Satine Goes to Kindergarten

Satine and I went on a field trip to Challenger School this afternoon. As I mentioned the other day, Joe invited Satine and I to his class so the kids could learn more about snakes by actually seeing one. Joe talked with the other teachers and I guess they asked if I could come to their classes as well. So I went to show off Satine to three kindergarten classes. (I think they were all kindergarten classes.) I had a lot of fun. Little kids are great. I told about Satine and some general python facts. And then they got to ask me questions. If I left anything out they were sure to ask about it. A random question I got was "What happens if a bee stings the snake?" I have no clue as to how to answer that one. I told him bees don't sting snakes very often. But it is an interesting question. Then after they didn't have anymore questions they got to come up one by one and touch Satine if they wanted. (I advised the teachers to have the kids wash their hands afterward.) There was only two or three students in total who just wanted to look at her and not touch her. Since Satine still has shed-skin on her neck the kids got to see what it looks like when snakes shed. The rest of her body is pretty normal in color. I got the impression that everyone really liked seeing and touching a live snake. I had fun showing her to a bunch of five/six/seven year olds. Satine was her really sweet self for the the kids. I wasn't sure if she was gonna be scared of the groups or not. I figured I was there and she knows me so she felt comfortable. She only curled up once or twice, usually when I first walked into the class. She did go in my hair, which is down, once. The kids thought that was great. They didn't know why she would do that. I told her she looking for food or a dark place to sleep. Since she is a nocturnal snake she usually sleeps during the day and hunts at night. Because she is hungry when we went to the school she was flicking her tongue out and wanting to explore. It was great. The kids liked seeing her tongue. I was at the school for about an hour but it was really fun.

And now I am ready to feed Satine tonight and she can fully shed next week. I waited to feed her until after we went to the school. I wanted her to be snake-like and not digesting her food. It's not a good idea to hold her after she eats because she needs time to digest her food. I usually just wait until she has pooped. Then I know I can hold her without messing anything up. But I also don't handle her much when she is shedding. I let her try and shed all the skin herself.