Fear Not

When and how do people develop a fear of snakes? Often these fears begin in childhood, whether experiencing one’s own frightening incidents or adopting a parent’s fear. We have even perused a children’s reptile book with pictures demonstrating snakes attacking an unwary adult or lurking in wait with scowling menace for innocent victims. Rather than …

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R.I.P. Spike

“He’s never been on the ground before, has he?” I asked Chuck as he lay our 26-year-old California Kingsnake, Spike, on the floor of our patio. “No, he hasn’t,” said Chuck. “I thought he might like a little vitamin D.” For an animal that might not have passed his sixth birthday in the wild, it …

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Bitten!

“There are usually only two reasons a snake will bite,” Chuck tells people. “They bite to protect themselves or to get food.” A visitor to a regional park near us was recently bitten for one of those reasons, even though he likely thought he was doing the right thing. Laced with hiking trails, the park’s …

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