Meet Nagini! (and me)

[Arirang]

Hello, all!

So, a little about the boring hooman before snek (if I posted about her first, you all would just leave afterwards ._.)

I am 21 and work at PetSmart (one of the really super awesome ones where everyone knows their stuff when it comes to snugglebabies) and have a higher than average number of pets. In addition to my beloved snake, who is actually my newest addition (I really think she is my favorite), I have a cat (Autumn, female DSH torti, 1 y/o), a Western Minor bearded dragon (Norbert, approximately eight months old. Can you tell I like Harry Potter yet?), four hermit crabs (Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel), and a 55g aquarium (freshwater, still being established- having a bit of difficulty with temperatures and die-offs ). I enjoy reading, video games (Guild Wars 2, anyone? I roleplay!), and Netflix. This is my first time owning a snake (actually, all of my pets except the hermit crabs are first-times, though I've had loads of experience caring for them at work long before I got any).

Now, the part you all came for...

I kinda hate typing on my phone, so pictures will come later. Nagini is a gorgeous royal python (I dislike calling them balls) who is considerably older than most PetSmart specimens- I estimate about a foot and a half, almost two feet long. The reason for this is quite interesting. She is /extremely/ friendly and sold almost immediately, but was returned within two weeks because she refused to eat. The owner did everything correctly, but she wouldn't eat. She was returned, and one of our reptile experts adopted her to nurse her back to health. Unfortunately, she had to be force-fed for several months, but never lost her curiosity and affability. Only a few weeks ago, she began eating on her own, and was brought back to be sold. Before she was adopted, she spent several months in isolation, where I got to interact with her a number of times during wellness checks (medically speaking, there was nothing wrong with her. The veterinarian did every test he could think of. She just refused to eat. We think she somehow got hold of live prey and didn't want frozen anymore.) I fell in love! When she finally returned to the sales floor, I bought her immediately. That was this past weekend, and she ate flawlessly tonight. Daddy is so proud of his Ickle Naggykins!

Since she is a bit older and larger, and positively fearless and gregarious, I decided that, like my equally bubbly beardie (I get so lucky with all my babies, except the gosh darn fish!), I would try her in a larger terrarium. And, like my beardie, she has flourished. Nagini lives in an ExoTerra 40g front-door terrarium with a distinctive Asian motif, like all my tanks. She has three beautiful hides- a cave in the corner, a hollow Buddha statue, and a natural reptile-safe barked log arch. I use ZooMed Forest Floor cypress mulch for that added umph to maintain humidity. There are a number of Top Fin and National Geographic plants in there to give it a natural look and add more cover for hiding. I have a large corner bowl that she seems to enjoy. Her tank is kept perfectly within parameters for both heat and humidity.

Nagini loves to explore, especially at night, and spends most of the day hanging out of Buddha's backside and checking out the dining room. When I'm on the other side of the tank, she'll pop out and check out what I'm doing. The cat hasn't seemed to realize there's a thing in the tank yet, so Nagini always seems to sneak up on her. It's funny! Nagini enjoys watching Netflix with me on the couch (though she seems to have more fun climbing onto my face and obstructing my view).