Names for the Baby Corn Snakes. :) Warning: Pictures

[Ladyhawk]

As some of you may have read, I have recently acquired eight baby corn snakes and I have names for most of them.

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I have three Okeetees: one male and two females:



I have decided to name the male "Kernel Cobb." I want to name one of the females after the Native American corn goddess...wasn't that "Selu"? The search feature isn't working, so I couldn't go back and see if that is right. What's the correct pronunciation?

One of the females has the wonderful belly checkerboard pattern from head to tail, which is a bit unusual. I'm wondering about a name that would acknowledge this feature, but "Checkers" sounds like a male name to me. What do you think?

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I also have three albino or reverse Okeetees: one male and two females:



The male has an inordinate amount of white. He should be a real looker when his orange comes in. In fact, some of his blotches are completely eclipsed by white. I wonder if the blotches will come in. I doubt it. If not, he'll have a pattern of white blotches on his sides. I've named him "Ringo." I've named one of his wives "Starr." Interestingly, the other female has a blotch that is shaped a bit like a crescent moon, so I've named her "Luna."

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The other two are a crimson and a lovely hypo. They are both quite a bit snappier than the others, though I'm sure they'll calm down. I've named them "Lestat" and "Akasha."
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My other snakes are Aragorn and Arwen, the Arizona Mt. Kingsnakes:





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And my Louisiana milksnakes, Bayou and Bijou. (Bijou is Cajun for "jewel.") Bijou is very, very small, but growing quickly.

One thing I like about Louisianas is that they don't grow very large: 24 inches is close to the max. Bayou is 17 inches plus, but Bijou doesn't quite reach a foot, I don't think.





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I like the Louisianas best, probably because I've had them the longest and they defy all the bad press I've heard of milksnakes being nervous and spastic. When I feed Bayou, I actually hold him and hand-feed him. He will eat and swallow his meal while I am holding him. He is very, very tame.

The little milksnake is just so cute. She's a year old, but tiny. Louisianas hatch out at five inches...so small!

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The problem is I haven't run out of names. :D I want to name one "Legolas" after the elf in LOTR. Legless, Legolas...get it?

[roguevalley]

1. legless. SNICKER!

I think maybe Cheeka would be a nice feminized
version of Checkers.

They are adorable. I would have snakes too but
I don't like feeding animals live/frozen real
animals for food. And my mom would shoot me.

MAJOR snake phobia for her. But then growing up
in rattlesnake country did it to her.

RV

[Ladyhawk]

14. If you could have a breeder do it for you,

you could get a snake accustomed to T-Rex snake sausages. I have a few pinkie-sized ones. My milksnake refused it so I set it on top of Aragorn's terrarium. A few minutes later, I found him stretched all the way to the top with his mouth open, trying to get the morsel. Mind you, this is a rather tall 20 gallon terrarium.

The sausage was just a bite for him, but I let him have it.

Here's a description: http://www.pohina.com/creative/shop/shop.cfm?mcatid=4&catid=15

I'll let you if the corns decide they like them at some point. They're a lot less freaky than frozen dead mice in the freezer. You just have to make sure someone doesn't try to cook them up with their scrambled eggs in the morning. :D

I can't help you much with the snake phobia. I grew up in rattlesnake country, too. I have quite a few interesting stories. I even stepped on one once. But since watching Steve Irwin, I've even learned to appreciate the dangerous herps. They have their place.

[Throckmorton]

2. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Snakes

I think I'll sleep in the freezer tonight :)

[scarlet_owl]

3. They're so wonderful!

I like the names you have picked out for them. Legolas would be a great name for a snake, plus it's a good joke.

[DuctapeFatwa]

4. They are beautiful!

And great names! You will have so much fun watching them grow, and when they are old enough, if they are lazy enough, you will have a rainbow of friendly fashion accessories!

[hatrack]

5. How about Flopsy, Mopsy & Cottontail?

Oops, wrong class!

Seriously, though, I LOVE corn snakes - arguably the most beautiful Western Hemisphere snake. You've got a neat crew there, Ladyhawk!

[Skittles]

6. they are EXQUISITE!!!

you must be very proud :D

[nofurylike]

7. Selu, corn goddess! a beautiful name!

"this goddess planted her very heart so people wouldn't go hungry. she teaches us how to sustain the earth."

how close was she this corn snake born to august 12? the Fiesta de santa clara, with whom christians replaced Selu in the Pueblo fiesta.

too, symbol of what you would like to harvest within yourself.

love all your name ideas!

i do love snakes!!

thank you for the beautiful pictures!!

keep on!

peace

[patdem]

8. My son became a snake (lover-collecter) the 1st I heard was when

he was about 16, he phoned me and said...Mom, I found a snake and it is in the house!!!...I immediately jumped up on the bed..thinking it was loose somewhere in the house...and then, slowly walked to my closet and put on my boots- with a nightgown some men think is sexy..but sex was NOT on my mind!

He continued his love and collected many more snakes and was a lover till he (my son-not the snakes) started having babies and his wife did NOT want snakes in the same bedroom as the babies. Smart woman!!!

[Maddy McCall]

9. Yes, Selu is the corn goddess...

in Cherokee mythology. (I am the one who suggested it :-) Glad you like it!)

