ReptileChannel Mother’s Day Contest Winners

I was worried that I wouldn’t be allowed to keep them since they got out, so I quietly started searching for them. No luck.

Later that day I heard a scream come from the laundry room. As my mom was doing laundry she picked up a handful of clothes and there were my corn snakes. She flipped out and started yelling for me to get them. I took my corn snakes back to their enclosure, locked the lid, and surprisingly my mom still let me keep them.
–Eric

Two years ago I was camping at a site on an island that was a ferry ride away from my aunt and uncle’s house on the coast. The island I was on had no predators, so the place was overrun by animals such as newts and snakes.

One of the days I was there my aunt, uncle, grandpa and my mom (she does not like camping so she stayed with my aunt and uncle) came to the campsite. The campsite was right on the ocean, so it had lots of small birds and mice for the snakes to feed on.

While at the campsite I saw a garter snake slithering into the bushes. I just couldn’t resist! I quickly grabbed the snake, and as soon as I did it turned around and bit my pinkie finger. (I have been bit by snakes before, but it was when my mom was not there.) As soon as the snake bit me my mom came running over, grabbed my hand, and began to try to suck out the venom.

It was just a garter snake – there was no venom! I told her this, which finally convinced her to stop sucking on my finger.
–Spencer

I rode my bike to town while my mom was at work and I bought the gecko, a 10 gallon cage and some bedding. I went home and set everything up and fed my new herp some crickets. My mom gets home and goes into my room to get the laundry and she starts freaking out about the lizard now residing in my room. But luckily, my mom was impressed that I had saved up to buy my Tokay and she let me keep it.
–Chris

One day I caught a VERY big bull frog. I put him in a cage with a lid and everything else he would need.

The next morning the bull frog managed to escape at 6:30 in the morning. He left a trail of foot prints all the way to the kitchen. My mom came downstairs and was HORRIFIED to see that a bull frog was sitting in the middle of her kitchen floor!

She woke me up panicked and said that I had to put the frog back in its cage. When I picked up the bull frog it SCREAMED and SCREAMED like a little kid. It then jumped out of my hands and landed right on top of my mom’s foot!

Later, we took him back to the pond and let him go. My mom will never forget that scare.
–Christine

As a result of the “No Snakes Rule,” many “toy” snakes live in our home, like the wooden ones that are painted, and several plastic ones as well.

One evening, the scream came and it was a serious one! Mom’s initial thought was, “that’s cute, a plastic snake on the computer – they got me.” But when the tongue flickered, it was another story! The black snake, after scaling the wall to enjoy some baby birds on a high window ledge, came in to warm himself on our computer.

I caught the intruder and let it go in the woods. It took her an hour to calm down and agree to stay at home that night versus her plan of staying at a local hotel.

Nobody even asks if the “No Snakes Rule” can be lifted yet – it’s still too soon!
–Jeff

I went away to camp for a week while my leopard gecko Lizzy was still very young. Lizzy had to eat every day, so my mom agreed to feed her.

We found out that week that Lizzy is afraid of my mom. I had friends open her cage before and not had any problems, but for some reason whenever my mom opened it, Lizzy ran and hid and would NOT, under ANY circumstances eat with my mom around.

When I came home, my mom was very upset, she thought Lizzy was sick.  I rushed in to check on her, and she came right out to see me and ate everything I gave her. Still to this day, my gecko hides whenever my mom visits.
–Debbie

I have always tried to help her get over her fear of snakes, but she is still really afraid of them. When I bought my own house, she knew I would have snakes as pets.
 
I was out one day and my mom dropped by my house, I was expecting her but I was running a little late. She has a key so she let herself in. The house wasn’t a wreck, but it needed dusting and she started to do some light housework while waiting for me. I have told her many times before, “My house, I’ll clean it.” But mothers always want to help.

Little did she know however, that my albino Okeetee corn snake had escaped his enclosure. The corn snake had decided he was content coiled up on a small end table by a window. At some point mom was busy dusting away and thought, “What the Heck is that under the end table?” She grabbed it thinking it was clutter of some kind and immediately realized it was a snake!

Just as I was walking up to the house I Heard “The SCREAM” from the road. The corn snake slithered behind the T.V. and proceeded to curl up there. When I came in the house she was standing in my kitchen all freaked out and told me there was a snake in the living room. I told her that’s not possible … until I looked behind the T.V.

My mom still comes over – I give her credit because snakes REALLY scare her. These days, she doesn’t clean or touch too much when she’s here. I think she’s afraid of another “Close Encounter of the Limbless Kind.”
–Todd