Top four starter snakes for beginners

anderemm014 Uncategorized December 3, 2020animals, Ball python, Corn snake, Garter snake, Hognose, Lifestyle, snakes 1 Comment

All four snakes in this article are non-harmful to humans and are in no particular order.

The Ball Python

The ball python (Python regius) is a medium-sized snake that only grows 5 to 6 feet females can grow larger and are generally larger than the males. There are around 3,500 different morphs or colors and patterns of the ball python. All the different types make for interesting new morphs that you get with breeding different morphs to each other. Herpetoculturists enjoy keeping these snakes for breeding purposes or having them as a pet. With good care, ball pythons thrive in captivity and are great for first-time owners of a snake. With the right care, ball pythons can live to around 30 years so you need to make sure that you can take care of them and are dedicated to them and their well-being. Ball pythons have recurved teeth that hold the prey until the Ball python constricts. Like all snakes, the Ball python swallows its prey whole and does not rip or tear it. Ball pythons are a great starter snake that you can have for many years.

The Easter and Western Hognose

The Eastern Hognose (Heterodon platirhinos) and Western Hognose (Heterodon nasicus) are known to have upturned noses and keeled dorsal scales. Both the Eastern and the Wester hognose only get to the size of about 35 inches and weighing about half a pound. The Eastern Hognose lives in gravely or sandy fields or in pine forests or river valleys to feed off of toads which are their primary food source. They often like to live near water and breeding grounds for the toads. The Western hognose lives in primarily sandy prairies, floodplains, and scrublands. Western Hognose mostly feed off of toads which they find burrowed in the sand. Eastern Hognose live an unknown amount of time in the wild but live around 6 or 7 years in captivity. Western hognose have a longer lifespan of 18 to 30 years.

The Corn Snake

The Corn Snake (Elaphe [Pantheropis] guttata) is a red or orangish-brown color snake and get 24 to 72 inches long. Corn snakes also have a white or cream and black checkered belly. Corn snakes spend a lot of time underground and hiding under rotten trees and bark. In the summer months, corn snakes are active in the day and night but prefer to be out at night. The corn snake is a constrictor and prefers to quickly strangle their prey. Corn snakes eat a variety of reptiles including other snakes, mammals, and birds. Female Corn snakes can lay 10 to 30 eggs in one clutch. Corn snakes are often mistaken for Copperheads although Copperheads have hourglass-shaped spots and are browner and meaner than Corn snakes.

The garter snake

The Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) is a yellow snake with dark green stripes down its back and sides. The garter snake eats mostly bugs, other snakes, and toads. The garter snake is viviparous or gives birth to live young whereas other snakes lay eggs. The Garter snake can have around 50 babies at a time. The garter snake, like most other snakes, swallows their food whole and is non-venomous but uses their slightly toxic saliva that does nothing to humans helps them capture their prey.

For more information on these snakes you can go to these websites:

https://www.reptilesmagazine.com/5-great-beginner-pet-snakes/

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1848865/perfect-pet-snakes-beginners#:~:text=The%20three%20best%20options%20for,ball%20pythons%20and%20garter%20snakes.&text=Corn%20snakes%2C%20Master%20says%2C%20are,readily%20available%20captive%2Dbred%20species.

Ball pythons:

https://www.reptilesmagazine.com/ball-python-care-sheet

https://www.hoglezoo.org/meet_our_animals/animal_finder/ball_python/

Hognose:

https://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/hetpla.htm

https://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/wildlife/profiles/hognose-snake.html

https://www.elmwoodparkzoo.org/animal/western-hognose-snake/

Corn snakes:

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/corn-snake

https://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/elagut.htm

Garter snakes:

https://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/thasir.htm

https://vtfishandwildlife.com/learn-more/vermont-critters/reptiles/common-garter-snake

John Wayne Gacy – ¨The Killer Clown¨

anderemm014 Uncategorized November 16, 2020History, JohnWayneGacy, Murders 0 Comment

John Wayne Gacy – “The Killer Clown”

John Wayne Gacy was an american serial killer who lived from March 17, 1942, to May 10, 1994. He raped and murdered at least 33 young male victims. All murders took place from 1972-1978.

Growing up

It is unclear what John’s childhood was like. Some say that he grew up with an alcoholic father who would beat him and his siblings with a razor strap if they misbehaved. Some people also suspect that his mother was assaulted by her husband, John’s father. John was often not able to be with or play with other kids at school because of a congenital heart condition. The condition made his father angry and his father used it as a reason to abuse him. Other experts say that he had a ¨fairly ordinary childhood¨ but was interested in sadism which got him in trouble with police in the 1960`s. John revealed that he had struggled immensely with accepting his attraction to men.

