#drama snek

[defilerwyrm]

This little man took his first pinky today! 🐍 No hesitation whatsoever, either. When he was done with that, he ate a nano frog link, too! (Pictured: Astarion several hours before feeding; he is much fatter in the middle now)

[thevivarium]

Your ramen is ready. 🍜

*SLUUUUURP*

[irukasenseii]

He is up a little later than he would like and sitting outside with something warm to drink.

[obsidiandragon]

Setting: my hognose's enclosure sits on top of my dresser

Dorito: /is out climbing on plants

Me: The boy is out! Hello! /Starts getting clothes

Dorito: /hates this, does a flat

Me: Don't cober at me. /Starts to leave

Dorito: /hisses

Me: I WAS ALREADY LEAVING. /gives him the finger (affectionate)

[learnyouabiology]

Fun Fact: Hognose snakes are dramatic lil guys!

I am particularly fond of the snakes known as hognose snakes, and my reasons are both understandable and correct.

This is a hognose snake:

(They received their name by having the sweetest lil snoot to ever require a boop – image source)

They use these adorable snoots to burrow under sandy soil using a sort of nuzzle-y motion. They then use these burrows as a place to sleep at night, hibernate in the winter, and lay their eggs. 

(you could say they’re into... the Underground Scene! ...ok yeah i’ll show myself out – image source)

Plus, they come in a variety of delightful colours!

We've got brown! Beige! Yellow! Black! Red! Orange! Tan! Kinda greenish! Orange again!

(pretty sneks! – Here’s all the image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

And, to be clear, the snakes pictured above are wild snakes. No selective breeding by humans in these noodly bois! At least, not in these specific individuals. probably. I guess a few of them could be escapees... 

But most importantly: These snakes know the true meaning of DRAMA

Hognose snakes are actors, first and foremost. When they feel threatened, the first thing they do is puff out their neck into a hood. 

(like cobras, this hood is made by FLEXING THEIR NECK RIBS. which: gross – image source x)

This superficially makes them look like a cobra, but what they’re actually trying to do is make themselves seem bigger, and therefore scarier. Possibly those dark spots on their neck helps with that! 

Any resemblance to real-life Eurasian cobras, real or fictional, is purely coincidental

Also, it makes its mouth do this:

(Snakes that SCREAAAAAAAM. – image source)

honestly, if I didn’t already know that hognose snakes were harmless, this would ABSOLUTELY make me leave it the hell alone 

But if all of that^ is unsuccessful at scaring away the predator, the hognose snake pulls its signature move: playing dead

If you think that is a lame signature move, then you are wrong, because hognose snakes put EVERYTHING into their performance and I love them for it.

(they’re serious, they’ll do it!  – image source)

((I’m actually going to stick the rest of this under a read-more, bc the pictures of the alive-and-physically-fine hognose snakes do kind of look like a legitimately-dead hognose snake, if you don’t know what to look for. 

So, uh: cw for a snake being too good at pretending to be dead))

Behold: a series of completely healthy, unharmed snakes!!!

(to help with their self-esteem, we ask that you at least pretend to believe that they are dead – image sources 1, 2, 3, 4)

Honestly, the photos don’t do it justice. Here’s my favourite video of the whole wonderous performance: 

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But to review:

There's writhing! There's dramatic noises! There's flipping onto their back and opening their mouth wide and letting their tongue hang out! There's excreting a combination of  intentionally smelly substances!!! Truly a master of the art of being left the hell alone (*^▽^*)

(yep. deeeeefinitely dead. not just faking it. nothing worth eating here! – image source)

Personally, my favourite part of this is how they insist on rolling onto their back, even when they are rolled back onto their stomach. 

Seriously, if you try to roll them right-side-up, they will flip back over. It's as though they believe that a good, proper dead snek MUST be on its back, obviously.

(truly fearsome – image source)

Sadly, the hognose snake may have made itself too scary, according to humans.

Out of fear, these snakes are commonly killed on sight 😔. I once heard someone proudly brag about how they’d killed a dozen cobras! In southern Ontario! Where cobras do not live! This is both extremely frustrating and deeply sad.

