The Other Animals Thread

[djdeath-hag]

Whew dj is STEALTH tonight!

I do realize that these are two different stories about two different snake bites....on two different penises, but mine was still kinda sore from feeling the pain of the first dudes close encounter of the serpent meets serpent story. How odd & horrible is it that snakes seem to be on the prowl like this? I've got a major fear of snakes....but this recent outbreak proves to me that they cannot be all bad.....since they're emulating me, in my younger sluttier days. Note: I did say sluttiER, I'm reformed but not dead.

[Nessa]

OMFG I would die. I don't mind snakes, but that is if they're not wrapped around babies.

[kandykisses]

If that snake had been found in my house, on my child, it wouldn't have made it to an animal shelter.....that would have been one chopped up dead ass snake !!!!

I was thinking the same thing.

[Morty]

I saw this one on the news. The mom is convinced that the snake had been hiding in the mattress... I guess you can't ever be too safe.

[Alanwench]

ITA, that would be one dead, chopped up, pulverized snake! Those freakin' things scare me silly.

[gleemonex]

I would've messed myself, no joke. So glad the baby is alright.

[secretsquirrel13]

EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
And I get upset when I find an ant on my baby!!!!
Snakes...ugh....one time I went to visit my mom, I opened her utensil drawer to get a spoon, and saw a long black thing coiled up in the drawer...I thought it was a rubber snake until it uncoiled and came out the drawer, dropped on the floor and slithered behind the stove.....
I screamed like a little girl!!
::shivers::

[Cettie]

You know me and snakes. There would have been a full levitation and my famous screaming. The snake also would have been pounded to smithereens like the one I attacked with a snow shovel one day that was threatening my new kittens.

[endsleigh03]

That is about enough to give any mom a heart attack

[Dylgem22]

Snakes don't bother me like spiders do, but I would have had that thing chopped into several tiny pieces!! Especially if it was around my babies leg!! I wonder where the snake did come from?

[Morty]

Eeek, seems to be an awful lot of snake stories in the news lately

[sunshine74137]

Are King Snakes constricters? I don't understand why it would coil around the baby like that

[duster]

I'm pretty sure king snakes are not constrictors and not at all danerous. It was probably enjoying the baby's warmth. A snake from California in NY? Sounds like perhaps it escaped from someone's collection, no? Don't understand why people keep snakes as pets.

Also, perhaps it's because I'm not a mother, but I don't understand all this "striong feeling" about snakes. They're mostly harmless. Is it that we don't like snakes? Or is the snake in the crib thing what's so disturbing?

[Dying Breath]

My babysitter thought I had a snake in my crib too.. but I had just been restless....

[msmojorisin84]

My babysitter thought I had a snake in my crib too.. but I had just been restless....

!!!!

[**Jenna**]

OMG I prolly would have a heart attack after I chop the hell out of it with a hoe.I'm glad the baby didn't get hurt.

[djdeath-hag]

I'm pretty sure king snakes are not constrictors and not at all danerous. It was probably enjoying the baby's warmth. A snake from California in NY? Sounds like perhaps it escaped from someone's collection, no? Don't understand why people keep snakes as pets.

Also, perhaps it's because I'm not a mother, but I don't understand all this "striong feeling" about snakes. They're mostly harmless. Is it that we don't like snakes? Or is the snake in the crib thing what's so disturbing?

I'm nobody's ,mother either Duster...but I'd be having kittens if I found a snake in my house. It matters not to me, whether they are harmless or deadly....I just don't have any interest in seeing 'em. They give me the willies.....and NOT the good kind.

[duster]

They give me the willies.....and NOT the good kind.

LMAO

[cindyt]

I'm nobody's ,mother either Duster...but I'd be having kittens if I found a snake in my house. It matters not to me, whether they are harmless or deadly....I just don't have any interest in seeing 'em. They give me the willies.....and NOT the good kind.

Ditto, Dennis.

A long time ago I was on the bottom step of my grandmother's house, looked down and there on the next step was a green garter snake about 3 foot long, I'd say. I screamed and levitated four feet back. Scared that snake to death.

[sunshine74137]

I'm pretty sure king snakes are not constrictors and not at all danerous. It was probably enjoying the baby's warmth. A snake from California in NY? Sounds like perhaps it escaped from someone's collection, no? Don't understand why people keep snakes as pets.

