(..Pretend it's still Wednesday. Being sick this week has completely thrown me off schedule ( Read more... )

Once upon a time, I had no fear of alligators ( Read more... )

Before I was married and had family to keep me occupied, I usually offered to work December 25th at the zoo because - secretly - it was one of my most favourite days to be there. No public. Generally no other staff. Just the critters and me, in the basement of the museum, sheltered from the cold and the chaos of the holiday ( Read more... )

People react to fear in varied, fascinating ways. Some folks scream. Some punch. Some run away. Some freeze. Some retreat into denial, or bravado; others go into 'protect everyone else' mode.

Panic is much the same thing.

When I was still living in Philadelphia, I chipped in with some friends to buy my ex husband a pet savannah monitor lizard ( Read more... )

My sweetheart has proposed that instead of stuff-giving for $WINTERHOLIDAY, people should give experiences. His (rather sound) theory is that when you think of things that have mattered, experiences are what come to mind rather than trinkets ( Read more... )

(posted for emo_snal, who has a fascinating LJ that you should be reading if you're not already ( Read more... )

"This is a tooth from a carkano..um.."

"Carcharodontosaurus."

I shot a look at my coworker. "I will never be able to say that. Spell it? Sure ( Read more... )

I am a PASSIONATE believer in the lack of necessity of using live animals in haunted attractions.

I've been preaching this opinion for yearsI've heard all kinds of reasons given as to why some haunt owners feel it's important to use living critters. Their customers expect it. They're more impressive than fake animals. It's a cheap way to get a ( Read more... )

So as I've said, Burmese pythons are susceptible to respiratory infections.

Ours was no exception.

At some point, the female was shipped off to Reptiland, after she'd laid a clutch of 34 eggs and we kept a few of them to raise and include in our collection; and the male (if my vaguely sleepy memory serves) was moved into a healthier-for-him ( Read more... )

The zoo I worked at is located in a very old museum. For many years, there was an exhibit on one floor that housed two rather large Burmese pythons.

One of my interests in zookeeping is in learning about the roots of husbandry and all the things good-intentioned people did not knowing they were doing things very very wrong ( Read more... )