Farewell to Earl

[Catherine]

My beautiful beloved snake Earl died today. He has been failing and I knew he would never be well again. I miss him.

I also feel relieved that Earl's struggles are over. It looked like he had a big tumor, possibly liver. In the last month he has gone downhill steadily. His beautiful strong body has wasted away. I kept him comfortable and I had hoped to snuggle him one more time, but he is at peace now and that is the best I could hope for him.
He is survived by many beautiful children and his devoted mate Caitrin.

Earl was old when he came to me and I know Caitrin and I made him very happy. So whatever life he had before, he had a happy time with me and now he has gone ahead and crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I loved Earl from the moment I met him. He was a gentleman and a very fine friend.

[Tobi]

Catherine, I am really sorry.
Dear little Earl. That is such a beautiful, happy picture of you both.

I guessed he wasn't far off leaving, from what you said before. I know he would have felt the love and care you gave him in his final days on Earth.

Go well, little Earl.

[Catherine]

I have known since Christmas that he was failing. Now his struggles are over and he is at peace.

We had some close time before the end and I was able to sit and hold him after he died, just to be close again, one more time.

I measured Earl properly after he died. It is impossible to really measure a snakes when they are alive. Corn snakes grow to 36-60 inches long. Earl was 68 inches. That is another sign of how old he was. He was impressive.

I have a son of Earl and he is beautiful, so part of Earl is still with me.

[LPC]

I'm sorry to read your news, Catherine. I agree with Tobi: what a delightful picture of you both! You will always have the happy memories of those times you were together, like in the photo.

It is a very sad event for you, but at least Earl is no longer suffering and has gone to the astral plane. However, for a corn snake perhaps I should spell it "astral plains"! Crawl free and happy, dear Earl! Yet another creature who will be waiting for you, Catherine. You're going to have so many animals queueing to greet you! Your love for all of them will never be forgotten.

[Cibach]

Farewell Earl. Your life with Catherine and Caitrin was very fine indeed. What a wonderful, big, beautiful chap you were.

I hope Caitrin and yourself are Ok, Catherine. I know life must go on, but the hole our creatures leave can be enormous and can never quite be filled.
We're thinking of you all and sending piggy hugs to you.

[Catherine]

Thank-you everyone. Earl brought something special into my life. His eggs were the first I ever hatched. Watching him meet Caitrin and court her changed my whole understanding of snakes. They have more complex relationships than we thought.

It seems so strange not to be checking on Earl, but truthfully, I have been expecting to find him dead for weeks now. He could never be well again, but as you say he can glide freely across the Rainbow bridge and explore to his hearts content. I do have a lot of friends waiting for me.

I know Caitrin misses Earl, but she knew he was not well and she was with him when he died. I have another male, Jack who has spent time with Caitrin. They liked each other so I will reintroduce them. I need to clean the tank out first since it was set up for Earl's needs. It is also not fair to Jack to put him in Earl's space.
I borrowed Jack several years ago from the Reptile Centre, to breed to one of my girls (she didn't like him)and he is never going home. I will post pictures of the two of them. Jack is loveable and he will be happy with Caitrin.

[Tobi]

Blessings little Jake. Wherever you are I hope it's beautiful, like a jungle, with lots of love around you.

I would like to see pictures of Jack and Caitrin, and maybe they get along better than the 'girl' you tried to introduce Jack to originally.

All animals, as far as I have experieced, have their definite likes and dislikes when it comes to mating. And there often appears to be no logical sense about it. But it's the same for us too. Sometimes someone can be very good looking and charming but we don't fall in love with them!

(Misty had a 'thing' about male Weimaraners! haha don't tell her I told you!)

[Catherine]

I will get pictures of Jack and Caitrin. I am sure they will work out together.
Jack is a black corn snake. I have Raven and yes she is black too. It is such an obvious pairing. Raven just didn't like Jack. I put Raven in with David and she took to him right away. David is very similar to Earl, but they are not related.
There is no accounting for taste even with snakes.

So Misty liked Weimaraners. It will be our little secret. When I set up pairs I always have to allow for the personal taste thing. I have been doing a lot of tank shifting. Losing Shiloh and Earl left two girls alone. I want to have everyone set up comfortably and paired off if possible.

On that note I have loaned Jasper my Gopher Snake to a friend with two female Gopher Snakes. I wish I could say he misses me, but I doubt it. It sounds like he is happy with them. It was the right thing to do and I know he is well looked after. Gopher Snakes are not as tame and domesticated as corn snakes. So I have no idea how long he will be away. I would hate to take him away from the girls if it is really working out.