Also, perhaps it's because I'm not a mother, but I don't understand all this "striong feeling" about snakes. They're mostly harmless. Is it that we don't like snakes? Or is the snake in the crib thing what's so disturbing?

For me it's the thought of anything creeping around in a babys crib that shouldn't be there. Also the unknown, weather it was posionous or not. I don't think I would kill a snake just for warming up, but I would scream and get it off immediately. I probably would do the same thing that the mom did. Make sure the baby was unharmed, secure snake and get it identified.

[NOVSTORM]

In FL one of our neighbors always put their hurricane shutters down when they went back north. They came back and opened the place up and that night they heard all these funny noises. While they were away a pigmy rattler had gotten in and had her baby snakes in their house. You could hear the scream for miles. They had to have the house fumigated and never felt comfortable in it after that.
I heard my manx cat slamming something around one night while reading and my husband got up top see what the hell he was up to. He had a pigmy rattler and was slamming it into the dresser trying to kill it . We were up stairs so the thing must have come up the wall and onto the balconey and into the houe. Damn I loved that cat. I kept those screen doors shut after that lol

[duster]

Damn I loved that cat. I kept those screen doors shut after that lol

Did the cat not survive? Taking on a rattlesnake seems like a tall order for a cat...

[cindyt]

Did the cat not survive? Taking on a rattlesnake seems like a tall order for a cat...

We had a little cat named Tango and he was a snake hunter bar none. He would find them and bring them up on the back porch and sometimes try to bring them into the kitchen.

One day he went out to play and never came back. We don't no what happened to him, but i suspect he stumbled upon the wrong snake.

[hoxharding]

I saw this one on the news. The mom is convinced that the snake had been hiding in the mattress... I guess you can't ever be too safe.

The matress! OMG
I am glad the baby is ok, I doubt the snake meant to harm the baby in any way. I suspect the baby was warm and the snake thought 'warm thing that is soft'(if any thought went into it at all)

I don't know if I would of killed it, I would of used common sense.
If common sense means refusing to put anything back in the room. Then moving into the room with the least amount of furniture.(with the baby)
In fact, I would insist on leaving the house and staying in a hotel. I would also insist on someone inspecting the hotel room first.

[NOVSTORM]

Did the cat not survive? Taking on a rattlesnake seems like a tall order for a cat...

My Manx weighed in at 24 pounds he was huge and all muscle. He survived alright and never stopped searching the bedroom for another snake. I need to post a pic of him. All my Manx cats were huge.
He was the one that was in my fenced in yard that a drug dealer opened the gate and put his 2 pittbulls on him and he couldn't get away fast enough he was 13 yrs old. All he was doing was sunning himself on his porch.

[Gemeris]

I wonder if it was someone's lost pet? Glad the kids alright.

I stepped on a snake once when I was little. I thought it was a garden hose until I looked down and saw it curling itself back towards me. Been terrified of the things ever since.

~Gem

[hoxharding]

Snakes alive! Father discovers his son's 'toy' snake is real


By Lucy Ballinger
Last updated at 10:36 AM on 20th May 2008

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Scary: Leonard with a genuine
toy snake


Ever since he was given a toy snake, four-year-old Leonard Yip has used it to strike fear into his family.

So when his father Mark saw a 3ft creature wriggling around his front room, he assumed Leonard was on the end of it.

Then he realised his son was at school - and the snake was moving on its own.

At this point a terrified Mr Yip did what most red-blooded men would do. He slammed the door and yelled for his wife, Cindy. She raised the alarm with the local council, who sent a dog warden to capture the intruder.

It was confirmed that the reptile was an albino Californian king snake, a non-venomous constrictor which is believed to have escaped or been abandoned by a neighbour of the family in Paignton, Devon.

Having confirmed that it was harmless to humans, 44-year-old Mr Yip bravely handled it before it was taken away. It is now being looked after at a pet shop until someone comes forward to claim it.

The incident happened when Mr Yip, who owns a noodle bar in the resort, returned home to get a sun hat for his six-year-old daughter Ellie and spotted the snake.

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Dangerous toy: Mark Yip with the King snake that he found his son playing with
'He thought it was Leonard's toy snake but then it started to move and he realised it was real,' said Mrs Yip.
'Leonard loves his snake. I bought it for him as a present and he's always using it to scare us.

'Mark's braver than me but when he realised what he thought was a toy snake was a real one he got a big shock.'

