This was the case with 27-year-old Ray Wong Zhen Jie when she first laid eyes on Lucifer (Luci), her pet corn snake, at an exotic animal expo two years ago.
“Normally, snakes are curled up in a small doughnut shape in the containers. But Luci was propped up, staring at me. And when I held her, she decided to slither towards me instead of away from me. I just fell in love with her,” Wong said.
Wong, whose friends have nicknamed “Snake Mom”, was at a breaking point between her job and studies and needed a companion to get her through the stressful period. And snakes were the answer.
“I was looking for a pet companion that does not require too much commitment. Snakes don’t make any noise, are not smelly and you only feed them once a week,” Wong shared.
“The snakes ground me back in reality. I can just step away from work or studies for a while and look at my little cute babies. It’s relaxing to just watch them do their own thing,” Wong, who also keeps a frog and two tarantulas, added.
Besides Luci, Wong keeps two other snakes, Jormungandr or Yomi, a male western hognose, and Tarja or Tay, a female corn snake. They even have an Instagram account called House Of Oyen, referring to their orange colouration.
When asked about her serpents’ unique and Nordic names, Wong shared it was more of a joke than anything else.
“When I first got Lucifer, she was red in colour. And I thought, red snake equals Lucifer. Also, the name sounds scary but Luci is the cutest snake on the planet!
“As for Jormungandr , it is the World Serpent in Norse mythology and is supposed to be very huge and thick. But Yomi is the smallest snake I own! And Tarja was named by my boyfriend after a character from the Final Fantasy game he was playing,” Wong said.
She said her scaly kids are also unique in their personalities. Luci is a social butterfly and loves to hang out in people’s hair, of all places.
“She likes being up where she can look at everyone and she’ll stay in your hair for very long. And when I clean her tank, she just hangs around my neck and watches me,” Wong said.
Yomi, unlike Luci, has a short social battery. Noticing this, Wong carries a crocheted pouch for Yomi to slither into and hide when he’s had enough human interaction. This is particularly when she brings her snakes to hobbyist gatherings.
Tay, on the other hand, is an explorer.
“Even when you’re holding her, she’ll just travel all over you or go into your t-shirts. And she’s excessively hungry. You can just keep feeding her. She will not stop eating!” Wong laughed. Her snakes eat mice, frogs and quail eggs.
For Wong, giving her snakes a bit of exercise and enrichment activities is important.
“I do have a pet tent that I set up to have my snakes move around. I put an obstacle course using tissue tubes and egg cartons and let them explore by themselves,” Wong said.
But the question still remains: can cold-blooded animals like snakes be as affectionate as warm-blooded ones?
“It’s a different kind of bond. It’s more of a trust bond compared to an affection bond as smaller reptiles like snakes tend to be skittish around larger creatures like us,” Wong explained.
In the future, Wong hopes to educate hobbyists about proper snake keeping practices.
“A lot of the pet stores here would just as easily sell you a snake in a very small container and say the snake would be fine. But snakes do deserve better, a more comfortable space to live in because they’re going to be there for the majority of the time,” Wong pointed out.
She also plans to expand her serpent collection with a Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python, a white python with icy blue eyes.
“I’m on the waiting list for this one!” she said, excitedly.
This article was written by Dinesh Kumar Maganathan@FMT Lifestyle. Read more pet stories here.
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