Cold blood, full hearts: Lafayette Science Museum invites all to snake wedding
You are cordially invited to the wedding of Ms. Julius Squeezer and Mr. Thor at the Lafayette Science Museum.
He is big and muscular, playful and gentle. She is resilient and loves being cuddled.
On Saturday, the Burmese pythons will be joined in holy matrimony.
The science museum is partnering up with Schoolhouse Safari to host a mock wedding ceremony and an array of other demonstrations and events.
Siena Thomas, founder and educator of Schoolhouse Safari, said the family-friendly festivities are open to the public all day for the price of admission to the museum.
"We're celebrating Valentine's Day by trying to show people all animals need love, not just the cute bunnies and puppies, but the scaly animals need love, too," Thomas said.
The betrothed nope ropes plan to tie the knot at 4:30 p.m.
Escorted by Girl Scout bridesmaids, Julius Squeezer and Thor will be walked down the aisle to the mellow tones of Jourdan Thibodeaux's fiddle.
Normally kept in separate enclosures, the limbless lovers will get a chance to intertwine at the altar — in this case a giant pink-and-purple heart-shaped stick, custom made by crafty Schoolhouse Safari animal handlers, Thomas said.
In attendance that day will be a menagerie of their friends — hedgehogs, tortoises, exotic birds, lizards and snakes of every size, Thomas said.
How do the other animals feel about this special day?
"They're thrilled," Thomas said. "I think we do a lot of feeding and giving of snacks, so they associate being petted and played with food. We give our animals a pretty spoiled life."
All the animals will be on display on Saturday at the science museum. People will have opportunities to take photos and interact with them.
People can slither and slide through an hour-long reception with dancing, giveaways, photo ops and cake after the wiggly wedding ceremony.
These devoted danger noodles are neither dangerous nor noodle-y.
Two-year-old Thor is a whopping 10 feet long and weighs 35 pounds.
"I call him my giant pair of Mardi Gras beads because he likes being thrown around people's necks and just hang out," Thomas said. "He's got the personality of a puppy dog."
The scaly bride, at 7 years old, is 7 feet long and weighs 20 pounds.
Julius Squeezer is comparatively small, Thomas said, because she was mistreated by her first owner. She was neither fed nor given water for almost an entire year.
Julius Squeezer persevered against the odds.
Six years ago, she was surrendered to Zoo-Zoom, where her new owners worked to get her healthy and comfortable around people, Thomas said.
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