The reptile was taken away by Torbay Council dog warden Janice Pope. She already owns a corn snake, which is a similar species, and planned to take the new find home to keep in her spare tank.

But when she called at a pet shop for extra supplies, manager Tim Morris offered to take it in. Mr Morris, who runs Preston Pets and Reptiles, believes the snake must have been out of its vivarium for 'a good few weeks'.

He said: 'It is in an awful state. It has been drinking water for about half an hour.' The snake was also covered in a sticky black substance which must have been there since the last time it shed its skin, which could have been months ago.

Mr Morris added: 'If they don't eat their stomachs can shrink so I have just defrosted two medium mice for this one.'

King snakes are popular with first-time reptile owners because they are relatively easy to keep.

In the wild, they eat mice, lizards and birds, and are totally or partially immune to the venom of rattlesnakes. This means they can kill and eat them, which has made them favoured as family pets in the U.S.

They kill their prey by grabbing them with their small teeth and smothering them. King snakes can live for 15 years and go for two weeks without water and six months without food.

They come in many colours, including chocolate, yellow and black as well as albino.

Having recovered from her shock, Mrs Yip now hopes the incident will have a positive effect.

She said: 'In Chinese tradition we believe if a white snake comes into your house it will bring you good luck, so we hope it will.'

[Nessa]

OMG! What a surprise!

[sunshine74137]

Yeah, let me just go to the freezer and defrost a couple of mice, are you done with the microwave honey?

[**Jenna**]

Yikes! Don't even like toy snakes.I will just totally lose it if I ever see a snake in the house.Haven't seen any in the backyard.

[4Me2Know]

No way! Between this story and the snake in the crib story, I am getting paranoid lol. Thankfully snakes are not common in my part of the woods!

[Harrietd]

When I was about 12 my family went to this reptile conservatory thing where you walk around in a jungle like place and all these reptiles just slither around free. I have major issues with snakes, so by the time we got out of there, I was mess of hysteria. We went into the gift shop and as I stood there shaking, just short of wetting myself, my father thought it would be funny to drop a 4 ft. rubber snake around my neck from behind. Well, I brought the house down. I'm sure my screams are still echoing through that conservatory. My father nearly suffered a coranary, and I must say, the look of mortification on his face, looking back now, was priceless. He never, ever, tried anything like that again.

[hoxharding]

There was a story at least a couple of years ago-this man had hundreds of snakes in his house. They were not his,they invaded the place or something I guess.
Anyway, the place was crawling with the reptiles and he was not allowed to kill them because of a law. I don't know how it turned out.
I do wonder if in this case if it was a pet since they took it to the animal shelter.

[hoxharding]

Chicago locals beware the birds


Blackbirds may be tuneful but they are also fiercely territorial


Chicago residents have been sharing tips about how to avoid coming under attack by dive-bombing blackbirds.
Cyclists and pedestrians complain of being pecked after being chased for up to 100m (109 yards) by the creatures.
During nesting season, male red-winged blackbirds are known to defend their territory fiercely.
Some victims have made comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 thriller The Birds, and have named one of the worst offenders after the British director.
"Something just came down, pecked me in the head, took my hair and started flying away," said Holly Grosso, a local businesswoman and one of Hitchcock's recent victims.
"It's so bizarre. It's this little bird."
Stealth cat
Chicago ornithologist Douglas Stotz said blackbird attack hotspots included parks and areas along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Wear an oversized helmet with a trap-door with a stealth cat inside


One Chicago resident's advice


He said angry blackbirds could be deterred by a direct stare.
More radical suggestions aimed at fending off the swooping attackers have included mimicking the sound of a barking dog or even imitating a larger bird.
"Spread your arms and advance on him," one e-mail advisory suggested. "His pattern recognition will kick in making you look like a dangerous predator, such as a hawk."
Another correspondent suggested cyclists should install baskets on their bikes with a cat inside. "Or better yet, wear an oversized helmet with a trap-door with a stealth cat inside." Potential victims are taking new precautions to avoid the birds by changing their commuting patterns or cycling only with a helmet. Although it had been suggested that wearing any form of head covering was enough to prevent attacks, this myth was debunked recently when a man was swooped upon while wearing a baseball cap, the Chicago Tribune

[RoRo]

LOL this happens here too...mockingbirds will do the same thing during nesting season

[Maruz83]

OMG time to wear hats !!!

