Hey Guys, I thought you might be interested in reading this, it’s the diary entry of the guy that is living with 40 venomous snakes trying to get the world record of 120 days, it’s long but fairly amusing!! (It starts on day 4??)
Day 4
Day 4 was the ice breaker day. I just realised and accepted the inevitable. I'm here, God willing, for the next three months. I need to accept that the snakes and their habits are a foreign concept for most people and that even a very common sense question to me, may not be common sense to everyone. Sleep up to here had been very difficult, but only because I let it be harder than it should. The snakes are going to climb in the bed after the warmth, I needed to accept that and just adapt to it. If I lie perfectly still, I should be fine. One may ask how you do this. The only answer I have is practice. I am a tumbler of note, and its still very difficult. But I think I am getting the hang of it now. I sleep a lot better at night.The one thing that stands out today is the snakes' behaviour. They are getting less and less unnerved by my presence in here, and as long as I don't venture into their safety zone they let me get on with my life.
Day 5
On this day I started getting into a routine with regards to showering and general things around here. The mambas have developed a strong preference for the laptop, and are incredibly tolerant of human interaction. So much so that we joke about using them for kids to play with at parties. As with all animals, they have their boundaries. They are more than happy as long as I don't overstep them. Even the Puff Adders have settled down nicely. This morning I accidently stepped on one, hard. In another case I would've expected a bite, but the snake just tried to get away, not even huffing and puffing. Weekdays are going to be long, I discovered. Not many people can come to the park, so I kind of left to my devices, which in here, aren't many.
Day 6
Fridays always seem like such an achievement. You've reached the end of a long week and the weekend will be your reward. I think its a feeling almost every working person gets at the end of the week, but for me the work was just beginning. Weekends would be busy. The newspapers, radio and television saw to that. Having tried to spend a reclusive life, I was in the middle of a massive turnaround, and it would take some getting used to. The one thing about journalists is that they want sensationalism. Everything you learnt about safe handling means nothing to them. "Put that mamba on your shoulders, then you hold that boomslang while you get that cobra to hood up" are some of the requests you get. Unfortunately a neccessary evil.
Day 12
Most of the days up to here were fairly routine, and nothing I would consider extraordinary happening. Some snakes climbing in bed, breaking dishes, destroying trees. But other than that, fairly calm.
This morning I decided to move the black mambas into the sun a bit.
They are shy with people staring at them, and I felt they could do with some basking time on my stoep. I left them to their devices and had a bit of a lie down, forced to lie with my feet on the ground because of the cobras on my bed. I woke up when I felt something crawl up my leg. I peered underneath my glasses just to watch a black mamba crawling up my leg....up my chest....stopping to rest on my hand. Then towards my face, tongue flicking in my nose, forcing a sneeze. But I knew that to sneeze now would be fatal. At this range I would be bitten on my forehead. As if to test my willpower, she lay there for awhile before moving off. I knew, as I watched a cobra slither between my feet, that I would still have thousands of these encounters over the next three months. The sooner I condition myself to get over it, the easier this sit in will become.
Day 18
Today a film crew came to do an interview, and to get some insane footage. Well they got both. Cobra helping me make coffee, mambas keeping my lap warm and puff adders keeping my feet warm. They also received a rather memorable mamba charge, in response to their entering my cage too fast. But all in all, a very professional crew.
Day 21
The days routines have kind of fallen into place. We just live around each other and carry on. But today had some memorable moments. To help stave off boredom, I take careful notes of the snakes and their behaviour during the day, with regards to certain stimuli (i.e the sun, watering the plants etc.). The mambas have taken a keen interest in watering time, even allowing me to cup some water from the sprayer for them to drink from my hands. Another stand out experience was waking up rather constricted at 12 am, with a Black Mamba neatly cuddled around my neck, and 4 puff adders curled lovingly around my feet. And everybody happy to lie like this until 4:30 am.
Day 22
Today one of my life long heroes, Austin Stevens, paid me a visit.
The one thing we agreed on, neither of us will ever do this again.
Even without the snakes, its a soul draining experince.
Day 24
A Black Mamba joined me in the shower. What an unnerving experience.
Having a mamba inspect you while you are in your birthday suit is....different. Having it inspect the "puff adder" up close and personal is even more unnerving. How do you explain a mamba bite on your tallywhacker?
Chuckle - thanks Martin!
http://redtailboa.net/forums/reptile...ve-snakes.html
Living with 40 Venomous snakes
