And Now For Sssssssomething Completely Different
For you fellow embracers of the serpent, I wanted to recommend a wonderful book I picked up last night, Good Snakekeeping: A Comprehensive Guide to All Things Serpentine by Philip Purser. This one is worthwhile even for pretty advanced snake people because, as you've probably noticed if you've read many, it's rare to find a snake-care book by someone who can actually write. Much of the lay material on the subject, while informative, tends to be written on the level of a book report by a fairly bright eighth-grader. Purser's descriptions and ability to communicate passion for snakes are far above average. The book also includes many beautiful snake photographs as well as useful ones of habitats, disease symptoms, and such.
I remain mystified, though, as to why every single snake book in the world says water snakes are bad-tempered and don't make good pets. My first several pet snakes were wild-caught northern water snakes from my uncle's farm in Kentucky, and they were among the gentlest, calmest, easiest-to-care-for snakes I've ever had. Granted, my cousins and I caught them as babies, but the literature makes them out to be well-nigh untamable, and that just wasn't the case with these.
I remain mystified, though, as to why every single snake book in the world says water snakes are bad-tempered and don't make good pets. My first several pet snakes were wild-caught northern water snakes from my uncle's farm in Kentucky, and they were among the gentlest, calmest, easiest-to-care-for snakes I've ever had. Granted, my cousins and I caught them as babies, but the literature makes them out to be well-nigh untamable, and that just wasn't the case with these.