Let me think for awhile of other corn-related American Indian gods-esses. On edit, I just saw that you have enough names. Oh well, PM me when you get more snakes, and we will come up with more names.

Beautiful snakes! I saw a baby corn snake at a pet shop a couple of weeks ago--muted yellows and oranges, a pencil-sized gorgeous baby!

Selu is pronounced SAY-loo

[Maddy McCall]

12. Kanati is Selu's husband in Cherokee mythology...

kah-NAH-tee is the pronunciation...just though I would tell you if you want your snakes to be a "couple." LOL!

[Ladyhawk]

17. By the way, I am part Cherokee...maybe one-sixteenth. :)

n/t

One more fact about the Okeetee: it's a region in South Carolina. Maybe that will help me come up with one more name for the little girl.

[Maddy McCall]

18. How 'bout Tituba...

Granted she wasn't from S. Carolina, but she was the slave who was blamed for starting the NEw England witch frenzy in the 17th century...and South Carolina had more slaves than whites in its early history. Anyway, it's a loose connection, but I LOVE the name Tituba.

Pronounced TITCH-oo-bah

I just think it is a lovely name.

[Ladyhawk]

13. Actually, one female Okeetee is nameless.

I can't name her Legolas because she is a she. :) As for that baby corn, his reds and yellows may take months to show. Mine are just starting to fill in and they're already quite lovely. The amelanistic corns are mostly red and white with a bit of barely-visible orange.

[-..__...]

10. Think Egyptian

http://www.jimloy.com/egypt/gods.htm


Amaunet - snake-headed goddess

Apophis (Aapep) - snake god - underworld, chaos

Hauhet - snake-headed goddess

Kautet - snake-headed goddess

Naunet - snake-headed goddess (sometime with a frog head)


You're on your own for pronounciation.

[Blue-Jay]

11. They're gorgeous!

Be honest: You've named them, but can you tell which is which?

Also... Can I have one?

[Ladyhawk]

19. Yes, I can now tell them apart. :)

After holding them a few times. I memorized patterns. The two female Okeetees have a Y on their heads, but one has more checkerboarding. The male has no Y. The male albino is very, very white. One female has a half moon blotch, which leaves the other. The crimson is a pissed-off little bastard with completely different coloring. The hypo (het for ghost) is probably the prettiest, and very small.

No, you can't have one, but hopefully I'll be selling their babies in a few years. If I'm lucky, I might have Arizon Mt. King babies this year. :) The youngsters ought to be exquisite. And what's nice about Arizonas is they don't become dull with age.

[Blue-Jay]

21. Fair enough.

Let me know when/if you want to get rid of one. I have a beautiful speckled king snake currently, and an empty 20 gallon aquarium with no occupant. No hurry. I'll be around.

[ikojo]

15. Thank you for sharing pictures of your babies!

In some of the pictures they look big but the one in your hand looks so tiny.

Do these snakes get very long? What do you feed them? I don't know if I'd be able to feed a snake a rat or mouse, especially a live one!

[Ladyhawk]

20. The pictures of the corns aren't mine.

My baby corns don't have all their colors yet. I could take some pics. I should take some pics.

Adult size for a corn is 4 to 5 feet. Okeetees tend to be larger than the other kinds, probably because they haven't been inbred as much. Mostly, they've been bred to get rid of the dirty melanin "wash" between blotches, but they're direct descendants of original Okeetees, with no out-breeding. Kathy Love made sure of that.

The kingsnakes and milksnakes are mine and I took the pictures. The male Arizona is probably close to five feet. The female is about four feet.

I measured the male milksnake a few months ago and he was exactly 17 inches. I bet he's grown an inch or more since then. Louisiana milksnakes usually don't grow much over two feet. Nice, small snakes.

The female milksnakes is itty bitty. She was nine inches, tops, when I bought her and could coil up on a fifty cent piece. She's grown a bit, but I'm not sure if she's a foot yet.

It's hard to gauge the length of a coiled or curled snake. They're longer than they look.

The largest gopher snake I ever captured was five feet, eight inches. Unfortunately, he'd been run over by a car and died shortly after I caught him. It happened on the day my nephew was born, so I decided to skin the snake and preserve it on a board for him. I gave it to him when he turned ten.

A few months ago I was eyeballing a bullsnake at a serpentarium. (Gopher snakes and bullsnakes are closely related.) He looked HUGE to me, so I asked the proprietor how long he was. The guy said six feet and I said, "No way, man. That thing dwarfs a 5' 8" gopher I caught once. He's gotta be over seven feet."

As for food, they all eat frozen/thawed mice that reside in my freezer. I recently bought some T-Rex Snake Steak Sausages. I have two bags of mice in my freezer: a bag of pinkies to adults and a bag of pinkies. Once the pinkies are running low, I may try everyone on sausages.

[Ladyhawk]

22. I tried to take some pics of the hypomelanistic corn

and they turned out terrible. It's a lousy freebie digital camera I got a couple of years ago. But I found this pic. Arwen thought this would make a nice perch:



"Luke to Dagobah...Luke to Dagobah...Master Yoda, I think I accidentally picked up something on my way out..."


Hehe...I need to get some better pictures of this idea and do some Photoshopping. :)

[WindRavenX]

16. Names- Bahamut, Ragnarok, Tiamit

What? I like mythology and RPGs...?
Yes'm.