Okay, so I'm absolutely IN LOVE with my princess, so much that I keep trying to tell people about her but they get really disgusted with the idea so I can't word vomit my feelings.
I think this place will enjoy!
Her name is Aurora, she is maybe? 3 months old, and previously believed to be Opal but upon further research she is a Snow morph(I think?? Haha).
I'm new to snakes, so I literally have no clue what I'm doing except for the mass amounts of internet reading. There are so many conflicting views that I've decided to pick and choose based off what makes her happy.
Which brings me to the questionable feeding question! Well...
The people at Petsmart failed to mention when they last fed her. Despite being a little antsy seeing me hover by her tank, hoping to catch a glimpse of her sweet little face, I wanted to try feeding her on her 3rd day here.
I am terrified of the idea of her choking on substrate. She is so little that one piece of aspen would cause her a lot of discomfort. So despite NUMEROUS advice saying not to use a separate tank, I did anyway. And I can confidently say that the experience was fantastic and I will continue with this method.
Aurora seemed apprehensive at first. I have not handled her except for a 2 second hold at PM. Tbh, I'm very nervous that she will bite me and I will accidentally squeeze or drop her, so I basically coaxed her into the tub. She was escape-y as normal, but not frightened. I did my thang with the pinky and decided to leave her alone. I went to put on makeup till i felt a ping to check on her, and she was moving around quite energetically! I wanted to leave her be for a few hours to digest but I could just tell she was done being there.
And guys...I can't express how completely different her demeanor was after that. I could tell by her eyes she was so HAPPY. Instead of shying away from me moving her around, she cheerfully got onto my little cardboard plate, even got close to my hands w/o doing her lil snapback, and was just so pleased and chill. I kinda haphazardly dumped her on a branch so she had to climb down to her cave...I haven't wanted to spook her yet but I'll be double checking to make sure she hasn't regurgitated the mouse tomorrow.
But to see her eyes shine! Idk. I know snakes aren't as emotionally evolved as mammals, but we definitely bonded(well, she bonded to me) and I think we are going to be fantastic buds for the rest of her existence.
I'm so pleased with this moment, the oxytocin is flowing through me.
If anyone has felt this similar about their beloved, please feel free to post below. It's an addiction to read about other people's experiences.