The great talking point of our trip has always been our pets and the very fact that we had decided to bring such weird and wonderful pets on our adventure. Of course, its all very well to nod admiringly at our ability to transport and house 2 cats, 2 bearded dragons and a snake in our caravan but when it comes to babysitters for them, therein lies another challenge. While in Adelaide, we had several people on hand to look after the lizards, the frog and the turtle but as per usual, poor Derek the snake was fed prior to departure so he could sustain himself while we were away. The cats of course are easy.....they just go to a cattery for the alloted time. Now, despite our somewhat gypspy lifestyle, we still manage to get away from the van and explore places which radiate out from our main base. Now Derek is not such a small snake anymore......he is about 6 foot long and although he needs feeding on a less regular basis, keeping his tank clean is another problem. A large rat makes quite a big mess when it comes out the other end (stop reading all those who are squeamish) and the risk of disease to the snake is increased if tank hygiene is not kept in check. With poos the size of a small dog and enough liquid to saturate his newspaper base, he really needed watching to keep his tank clean. This particular fact had slipped our attention with the impending trip down south for 10 days.
Initially, we were going to leave both the lizards and the snake in the annex, as we have done in the past, and ask our caravan park neighbour to pop in every few days and give the lizards some fresh vegie mixture. Unfortunately they would have been in the dark for nearly 2 weeks as the annex would have been zipped up and secured in our absence. As people learnt of our trip home, we received several offers to look after the lizards but as usual Derek was left out. People offered to drop in, feed and keep an eye on our reptilian pets while we were away. The Ponders offered to look after the lizards under the pretence of babysitting but in fact wanted to trial them as new pets for their boys. It was thought to be a good idea to keep them at their house so everyone could get an understanding of what it would be like to have them as pets before any decisions or money outlay happened. They have been a huge hit with the whole family and it's only been the first day. We tried our best to explain all their habits but the family keeps discovering new and amazing things about our bearded dragons and I've been getting regular photos and updates on my phone.
It's really exciting when people get the same kick out of our pets as what we do especially when many people aren't overly keen to start with.
Two Fridays ago at school, the parents of one of Erin's classmates offered to take Derek off our hands while we were away. I thanked them for the offer but said that Derek would get his usual rat before departure and survive quietly until we got back. Many families in Erin's class live on semi-rural estates or properties around Mapleton and so are quite used to fishing a python or large spider out of their houses on a regular basis given the surrounding rainforest and bush in this area. Bryce's dad, although not having handled snakes very often, was not nervous about taking Derek for a while. I mentioned to Steve that someone had actually offered to take Derek and after some discussion, we decided that it might be a good idea for the sake of tank hygiene. I emailed the family and asked if the offer still stood because we would be grateful for the help. I made sure that they realised what a thankless task it would be to clean snake poo out of the tank but they were still happy to have him. Wow! This was a first.......putting Derek's tank into the back of the Nissan and taking him to babysitters for a couple of weeks. The temporary resting places for both reptiles at their respective houses were very nice in comparison to the plastic folding table in the annex. Our lizards had a very nice sunny spot right next to a window and the snake was placed on a buffet counter next to the dining table. I did comment that eating meals wouldn't be the same for a while with a snake watching closeby. Steve decided to feed Derek in situ so his host family could get a look at his talents when devouring a rat. No matter how 'grosed out' people are when you describe his eating habits, Derek never ceases to attract awe from an audience. So now we sit in our caravan preparing to head south knowing that all our critters will be in relatively safe hands for the duration of our holiday. Although they don't attract as many volunteer babysitters as say a guinea pig or a rabbit, for those who are willing to step outside their comfort zone and give it a go, our reptile pets can be an interesting addition for a short while.
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