Belgrade Trip – Belgrade Zoo and Snakes
I don’t like snakes. It’s nothing personal and I don’t want them hurt (well, unless they’re attacking me) but they always look shifty to me. I’m quite content with their natural habitat being behind glass, so this whole zoo arrangement is perfect for me. I can look at them and they can’t attack me, or at least, as long as the zoo-keeper is competent. This is a boa constrictor and they can live for 30 years shuffling around in Central and Southern America. The zoo have a fun fact which is that these snakes have two lungs, one is a small nonfunctional one and the other is large and very functional, all designed by evolution to fit into their bodies.
A Burmese python and apparently (I’m just reading this from the zoo’s display boards, I don’t claim to be a snake expert and that isn’t something I’d want to be really as I’d have to look at them a lot) they can live for 20 years if they get lucky. They were once just in southeastern Asia, but some people in the United States decided they’d make a lovely snake and then some escaped and now they’ve an invasive species to Florida.
A reticulated python and the zoo notes that these are amongst the few snakes that prey on humans. It’s the world’s longest snake and the damn thing can swim, so they have been found some way out in the water.
A corn snake and these are one of the most commonly kept snakes as a pet. I have no idea why someone would want one of these in their house. But, each to their own, I suppose not everyone wants a furry pet they can cuddle.
My two loyal blog readers can pat themselves on the back if they guessed that this was an Honduran Milk Snake. As it looks like a coral snake, lots of predators stay away from it. Reading up on this, I’ve discovered you can keep one of these as a pet, but it must be kept alone otherwise it might eat the other snake.
This Californian Kingsnake is treating its water bowl as something it should sit underneath.
This horrible thing (yes, this is a verbal attack on snakes) is a black-headed Python. I mean, perhaps he’s lovely and I shouldn’t judge, but this one was on manoeuvres and he spent a lot of time eyeing me up as prey I thought.
See? Definitely didn’t like me. These snakes are from northern Australia and can be kept as a snake, but apparently it’s a premium priced one and they don’t come cheap. Personally, I think I’ll save my money for craft beer….
It was all nicely laid out in the zoo’s reptile enclosure, although that’s enough snakes for me for September….
