My husband and I took a four day herping trip into the Ozarks, just to regain some sanity. Upon returning home, the herp room was trashed. Broken clay plant pots, posters pulled down off the walls, all the feeding hemostats all over the floor, etc.
It didn't take long to ascertain that it was Cowboy, our big yellow 5.5 foot bull snake, who was on the lam. Searched, but couldn't find him anywhere. So, I left him a pile of freshly thawed fuzzy rats--bullsnake candy.
The next morning they were gone, so I knew that he was still in there. I swear that I could feel him watching me. Scanning the room I suddenly spied two snakes in the 100 gal. boa tank. And yes, he was watching me from behind the tank while my boa of about the same size was oblivious to everything.
I blocked the far escape exit, and spent the next 10 minutes being a snake wrangler. He was not happy that I saw him, and even more unhappy that I intended to put him back in his enclosure. Usually he's fairly mellow, but this day he was all hisses, tail rattles, some bluffing and some serious strikes.
Secured in his enclosure, I phoned my boss to tell her why I was running late. I'd no sooner got the words "My 51/2 foot bull snake. . ." out of my mouth, when she interrrupted with "I don't wanna' know. If you promise not to tell me the details, I won't dock you any time." I kept the promise and it turned out well.
althea
