Yeah, that's right, a snake. Today started like any other. I casually played on my computer for a little before deciding to get a bath. I didn't take long and I returned to my room to get dressed for the clothes I had taken with me I couldn't fit in. Normally I wouldn't be typing about things like this, but this is how I encountered my "little friend". I was rummaging in my closet for a different outfit and took one up off one of those little things that hang down in your closet that has several "shelves" for putting clothes on. I thought nothing of this when I picked up the outfit and tossed it over to my bed. I'm not exactly sure what had happened during this time, I'm assuming I tossed the clothes to my bed as I do not recall and reason for walking back to my closet. Well, the next thing I knew I looked at my feet and saw a small, 8 inch snake.
First things that went through my head were not fear but actually confusion. Several things came to mind within only a few seconds. First, I thought "Oh, a toy snake." as the animal was sitting in the common curvy pattern that you see typically in toy snakes. Next thing that came to mind was "How'd a toy snake get here?" then it was "Wait, I don't own a toy snake like that." then finally it was "Ohshit I think it's real!" and I jumped back and screamed mostly from shock and not knowing if it was a venomous snake. I know what they look like but I wasn't going to stand with my bare feet right next to it while I searched for the identifying features.
My first thought after realizing it was real was that it's pattern sorta looked like a Diamondback Rattlesnake but I was fairly certain I had not seen a rattle on it nor did I hear a sound from it. It really didn't seem to notice me nor treat me with much regard aside from slithering off as soon as I jumped back and screamed. My sister was in my room within seconds of me screaming. She asked what happened and as soon as I explained she asked where it was and when I told her it had gone into my closet she told me to just get out of the room despite me not having a shirt on. She was nice and let me borrow one of hers. I told her the snake looked like a Diamondback by it's markings but it didn't make a sound nor did it look to have a rattle. Of course, it being a bull snake, the Diamondback assumption makes sense as their markings are similar, especially at a glance.
Leighanna was texting our mom about what was going on and keeping her updated. She also talked to my dad and he sent his friend "Shorty" over to help out with the snake since he was closer and could get to us faster. Leighanna was freaking out a bit once her initial adrenaline rush wore off. We waited around till Shorty and a friend of his I didn't recognize came to the house and we led him to my closet. The pretty much tore up my closet searching for the snake and came to the conclusion that it was under the bath tub since it was quite warm in there since I had just gotten a bath and it had not cooled down yet. They thought at first it likely got there through a crack between the wall and the floor but then realized there was a panel cut in my wall where it more likely had gone through. After removing the panel Shorty soon saw the snake but was unable to do anything about it as it was too far but he reassured me it was a bull snake.
I was immediately relieved as soon as he said that and that their markings are similar to a rattlesnake's. See, thing is, I like snakes. I don't like the venomous ones but I am not afraid of the non-venomous ones as the worst that can happen is a painful bite. Shorty and his friend still treated me as though I was terrified of snakes and that particular one despite me saying I was no longer afraid knowing what species it was. I think it didn't help my sis was joking about "coming to rescue me" although that's half true as I would have stood in confusion in my room for some time had she not come. My mom was also still worried but I honestly was no longer afraid since it was a bull snake. Another good thing knowing that, is the fact it means we don't have any rattlesnakes on our property as Bull snakes eat rattlesnakes. Also, according to Shorty, bull snakes are not very aggressive and will only bite when threatened and prefer to just run away.
The two men said they were disappointed when they were unable to catch it as they had come eager to catch a snake. Honestly, I think I'm glad they didn't catch it because I think they would have killed it and considering a bull snake poses no threat to me, that just wouldn't be fair. Plus, it was a really young one seeing as they said it was only 8 inches as opposed to my crap guess of a foot and a half. Honestly, looking back at my very fuzzy memories of that snake, it was kinda cute. Despite my encounter, I still really like snakes. Just not when they shock me and appear out of nowhere in front of me. Really, as long as they aren't poisonous or big enough to crush me by constriction, I'm not too afraid of snakes and I really quite like them. I do wish I had been able to get a pic of him. From my memory, he looked like he might have been rather soft, at least on his belly.
I calmed down after this incident rather quickly but my sister seemed rather shaken for a good while. Shorty suggested getting mothballs and tossing them inside the area blocked by the panel then to get some foam sealer to seal it off. He said this would drive it off and make it leave the same way it had come. I don't mind him being on our property, just not in our house.
Not wanting to stay alone in my destroyed room I took my laptop to my mom's room and made myself comfortable on her bed while my sister played on my mom's computer. I wanted to put my closet back together but I had to wait for my mom to come home with mothballs and the foam sealer. Leighanna wanted to play a game with me on the computer but we never found anything we wanted to play so she just played zoo vet 2 while I played Spore and Facebook on my laptop.
I'm not sure what brought it up, but my sister mentioned needing an Iowa quarter for her 50 states map, it being her last one. Wanting to make her happy I ran to my room to find one for her as I had already completed my map so any I had I could give her. I have some quarters so I searched through them all looking for one. Nothing. I took so long my sis came looking for me and she helped me look and we found nothing in all of them. I then had an idea and asked her to retrieve my purse. She brought it to me and I took out my wallet, knowing I had about 3 dollars of quarters in there. I searched the small amount of coins just hoping I would find the correct one. One by one, none were the right one then I stopped on one, unable to believe what I had in my hand. I let out some sort of victorious sound and it got my sister's attention and I quickly handed it to her. She was so very happy and I was happy I found it for her. I was thanked with a big hug and her exclaiming she loved me. It was pretty funny. I had to check out her finished map when she hammered it in. After that, we were bored and grouped my spare state quarters to see which were the most common and most rare of the ones I had. We agreed we'd never do that again, it was so annoying.
My mom soon came home with the mothballs and sealer and soon after she was in my room to get the job done. The mothballs stink horribly as they all do. She tossed quite a few in the hole then sealed the gap between the walls and floor then sealed the panel as well. I was happy the snake wasn't coming back but I disliked the strong mothball scent left in my room. I used some AirWick aerosol spray to reduce the stink. It helped a bit but I still ran from the room. By this time it was nearly time for House to start anyway so I had no use of my room at that point. We started water to boiling for supper 30 min before and nearly forgot about it till a random commercial. My mom took care of it though. We had macaroni and cheese. It was really good. My mom took the pot of food and put it on her bed so that we didn't have to worry about animals getting into it while w were watching. I found this hilarious as she's never done that before. But hey, it was also convenient for those of us wanting more.
I stayed in my mom's room for awhile along with my sister as we watched a cake show but my sister left soon after it finished. I stayed a little after that but I left when I noticed my mom was tired and I wanted to let her sleep. My mom was concerned about whether I would be okay sleeping in my room tonight. I told her I was fine since the snake no longer scared me.
I have never seen a live snake that wasn't contained as a pet or in a nature center. Really, I felt both startled and a bit scared as well as slightly excited to see a wild snake for the first time. Part of me hopes it's my last, but part of me hopes it's not. I just hope if I have another encounter with a wild snake, it's not with a venomous one. I know that many people would not have reacted well to this situation and that's understandable. I was freaked out pretty bad as I didn't really have time to investigate to tell if it was a "safe" snake or not. I know others would I don't really remember what else I want to put here. I know I'm missing something but I'm so scatter brained it's not even funny.
I think that's about it. If there's something I missed then oh well. Anywho, goodnight!
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