PET PALACE
people & their pets
An unwitting mum-to-be found out she was pregnant thanks to her pet snake –after it would curl up on her stomach and refuse to move.
Serpent lover Beckie, was baffled when her pet snake, Poseidon, a common boa constrictor, started nuzzling up to her tummy and acting oddly whenever he was around her.
Whenever Beckie and her partner Tom Woodruff, 24, took Poseidon out of his tank he would slither onto Beckie’s tummy and refuse to budge. He would then hiss violently at Tom if he tried to move or handle him.
The snake’s behavior was so out of character, Beckie and Tom racked their brains trying to think what may be causing him to act so erratically.
After a few days Beckie began to suspect the snake may be trying to tell her she was pregnant and she decided to take a pregnancy test.
The pair was dumbfounded when the test came back positive and couldn’t believe their pet snake knew Beckie was pregnant before they did.
Beckie said “We were both pretty shocked to be honest because the pregnancy was so unexpected. We’d been trying for a little while, but we’d given up in a way so we were none the wiser. Normally Poseidon would usually wrap himself around my head, but he just became obsessed with my stomach. He would even act aggressively towards my boyfriend when he tried to come close, so it was all very peculiar. He’s a people snake so we make sure we get him out every day for a play. But when he refused to move from my tummy, I had a sneaky suspicion I might be pregnant – and it turned out I was right.”
Tom, was at work when Beckie broke the good news by sending him a picture message of the positive pregnancy test.
He said “When Poseidon started acting strange, I didn’t really know what to think. I’ve heard stories of snakes acting differently around pregnant women but nothing like this. My theory is that because snakes are acutely aware of changes in body temperature they enjoy basking in the warmth of a pregnant woman’s tummy. He usually only gets aggressive when I feed him, but when I picked him up, he would slither straight back to Beckie’s tummy. Because we’d unsuccessfully tried for a baby before, I didn’t have my hopes up, but when she sent me a picture message of the positive test, I was overjoyed.”
Beckie, who is now almost two months pregnant with her first child was given Poseidon, age five, by a friend who could no longer look after him.
She keeps him in her living room in a vivarium next to her second pet snake, Samurai, a hog island boa constrictor, who showed no interest in her tummy.
She said “People always say that all animals – including snakes can’t sense pregnancy, but I think Poseidon is special. I’m convinced he’s got powers of detection because I just can’t explain his behavior. It’s like he’s a real life pregnancy test. He’s definitely my special baby.”
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Times series, the Pet Palace, and read about how people and their animals enrich each other’s lives. The Palace welcomes submissions by our readers. If you’d like to tell the world about your pet, send us a photograph and accompanying article for publication.
— Editor