The Circle of Life (and one disgusting curve)

This post is disgusting and yet fascinating.  If you are at all squeamish, you might want to pass.   For me, I was torn between "I can't stomach this" and "I just have to see it."  The human brain is an all-over-the-map organ.  I can only believe God knows what He's doing.

Our daughter is a religion teacher.  She used to teach chemistry and other sciences, so she has this unique perspective of bringing science and God together.  Which is very nice these days, when many think the two are incompatible.

This year, she has a snake in her classroom.  His name is Eddie.  He's pretty, as snakes go.  He was given to our girl by another teacher who was over the snake thing.  Our daughter (the science teacher part) is fascinated by Eddie.  Her religion teacher part loves him, because he's a living creature that God made.  I remind her that, in the Garden of Eden, the snake was a problem.  She dismisses that.  She's the religion teacher, so she probably knows more than I do.  
 

The students think Eddie is cool.

I don't get it.  Eddie is nocturnal and hides under a big saucer all day.  If you happen to catch him awake, and you hold him, he likes to slither around your body, seeking warmth.  This creeps me out.

He's not a dangerous snake, but you do have to keep him away from your neck, in case he decides to squeeze too hard.  This is not reassuring to me.  He's not poisonous, so if he bites, you won't die.  I don't find this reassuring either. 

Every two weeks, Eddie must be fed.  Here's the disgusting part: he eats only live mice.  If they're dead, he won't take them.  Apparently, he wants only fresh kill.  And he kills them.  He strangles them first (by squeezing) and then swallows them whole.  I warned you this post was disgusting.  And I have pictures.

I accompanied our daughter to feed Eddie this weekend.  We bought two feeder mice (can you imagine this being your identity?) from the exotic pet store, and then drove to the school.  The mice were in a little cage inside a blue bag.  Neither one of us wanted to see them, knowing what we knew.  We did not want to become attached.  It's disturbing knowing you are taking two animals to their death.  The circle of life, I kept repeating to myself.   Snakes have to eat something. 

Unless there were no snakes.  Then mice could live.  They could have their own goals and adventures and not just be food for reptiles.  Why couldn't it be like that?  I don't know.  Maybe the world would be overrun with mice if snakes didn't eat them.  I wonder what mice eat.  I know they don't eat cockroaches, because we have way too many of them.  I digress.

At the school, the religion teacher dumped the mice into the snake pit.  They ran around sniffing everything, thinking they had just moved into a new home and had many happy years there.  They were happy for about five minutes.

That's when Eddie snaked out from under his saucer and began to hunt.  Smelling his prey, he was fast.  This picture shows him catching one mouse.  He's moving so fast, his skin is a solid line.

The mouse in the foreground has no idea what just happened to his buddy.  The mouse Eddie captured went to mouse heaven in about thirty seconds.  We didn't watch that part.

Once Eddie's dinner was still, I got this picture. 

Eddie ate the mouse head first.  I can't imagine what difference it makes, but apparently there is snake etiquette.   If you're still with me at this point, the next two pictures are the worst.  But fascinating, if you like this kind of stuff.

Yep, that's the tail making its way in. 

Repeat with me....it's the circle of life.  It's the circle of life. 

I know, it doesn't really help, but it's all I've got.

My daughter reminded me that people eat things that were alive once too...fish, cows, chickens, ducks, frogs, octopus and such.  I really don't want to think about it.  I, personally, just eat salmon and butternut squash.  And brownies.  I don't think anything dies so I can eat brownies.

If you've reached this point in this post, you are to be commended.  I gagged a few times writing it.

Isn't science fascinating?  The religion teacher thinks so.

What do you think?