Johns victims

In 1968 John was convicted for sexually assaulting a teenage boy and was sent to Iowa State Men’s Reformatory where he had to undergo psychological evaluation. When police went to search his house they found a crawl space under his house. In the crawl space there were 29 makeshift tombs that had a total of 29 bodies, all young males. 8 of the bodies were never identified, and 4 other bodies were found in Illinois rivers. Experts believe the first victim died in 1972 and the last victim died only 10 days before his arrest in 1978. John started his killings with homeless male prostitutes and soon moved to killing suburban teenagers. John often lured young boys into his car. Robert Piest was one of the young boys who was lured into his car. Piest was offered a construction job by John who was the last person Piest was seen with. Ten days after Piest’s disappearance the police searched Gacy’s house. The police found evidence of involvement in many different crimes. The body of Gacy’s firs known victim, Timothy McCoy, was the first body to be found. McCoy was killed in 1972 after Gacy lured him to his home. After an unknown amount of time of investigating the police found numerous trenches with human remains under the crawl space under his house. Gacy admitted to killing ¨about¨ 30 bodies But later denied all of the murders. Gacy died by lethal injection on the 10th of May 1994.

For more information you can go to these links:

https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/john-wayne-gacy

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Wayne-Gacy

https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/chi-chicagodays-gacy-story-story.html

https://murderpedia.org/male.G/g1/gacy-john-wayne.htm

Ted Bundy

anderemm014 Uncategorized November 6, 2020History, murder, Ted 5 Comments

Theodore Robert Bundy also is known as ¨Ted Bundy¨ was an American serial killer, rapist, and kidnaper who lived from November 24th, 1946 to January 24th, 1989 when he was sentenced to death in Florida’s electric chair.

Ted Bundy’s family life

Ted was born in Burlington, Vermont, on the 24th of November in 1946 where he lived as his grandparents adopted child. Ted was an illegitimate child and was told that his mother was his sister. Elanor Louise Cowel who was Ted´s mother moved with Ted to Tacoma, Washington, after a few years of living with his grandparents. In Washington, Elanor met Jonnie Bundy they later got married. Ted showed interest in macabre and knives at an early age of three. As a teenager, Ted liked to peer into other people’s windows but never showed an interest in steeling the things he wanted from the houses he peered into.

Ted Bundy´s victims

Ted was in a relationship with a wealthy and had a long dark-haired girl who most of his later victims resembled. Bundy confessed to 36 murders that took place in 1970 but some experts believe it could be close to 100 or more. Most of the Bundy’s killings went in a pattern of raping his victims than beating them to death. Around 1974 when most experts believe Bundy began his murderous rampage many women in the Seattle area and in nearby Oregon many women went missing. Stories of Ted told by victims or victim’s families described him as a young dark-haired man as that’s who the victims were last seen with. Often he lured his victims into his car by saying that he was hurt and needed help. Their kindness often proved to be a mistake.

Ted´s downfall

Ted later moved to Utah in the fall of 1974 to attend law school. That year women started disappearing. The following year Ted was pulled over by police. The police searched his vehicle and found various weapons and burglary tools including a crowbar, rope, facemask, handcuffs, and various other weapons. In 1975 Ted got arrested for the kidnapping of Carol Daronch one of the victims that escaped Ted´s clutches. He got convicted and was sentenced to 1-15 years in jail. Ted escaped from prison two times in 1977. The first time he escaped he jumped out of the window on the trip to the courthouse. On Bundy’s second escape he murdered a 12-year-old girl. Tes was executed in Florida’s electric chair in 1989.

For more information go to https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/ted-bundy

Fat bear week

anderemm014 Uncategorized October 27, 2020Alaska, Bears, Current Events 0 Comment

In Katmai National Park in Alaska, this week is a week to remember. The national fat bear week started on September 30th and will go to October 6th. Created six years ago National fat bear week crowns the fattest bear In Brooke River.

This competition features the largest bears in that area. The competition started because the bears go into hibernation in early winter where they will lose one-third of their body weight. Katmai’s brown bears are there fattest in early fall late summer. Because they lose so much weight over the winter they spend their summers eating. Dozens of bears gather every day at Brookes river to catch their food which is most commonly salmon because of its rich taste and fat content.

The brown bears go through a bracket competition where people can vote for which bear they think is the fattest. The bear with the most votes will move forward in the competition. Only one bear can win the competition. The voting is open from 12-10p.m Eastern and 9 a.m to 7 p.m Pacific.

For bears gaining weight is not a bad thing, during hibernation they will not eat or drink. Female bears need to gain weight to support themselves and their babies ‘ growth and birth. Adult males need to gain weight to look large so they can secure mating opportunities and dominate one of the best fishing spots in the river. Juvenile bears face a totally different challenge. Often times it is their first winter on there own. They must learn to catch there own food and find there own home without the mothers’ help.

Katmai National Park is where the largest and healthiest amounts of Sockeye salmon still live on the planet. The bears weigh between 600 and 900 pounds before hibernation. Will a new brown bear be crowned the winner this year or will the same bear win again you can vote to find out. The brown bears in Katmai Alaska are the largest in the world. Brown bears eat around 90 pounds of food a day.

For voting, you can click on this link https://explore.org/fat-bear-week#about

For more information click here https://www.nps.gov/katm/learn/news/fat-bear-week-2020.htm

Warriors Pen

Author: anderemm014