Begin with a focused freewrite that explores your initial feelings and experiences, if any, about your subject. This might be the first time you remember visiting the restaurant or hearing the performer or seeing the photographs. Focus on scenes, moments, situations, and people.
Snakes have always fascinated me. I remember going to wildlife lectures were the would always have animals with the, showing them off to spark interest in the cause. Snake’s would always be there. When I was about eight, I went to one of these presentations and got to hold the tail of a huge boa constrictor. It wasn’t slimy or icky like it is stereotyped to be. The snake was actually soft, smooth like baby skin and not scary at all.
In 9th grade my chemistry teacher had five of these little critters. Four corn snakes and one ball python. My hand would shoot write up whenever he asked who wanted to hold them. They were just so cool to look at and hold. They’re movements seemed effortless, slithering up and around my arms, even though they had no limbs.
Write about what you think might be the important qualities of your subject. Ideally this would be what the thing should be able to do well or what effects it should have on people who use or see it.
Important qualities about this pet are that it is easy to care for, clean, interesting and pretty safe.
Write about how the thing makes you feel. So much of our evaluation of a thing begins with our emotional responses to it. You love the photography of Edward Weston or you really dislike Alfred Hitchcock movies. Explore not just your initial good or bad feelings but the place from where those feelings arise.
Snakes and animals in general make me feel happy. They make my mind wonder, how does this thing work? Snakes are so cool because the can move without limbs. They eat things whole and kill without limbs either. They make me feel needy..having a thumb and all.
Compare the thing you’re evaluating with something similar. Focus your fastwrite on a relevant comparison, teasing out the similarities and differences and thinking about how you feel about them.
(see below...I compare to fish and cats and dogs and turtles.)
Think about Criteria
As you write think about the main criteria you will use for evaluation. Someone evaluation a good modern dance performance, for instance, may decide on these criteria: 1) interesting features (props, music), 2) something improvised, 3) visible expression of the dancer’s enjoyment, 4) good balance in choreography between repetition and randomness, 5) seamless connection between beginning, middle, and end. Know your criteria before you start writing!
Criteria:
How long will it live for? (about them)
Corn snakes in captivity can live at their longest for about 50 years. They are an investment of your time. Doing the math, their lives exceed fish by 48 years and dogs for about 35. This is one of the downfalls of a corn snake as a pet. They will be with you through different stages of your life and who knows, the future wife or even husband may not like your little critter. Different places you live such as a dorm or apartment may not let them live there. It is impossible to know your future so having a pet that will be around for forever can be a real pain.
How big will it grow?
Animals like turtles often trick people. It’s hard to believe that that adorable little turtle that fits in the palm of your hand can grow into a monster weighing over 100 pounds. Most fish, ranging in size from a penny to an iPod, stay the same size their whole life. Corn snakes grow 4 to 5 feet in length over the course of four years after hatching. This is about 3 ½ feet longer then to begin with. This size is a confortable medium, not unmanageable like the turtle or pathetic like a fish. If planned right you will only need to purchase one or two different cages for it.
How much space will it take up?
As cute little baby corn snakes, about the size of a pencil, a small cage or container. At full size though a 10 or 20 gallon take is needed to satisfy the corn snake. Although a piece of a counter top or the top of a dresser will be sacrificed, cages can often times be decorative. My snake has half a coconut shell as its shelter and a cute green bowl for its water. Weights on top of the cage (so the critter doesn’t sneak out and haunt your home) can be whatever you want. They aren’t an eye sore if effort and creativity are put into its home.
What need does it require?
Most animals require the following: shelter, food, water, bedding, and climate. Snakes can’t live in our conditions completely like a dog or cat can. They need a variety of special tools and food in order to live comfortably. It’s kind of annoying to have to make special trips to pet stores instead of just the local target in order to get the things need. Heating pads, lighting, enclosures, shelters and humidity/temperature gages are onetime purchases. Mice, bedding and water(free) are the only things that really need to be purchaced time and time again. Even then though, snakes eat once every week to every month. Bedding switched every month isn’t bad either. Their exotic list of items fits their exotic pet status.
How much care will it need? Companionship?
Dogs are man’s best friends, snake are what? They spend their days looking for areas in their cage to regulate body temperature. If they aren’t doing that, they are constantly looking for ways to escape, crawling up the sides of the glass until they timber. They don’t have fur and aren’t to cuddly. They won’t chase a piece of sting or fetch a ball. When friends come over its fun to show them off but really, that can get old. I mean it’s nice you don’t have to give them attention like a wining puppy requires but corn snakes in return give you no companionship.
How clean/dirty is the pet?
Cat pee is one of the most discussing, puke provoking smell to have ever entered the nostrils of my nose. They get into trash and track in dirt. Kitty litter, which needs to be scooped every other day it seems, sticks to their paws and as a result can be found in all corners of the house along with the never ending rainstorm of fur. They claw at furniture, destroying it in most cases. Their mark can lead to at least a few hours of cleaning up every week. Cats can definitely be considered a dirty pet. When I walk into my room I don’t see any of the things from the cat just described. My corn snake, its bedding, feces, and trails are all confined to its cage. Cleaning a cage, dumping the bedding out, whipping it down, and putting new bedding down, takes a matter of minutes. It poops once a week and isn’t even recognizable in the bedding. This makes it necessary to only clean once a month to prevent bacteria growth.
How much will it cost?
Taking care of any animal’s costs money. At first the investment of a snake is high but in the long run, maintaining your snake and its home is cheap. Snakes are reasonably priced when you think of a 300 dollar puppy. They are more expensive than a 1 dollar gold fish though. Corn snakes range in price from 30 dollars to 200. It all depends on their pattern and color. The supplies for a snake add up to cost around 200 dollars depending on which brands and styles of supplies are purchased. Like I said before, this is a one-time purchase only for most of the things. All corn snakes eat the same thing, mice. Starting your way from pinkies when they are first born, corn snakes make it up to about a large mouse when they get full grown. Mice cost about 5 dollars for a box of 4 frozen mice. When corn snakes are fed only once a week, it does not add up to much. Not to shabby of a deal for a pet.
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