting on top, so she now has straps holding it closed. But, on her escapade out, she left a tail of destruction throughout my room and closet...and then woke me up at 7 in the morning by climbing between my pillows, me rolling over onto her...and her biting me in the armpit in response.

Anyway...Leah is getting ever more colorful, and photos do not show it well enough at all
Leah by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Leah by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Leah by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Also, make sure the snake doesn't think you're food before you reach in to grab them...Rebel the bullsnake had a kingsnake moment, and gave me what was probably one of the more painful bites I've had. Still not even enough to get a band-aid over though, to put in perspective.
Rebel bite by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Rebel Bite by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Bindi's been acting cute...
Bindi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
And thinks she's a bonnet
Bindi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Bindi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Gideon by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Jacob, Leah's male counterpart, has finally started growing enough to get some color slowly bleeding in
Jacob by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Jacob by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Callie has been moved into a new tank...
Callie by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
And she's getting very large and shiny
Callie by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Callie by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Also curious about what constitutes trees she can climb...
Callie by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Other shiny python:
Namer by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Namer by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
And one more animal I need to talk about in the next post...

 

[hcarlton]

The oldest snake in the house, Midnight, has recently turned 12:
Midnight by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
However, her age has brought on an incoming extreme financial headache, as she has developed what we believe to be a renal or ovarian tumor and has to go in for surgery this Friday. You might be able to see the lump here:
Midnight by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Cost for both the diagnosis that has happened and the surgery to come: $1700. I've had to put up a fundraiser to try and help raise some assistance for this one, especially since earlier this year I dropped $700 to get Dreamer treated for parasites, though at this point I'm probably stuck hoping I can take just a slight edge off that bite and hope the plants make me enough this month to cover it.....

 

[hcarlton]

Update as of today on Midnight: she had surgery, it was a tumor within the wall of the large intestine so a full section had to be taken out. Now for 2 weeks of pain medication and antibiotics injections, and hoping she doesn't pop an internal suture...

In other news:
Halailah is always watching
Halailah by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
The biggest black snake hanging out outside a bit
Tsela by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Tsela by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Rebel by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Rebel by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Food does not always cooperate...
Pickle with a hat by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Pickle with a hat by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
"Can has cheez boi?"
No, you ate two days ago and you're fat as it is!
Bindi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Fat she may be though, she's still beautiful. Just needs more exercise and a bit less food
Bindi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Bindi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Bindi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Bindi by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Gubler by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Being as red as he is already, Reynard is definitely going to be the brighter of the pair of boas
Reynard by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Reynard by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Reynard by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Reynard by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Reynard by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Tsefan by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

 

[hcarlton]

I have sad news....after several weeks of surgeries (removing a cancerous tumor as it turned out), medications and injections, and worry, Midnight had an internal suture rupture that could not be fixed and she had to be euthanized. These are the last pictures that will ever be taken of her:
Midnight by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Midnight by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Midnight by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Midnight by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
My oldest snake, last tie to my first ever snake, and one of the sweetest animals I've ever owned...it will not be the same without her here.

However I cannot dwell on the past alone. Midnight will be remembered forever, permanently preserved sheds in necklaces to keep her around, but I have many other animals still to take care of and give attention to as well.
Irwin by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Reynard makes a good bracelet
Reynard by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Reynard by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Having a black snake this big, and this docile is an amazing thing
Tsela by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
While cleaning cages Bindi decided she needed to explore...
Bindi "escaping" by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Dreamer by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
And lastly...I needed to fill a hole, so a brand new arrival has joined the family. She's not Midnight, but she'll keep the corn snake project going (and going in a lot more directions as she carries a huge number of genes). Her name roughly means "My Friend"
Mochara by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Mochara by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr
Mochara by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr