Our Newest Family Member

I have a slight problem...I love animals. If I could live on a farm in the middle of nowhere, I would. For a brief time I tried to talk my husband into living on a commune, but he wasn't as keen on the idea as I was. Needless to say, we now live in a house in the middle of suburbia.

To make up for my farm-less lifestyle, I compensate by adopting animals. I personally don't think we have a LOT of animals, but many of my friends say otherwise. When I was younger I wanted to work at the zoo, and I think secretly (or not so secretly) I still do. I contemplated being a vet for a little while, but then decided that I wanted to be WITH the animals, not working on them. I also dreamed of moving to Africa, a la Jane Goodall, but my dreams of doing anything remotely like that ended once I had children. Not that I wouldn't still love to do that, but I don't think my kids would adjust very well to living on the side of a mountain with a group of gorillas. Also, I don't think Steve would be thrilled with the move.

So for now, I have pets. Currently, our home is inhabited by a dog, three cats, a tarantula, and the newest addition to our family. I would get chickens if I could, but the Homeowners' Association wouldn't allow it (trust me, I've checked). My poor husband. He puts up with a lot, but I think he's finally starting to realize that he can't be married to me without some sort of animal around. And I know secretly he loves them, as long as he doesn't have to clean up after them.

Meet Miss Hiss.

She is the newest addition to our family. I actually have no idea if she is really a she, but I think her calm and sweet demeanor is obviously female. That, and the fact that for some reason I always view snakes as female. She is a baby ball python. She can live up to 30 years in captivity and will get between 4-5 feet long. We have had her for a grand total of 4 days and I already love her. Mostly for the fact that she hasn't attempted to bite me yet. Adult ball pythons are almost always mellow and rarely bite, but babies are quicker to snap because they often end up as food for predators in the wild. She is different from all of our other pets, which may be why I like her. She's easy to care for and likes to be held. Also, she really freaks out some of the people I know. :) Technically she is my son's, but I have adopted her as my own. He just doesn't know it yet.