I thought he was a goner,
the snake came back (though not exactly the very next day)…

*

Snakes are perfect office pets. They need to be fed every week or two, need fresh water more frequently, but don’t really care if you are out of the office for a long weekend. They’re also a great ice breaker – especially with kids. So – I had a corn snake (one that the boy and I had bred and hatched out) in a 20 gal. tank in the office. Early last fall I didn’t put the lid back on securely after showing him to a visitor; I came in the next morning to an empty enclosure. I searched thoroughly – nuthin’. I kept expecting him to turn up coiled behind a box on a shelf or out in the middle of the room early in the morning, but as time passed I figured he’d either found his way outside or had expired in a wall or dropped ceiling someplace.

I was watering some plants (aside – I need to post some pictures of the greenery soon – one of the ladyslippers is in bloom) in a neighboring room this morning and what should be coiled on a east-facing windowsill, waiting for the sun, but the long-lost corn snake looking pretty hale and hearty. I’m not sure where he’s going to end up – there’s a Pueblan milk snake doing office duty now – but it’s nice to see him again. I’m not sure whether he’s hungry, needs a little re-taming, or both, but once warmed up, he’s more than willing to strike. Maybe I should put up a no-smoking sign >grin<.