Like all the cool kids, I had Pokémon Red. But not cool enough to have met someone not only with a Blue but owning a link cable until the following summer at camp. Those were primitive days, my friend. It all started with a combination of watching a preview of the anime on a VHS Nintendo Power sent me, plus an early strategy guide also sent to my house by Nintendo Power. "These things look kinda cool," I thought. I bought the game day one and I've been obsessed ever since (give or take the few years between generations two and four).
But this also means that my pet snake also turns 20!
His name is Pikachu, he’s an albino corn snake and he’s happy to meet all of you. I’ll be honest here, if I wasn’t so gung-ho into Pokémon at the time, I would’ve named him something else. But I really can’t imagine him with any other name, really. He was born in July of 1998 and I got him the weekend before the games dropped. I was 11, I was into snakes and got excited to finally own one. My family’s been against it from day one, and that still hadn’t changed. Hell, pet stores won’t take him off my hands because of how old he is.
I’m honestly shocked that he’s still alive. From what I’ve read, 20 years in captivity is considered a long lifespan for a corn snake. Google tells me that ten years or "into its teens" is what’s nornal. Low stress and low maintenance lifestyles will do that, I guess. He’s an old man, but he’s still kicking. He doesn’t really do much these days, but I haven’t seen him this active in years.
It’s weird being able to tell college kids that he’s older than they are. He’s been in like two thirds of my life, it’d be weird to imagine my life without him. I love him, as much as a guy can love a pet snake.
There may be some more I could post in addition to this guy, but it hasn't been a good couple of days for me mentally and thinking about him has put me back into a good place.
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