Pets!



We have a cat, three ganders, a Corn Snake, some fish (tropical and in a pond outside), and we've had some ducks and tadpoles.
 
  Josiah, our cat, is named after an Old Testament king.

These are our 3 ganders, Honkers, Shankers and Banks.

We were given these 3 geese in the summer of 1999. Our canal side location should be ideal for them as it gives a real opportunity for a jolly good swim.

The geese can fly - but they are not very good at it! They have been known to fly down the canal and misjudge their landing distances with the result that they fall over the top of the stop planks at the head of Pike Lock and end up in the bottom of the lock chamber. It is really bad news if two end up in the lock and the other stays on the bank as they fuss and honk loudly and sleep becomes impossible. They can climb out of the lock but tend to take their time to realise this.

Ganders are not know for their gentle attitude to passers by. Ours often take an aggressive stance to see what you will do about it. Running is a bad plan as they take this as confirmation that they are in command and will follow at speed. If you face them down they soon change their minds and will back down (usually). Young girls have been seen to shoo them into the canal whilst grown men (and particularly dogs) have been seen to wither. As a result of this, the ganders are confined to the garden for most of the time.

What do you do when confronted by a goose? - You go BOO!

Pet Corn snake eating a mouse  Chris the Corn Snake

Chris is a Corn Snake, a domesticated bread of non poisonous snake originally from North America. When we got him in the summer of 2000, he was the size of a pencil; he is now over 4 ft long and still growing.

Chris is fed on a diet of frozen mice which are placed in a cup of hot water to thaw them out prior to consumption. He eats about twice a week and can eat as many as 4 small mice at each feeding. He stops eating a few days before he sheds his skin which he does every 3 - 4 weeks.

We take him out of his cabinet most days but not when he has just been fed or when he is about to shed his skin. When he is out, he slithers around and particularly enjoys getting inside peoples clothing - this is because he likes warmth and people are warm. Often he will disappear up a sleeve and his head will reappear at the cuff to watch TV. At Christmas, climbing about in the Christmas tree is also a favourite activity.

In July 2001, he managed to get outside through the patio door and escaped. This reached the national press and generated quite a lot of interest. He was loose for nearly 6 weeks but was spotted in the gutter across the road sunning himself  by Elizabeth. It is likely that he had been catching food for himself whilst away but he had injured himself in a couple of places and probably would have died had he have not been found. He had a thorn in him in one place and a large cut in a another location. The large cut looked particularly serious and had become infected with maggots. As it was, he recovered quickly and his wounds have healed to the point that only a slight kink can be seen where once the maggot filled hole once was.

Chris has never bitten anybody and is very good tempered. He has no ears and his eyesight is not particularly good, however he has an excellent sense of smell and knows what is warm and what is not. It might not be a good idea to wave mouse smelling fingers about in front of him when he is hungry.