Goodbye, Carmen!

Yesterday I had to find a new home for my ball python, Carmen. I had no idea how emotional it would make me (but maybe it was my hormones).

Carmen wasn't originally my snake. She was purchased by an ex-boyfriend of mine about two years ago, and honestly I did not like her at first. I'm more of a dog person, and snakes are about as far from dogs as you can get (besides fish, I guess). But when we broke up last year, he could not take her & I stepped up to keep her. I didn't think it was right to make a commitment to another living thing & then give it away when it's first inconvenient (what a hypocrite!). So I had been trying to be a better pet owner for her since then & without really knowing it, I grew pretty fond of her.

Trying to get a good picture with the webcam

So when I moved into my current boyfriends house and brought Carmen, I was really upset when his mom said I could not have her there. She was scared and scared for her youngest son too. Honestly I thought it was kind of ridiculous to be scared of a tiny snake but hey, that's not my place to judge. I thought about it for a couple days (also waiting for her to forget about it or change her mind - but she had something (snide) to say almost every day) and realized it had to be done.

With a baby on the way the last thing I need is another living thing to care for & provide space for. Already we didn't have enough room for the 10 gallon tank Carmen was in, but she was getting too big for that & needed a 20 gallon. So I put an ad on Craigslist & set up a time to exchange her & all of her things on Sunday. My boyfriend helped me pick the person, a nice guy in the military (he lives on base). It was kind of a silly way to pick, but it turned out great. He had his full name as his email and used proper grammar and spelling, unlike a lot of other people who were just like "hey do u still have him?" (It's a girl! They couldn't even remember that from my post... definitely not choosing you!)

But he was a great choice because later last night I got these pictures in an email with the simple message "We gave her some room to stretch" I love that she is out & exploring her new tank. In the smaller one at my house she mostly stayed under the grey rock.

So I was sad (yes I even cried a little) when I first gave her away, but these pictures cheered me up a lot and I'm happy that she is in a better home.

Thanks to him for taking Carmen, & thank you for reading!