(safe enough to hold! although maybe don’t, just because this snake IS probably experiencing mortal fear, which is not a good feeling – image source © Dean Stavrides)

So just to highlight: hognose snakes are completely harmless. They’re just pretending to be fearsome!

(not that people should be killing venomous snakes either, imo. Let the danger noodles LIVE THEIR LIVES)

(i is baybee, pls do not hurt me – image source)

And now some bonus facts to help raise us out of that downer:

Hognose snakes are toad specialists! Their favourite food is toads, which is unusual, because toads are poisonous. Hognose snakes deal with this by force of will and also, at least two amino acid substitutions, maybe (Mohammadi et al. 2016). Possibly a few other things help with this, also (Feldman et al. 2016).

(is snek eat toad? or does toad wearing cape of snek? impossible to tell, really – image source)

Also, I have a confession: hognose snakes... are venomous. Technically.

(itty bitty little fangs at the veeeeery back of their mouth!  – image source)

They are known as rear-fanged snakes, which means they have fangs aaaall the way at the back of their mouth. The venom they produce seems to be toad-specific, and is considered to be harmless to humans unless you happen to have an allergy but that's the exception rather than the rule

(the two hognose species. They are both baybee, but in different ways actually there might be more than two species but these are the two i’ve actually learned about so ALL WELL   – image source)

Also, hognose snakes are big cowards NOT aggressive and I've never even heard of anyone getting bit by a one (outside of one feeding mishap, which we can all agree was an ACCIDENT). 

The series of events that would need to occur for you to be envenomated are so unlikely and bizarre that I assume you would have to be TRYING to get bit.

This has been Fun Fact Friday, bringing you the forbidden noodly boys to try and keep them a little more safe!

.....................................................................

Sources, because I know me and SO DO YOU:

Averill-Murray, R. C. (2006). Natural history of the western hog-nosed snake (Heterodon nasicus) with notes on envenomation. Sonoran Herpetologist, 19(9), 98-101.

Buchanan, Scott W.; Timm, Brad C.; Cook, Robert P.; Couse, Richard; Hazard, Lisa C. (2017). Spatial ecology and habitat selection of eastern hognose snakes. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 81(3), 509–520. doi:10.1002/jwmg.21218 

CHS: Canadian Herpetological Society https://canadianherpetology.ca/species/species_page.html?cname=Eastern%20Hog-nosed%20Snake

COSEWIC. 2021. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake Heterodon platirhinos in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xi + 45 pp.  https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/eastern-hog-nosed-snake-2021.html

Cunnington, G. M., & Cebek, J. E. (2005). Mating and nesting behavior of the eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos) in the northern portion of its range. The American midland naturalist, 154(2), 474-478.

Feldman, C. R., Durso, A. M., Hanifin, C. T., Pfrender, M. E., Ducey, P. K., Stokes, A. N., ... & Brodie Jr, E. D. (2016). Is there more than one way to skin a newt? Convergent toxin resistance in snakes is not due to a common genetic mechanism. Heredity, 116(1), 84-91. 

 Jared, C., Luiz Mailho‐Fontana, P., & Maria Antoniazzi, M. (2021). Differences between poison and venom: An attempt at an integrative biological approach. Acta Zoologica, 102(4), 337-350.

Liu, C., Chen, Y., Zheng, Y., Bo, J., Yang, C., Xu, S., & Zhang, S. (2022). Wear Resistance Improvement of Keeled Structure and Overlapped Distribution of Snake Scales. Journal of Bionic Engineering, 1-11. Citing abstract.

Mohammadi, S., Gompert, Z., Gonzalez, J., Takeuchi, H., Mori, A., & Savitzky, A. H. (2016). Toxin-resistant isoforms of Na+/K+-ATPase in snakes do not closely track dietary specialization on toads. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1842), 20162111. 

 Nature Conservancy of Canada: https://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/what-we-do/resource-centre/featured-species/reptiles-and-amphibians/eastern-hog-nosed-snake.html

Plummer, M. V., & Mills, N. E. (1996). Observations on trailing and mating behaviors in hognose snakes (Heterodon platirhinos). Journal of Herpetology, 30(1), 80-82.

