Here are some photographs of a dear friend of mine Thelonious- he is a member of the royal (ball) python species and is captive born and bred. I lived with Thelonious (after the eccentric jazz piano maestro who kept a goat as a pet in his NY apartment) for over a year and it was a very enriching experience. I never knew that much about snakes or even knew that I liked snakes so much until getting to know one personally. I am curious and do not call myself fearful of serpents, but there is always that deep-seated instinctual fear of snakes present, especially approaching a creature that can bite you, and handling one is the most direct means of confronting that feeling.
Watching how Thelonious hunted the rats fed to him was an exciting and terrifying experience. Cats lived with us when I first had Thelonious and they would watch him feed with us. Everyone in the room (simian apes and felines) would startle when the fatal bite occured! Even knowing what is going to happen, it is still so terrifying to watch Death up-close and immediate.
Thelonious ate about every 2 to 4 weeks, and, during the cold winter, he refused to eat for about 3 months. He got skinny but never looked unhealthy and looked normal after his first spring meal. He was a picky and refused all attempts to give him frozen mice after he barfed the second one we fed him up. We reasoned if we were a snake live would be much tastier and nutritious.
Once after a feeding, I had a dream where I was repeatedly living out the scenario of the snake feeding- as both the mouse and then as Thelonious, strange....
Once Thelonious escaped because I forgot about him while he was out of his terrarium. He was found 3 days later on a Friday afternoon by our neighbor sunning in the middle of the street. A crowd of neighbors, passer-bys, and even a few police officers were present when our neighbor walked up, picked him up, and took him home. Fortunately, our neighbor ran into our roommate at his job and told him, 'Hey, I found a python in the street!'. Our roommate said, " I bet I know whose snake that is." Close call- we got lucky we didn't lose him or someone didn't kill him.
We would take him to the park or to the beach and we felt he enjoyed being in direct contact with the Earth. Not knowing his actual birthday, we celebrated it on the Summer Solstice last year. Yes, we sang Happy Birthday to the snake- so much fun.
Hailing from West and West-Central Africa, these the humble ball pythons prefer open forest, dry brushland, cleared forest, to grassland or savanna habitat and they live about 30 years typically but have been recorded close to 50. They live in warmer climates of 70-8- degrees Fahrenheit in a somewhat humid environment and utilize burrows or other secret retreats. In the wild, they spend most of their time in a resting state in their hiding place. When made to feel threatened, frightened, or nervous this python rolls into a ball (hence that epithet). Captives are known for their docility and rarity of bites. Wild specimens are known to be difficult to domesticate, often starving themselves by refusing food. Additionally, wild specimens are more feisty in temperament when trying to be domesticated. Though, the species as a whole is known for its placid human-friendly nature, especially compared to the rock pythons (check this out, scroll to danger to humans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_sebae)I think Thelonious' behavior in his terrarium is similar to if he was in the wild because he would spend long periods of time inactive unless we disturbed him. He was most witnessed coming out to move or drink during early morning around dusk or early evening around dusk. Being nocturnal, it is more rare for him to be active during the day. Despite the captive environment, I do think observing his behavior personally does shed light on the wild, native behavior characters of the species. This species is an escape artist that loves to seek out hidden, secret, tight, cool, dark hiding spots- so make sure the terrarium close all the way!
In their native land, the pythons are considered sacred in connection with the Earth and the people treat them with much respect. Serpents, commonly thought as companions of the Devil, Evil, and Sin and generally disliked because of their perceived threat to humans and because of their general Otherness, are deeply respected and cherished by many cultures. Being without legs they naturally are close to the ground, and are symbolic of the soil, the Earth, Earth-Gods/ Goddesses/ Gaia, fecundity and of the creative energy/ force itself. There seems to be a connection between these snakes and ancestral/ indigenous shamanic practices in west Africa. These creatures are humble (close to the humus, down to earth (we are humans (of the 'mud/ dirt/ Earth' ?))
Also, the snake/ monkey relationship is as primal as can be. How long have our cells been embedded with the reflex-fear of snakes in order to survive this mad jungle? I almost stepped on a rattler last summer and it was amazing as I was able to witness my visual system in slow motion. The instant I was about to step on it (foot descending literally right next to the diambondback rattler less than 2 inches between the snake's body and my foot) out of the corner of my eye I saw the two curved lines begin to wiggle against the leaves and dirt. With just the slight recognition of the movement and then the diamond shapes and color my brain screamed "SNAKE!!". It didn't strike- I think we startled it as much as it scared us. I immediately jumped away and frantically searched for its head. Luckily, the rattler was traveling the same way as I on the trail so I approached it by the tail. An interesting experience of the visual-recognition process of snakes.
Thelonious is a little over 4 ft long. The females are slightly longer. His color after shedding skin is the richest, brightest browns and golds- rich Earthy colors. Yawning and drinking water are two up-close behaviors I witnessed being in such close contact.
I hope to someday have further contact with these noble creatures.
(TJ Mistler)
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