{this post contains pictures of a snake...just so you know}
it started when micah turned 5.
"mama, can i please get a pet snake?"
to which i would reply, "we will talk about it when you turn 7."
honestly, i only said that because i thought two years in the life of a kid would seem like for.ever.
i thought for sure he would forget all about it. what i didn't count on, however, was that A. he is a boy and B. he loves all things creepy crawly which probably could be traced back to point A. weeks leading up to his birthday he would ask, "mama, can i please get a pet snake?" to which i would still reply "we will talk about it when you turn 7." though i found myself saying it this time, hoping I could forget about it. something got inside of me though...and it had really got me thinking when matt and i had this conversation a while back. i began having conversations with people about this snake...i asked my friend ashlea about it because she has a friend who used to work at the zoo with snakes. i asked her if she would ask him what he thought the best kind of snake for micah to start off with would be. he suggested a corn snake. both of micah's grandparents were sending money this year and the pieces of the puzzle seemed to be coming together. so one night a week or so before micah's birthday i had a talk with matt about the snake.
it went something like this.
me - "i've been thinking about it alot and i think it's ok if micah gets a snake for his birthday."
matt - "what did you just say?"
me - sighing - "i've been thinking about it alot and i think it is ok if we get micah the pet snake that he wants for his birthday. we have money from the grandparents and if it stays in the garage, i think it will be ok."
matt - looking at me with shock and disbelief and a crazy grin on his face - "really??!"
me - laughing - "geesh i didn't know you wanted a snake too! and yes, i mean it. really. HOWEVER, if this snake ever escapes, i will say no words, i will just pack a bag and head to a hotel and you can call me after you have caught him and returned him to his tank. got it?"
matt - laughing - "sure lydia."
so that's all it took and matt started calling around to see where we could find a corn snake.
a teacher friend at matt's school found out we were getting micah a pet snake and it turned out that she had a 20 gallon tank in her garage and she told us we could have it. she wanted no money, just a homemade pizza as payment. the day before micah's birthday we gathered the "supplies" and matt went to purchase the snake. we hid everything in the garage. the next 24 hours were filled with comments from micah such as, "i'm not getting a snake am i? why can't i have a pet snake? are you sure i can't get a snake? you guys aren't getting me anything are you? i haven't seen you go anywhere for presents. i'm turning 7 tomorrow, can't we talk about the snake now?"
it was a long day.
matt and i planned how we were going to give it to him the next day at his party and
it. worked. out. perfectly! watch the video here.
so this is jeff.
jeff the corn snake.
named after the beloved jeff corwin, explorer and animal lover extraordinaire.
jeff, the snake is still just a baby. he is very easy to handle and is pretty lazy and unassuming.
until feeding day comes. which is thursday. he eats pinkies. yes, they are frozen baby mice.
and yes, it is gross,
but strangely fascinating to watch too.
for those wondering how big jeff will get, the pet store tells us 3 - 4 feet and he will stay relatively skinny.
welcome to our home jeff.
you have made a certain 7 year old beyond happy.
however, i see you weaseled your way from the garage into the house already
...that didn't take long at all.
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