So my rookie self went to the breeder's website that I browsed most and went to pick out the mojave I had been going back to look at several times. I loved his blushed sides and a little hook at the beginning of his dorsal stripe. Enter: Monty. Added the best looking female pastel the guy had and had Ember and Monty as my first two personal pets as well as the beginning of this crazy reptile thing.
Since I've had them Monty has been the most pet like snake. Always relaxed, minor reaction to things bumping his head, and he's more slender than Ember is with a less intimidating build. He also has the damn cutest face, but that may be the biased half of me talk. Being the go-to snake in my collection to introduce to nervous people, his relaxed demeanor when being handled, and one of my first pet snakes I'm pretty attached to him, I'll admit it.
So imagine the bowling ball dropping in my stomach when I went to feed him Saturday night and his tub lid was popped up on one side. Tested the edge and my heart sank as the lid came off with no resistance. Empty tub and no snake in the immediate area. Pretty much spent the rest of the night tearing up the living room, kitchen, bedrooms, anywhere in the house where it might seem warmer or more snake friendly. There was no sign of him anywhere, and I pretty much sank into resigned sadness. It had been a busy and stressful week, so I was pretty worn emotionally anyway, and I hadn't had a chance to really check on the snakes in about 5 days. Had I not put the lid on correctly? Or had someone gotten him out without letting me know/asking? Or maybe Monty had pushed the lid up?
Everyone in the house said they hadn't gotten Monty out, and hadn't seen anyone messing with the snake tubs. I went to sleep that night dismayed and expecting the worst. Snakes tend to be found when they reveal themselves, searching was an intimidating task seeing as the snake could fit anywhere a quarter could. Sunday was a day I spent biting my nails at work, and keeping myself occupied with cleaning and talking online on forums and facebook. To be perfectly honest it was a lot of doom and gloom from me and getting encouraging/helpful/supportive replies from friends, family, and complete strangers.
Got home to search more, no dice. I even started wondering what I'd do if Toby (the house cat) came back to my roomie with snake skin. Burst into tears perhaps, or would I just go into a red eye rage. I'm not a terribly emotive or emotional person, and it was strange for me to be so upset over something that would be much simpler if I would think logically. The snake couldn't have gotten far, and chances were he was somewhere that the other animals wouldn't bother him and he could take a nap.
A little side note on Toby. Like most cats, he is pretty independent as a critter, and has his own ideas of how things should be. I usually don't mind this in cats, really I'm usually pretty enthusiastic about them and how autonomous they are. However, Toby lacks that normal feline grace and sensibility part. Maybe I'm just used to animals with manners and been lucky in that respect, but this cat is just a BUTTHEAD! If left to his devices he'll go into the living room or kitchen and trash whatever he might be able to, and if there's food he can get to? Absolute destruction, it's more delicious if made as messy as possible.
I woke up Monday morning to the sounds of Toby delightfully doing something out in the living room. Being before the alarm and a Monday on top of that I didn't take the time to listen for details and trudged out to either prevent a furry hurricane or clean up after one. I didn't see much out of place at first, some spilled gold fish food (irritating), but it seemed I was in luck this morning. Toby appeared on the top of the corner piece of the sofa set, turning around and staring back into the 3 square foot space behind it. Climbed onto it and looked behind to see if I had to clean anything back there.
A very cold, grumpy, dust bunny covered snake greeted me, his head tucked under his coils and breathing pretty heavy. After containing a rather excited noise (not sure if it would've been a squeal or a yawp) I clambered back there and scooped his cranky butt up. Got a very emphasized SSSSSSsssss! from him, but it was a bluff, and his bite is about as painful as a kitten sneezing anyway.
As of right now he's taking a break in his tub, drinking lots of water and hanging out on his heat pad. There was a vet appointment scheduled for today, but my car's alternator ended up killing itself, so the trip will have to wait until the mechanical beast gets fixed. They had tried to get me in soon because their vet is taking a 2 week vacation starting tomorrow, but obviously I won't be able to make it today. Thankfully they are an extraordinarily helpful and understanding bunch, so they gave me a number for another vet in the area who can see him. I don't feel comfortable waiting two weeks (and they agreed).
Stay tuned for updates. I'm just RELIEVED that Monty seems relatively fine, one minor scratch on his neck but otherwise just dirty and quite a bit more reserved than he used to be. Though Ember definitely pulls off the "Quiet, watchful, and cautious" snake thing more than he does. Still not head shy, and still alive.
