About Us
My love of snakes didn't come easy. Like most
people, I was afraid of snakes as a child. I will never forget when
I was small and was scared to death when a brown rope wrapped around
a piece of wood moved when I touched it. A few years later, I was
less afraid and would catch Northern Red-bellied Snakes
with my friends.
My love of snakes truly started when I was in
high school. I visited a new pet store in my home town and fell in
love with Bandit, a female wild caught Royal Python. I went to the
pet store everyday for a week learning what I could and handling the
animal. Then on the last day of the week, pay day, I purchased
Bandit and renamed her Elvira. She was a handful! Wild caught Royal
Pythons typically refuse food. We had to force feed her often
because she would go months without food.
About a month after getting Elvira, my mother purchased a second Royal Python for me. His name was Kitty but I renamed him Lucifer. I had my first pair of pythons and I loved them very much. A major roadblock was thrown at me when our landlord told us that there were no reptiles aloud in the house. I had to house the animals with family and friends. This was difficult and eventually, both Elvira and Lucifer passed away due to illnesses that could have been easily treated if diagnosed early enough.
In July 2004, my love of Royal Pythons would be renewed. I was in the Pets Unlimited in Truro, Nova Scotia and saw an amazing male Royal Python. I looked at my wife and she said, "No!" After much begging and pleading we went home with Chip. He was named by my daughter, who was 4 years old at the time. She said that he looked like a chocolate chip cookie. I sent pictures of Chip to Ralph Davis and he told me that Chip was most likely a Banded Morph.
Within two weeks we found a large male Royal Python that was being given away to a good home. The snake was at the East Coast Reptile Rescue in Halifax, NS. We had to fill out an adoption form and the ECRR called my references to see if I was suitable to adopt the snake. The next day we were on route to Halifax to get Zeus. He had suffered a burn on his belly that was healed and was suffering from several unshed eye caps. After about a month he was healthy and strong. My wife, Jolene, loves Zeus because of the distinct capital "J" in his pattern.
On October 22, 2005, while at the Pets Unlimited in Truro, I was looking at two baby Royal Pythons. One was definitely a male and when I looked at the second one, I was surprised. It was female. I showed it to my wife and we immediately purchased her. Pandora got her name from the figure 8 pattern on her back. The same pattern appears on a drawn of Pandora's Box in a mythology textbook that I have.
Our next step is breeding Pandora and Chip then possibly getting a Pastel, Albino or Spider. The love of these animals is far from over.
