Altoid & Other Cuties' Thread

[jamiebk]

Pumpkin's current fascination is snakes. He now has 4 stuffed ones (emerald tree boa, horned-nosed viper, timber rattlesnake, king cobra), and two plastic ones. Now he's asking for a real one... His grandfather (husband's dad) has 3-4 - he's a biology teacher. Not sure if Pumpkin is really up for the responsibility at age 6 1/2, and I worry that by this time next year he'll be fascinated by something else and we won't know what to do with the snake. I had said that after we moved, we could get fish, but he keep saying, no, he'd rather have a snake. I'm pondering the notion of getting fish and saying it's a 'test' - he does a good job taking care of them for a certain period of time (maybe until his birthday?) then we'll get him a snake. Will also consult with grandfather - see what he thinks... Any thoughts from you guys would be appreciated!

Snakes are not bad as pets but you've got to have a good annd appropriate habitat with a heat source such as a electricly warmed rock or a light. Most snakes I know eat "pinkies" which are newly born mice, devoid of hair. (You buy these in the frozen food section of your local pet store). Not sure he's ready for that, but I don't know your child so maybe. What goes in must come out so there is also some cage/habitat cleaning and maintenance required. Corn snakes are good first pets as they are "easy"...they do eat mice though and your cage must be escape proof because they are escape artists...

[analog]

myself i think a little green garter snake would be good for him, and i think they're 'wild' enough you could turn it back loose when his interest fades. Getting time of year you might catch one....

At about that age I found a little brown snake dead in our yard probably from lawnmower or a mockingbird. Friendly neighborhood druggist gave Dad a small bottle of Formaldehyde - for years i had a pet "pickled snake". He was colored like a rattlesnake but no fangs visible...

Ahh nostalgia. Grandson called last night to announce he's up on two wheels now, training wheels are off the Christmas bike... seem just yesterday i launched his Mom on hers....
"Sunrise, Sunset....quickly flow the years.."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpRRIo0WLNY

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

My own policy on snakes was "Not in My House!!!!", followed by some variant of No, NO WAY, Hell will freeze over, etc.

If you are unsure about the snake, make him keep his pet snakes at Grandpa's house. Seriously. Six-and-a-half is too young to be entirely responsible for a pet that has to be kept penned, warm, and fed live baby rats (ecch!) and if you aren't comfortable with snakes, and if your husband is not willing to accept care-and-feeding if the boy slacks off, then the snake belongs somewhere that it's wanted by an adult. Grandpa sounds like the best bet.

I managed to get along with lizards, I rather like Horney Toads, frogs are OK, turtles I can deal with. Not snakes. No way, no how.

[jamiebk]

myself i think a little green garter snake would be good for him, and i think they're 'wild' enough you could turn it back loose when his interest fades. Getting time of year you might catch one....

At about that age I found a little brown snake dead in our yard probably from lawnmower or a mockingbird. Friendly neighborhood druggist gave Dad a small bottle of Formaldehyde - for years i had a pet "pickled snake". He was colored like a rattlesnake but no fangs visible...

Ahh nostalgia. Grandson called last night to announce he's up on two wheels now, training wheels are off the Christmas bike... seem just yesterday i launched his Mom on hers....
"Sunrise, Sunset....quickly flow the years.."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpRRIo0WLNY

Careful with some of those garter snakes...when they are irritated or scared, the exude a rather foul smelling "sweat" that is impossible to get off of your hands etc. It's a deterrent from being eaten...kind of smells like...well...like poop or like something died...a L-O-N-G time ago.

PS....corn snakes live in just about every barn in America. So called not because they eat corn, but rather live on the mice that live on the corn. This is why they are in and around may of the silos.

[Schmeelkie]

Thanks guys! The more I think about it, I think he's a little young for the responsibility. Going to float the fish idea though. I've always liked fish - something very calming about watching them.

[jamiebk]

Thanks guys! The more I think about it, I think he's a little young for the responsibility. Going to float the fish idea though. I've always liked fish - something very calming about watching them.

You'll get no arguement from Selma (or me). Fish are great...fish eat and swim...change the water once in a while. You can buy a decent tank set for $30.00 and disposal of the inevitable "floater" is easy.

[piqaboo]

When you go snake, look for one that will eat crickets or slugs or snails. The local reptile store will know.
Its much easier to watch bugs go to their doom than it is to watch pinkies. It also takes fewer trips to the pet store.

Other than that, care is easy. Tank, stick-to-the-bottom heat pad (not super cheap but not super expensive either),
sand, couple flat rocks.
Clean tank only when beast is well fed. Anything hungry enough will try to eat little fingers.
Snake bites hurt, even from non-poisonous ones.

