Marty’s photos of the day #4437-4438: I may have the weirdest 4th of July tradition. Every Independence Day and every Christmas week (usually a few days after Christmas) I clean my rainbow boa’s cages. Of course, whenever the snakes defecate, I spot clean the mess. But twice a year I take everything out, wash all the plants, sanitize every surface, and put in new substrate. Even the snakes get baths!
Since there are two cages, the process usually takes five to six hours and about fifteen to twenty trips up the steps to the kitchen and laundry room. The reason I select July 4th and Christmas week is because Deb and I both have home offices, and I like to blast rock ‘n’ roll throughout the house while I’m cleaning, without having to worry about either of us missing a business call.
While snake cage cleaning days are almost as unexciting as tax preparation days, I do get a sense of accomplishment when I’m done. Creating a visually interesting rainforest environment is an art, and I always enjoy viewing the cages when they’re complete.
Unfortunately, what looks pretty to a human looks completely different to a snake. Being curious creatures, the snakes will completely explore every inch of their cages between now and tomorrow morning. Sometimes, but not always, they’ll do their “cobra thing” overnight and flatten everything.
The top photo shows the girl’s cage: Eve (age 22) and her daughter Lara Flynn Boa (age 11).
The bottom photo shows Adam’s cage (age 22).