Pet Tales: Ember the corn snake who loves her Aberdeen home

I got Ember back in June 2020, so she’s been with me for 4 years now.

I’ve always loved animals and have had many family pets; a cat, a dog, guinea pigs, and fish. I had wanted an exotic pet for years before I finally decided to get my corn snake Ember.

Ember the corn snake and her Aberdeen owner Caitlin — Caitlin and Ember. Image: Caitlin Tittensor

I’ve always loved exotic pets since I was a child. I especially loved snakes and other reptiles.

I remember back in primary school a teacher of mine brought in her pet bearded dragon for the class to look after and I loved helping take care of him.

During covid, I started watching a lot of YouTube channels of people who owned exotic pets and I got very interested in the care each animal would need and the temperaments of the different types of snakes, lizards or amphibians different people kept.

Ember thinks she’s the ‘boss of the house’

For a corn snake, Ember certainly has an attitude!

Ember the corn snake coiled around Caitlin's fingers in her Aberdeen home — Ember sticking her tongue out. Image: Caitlin Tittensor

I bought a corn snake since they’re known to have a very calm and friendly temperament, although they can be a bit flighty.

They’re always recommended for beginners, but Ember definitely thinks she is the boss of the house.

She’s very good when you’re holding her and loves to come out to explore, but she doesn’t like anyone coming into her tank and cleaning up. She will rattle her tail and hiss (throw a tantrum) if I spot clean or rearrange her plants.

Although she has an attitude she’s never bitten me. She’s all bark and no bite!

Corn snake Ember coiled around Caitlin's fingers outside in Aberdeen — Exploring outside. Image: Caitlin Tittensor

She’s very confident and curious as well and likes to come out and see what I’m doing when I’m in my room. She’ll poke her head out and watch me as I tidy up or go about my day.

Misconceptions of owning a snake

I have heard a lot of misconceptions about owning snakes, which makes me sad because they are such interesting animals and I love having Ember in my life.

The main response I get when I tell people I own a snake is fear.

People ask me if she’s dangerous and if she’s venomous. I’ve had people tell me that she’s going to try to eat me – which would be impressive since her head is the size of my thumbnail.

Ember coiling around Caitlin’s hand. Image: Caitlin Tittensor

They also assume that snakes are vicious and look to hurt people, but really snakes will try to run away if they’re scared and only bite if they’re very scared and are cornered.

The most upsetting response I typically get is people telling me if they saw Ember or any other snake they would kill her, which I never appreciate because you wouldn’t say that about anyone’s dog or cat.

Snakes like Ember make rewarding pets

She used to be very afraid of me when she was small, but over the years she has grown to trust me and has gotten very comfortable with me. Building that trust and watching her get more and more accustomed to me has been great.

I have a lot of memories of spending time with her while doing online classes. I would take her out and let her explore while I’d write an essay or listen to lectures.

Ember coiled up on Caitlin's palm — Ember has grown to trust Caitlin. Image: Caitlin Tittensor

Her favourite perch was curled up in my headphones tongue flicking my ears, although in winter months she’d prefer to be curled up in my jumper sleeve while I type.