I was not planning on adding any reptiles...anytime soon. This weekend I was helping a good friend run a booth at a reptile show, and she mentioned a special snake who needed a home. Flower is a Peppermint corn snake, which is still a fairly rare and valuable morph. Unfortunately, she may also carry a gene that would pass a neurological disorder called stargazing to some of her offspring. My friend needed to find her a home where she could be assured that her owner would not breed her, but that gets complicated with expensive morphs....It's hard to trust that a stranger purchasing a valuable animal at a low price won't breed it even though it may carry unhealthy genes. Some breeders will cull (kill) offspring that are known to carry the stargazing gene(It seems cruel, but some people argue that it is the only way to be 100% sure they aren't bred), but obviously that's not the preferred solution.
When she offered Flower to me for free, I was floored. Peppermints are rare and beautiful, my friend was the first breeder to produce them ever, and I am honored to be trusted with her keeping. She is about three weeks old and very easy to handle. I spent all day today at the reptile show looking at her and holding her and just adoring her. Without further ado....here is my little Flower!
She is a fast mover, and hard to photograph, but I got four in-focus ones out of about thirty pictures.
"Oh, well, hello you!"
"What is this fuzzy stuff?"
"Maybe the white wall will show off my color better?"
"Here's my best smile!"
I also picked up a chameleon at the show!
Here is a picture of an adult peppermint! Flower will look similar, though the amount of pink varies. This snake and Flower are both quite pale, so I think she will be quite similar! (This picture is from Nanci of http://snickersnakes.com/ )
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