How could I forget the SNAKES!!!

A good friend of mine, Sarah, is married to a herpetologist... a snake scientist. Bob works at OSU and has a snake lab on campus. For a several years we've talked about going on a tour of the lab and we finally did it last week! Sarah also invited fellow snake-o-phobe, Heidi.

Bob was great. He brought out a couple of the male red sided garter snakes for us to hold. Of course the kids were all over it. Wren, Sarah and Bob's daughter, was completely comfortable holding the snakes and showed us how it's done. Almost immediately Kahlil had a snake winding around his hand and settling in for a little quiet time. He seems to be a natural snake charmer. Jack liked holding a snake, but lost interest pretty quick. Not unusual for a two year old. Langston wasn't really into it as snakes aren't fuzzy like dogs, cats, and his favorite blankets.

For Jay and the two snake-o-phobes, Bob moved really slow and the whole time he was talking about the snakes and answering questions. He started with letting us touch them while he held them. This gave us a chance to feel their skin and see that they are not cold and slimy as they are often portrayed. Rather they are smooth and warm. Then we moved on to holding the tail to get a feel for how their bodies move; there are lots of muscles under that skin. Then, when feeling up to it, we could hold the snake and all both did it! I was very proud of us.

After holding the snakes, we went into the snake room where all the snakes are kept. There were dozens of aquariums with 2-5 snakes per aquarium. I'm guessing there were a couple hundred snakes in a pretty small space. They were all the same red sided garter snakes Bob studies... the females were big and several were about to give birth. The males, like the ones we held, were much smaller.

Then to end the tour, Bob gave us copies of the children's book that was written about him and his studies. He even signed them for us :-)

It was a great experience. I really appreciate Sarah and Bob being so kind and understanding. It must be strange to have job that some people find petrifying. And I'm totally proud of Heidi and I for going, holding the snakes, and showing our kids that snakes are nothing to be feared. I think we rock!