Every year again – From holidays with baby snakes
Martin Hallmen
For some, it is strange or peculiar, at the very least. For others, it is even bizarre, unimaginable, an absolute no-go. Some may even consider it completely over the top, even perverse. For others, such as the EGSA members, it is at least worth considering: ‘Why not?’ For my wife and me, it has simply been normal and a matter of course for years: the baby snakes come with us on holiday.
This year, it was actually born out of ‘necessity’. Because – even if many people won’t like to read this sentence – as a pensioner, you simply have more holidays and are away from home more often and for longer than before. At least that’s the case for my wife and me. And that’s a great thing in itself. It only has one ‘tiny’ disadvantage: you have to leave your beloved snakes alone more often and for longer periods of time. Now, snakes are perfect for holidays lasting 3-4 weeks. Put in a large water container, turn off the spotlights, maybe even move them to the basement, and there you have it: simulated continuous bad weather. This is usually no problem for adult animals. The only issue is with babies that are only a few days or weeks old. I cannot and will not subject them to this. This was also the case this year, when I went hiking and searching for bumblebees in the Bregenzerwald for three weeks.
Previously, it had been an extreme challenge for my daughter Sarah to care for the only pregnant Tetrataenia female during our five weeks in Ireland and to look after the young that might be born. But why did we let the children grow up with snakes? I didn’t want to burden her with the 11 young snakes that arrived after our return and were not yet ready to be fed until our next holiday. But there’s always a reason, because this was by no means the first holiday with baby snakes.
Last year, I had forgotten a heat lamp for the little wrigglers. As a result, the fauna box had to be moved from window to window to get at least half of it in direct sunlight. I wanted to spare myself and the animals this hassle (they didn’t mind at all). One of the last things I did before leaving was to place a small box inside a large polystyrene box, fill the small box with ice packs and frozen baby mice, close it, and place two empty cricket boxes with damp kitchen paper and the snakes inside, as well as a box of earthworms and a thermometer, on top. I put the lid on and took it to the car. The procedure had already proven itself several times, and this time too, the temperature in the snake section of the large box was 24 degrees and everything in the smaller thermobox was still well frozen.
When unloading, the contents of the box were declared as food requiring refrigeration, because you don’t want to cause unnecessary discomfort in your holiday home. After all, snakes are – incomprehensibly – not everyone’s cup of tea. No one noticed that the box was much too light for food. One of the first things I did in the small holiday flat was to take care of the contents of my boxes. Mice went into the freezer, earthworms into the fridge and snakes into the largest of the three fauna boxes I had brought with me. It soon became apparent that I had forgotten the shelter bowls for the animals this time. There’s always something. But I quickly improvised a variety of hiding places from cardboard packaging. I should also mention that I had forgotten the timer, so I had to turn ‘the sun’ on and off by hand every morning and evening. Since the heat lamp couldn’t shine as deeply as I thought it should, I had to use props from my second hobby. One of my collection boxes for bumblebees was quickly placed underneath the fauna box to raise it. And so my 11 little beauties had a wonderful time in the Bregenzerwald.
The predators were fed every 5-6 days. No, our dog Locke got something to eat every day. It was only the snakes that had to wait so long for their food. As not all of them were 100% ready to eat chopped-up baby mice, the mammal morsels were enriched with some crushed earthworms. Feeding all 11 animals in the cramped fauna boxes at once posed too high a risk of mutual attacks. Therefore, all the animals were transferred from their holiday home to a second fauna box. In a third box, 2-3 young animals were always fed. This was easy to oversee and stress-free for all of us. Well-fed and with visible food bulges, the first young snakes returned to their freshly cleaned and newly furnished holiday home, and the next 2-3 were allowed to enjoy the food bowl. Even under completely unfamiliar circumstances, feeding all 11 animals went without a hitch.
Even for baby snakes, the most wonderful holiday comes to an end. For the return journey, everything was packed as described above and stowed in the boot. All of us, my wife, the dog, the 11 snakes and I had a wonderful time in the Alps. But even though the little creatures already hinted that they wanted to come along again next year, this privilege is always reserved for the currently newborn animals.
For holidays with our little motorhome, I might soon convert one of the wall cabinets into a breeding terrarium. But I fear that even my wife, who is very tolerant of snakes, will veto this idea. But maybe that’s a good thing!
Martin Hallmen
Barbarossastr. 40
D – 63517 Rodenbach
Hallmen@t-online.de