Rouse, Jeremy D.; Willson, Robert J.; Black, Ron; Brooks, Ronald J.  (2011). Movement and Spatial Dispersion of Sistrurus catenatus and Heterodon platirhinos: Implications for Interactions with Roads. Copeia, 2011(3), 443–456. doi:10.1643/ce-09-036     

Seburn, D. 2008. Recovery Strategy for the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Parks Canada Agency, Ottawa. vi + 24pp.

Schwartz, V. & D. Golden (2002). Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of New Jersey. New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

VHS: Virginia herpetological society http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/snakes/eastern-hog-nosed-snake/eastern_hognose_snake.php#:~:text=Heterodon%20is%20derived%20from%20the%20Greek%20words%20heteros,meaning%20%22broad%20or%20flat%22%20and%20rhinos%20meaning%20%22snout%22

Young, R. A. (1992). Effects of Duvernoy's gland secretions from the eastern hognose snake, Heterodon platirhinos, on smooth muscle and neuromuscular junction. Toxicon, 30(7), 775-779. https://doi.org/10.1016/0041-0101(92)90013-U

Young, B. A., & Morain, M. (2003). Vertical burrowing in the Saharan sand vipers (Cerastes). Copeia, 2003(1), 131-137.

SARA: threatened https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry.html

[lineffability]

sappy little end of year post to celebrate my own personal lovingly curated corner of fandom that I've been enjoying immensely this year, full of correct opinions, good takes and little drama 😌😌✨

three special shout-outs to very lovely people:

@crowleyholmes chii you're such a ray of sunshine and your lovely tags and enthusiasm were just too fucking contagious, even before I was following you I kept thinking 'how can someone be THIS nice' but then you started talking to me and you ARE, aren't you 💛😌 glad to know you, you're a delight and, dare I say it, a friend

@chernozemm what can I say - I adore you, zemmie, ever since we started talking it feels we've barely stopped, I love bouncing ideas and headcanons and fics and just anything, really, off you, and you definitely know things, and me <3 just genuinely enjoy your vibe a lot, you gorgeous person

@queerfables you were the first person I started talking to in 2023 GO fandom I think, and we've exchanged auch lovely opinions and GO book memories, I love your fandom-familiarity and metas and you-ness ✨

.

also just wanted to shout out some people I've simply enjoyed seeing on my dash, following, writing, reading, arting, metaing, talking, commenting, prev-tagging etc etc, you make this fun <3

@opscuritas @plumbum-art @fellshish @foolishlovers @nice-and-accurate-ramblings @fagziraphale @wraithee @ashfae @voluptatiscausa @gaslightgallows @copperplatebeech @sabotage-on-mercury @ineffabildaddy @crawley-fell @crvwly @gingiekittycat @nightingalecottage @azfellandco @goodoldfashionednightingale @wearecrowley @halemerry @books-and-omens @ineffableteeth @luminousslime @lonicera-caprifolium @mrghostrat @grntaire @snek-eyes @fremulon @focusfixated @aduckwithears

[wishfulsketching]

Some old OC stuff I found. Still no solid story with them, I just want to draw snek ppl more. Dad drama

[violet-periwinkle]

I don't care if Hazbin is gonna be a good or bad show. I don't care of whatever drama about Viv or the cast is happening or will happen when the show release. I don't care if the songs are bangers or mid nor if the plot well written or not.

Alex Brightman is playing Sir Pentious.

Alex Brightman is in the show.

Alex Brightman.

Playing my snek Boi.

It's all that matters to me

[omg-snakes]

With the handling style you showed off with Lumi - what are some signs that your snake doesn't want to be handled? Sometimes my snake will shove me, and im not sure if it's because he doesn't want to be held or not because he's always fine after I pick him up, but I want to respect his boundaries as much as possible even if he doesn't retaliate when I don't.

Hey friend!

Some of the indicators that a snake isn't feeling it would be huffing or hissing, tail-rattling, flailing (big drama!), leaving the area or retreating to a hide where they feel safe, or a hard and repeated shove with the body. It does kinda seem like your boy is saying, "don' wanna," when he's shoving you, but unless it's accompanied by some other indicator that he's not feeling up to interacting, this may be the snake equivalent of a teenager being asked to get up off of the sofa and do a minor chore. They'll grumble, but it's for their own best interest and overall enrichment. If he's not showing any signs of stress during handling then he's probably getting some benefit and just didn't in the moment want to have to get up for it.

