Of Course Reptiles Have Different Personalities

I can't say that I gave reptiles more than a
passing thought for the biggest part of my adult
life. Of course, I knew a little of them. I
wasn't to know that I was destined to be more
acquainted with this ancient form of life.

After my youngest son was around 3 years old,
his mum and I realized a seemingly endless
fascination with small animals, a fascination
which blossomed and inevitably stayed with him
into adulthood. For example, for most infants
one of the first words uttered might be Mummy or
Daddy. In Will's case his first word was 'worm'.

A straight forward stroll through the
countryside became an adventure for all the
family. If he heard a rustle in the bushes, he
would disappear and come back with a small
creature dangling from his hands. In European
countries, this wasn't much of a problem, as
most insects were little and the small number of
snakes are relatively harmless.

A noteworthy exception happened during a holiday
in Italy. As usual, William heard something
movong, leapt into the long grass and reappeared
gripping a little red and black snake, which was
a relatively normal occurrence for the family.
Later on, after we entered a small store to buy
some provisions, customers ran out of the front
door and the proprietor hid himself in a back
room! I explained to my son (he was 5 years old
at that) that he was probably holding a
poisonous snake, and he reluctantly took it
outside to release it back into it's normal
surroundings.

Throughout the years that followed, the house
was to become home to many kinds of small
creatures, but pet snakes were always the
favourites. He had little ones and some large
ones, progressing as he did from corn snakes and
king snakes, to boa constrictors and pythons.
Even though I never shared for our scaly
companions, I eventually learned more and more
about their habits and habitats. Of course, I ha
dto learn how to buy a pet snake.

William told me (and does to this day), that
each snake has a particular personality. I fail
to see this, but have to respect his judgment.
Even the big tarantula spiders that he's bought
over the years were treated as individuals
according to their own personal characteristics.
His childhood interest has turned into a lifelong
passion which gives him continuous enjoyment and
interest.

Instead of being a cold and strange place, the
world of reptiles has proved to be a huge
education stimulus in our modern world that has
become more and more confusing.

Hats off to you my reptilean chums.

----------------------------------------------------
James Bavery shares a strange interest in all
things snakey in a series of articles aimed at
the pet snake owner.

http://www.reptilesite.com/articles
http://www.reptilesite.com/news/what-to-know-before-buying-a-pet-snake/

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=198273

>