Diciembre 25, 2005
Monty Python
Since I know Karen L. has been dying to meet him, and my blogging has been a bit sparse, I thought I'd introduce our latest family member, Monty. He's a ball python, and we agreed to babysit him for my cousin, Bill, a few weeks ago. But, what can I say, we got attached, and Bill was looking for a new home for Monty since he and his wife are on the road for a while, so Monty is now a resident of the Ethan and Sam's room. We originally had him in Joseph and Noah's room, but moved him to make room for the bearded dragon that Joseph is getting for his birthday. He plans to name him Harry ("Get it, Mom? Harry. . .Hairy. . .Beard. . .?"). I'll be sure to update.
Now, for those of you who are a little freaked by the idea of a snake for a pet, let me provide a little info that may explain why we're so much more happy with Monty than a dog. We only have to feed him a couple of times a month. A frozen rat is about $2.50 at Petco, making it around $5/month to feed him. He only poops once every 4-6 weeks. He doesn't bark at all. And if you know Joseph, you know he's most happy when he's with an insect or reptile. He has loved every second of his interactions with this snake.
One more thing: Ball pythons generally max out at around 4 feet. This snake is not going to mistake Noah for prey, so my kids are not endangered by him. We keep hand sanitizer next to the tank, and even Noah is already in the habit of immediately sanitizing after he handles the snake, so I'm not too concerned about salmanella.
And I really like him.
Posted by willa at Diciembre 25, 2005 12:25 AM | TrackBackthat is so cool. we're happy with our dog, and michelle HATES snakes and reptiles, so no pythons for us I'm sure. maybe an eel in the fishtank someday.
Posted by: bobw at Diciembre 25, 2005 12:52 PMwe've been setting up a terrarium for a Ball to come live in the last few weeks - we may get one as early as this January.
But it does concern us that Bob's wife Michelle may put us one the bad list... what to do?
Enjoy the Ball, they're great pets.
Posted by: stelmodad at Diciembre 25, 2005 03:25 PMWow, that's so cool. I have always wanted a pet snake, but over the years between my mom and my wife I've been "forbidden." Maybe when Aidan is old enough we can pursuade (read: wear down) Pam into allowing one?
Posted by: Scott at Diciembre 26, 2005 01:06 AMStephen wasn't originally too keen on the idea, either. For one thing, he had heard that snakes were really stinky and high maintenance, and so forth. Bill actually offered the snake to us this past summer, and (even though I begged), Stephen said no. But when the opportunity to babysit/snakesit came up, he figured he could handle a couple of weeks. After living with the snake for a while, he realized that it really was a very low maintenance pet, does not smell bad in the slightest, and he could tolerate it much better than he thought. Scott, maybe you could babysit Monty for us while we're in Mexico in July?!
Posted by: willa at Diciembre 26, 2005 10:10 PMOne other comment. I have to say that it has always been hard for me to understand why people are so opposed to snakes as pets. I enjoy them so much. I tended to think everyone would eventually get used to them if they just gave it a chance. Then Joseph asked me if he could have a tarantula. I just don't think I could ever really enjoy a tarantula. So I am now much more sensitive to non-snake types. Incidentally, I would be almost as unlikely to enjoy a dog as a spider. Everyone is different. :)
Posted by: willa at Diciembre 26, 2005 10:13 PMI'm so jealous.
Posted by: lynnp at Diciembre 27, 2005 09:41 PMNice to see the young Ibachs taking after the old ones and chasing lizards...the ones here are rather frightening, and not to "user friendly" to say the least...congrats to lulu from uncle "tom-tom"
Posted by: Tom Ibach at Enero 19, 2006 07:34 AMYou should bring Joseph over and take that photo again. It'd be interesting to see a comparison of how much Monty has grown in six months.
Posted by: Scott at Julio 25, 2006 10:53 AM