(no subject)
I've been thankful for
lavvyan's books, but just now I got a whole new reason to be thankful for them. Half an hour ago I was pondering going to sleep but in the end decided to read just a bit more, and since it's in German, I had to do that in front of my computer (which is thankfully still working, although I won't dare to play any games with it anymore). Just a moment ago I turned my head to check on my snakes. They are hungry (I never got the call from the pet shop they promised to give me this week if they got any suitably sized rats, tomorrow I have to risk it with the too big ones), so there's been a whole lot of moving around the terrarium and making all kinds of noise with moving the interior around. Yesterday they even managed to upturn the water bowl. Anyway, there's frequently some kind of thumping and clonking and who knows what noises coming from there so I didn't find it anything unusual, until upon my glance I almost had a heart attack.
Ankh had her head halfway out of the terrarium with the help of the nice little trick with the branch they figured out a while ago but hadn't figured out implications for. Well, now they have. My panic got even greater when I realised Hotep was nowhere within the terrarium anymore, although to my great relief I spotted him right after, hiding between the feeding box and the side of the wardrobe right next to it. Poor thing probably went there to check if there were any rats around. I have no idea how long he was out of the terrarium, could be just moments, could be twenty minutes, but the door to this room is wide open because of the heat and he might have gone anywhere. Thank gods it was Hotep who got out first, I have a feeling Ankh would have been long gone before I noticed anything was wrong, she's so much swifter an braver and all around more curious. Hell, there are some wire holes nearby through which a snake might get itself inside the walls. I'm pretty sure it's theoretically possible for them to get even outside through the structures, this is an old house and has all kinds of routes for beings that are no wider than a wrist. If I had gone to sleep instead of sitting here to read, I might have lost my little darlings forever, or even if I had found them again they could have been hurt or caught a cold (and that's a serious threat for a snake).
This far I've only have masking tape keeping the lid on top of the terrarium, and since they've never tried anything before, the same tape's been in use for almost six years. Needless to tell the tapes at front didn't hold anything anymore since they had been taken off and refastened so many times for feeding and cleaning and whatever I've needed to get to the terrarium for. The tapes in the back, on the other hand, have never been removed, so they still hold. At least I hope they do. I just renewed the tapes on the front after getting the snakes back where they belonged, but the new tape feels kind of unsufficiently sticky so I'm not quite sure if I can trust that either. I wish I could put a heavy pile of books on top of the lid but that might hurt the snakes really badly if they manage to move the lid even a little and upset the pile, or if they don't do the lifting operation correctly. I have no desire to see either of them decapitated because they only managed to get their head out before the branch slipped back down. Hmm, maybe I should remove the branch... although it would be a real pity to take away their entertainment, they really seem to enjoy climbing it and it's still a healthier way to entertain themselves than burrowing under the papers at the bottom and burning them on the heat mat. No, I don't think taking the branch is an option. Maybe I'll just put a few additional tapes around the terrarium and hope for the best, although I'll curse myself tomorrow when I have to remove all the tapes to be able to feed the snakes. Still, better safe than sorry, right? I so need a real lock and hinges for that thing...
Gods, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep, my heart's still bounding and I've been writing this for over half an hour already so it's not like I haven't had time to calm down.
lavvyan's books, but just now I got a whole new reason to be thankful for them. Half an hour ago I was pondering going to sleep but in the end decided to read just a bit more, and since it's in German, I had to do that in front of my computer (which is thankfully still working, although I won't dare to play any games with it anymore). Just a moment ago I turned my head to check on my snakes. They are hungry (I never got the call from the pet shop they promised to give me this week if they got any suitably sized rats, tomorrow I have to risk it with the too big ones), so there's been a whole lot of moving around the terrarium and making all kinds of noise with moving the interior around. Yesterday they even managed to upturn the water bowl. Anyway, there's frequently some kind of thumping and clonking and who knows what noises coming from there so I didn't find it anything unusual, until upon my glance I almost had a heart attack.
Ankh had her head halfway out of the terrarium with the help of the nice little trick with the branch they figured out a while ago but hadn't figured out implications for. Well, now they have. My panic got even greater when I realised Hotep was nowhere within the terrarium anymore, although to my great relief I spotted him right after, hiding between the feeding box and the side of the wardrobe right next to it. Poor thing probably went there to check if there were any rats around. I have no idea how long he was out of the terrarium, could be just moments, could be twenty minutes, but the door to this room is wide open because of the heat and he might have gone anywhere. Thank gods it was Hotep who got out first, I have a feeling Ankh would have been long gone before I noticed anything was wrong, she's so much swifter an braver and all around more curious. Hell, there are some wire holes nearby through which a snake might get itself inside the walls. I'm pretty sure it's theoretically possible for them to get even outside through the structures, this is an old house and has all kinds of routes for beings that are no wider than a wrist. If I had gone to sleep instead of sitting here to read, I might have lost my little darlings forever, or even if I had found them again they could have been hurt or caught a cold (and that's a serious threat for a snake).
This far I've only have masking tape keeping the lid on top of the terrarium, and since they've never tried anything before, the same tape's been in use for almost six years. Needless to tell the tapes at front didn't hold anything anymore since they had been taken off and refastened so many times for feeding and cleaning and whatever I've needed to get to the terrarium for. The tapes in the back, on the other hand, have never been removed, so they still hold. At least I hope they do. I just renewed the tapes on the front after getting the snakes back where they belonged, but the new tape feels kind of unsufficiently sticky so I'm not quite sure if I can trust that either. I wish I could put a heavy pile of books on top of the lid but that might hurt the snakes really badly if they manage to move the lid even a little and upset the pile, or if they don't do the lifting operation correctly. I have no desire to see either of them decapitated because they only managed to get their head out before the branch slipped back down. Hmm, maybe I should remove the branch... although it would be a real pity to take away their entertainment, they really seem to enjoy climbing it and it's still a healthier way to entertain themselves than burrowing under the papers at the bottom and burning them on the heat mat. No, I don't think taking the branch is an option. Maybe I'll just put a few additional tapes around the terrarium and hope for the best, although I'll curse myself tomorrow when I have to remove all the tapes to be able to feed the snakes. Still, better safe than sorry, right? I so need a real lock and hinges for that thing...
Gods, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep, my heart's still bounding and I've been writing this for over half an hour already so it's not like I haven't had time to calm down.