Snakes are natural introverts, and as an introvert myself I know that I benefit from regular social activities even when I'm not necessarily enthusiastic about them. While we don't want to personify snakes with human traits, it does make sense that socialization, within reason, is necessary to maintain the human-friendly nature of a well socialized pet.

An occasional invasion of his personal space will help to inoculate him against future self-isolation. The key is understanding the difference between "ugh, fiiiiiiiiine" and "I'm really not up for being social right now and I need to be left alone."

I hope your grumbly guy is actually having a nice time interacting and just being a lazy snek.

[defilerwyrm]

I've been wanting another hognose for years and years

But the morphs I like best are staggeringly expensive :(

Luckily for me I got a windfall that will cover my upcoming surgery, a bunch of bills, and had a good chunk to spare for fun stuff...sooooo...

Meet Astarion, male snow Western hognose :3

[thevivarium]

Their first baby is out of the egg!

Parents: Boba Tea (axanthic conda pos het albino) x Orange Juice (albino conda)

Nine more eggs to go!

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Hi, I'm just another random person who loves this blog🥰🥰. Do you have any favorite fun facts or headcanons about GO? I'm literally vibrating with excitement over this year being the ineffable's year and no one irl to share it with unfortunately. So, here I am!

(Also wishing you a speedy recovery! Hope you feel better soon💖)

Hiya! Aww, so happy you like the blog ❤ 🐍😊. And thank youuu. Favourite fun facts... oh I will have to think about it! I never thought which of the many GO fun facts is my favourite, I just love collecting all of them! :D Favourite headcanon... I am quite fond of the idea that both Aziraphale and Crowley knew Cleopatra and helped her fake her death and escape - with using a snek because of Crowley being drama snek :).

Yes, this year is going the be ineffableeeeeeeeee!!! :)) ❤❤❤

[ncdweller]

Snek?

We are chicken sitting again.

New mystery with the dinosaurs today.

There are five in total, 4 brown, 1 white.

Every day, more or less, we get one brown egg, and one white egg. Sometimes two brown eggs.

The brown dinosaurs lay the brown eggs, and always lay first. White dinosaur (Lacey) follows with a white egg.

Today I checked on them, but Lacey one was on the nesting box, so I didn’t check for eggs.

90 minutes later I returned with fresh green beans, and checked the coop for eggs.

Nothing. There is always at least one brown egg.

Then I noticed a white egg near the shed, resting on the gravel. Hmmm.

I’m thinking a rat snake entered the coop while Lacey was in there, and she NOPEd her way out. Rat snake got the brown egg and was happy. Lacey had an outbound egg delivery in progress, so put it down a safe distance from the coop.

Just a theory.

A hawk flew over them while I was there, and they watched it intently. But that hawk was too small to carry away one of these big girls, though still dangerous to them.

Lots of drama today in their lives.

The owners are returning today (probably), so I won’t have any more chicken stories for a while.

[deepestbluesky]

hello it is time for a VERY niche post. join me for... SHL characters as SNAKES!!!!! i tried to find snakes that naturally occur in china or near china, as a terrible added parameter—there's a TON of snakes in china, but i just don't know many so it's terrible bc it added a lot of work for me lol. but i've learned things! and found some cool snakes! so! let's go. pictures of snakes ahead, if that's not your thing, feel free to peace out.

Wen Kexing - Sinomicrurus macclellandi a coral snake! just a nice boy you know? just a nice, extremely venemous boy with dramatic red coloration. shamless plug for my fic where wkx turns into This Snake.

Zhou Zishu - Bungarus multicinctus look at this lovely unassuming snake. got some goth-y drama but overall not too bad, right? one of the most venomous land snakes in the world 😌 (also. he and wkx match but like in a complimentary way.)

