Nanci
Alien Lover
Way back in January, two of my snakes regurged. It was one of the coldest nights ever. They were on the same thermostat, in vivs right next to each other. Razzle had gone from a medium pink to a larger pink. Not a big increase; certainly nothing that would have made me worry. I was a little concerned to have two in one night, but the high/low recordings of the thermometer and thermostat revealed nothing suspicious. Okay- a regurge isn't pleasant, and it _is_ worrying, but I can handle it. Wait the ten days, tube in Nutribac, feed a pink half...And then Razzle regurged again. I was filled with dread. I completely freaked out. I bawled my eyes out. To lose this snake would be devastating; he was a Rich Z retirement snake- nothing that I could have normally afforded. I was heartbroken. I contacted the only person I knew who I thought _might_ have a replacement, just in case, and Stephen Wagner reassured me and said he could probably part with a keeper, if need be. Stephen- I might have died if you hadn't said that. The prospect of losing this precious baby, as well as my dream project, was just too, too sad. I thank you, Stephen. And then a couple days later, my good friend John Finsterwald called to say he'd been offered a hypolav stripe male in trade, and while not something he would normally be interested in, did I want him to get it for me? You know what- the people here are amazing, and they take care of each other. Thank you John, for a reassuring offer at my lowest point. Just having these two "insurance policies" in place made me feel like all was not really lost.
The days dragged on. I tubed Nutribac every other day for another ten days. I was so scared to feed Razzle again. I ground up a pink by running it through the food processor, and then through a garlic press. This did not work well, but I had some sort of mouse//guts/juice. I tubed a ml of this into him. It stayed down. More Nutribac, and a small pink head five days later. It stayed down. Then a large pink head, then the front half of a pink, then the rear half, then two halves of a pink. Razzle's weight finally started going up instead of down. Then he refused a meal! Oh no! Five days later Razzle was obviously blue, but I'd already thawed and cut his mouse with two deep slits so it was virtually three thirds, but still his first whole pink since January, and he gulped it right down. And it stayed down, and last night he shed, and today I took him out for a quick celebratory photo shoot!
Thank you, you guys, for the offers of replacements, and for moral support. Here we are, two months later, and my boy is making up for lost time!
The days dragged on. I tubed Nutribac every other day for another ten days. I was so scared to feed Razzle again. I ground up a pink by running it through the food processor, and then through a garlic press. This did not work well, but I had some sort of mouse//guts/juice. I tubed a ml of this into him. It stayed down. More Nutribac, and a small pink head five days later. It stayed down. Then a large pink head, then the front half of a pink, then the rear half, then two halves of a pink. Razzle's weight finally started going up instead of down. Then he refused a meal! Oh no! Five days later Razzle was obviously blue, but I'd already thawed and cut his mouse with two deep slits so it was virtually three thirds, but still his first whole pink since January, and he gulped it right down. And it stayed down, and last night he shed, and today I took him out for a quick celebratory photo shoot!
Thank you, you guys, for the offers of replacements, and for moral support. Here we are, two months later, and my boy is making up for lost time!
