The DU Lounge

The first we found in the yard, and the second just wandered inside the house one early spring. We caught them, but decided to set up an open terrarium for them to use. We named them Simon and Theodore. (Simon was smaller at maybe two feet in length.) Theodore was found first when we moved my brother's old car, which I guess he was using as a home. We saw him when we came outside after lunch to continue to move it to the back garage. Our resident snake experts correctly identified it as a common rat snake (also known as a 'black snake') and we brought him up to the front porch where everyone was. It took all of about six minutes before that snake was relaxing on my friend's four-year old boy's shoulders and being treated like a king. He walked around with the snake on his shoulders for a few hours. Everyone (who wanted to) got to hold him and let him creep around their arms. My other friend, the snake person, later took him inside and that is when we came up with the idea to just let him roam.

(I suppose that this is less strange when one considers the whole 'swamp/country boy' thing, but that really was the most chill snake 'from the wild' that I have ever seen. He just did not care that he was being held and carried around by humans. To my knowledge, he never struck at anyone. Simon could be a little shit, but he was also usually very tame and docile and loved to sit on the ceiling fan when it was not running. He couldn't hang on when it was turning. Don't ask me how they found this out, I was not there.)

Of course, we always had to mention to guests that did not know about this that they might run into one or both of them inside. (Even made a sign for the front door.) I well remember hanging out in my room and watching the television and noticing Simon crawling along the wall. There were a few occasions where I would tap three times on the floor or wall beside me to let him know that it was me. He would eventually slither over and visit briefly. Scent is a big thing with them, and once he got used to our smells, he knew who he was with, I am sure of it.)

Dad's house was out in the boonsticks, surrounded by farmlands and swamps. Because we had this relationship with these two snakes, we never had mice, we never had bugs, and their presence was even better than having a dog around. (We had dogs there, but they never ran into the two snakes. I suspect being dogs, they were just so loud and active that our two partners would just disappear when they were in the house. When my friend moved from the farmhouse, he took both of them with him. They moved to Charlotte, and both perished within the next two years. I guess they did not like the big city.)

That little guy/gal may be more of a blessing than a terror for you.

Just sayin'.