Zhang Chengling - Pareas margaritophorus the first thing wikipedia says about this snake is that it is small and harmless. for the first time so far, i am not trying to mislead you. just a little snek boi!!!!!! cute!!!!!! I Want To Hold And Protect Him

Gu Xiang - Fowlea piscator look i'm gonna be honest. there are not a lot of snakes that are even REMOTELY purple but this one has a little purple whip tongue! also, not venemous but (if it's anything like water snakes in the US) kind of an asshole. apparently pretends to be a cobra. look at her go.

Cao Weining - Coelognathus radiatus this snake has no thoughts in its head. look at it. i don't mean as a species i mean This One. That's cwn. just sitting there doing a blep. no venom, apparently a defensive sort of dude. cool colors tho!

Luo Fumeng - Calliophis bivirgatus a different kind of coral snake! i've gone a bit further outside of china for this one but LOOK at how gorgeous it is. how could i not let lfm be this glamorous. also i like the idea that she's a different genus of snake than wkx but still a (venemous) coral snake.

Liu Qianqiao - Elaphe taeniura gonna be honest here, the common name of this snake in english is the beauty snake (or ratsnake), so i didn't think too much farther. there's a ton of different color morphs of it. look at it, the elegance! she's beauty she's grace she'll constrict you (if you are a small mammal)!

Xie Wang - Bungarus fasciatus this is a different krait! zzs has MANY bands, xw just has bands. a little brighter colored and more extra than zzs, sliiiightly less deadly, still can very definitely kill you. LOOK at that warning coloration. if i was to pick two characters to DEFINITELY have warning coloration, it WOULD be wkx and xw.

Du Pusa - Euprepiophis mandarinus this is NOT my best work, but i just thought this snake was really pretty and so i was determined to include it somehow. hence: dps. they are ~secretive~ apparently. also. again. Look At It

Ye Baiyi - Python bivittatus BIG BOY!!!! ALMOST THE BIGGEST BOY!!!!! does occur in white color morphs in captivity (and like, i guess presumably in the wild? at one point? but i have to imagine that's like. not so much a thing anymore.) also, did i pick the picture that looks the most like a cryptid? of course i did, it's yby. he doesn't want his picture taken. he doesn't want you to know he exists even. leave him alone. where he belongs in his natural habitat.

Han Ying - Lycodon septentrionalis a shiny pretty boy. a shiny pretty boy who looks very much like a many-banded krait, in fact. however, they're not venemous. hy just looks like zzs. again: LOOK AT THIS GOOD SNEK.

Jing Beiyuan - Ahaetulla prasina several things here. one, this is an elegant but strange boy (i don't think this shows just how weird this guy's nose looks. it's like someone took a snake's nose and used pliers to stretch it out all pointy). two, FASHION!!! look at those pattens!!!!! a striking example. and three, it looks kind of like wu xi's snakeclet

Wu Xi - Naja atra he's a cobra. i think this speaks for itself.

[lnights]

*crashes through the skylight* Hello! 💜 For the ask game: 🛒🎢💖❌👀 and 🧠 for Saïx, please! 💜

Hi snek! 🐍

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

Cooking gets added a lot, as well as a feeling of self-doubt or insecurities.

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

Idk if I would call any of them wild, maybe I know the person that you dream of in the night

💖 What made you start writing?

Tbh I have written on and off since I was teen, but what got me to really write and actually publish for the first time was that I was in a super bad place mentally a couple years ago and needed something to take up space in my brain.

While I was trying to figure that out I fell down the Blind Channel rabbit hole, ironically it's all Niko's fault 😂 he mentioned fanfiction in a vlog and I was curious and happened to look right when @chaoslaura had updated Paint me the sun, the moon, and the stars and I was instantly hooked on the BC fandom.

❌ What's a trope you will never write?

EVERY TIME I ANSWER THIS I END UP WRITING IT! 😂

That said, I really don't think I would write infidelity. A main character being cheated by a random ex? Yeah. Main characters cheating on each other? No.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

Currently working on the next chapter of Eternally Yours! Even more ✨drama✨ approaches.

Also working on a demon EC fic.

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

Saix - he's a werewolf and likes head pets.

[mangodestroyer]

Drama snek. Diva demon. Hell princess.