Saoirse - An Update

[frankykeno]

Just thought I'd update any of you that remember our W/C adult, Saoirse. I just happened to be checking records and noted that we are coming up to 2 years she's been with us (this September actually).

Saoirse, as you might remember, came in severely underweight for an adult at only 600 grams and with a history in captivity of parasites, a pet store, a few owners and then us. No one ever got her to eat as far as we were told. With a lot of help from forum members, Adam in particular, we got her to eat. She does however always winter fast and nothing we do seems to affect that. Come fall Saoirse stops eating, come spring she starts eating....so her weight gain has been slow but steady.

The really neat thing I wanted to share is her difference this spring. Saoirse has always been a very shy eater. She won't eat if the lights are on, if anyone's moving near her tub, etc. She usually eats then goes back to her hide immediately. This year it's like a whole new snake emerged from her winter rest LOL. We noticed right off after the fast she was a much more aggressive hunter, then last night she literally raced across her enclosure, snatched her rat right in front of Mike and ate is so fast I think it barely had stopped kicking! Normally she would immediately go hide...not last night. Right back into a feeding position and tracking us constantly. So we offered her another small rat and WHAMMO she went again for it in a manner very unlike our shy, quiet Saoirse!

What a pure pleasure it is to see this from her! We couldn't be more pleased that even if it took 2 years, our Saoirse is finally showing some really strong behaviours when it comes to feeding. She's also very much more relaxed for handling time. Normally she's not big on exploring but lately she's also far more confident in that as well, reaching and stretching to get places she normally would never try for.

Just had to share our happiness in this precious snake.

[Laooda]

That's great Jo! Congrats on the success with her! She's a lucky girl indeed!

[rabernet]

She's come a long way! I remember when you brought her home and how much you worried over her. So proud of her and you guys!

[frankykeno]

Aww thank you both ladies. Thank you Robin for being such a dear friend. You've cheered Saoirse along, always worried along with me as she fasted and I know she's got a special place in your heart too. It's been wonderful to share our collections as they grew by leaps and bounds over the past two years.

We're hoping that Saoirse might be able to bred this fall. Seems for me that her being able to have offspring will be the final triumph in her long story from the wilds of Ghana to a tub in Ohio.

[Freakie_frog]

Jo it jsut goes to show you that with the right info it can be done.. GOOD JOB!!!

[northerngirl05]

i'm so excited for you mom...and i'm glad that saoirse is happy...good luck!!

[cassandra]

Go wild woman! =D

[bearhart]

Saoirse, as you might remember, came in severely underweight for an adult at only 600 grams and with a history in captivity of parasites, a pet store, a few owners and then us. No one ever got her to eat as far as we were told.

I'm just curious here - do you mean she was an adult that had never eaten? Is that possible?

Also, I'd like to congratulate you. I was just wondering the other day why there seemed to be a special joy to keeping a snake as opposed to, say, a cat. I eventually decided that it was because, as creatures, they are so alien to us. Keeping them is especially challenging and that makes having a happy snake a real accomplishment!

[recycling goddess]

not that is some good news! although i haven't been here for your entire journey with her... i have been here for a good portion. as soon as i saw her name in the thread title i had to click on it.

congrats to your all... what a great job you've done. patience and knowledge sure goes a long way!

[frankykeno]

I'm just curious here - do you mean she was an adult that had never eaten? Is that possible?

She had no history of eating in captivity. She was at some point harvested somewhere in Africa, imported to the States and ended up in a pet store in southern Michigan. She had a large wound perhaps from a hook injury, we'll never know and her first owner, a vet tech had her treated for both internal and external parasites and got the wound to close properly. She never ate for the store or that owner.

She was then taken on by someone with a snake collection and that lady tried very, very hard to get her and another wild caught adult to eat. When the other wild caught passed away, that lady was heartbroken and didn't want to face this female possibly dying too. I knew her from another forum and Mike and I offered to take Saoirse and do our best with her. We had spoken to Adam, a few other folks and our vet first and determined that if Saoirse never ate and nothing could be done, she'd be humanely euthanized rather than watch her starve herself to death.

Due to some wonderful advice and support, we got her to eat and it's been a steady progress ever since from a once terrified, balled up skinny adult to a confident, comfortable with handling and lovely female whose almost back to good breeding weight. Even her scar, once so big and white, has healed quite a bit.