Your Pet! A Pet Store Visit
SNAKES ANYONE?
When most of us visit a pet store or shelter, we tend to gravitate toward the furry critters, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and for Cody Stevenson a pet store visit has to include the joy of all God’s creatures, even those of the non-fur variety. Here he is cuddling a red boa snake, and in the photo below he takes a detour to the creepy-crawly department.
A Cordial Handshake
Cody’s new critter friend here is a rose haired tarantula. Cody says that though generally docile, all tarantulas have a venomous bite, but their bite is not nearly as dangerous as those of some non-tarantula spiders such as the black widow and brown recluse.
Cody says, “Certain proteins in the tarantula’s bite toxins can cause some serious allergic reactions. These toxins are similar to those in bee and wasp stings, so people allergic to bee stings are more likely to be allergic tarantula bites. Tarantulas do have another form of defense that is worse than being bit . . . urticating hairs. When threatened they will shed the hair from the abdomen, which can [cause a skin reaction] that results in rashes and itching [that lasts] for days.
“As long as you handle tarantulas carefully and respectfully, no harm will come to you or the animal. But do it at your own risk!”
So what’s the most unusual pet you’ve ever owned?
Blessings!
Sue
Photographs copyright, 2012, Cody Stevenson.
Oh, shudder!!! I can handle snakes (in fact, at one time I had a 9′ boa constrictor hung around my neck like that, too), but a big spider… yuck! I try to act grown-up if children are around when I see one, but truthfully, I freak out. I used one encounter for a blog post (http://wp.me/phaYw-KP), but even finding a photo to accompany it was revolting!
My life from childhood has been filled with a succession of dogs. A brief interlude included a white mouse… that was unusual enough for me.
Nice Cody 🙂
@ Carol……..the white mouse would have done me in – lol
I’m not afraid of spiders that we see around here in general, but a tarantula would freak me out…….and I don’t like snakes of any type or size!!
Like Carol, I think I could handle a snake as a pet (a small one) but no spiders please! Lynn, the most silly situation I ever got into with a pet was with my nieces’ white rat. It got out and hid in my mother’s organ and we were trying to get it out without electrocuting ourselves or the rat. Nieces crying, my mom distraught. The rat finally came out by itself.
Sue…..regarding the rat situation……..I would have just left and asked someone to let me know when it was over – LOL…….or I would have been standing on the table shaking!!!
I should clarify, Sue… I could “handle” that snake, but I definitely wouldn’t have one as a pet. They don’t strike me as a creature that will provide me with the cuddling, responsiveness and companionship that I require in a pet. LOL!
That’s what I wanted to do, too, Anon! But my little nieces were crying….
Hi Sue……..the “Anonymous” post was from me 🙂 I don’t know why my name didn’t come up – lol. When it comes to rats it’s “every man/woman/child for themselves”. I would probably have been crying too (as I was leaving)!!!
this brings back memories… .when i was 15 (30 yrs. ago… unbelievable)… i had 2 mice… little did I know they would have lots and lots of babies within weeks… :).. what to do with them? I was (and am) so animal-mad that I kept them and took care of them, let them run free, played with them etc.
One day something terrible happened.. one mouse was running free in my bedroom and I stepped on him, it broke his back, I was in shock and felt horrible at the time and still feel bad about today.
That is when I knew that mice are not suitable as pets.
They might not be great as pets, Jackie, but I understand the attraction. They are really cute and their little faces are cute, but that was a very sad experience. I once hit a deer with our car (actually he jumped on the car from a snowbank) and I felt horrible for days about that. By the way, Jackie, I watched a portion of PILLARS OF THE EARTH again. Fond thoughts of you!!