Altoid's not solely responsible for gecko care yet, but she does the bulk of it while I stand there 'just in case'.
She kinda gets a kick out of it, its one of her daily 'before bed' chores, and we get to watch the little guy hunt. Its amazing.

We're headed for fish, but making slow work of finding a location for the tank.

[Bones]

I always liked Archie Bunker's take on pets: "A goldfish is the best pet because about the time you get tired of it, it dies."

[Trumpetmaster]

I always liked Archie Bunker's take on pets: "A goldfish is the best pet because about the time you get tired of it, it dies."

then flush it down the toilet...

[Haggis@wk]

This is a photo of my father and me circa 1949. How many safety violations can you see? And this wasn't just staged, I have a 16mm film clip of Dad roaring up and down the street with me in the basket.

[piqaboo]

Great pic!
You were a really cute baby w a handsome dad.

Dollars gets you donuts that your dad knew there were no potholes on the street before he took off.

We have pix of my sister and I riding in the scoop of a bulldozer my dad rented.
My mom came out and saw us and .... lets say that the activity came to a halt. Her memories of the incident are not as fond as ours are.
I can now see her point.

[BigJon]

Your dad looks like my dad . . .

[dai bread]

I have to remind myself from time to time that there wasn't the traffic on the roads that there is now. In the little dormitory suburb I grew up in (circa 1949), there was only one private car. The other three were owned by the doctor, and two vegetable pedlars. The roads were our playground almost as much as the surrounding countryside and the beach.

[piqaboo]

We've never been allowed to play in the street. We've always been on thru-streets, and my dad was in a few too many bicycle.car wrecks growing up. My sister and I grew up across the street first from a nice grassy park w playground, then later from 300 acres of undeveloped hills owned by So Cal Edison. Altoid is restricted to the backyards, as there's no park in a reasonable walk/bike ride distance.

The grassy park is still there. I took Altoid to it a few years ago. Its 2/3 of the way to the Gparents, so we may well go again.

[Shapley]

We played in the streets, even though we lived on a through street. Then, again, my hometown was not exactly a 'big city'. We used to play 'street hockey' with bent sticks and flattened beer cans, among other pasttimes.

[dai bread]

One of the highlights of this time was visits from my aunt in a big Govt. chauffeur-driven Chrysler. Aunty worked in Parliament, and periodically her Minister would have business in our town, and brought his stenographer with him. Aunty would take the opportunity to visit us. When the car came for her, my brother and I would be given a ride a mile or so along the road, and dropped off. We'd walk back home thrilled with our touch of luxury.

I remember going through the Manawatu Gorge in one of those cars on another occasion. The speedo read 70 mph. That's a speed I'm not comfortable with on that road even now in my much more recent car, so American car design must have been pretty good at the time. I remember the back (where I was) swaying noticeably, which would be why I looked at the speedo. No seat belts, of course, let alone air bags or child restraints.

Ah, nostalgia.

[analog]

The speedo read 70 mph. That's a speed I'm not comfortable with on that road even now in my much more recent car, so American car design must have been pretty good at the time.

Ah nostalgia!

In the fifties Chrysler became interested in handling commensurate with the horsepower craze.
There exist some old films, about 1958, of US luxury cars being put through slalom courses - the Chrysler Saratoga did way better than anything Ford or GM had in its class.



Of course Chrysler then had neither a Thunderbird nor a Corvette, instead they were in cahoots with Europeans providing French builder Facel-Vega with huge Desoto powerplants.

Here's a '58 at Barrett Jackson now:


with Chrysler's mid-50's 392 hemi engine:




a.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

American car design. Heh. Did anyone have a Corvair or an Edsel in the family?

OTOH, what wouldn't I give for a first-year Corvette or Mustang? :want:

[jamiebk]

OMG...Analog, I LEARNED to drive on a '59 Chrysler New Yorker...413 V8 engine with a Torqueflight tranny...that car was still laying rubber when it was 13 years old! It was a seafoam green color and had the same relative look as the one you pictured. The backseat was a dream...easpecially for a 16 year old high school kid like myself!

[Schmeelkie]

I remember long trips to NJ where we would leave about 6pm after my dad got home from work. Big brother and I would have blankets and toys in the back of the (probably) early '70s station wagon. We'd spend most of our time back there - sometimes just lying back and watching the stars once it got dark. At the time my folks avoided the interstates to avoid tolls, so in some places it got REALLY dark... I always feel bad when I have to take our kids on long trips and they have to be strapped in the whole time. Which is why we got the portable DVD - a consession to the fact that they can't move. We also stop a LOT more than my parents ever did. We'd stop once on a 6-6.5 hour trip then, now probably every 1.5-2 hours. At least with the van, husband or I can climb into the back to read or otherwise interact with the kids - my folks were pretty much stuck in the front of the station wagon.