How could I forget about the exotic pets? I had the kids read through my last two posts to see if I missed anything. I did — the exotics. So, without further ado, here are the cold-blooded members of the family. My son is responsible for our exotic reptile family. Let’s start with the corn snake.
Candy-Corn – Corn Snake
She slithered her way into our hearts because Michael had developed a fascination with snakes. He was also struggling with schoolwork and the best way to engage him was by using his interests to motivate his learning. Anyway, my nephew’s girlfriend had to move, but she couldn’t take her corn snake with her. She raised Candy-Corn from a hatchling and wanted her to have a good home. My nephew, knowing that we like animals (hah!), suggested that she give Candy-Corn to us. That way she could visit whenever 21 years old now, five and half feet long and likes to swim in our fish tanks. Oh, and she likes to watch Cutthroat Kitchen in her spare time. And collect female mice to live in her tank as roommates.
The care and feeding of the snake went so well, that we soon we ended up with . . .
The Exotic and Cute Perrito – African Fat-Tailed Gecko
Finding food for Candy-Corn led us to discover PetFections, an exotic pet store in our area. The owners are FABULOUS people and really friendly. When Johnny, the owner, found out about Michael’s reading difficulties he and I cooked up an idea to help him focus better. (That’s when I mistakenly took Michael’s difficulties as attention and not physical challenge). So, he could have a fat tailed gecko if he could tell Johnny all about the animal, where he came from, how to take care of him and how much all of this would cost to maintain. Perfect, research, science, geography, math and writing all in one package!
It took him awhile, but Michael took the challenge and surpassed all of our expectations. Not only did he have the information about the fat-tailed gecko, but practically every other gecko in the store! And that’s how Perrito came to live with us. He’s a cute little thing, no larger than the palm of my hand (and I have small hands). He’s also an albino, which adds to his exotic looks.
Alfie – Our Wonder Dragon
Alfie’s story is a bit of a blur to me, but my family assures me that we got him the same time that we got Jade’s ferrets from PetFections. Alfie 0was a birthday present for my son. We must have really liked him that year because they’re kinda pricey.
Interestingly enough, bearded dragons are somewhat like dogs. Although you can keep them in a tank, they are happiest hanging out with people. They don’t like being around other Bearded dragons much, but people are okay. Actually, Alfie was fine with all of our animals until the kittens came . . .
A Good Thing About Exotic Reptiles
I have found a silver lining to the reptile family — they’re food needs are weird, but not very expensive. I grew up in New York City where roaches were the enemy. Now, we purchase roaches for Alfie. My only consolation is that these roaches can’t climb, so once they’re in a container they’re trapped. Bearded dragons also eat horned worms and salad. Mostly salad, but Alfie is spoiled so will only eat his greens if my daughter attacks him with a piece of lettuce.
Perrito eats crickets, which aren’t pricey. African fat-tailed geckos can also eat red runner roaches, but that brings back my NYC roach trauma, so he eats crickets. Better for my sanity.
Candy Corn, of course, eats rodents (dead or alive). When she first came to us she only ate defrosted mice, but she got bored and moved on to live ones. But that preference brings me to the last portion of the family zoo . . . mice!
