What I Did on My Thanksgiving Vacation, Part 6

On Saturday, we visited a snake park. It was interesting and educational, but there was always a part of me just waiting for one to jump out at me. They even have a Black Mamba, one of the deadliest snakes in the world (yay!). It was creepy. But, you know, I am up for trying almost anything once.

One of my favorite parts was the sign that said “We only have 3 Puff Adders, and they are very important to us. Please watch your step.” We found out later they only have 2, but they like to see people’s reactions. Hee hee : )

This is a type of poisonous tree snake. It was behind glass (they all were), but it freaked me out because it seemed like its eyes followed you all over the room.

Don’t look at this next one if you are squeamish. It is a _______ snake (no idea what the name is- I was distracted), feeding on a rat. I am no fan of rats, but I even felt a little bad for it. The snake kills its prey by squeezing it to death. I have video, but I think it’s too graphic for this blog. By the way, he swallowed it whole. Yum.

This is a black Mamba, eating a rat. Sorry for the reflection, but I didn’t trust the glass enough to be any closer. I think he looks evil. These guys are super-scary and hyper-aggressive. Sometimes people say they can fly, because they will jump from tree to tree to chase after you. My goal is to never encounter one in real life, because I think I would just wet my pants.

This is a Boomslang (or something like that). It is a poisonous tree snake, but I think its coloring is rather beautiful. Can’t say that for most of these specimens.

The highlight? We held a boa constrictor. For real. And of course I caught it on film, because I need to have visual proof to show people. It actually wasn’t that bad, but once is probably enough for me.  I am smiling on the outside, but the camera caught how I really felt for a second:



My husband, the snake handler:

I think I am really more a giraffe and zebra kind of girl.