Greetings Mrs. Beck's 4th grade class! Its the end of your school year, and its almost time for you to have some summer fun. I thought I'd give you a quick update about how Winston and I have been doing since our last post to you.

Winston is getting more active now that it is late Spring, and he's getting hungry for more lettuce. I've grown to just longer than 5 feet. Chris keeps feeding me larger and larger rats, and I keep eating them (I eat two a month) I'm almost to the point where the pet store doesn't have rats large enough for me to eat, so soon, Chris will have to start feeding me small rabbits. I know, rabbits are cute, but these rabbits were grown special for me to eat, just like cows and pigs are grown special for you to have in burgers and pepperoni pizzas.

Before I let you go have your fun in the sun, and get ready to be 5th graders, there is one more important message I want to tell you.

No matter what size we are, no matter what shape, or color, it is really important for you to remember to respect all animals. Not only the cool looking ones (like Winston and I) and the animals that are meant to be pets like dogs and cats, but all animals deserve the dignity and respect of humans. Some of us even need your help to survive.

It is really important to remember that we eat, sleep, get happy, sad, and feel pain just like you do, even though we may not be able to show it.

The most important thing for you to remember above all else is this; animals are not evil, mean, or bloodthirsty, we are what nature has made us, wild. You should treat every animal with respect and caution, and if you ever meet one of us, or the friends in the pictures above and below...
... only handle us with the permission of an informed adult, somebody who is trained to handle and take care of us. As long as you can remember these important things when you go out into the world and meet us, maybe when you grow up, you too can earn the right and responsibility to be our caring friends. It all starts with respect.

Be good future 5th graders! Have fun this summer, and be safe!

Thanks,

Viktor, Winston, Deb and Chris

Greetings 4th Graders!

Hello to you Mrs. Beck's 4th grade class. I'm sorry I haven't posted to the blog in a while. It makes me happy to hear from Mrs. Beck that you ask about me a lot to see how I'm doing. I'm doing very well, I've grown a bit since you last saw pictures of me, I'm now about 56 inches (4 and a half feet) long, and just got done eating another large rat. It's hard for Chris and Deb to measure me; they have to hold a string along my body while I wiggle and squiggle, and measure how long the string was.

Every animal, even growing snakes need to drink water. This is a rare picture Chris took of me, because most of the time, I try to drink when nobody is looking. It hearkens back to my instinct to only eat or drink when I am safely away from other potential predators, because I am most vulnerable when its time to chow down or re-hydrate.

Here is a picture of my friend Winston trying to sleep in his log in the afternoon. Because reptiles like Winston and I are cold blooded, during the winter time we like to sleep in so to conserve our energy. Chris and Deb help us to stay a bit more active though by placing heat lamps over our enclosures to keep us warm.

Here is a picture of Chris and I, it's a self portrait. It's only because we are good friends that we'd pose for a picture like this. You kids should never pose with a snake (especially a constrictor) you don't know around your neck. They might accidentally squeeze your neck too tightly so you couldn't breath. They wouldn't do it to be mean, only because it's the only way they could defend themselves, or to save themselves from falling off. Even though we are friends, Chris still has to be careful with me, because I could do the same by accident. Chris has done his homework, and is quite knowledgeable about me and my kind, and he knows if something happened it wouldn't be because I was trying to be mean, I was only being me, a constrictor.
And now for some neat science news! Above is an illustration about one of my ancient ancestors, Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the biggest snake to ever live. His fossil remains were recently found in a open-pit mine in Columbia, South America. He was as long as a School Bus (45 feet long) and weighed 1,000 - 2,500 pounds when he lived after the extinction of the Dinosaurs 55-60 million years ago. Based on his bone structure, scientists reasoned that he was most like Boa Constrictors and Anicondas in that they squeezed their prey, and they lived and hunted in the water for very big fish, even prehistoric alligators and corcidiles. Isn't that neat?

For more detailed information, ask Mrs. Beck to read you the articles I found this info from:

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/science/article_212205588.shtml

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29014818/

I hope you enjoyed today's entry as much as I enjoyed taking pictures and posting them. Next time I'll post more info about Winston and his ancient ancestors.

Thank you so much for reading and caring about me! it makes me really happy to know people are actually curious about Winston and I.

Until next time,

Be good in class!

Viktor, Winston, Chris & Deb.