New Arrival!

Today we got a Savannah Python which was found in near our place called Pembe Lagoon. It is about 2 feet long and as you can see a very young python. So, after doing some research on it, we are going to make a small cage for him.

There is a song by Alick and James Shitumba called ‘Uluse Lwalile Nkwale’, Python Song in Bemba a song that they first recorded back in 1956.This song, based on a well-known Zambian proverb, tells the story of the partridge and the python. A great fire was destroying the world, and as the fire drew near the python felt increasingly helpless. Desperate to escape the flames, the python cut a deal with his neighbor the partridge. The python promised that if the partridge flew him away to safety, he would never eat another partridge. So, the python coiled his body around the partridge and the two flew out away from the flames. As soon as they were safely away from the flames, however, the python started to get hunger pains, forgot about his promise, and ate the partridge. The moral of the story,  is, ‘do not be careless with your kindness, or you will find yourself in trouble one day’.

This will make a great conversation piece for visitors who come to the orphanage along with all the other animals on the property.

Cleaning the snake cage is a bi-monthly job. It takes skill and patience. To clean the cage, we take a protective chicken wire off plus the glass then the frame. Then we remove all waste which is the hair and bones of the digested rats and mice. Then clean the watering bowl and spray it with water. Thats it. It takes me about 30 min. to accomplish this.

If the snakes like these Puff Adders start towards the opening, I have a professional snake grabber that I use to push them back.

Here are one of my favorate kind of snake and that is the Gaboon Adder. There are only 500 left in South Africa and dwindling. I will be dedicating a tab on the blog on my animals.