week 15: Akasha (Snake warning!)

I'm doing this post a little different from usual because I know some people are sensitive about certain kind of photos, and I would hate to scare off any of my precious readers :-) So I'm going to do the writing bit first, put in a huge warning and then the picture in the hopes that you will have to scroll down to see it.

The below information is likely to change as soon as I've spoken to my sister to confirm seeing at this is her snake.

Akasha is a constrictor, though she is still quite small. She is approximately 1.5 years old and her beautiful red/orange colouring is due to the fact that she is an albino (hence also the red eyes). She gets fed once a week and when she's warmed up a little she is very active, we suspect this is why she is not growing as quickly as her partner who is very lazy.

I was fortunate enough to arrive when they were about to be fed. With smaller mice, she does not need to constrict to kill her prey and can just swallow it whole, but she did have to use her body to restrict the movement of the mouse until she had it in her mouth. The mouse in this photo was still too young to have had its eyes open, making it easy prey.

Photography wise, this was taken outside on an overcast day, the snake was confined to a glass tank and if I'd thought it through I could have gotten some nice reflections off the walls, but with 2 snakes in the same tank and a curious cat walking around the outside, I just didn't quite manage. Its something to keep in mind next time I go visit them though.

WARNING: PICTURE OF SNAKE EATING A MOUSE