[seurtoFW]

Lord, we are inundated with Grackles here; there are, literally, millions of them. They love downtown where the tourists are. City gets out there with shotguns for the noise to scar them away, they have falconers come out with their hawks to fly, anything and everything to get rid of them. If you park under a tree, it sounds like its raining from all the bird poop.

[NOVSTORM]

We had some nasty bluejays make a nest in our yard. They bombedus if we tried to get in our front door, actually pecked the cats heads if they went out and screamed all the time. They were building their ne4st at this time I got on the roof and looked to see if there were eggs in it and saw there were none and i took the nest out of the tree. I have see robins do it too.
Anyone know how to get rid of crows and ravens LOL

[chirock]

I have to concur, they are pretty testy, some more than others. the ones in the 'burbs are almost WORST than the ones in the city!!!!

[cleanskull]

Nothing quite like the feeling of bird poop hitting your shiny clean shaven head. And being married to a women that will not let you forget it.

[hoxharding]

My parents had some really possessive birds on their deck a few years ago. Birds like to make nests in this hanging flower basket.
If you went on the deck or walked by the deck(on ground level) They would scream and yell like crazy.
After they left for the season, I peeked into their basket. I saw something that looked soft and thought they were feathers as part of the nest.
Know what it was? Guess?
Evidently one of their babies died in the nest,so they(and the other babies) sat on the dead baby and made the baby their part of their padded nest.
The body was soft and looked like it was alive and the head was all bones-no flesh. I played it cool-I screamed and ran off the deck -my Mother or Father got rid of the body of the bird.

[hoxharding]

http://www.lep.co.uk/manchesternews/...ons.4188579.jp
Baby birds are being taught to sing in karaoke-style lessons.
The orphaned fledglings are struggling with the dawn chorus after missing out on vital vocal training from their parents.

But now staff at an RSPCA wildlife centre in Cheshire are putting on sing-along sessions when the birds tweet away to a CD of their feathered chums in full flow.

The abandoned birds, which include blackbirds, starlings, thrushes, blue tits, great tits, robins and dunnocks, sing along with the ghetto-blaster for a couple of hours in the morning and evening, picking out their own species' calls.

The society introduced the singing lessons to centres such as Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich, after funding research into birdsong at Bristol University.

Dr Andrew Kelly, director at Stapeley Grange, said: "The ability to sing is extremely important to the males of most bird species because it is vital for them to form and then defend their own territory and to find a mate.

"Female birds in many species choose a partner based on the way they sing. Birds learn to sing from their parents so being reared in captivity can mean they don't know how to sing properly."

Birds reared in isolation can develop abnormal songs, which females do not like.

The four British RSPCA wildlife centres take in about 4,500 fledglings during the peak months of April to August. The average stay before they are moved to aviaries and then released into the wild is 50 days.

"At this time of year," said Dr Kelly, "we get thousands of fledglings brought in by people who see them on the ground, not able to fly, and assume they have been abandoned. But very often the mother is nearby and is still feeding them.

"The best thing to do is leave them alone but watch from a distance and call the RSPCA only if you're sure they're in trouble."

Some of the blackbirds will be radio-tracked later this year to check whether the birdsong CDs are helping their rehabilitation into the wild.

And as if karaoke birdsong sessions wasn't enough, the RSPCA is also keeping farm chickens happy by giving them footballs to play with.

[Boxofpandoraz]

I think the whole thing is pretty awesome!

But I do wonder how long it takes to teach the birds to read the lyrics on the screen before they start learning the karaoke...

[hoxharding]

Chickens like to play with footballs?

[ajlposh]

I feel sorry for those people. I once monitored somebody like that at a Special Olympics event for my school. He was a good person.

[Ken]

I wandered across Reggie Bibbs on FLICKR one day while wasting time. He has photos of himself with celebrities bringing attention to the diease and getting funding for research and such.
Tis very sad though; makes one appreciate they way we are without such problems...

[Seagorath]

I read the book on Joseph Merrick and Dr. Frederick Treves...very insightful read...and I LOVE the David Lynch movie. I hope these people find peace...and don't suffer much...they are truly good people.

[harlequin_clown]

Have you seen anything cuter?



This is my daughter's little hamster Skittles. I am not one for rodents but look at that little face!

[cleanskull]

[lisalouver]

I just wuv both of those little faces!!!