Phruit Dish
Bringer of Meeses
Hi! Phruit Dish here. I suppose the first thing I should do is tell you that my husband gave me the first part of my nickname shortly after we met (“Phruit” is a term of endearment, most days), and a good friend added to it a few years back. I love it, and it suits me well.
The next thing I should mention is that I’ve spent my entire life with a clinical phobia of snakes. I qualify ‘clinical’ as a condition that is maladaptive, has caused me significant stress and discomfort, and has negatively affected the quality of my life. I was so afraid of snakes that anything remotely ropelike or producing serpentine motion (like the collapsing hose you see on 30 second commercial TV spots as it fills with water and unravels) caused a cold shock of numbness to go through me, my heart would start to race, and I would experience shortness of breath. In essence, about as far from fun as it gets. So, fed up with feeling that way, I made an active decision to overcome my fear at the end of August of this year. Having had success in applying knowledge gained in the classroom as a psychology student before, I decided to try my hand at curing my phobia. So my husband took me out to visit the reptiles at our local pet stores. At first, just walking by the snakes without veering away was triumph. Then I started peering into the (alarmingly) tiny cages while practicing relaxation techniques (slow, deep breathing; determined thoughts). I decided that the corn snakes were awfully pretty, and their inquisitive look was even more appealing.
To make a long story short, in two weeks’ time I conquered a lifelong fear. I knew if I ran into any trouble with my procedure I had an entire psychology department (including a prodigious list of practicing clinicians) I could turn to for help, though it wasn’t necessary. I’m still amazed at how quickly it happened. Watching them breathe, inspecting skeletal structure, and learning about snakes in depth in my comparative vertebrate anatomy course helped transform them from foreign, frightening enigmas into living, breathing creatures to be respected and enjoyed.
I am looking forward to meeting and loving Birch, a het amel cubed corn from a breeder in the next week or two (deciding on a shipping date). I have a daily log set up to track everything she does and doesn’t do, daily temperatures and humidity readings, funny things she does, and any potential stressors and signs of health issues so that I am constantly on top of everything she does. Any suggestions for things to keep in an on-hand first aid kit (just in case!) would be welcome. I don’t want to stock things that expire, as I can get those quickly from my vet if I can’t find them at the pharmacy. I have hibiclens (chlorhexidine gluconate), antibiotic ointment, iodine, mineral oil, and a small ventilated zip-loc tub for treatments/bathing on-hand currently. Provent-a-mite has been ordered, and I’m considering gettinng some diatomaceous earth.
I also share my life with three cats, Phish, Minx, and Bug, and have a wide range of hobbies. I’ve tried many things at least once in my life, from autocrossing BMWs with local and national sports car clubs to hunt seat horseback riding to metalsmithing, making jewelry, and throwing pottery. I aspire to be a clinical psychologist one day. I hold membership in a number of honor societies, including Golden Key, and hold student membership in professional societies, including APA. I will be presenting research at my first conference in March (one poster, one symposium). I’m considering publishing some research with novel findings in microbiology (isolation of an unusual species of enteric bacteria from retail meats). I adore studying animal behavior, though I am at least as interested in the treatment of human phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder, if not moreso (makes sense, does it not?). I consider myself a lifelong learner, and I’ll read and research in-depth anything that interests me as the interest and inspiration strikes.
There’s a lot more where all of this came from, but I figure that’ll all come out in time, and this post is already too long as it is, so I’ll close by saying that I’m overjoyed to have stumbled upon this site and am very happy to be here! I look forward to learning as much as I can about corn snakes from people who are just as fascinated by them and enamored with them as I am.
The next thing I should mention is that I’ve spent my entire life with a clinical phobia of snakes. I qualify ‘clinical’ as a condition that is maladaptive, has caused me significant stress and discomfort, and has negatively affected the quality of my life. I was so afraid of snakes that anything remotely ropelike or producing serpentine motion (like the collapsing hose you see on 30 second commercial TV spots as it fills with water and unravels) caused a cold shock of numbness to go through me, my heart would start to race, and I would experience shortness of breath. In essence, about as far from fun as it gets. So, fed up with feeling that way, I made an active decision to overcome my fear at the end of August of this year. Having had success in applying knowledge gained in the classroom as a psychology student before, I decided to try my hand at curing my phobia. So my husband took me out to visit the reptiles at our local pet stores. At first, just walking by the snakes without veering away was triumph. Then I started peering into the (alarmingly) tiny cages while practicing relaxation techniques (slow, deep breathing; determined thoughts). I decided that the corn snakes were awfully pretty, and their inquisitive look was even more appealing.
To make a long story short, in two weeks’ time I conquered a lifelong fear. I knew if I ran into any trouble with my procedure I had an entire psychology department (including a prodigious list of practicing clinicians) I could turn to for help, though it wasn’t necessary. I’m still amazed at how quickly it happened. Watching them breathe, inspecting skeletal structure, and learning about snakes in depth in my comparative vertebrate anatomy course helped transform them from foreign, frightening enigmas into living, breathing creatures to be respected and enjoyed.
I am looking forward to meeting and loving Birch, a het amel cubed corn from a breeder in the next week or two (deciding on a shipping date). I have a daily log set up to track everything she does and doesn’t do, daily temperatures and humidity readings, funny things she does, and any potential stressors and signs of health issues so that I am constantly on top of everything she does. Any suggestions for things to keep in an on-hand first aid kit (just in case!) would be welcome. I don’t want to stock things that expire, as I can get those quickly from my vet if I can’t find them at the pharmacy. I have hibiclens (chlorhexidine gluconate), antibiotic ointment, iodine, mineral oil, and a small ventilated zip-loc tub for treatments/bathing on-hand currently. Provent-a-mite has been ordered, and I’m considering gettinng some diatomaceous earth.
I also share my life with three cats, Phish, Minx, and Bug, and have a wide range of hobbies. I’ve tried many things at least once in my life, from autocrossing BMWs with local and national sports car clubs to hunt seat horseback riding to metalsmithing, making jewelry, and throwing pottery. I aspire to be a clinical psychologist one day. I hold membership in a number of honor societies, including Golden Key, and hold student membership in professional societies, including APA. I will be presenting research at my first conference in March (one poster, one symposium). I’m considering publishing some research with novel findings in microbiology (isolation of an unusual species of enteric bacteria from retail meats). I adore studying animal behavior, though I am at least as interested in the treatment of human phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder, if not moreso (makes sense, does it not?). I consider myself a lifelong learner, and I’ll read and research in-depth anything that interests me as the interest and inspiration strikes.
There’s a lot more where all of this came from, but I figure that’ll all come out in time, and this post is already too long as it is, so I’ll close by saying that I’m overjoyed to have stumbled upon this site and am very happy to be here! I look forward to learning as much as I can about corn snakes from people who are just as fascinated by them and enamored with them as I am.
