Freeze, the Checkered Garter Update

[Greg'sGarters]

Everyone is saying that there is no way that he could have been frozen, so I'll assume that he wasn't frozen (although he was stiff, I am sure of that, that was not my imagination). And whether I warmed him up over the course of 2 minutes or 2 days, all that really matters is that he survived. I'm glad that things worked out the way they did, because if I had done something different, I might be saying "hey I got a dead snake in the mail today".

[d_virginiana]

Everyone is saying that there is no way that he could have been frozen, so I'll assume that he wasn't frozen (although he was stiff, I am sure of that, that was not my imagination). And whether I warmed him up over the course of 2 minutes or 2 days, all that really matters is that he survived. I'm glad that things worked out the way they did, because if I had done something different, I might be saying "hey I got a dead snake in the mail today".

Well, it does kind of matter... If you run into the situation again, you know not to warm him up quickly. I'm glad he seems to be doing fine, but that is a sign of you getting lucky, not a sign that nothing could have been improved

Also, there are other explanations for the way the snake looked/felt on arrival than freezing solid. The snake's muscles were probably tensed or locked in a way that felt strange or lumpy. It's not too much of a leap to think that an animal dying of exposure to cold would have strange posture, but like it's been said that doesn't mean it's frozen. Just wanted to throw out a possible reason you were feeling 'lumps' on his body. It's far more likely that you were feeling the musculature than the actual organs (if you were actually feeling the snake's heart, then you would have had to break its ribs to do so).

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Everyone is saying that there is no way that he could have been frozen, so I'll assume that he wasn't frozen (although he was stiff, I am sure of that, that was not my imagination). And whether I warmed him up over the course of 2 minutes or 2 days, all that really matters is that he survived. I'm glad that things worked out the way they did, because if I had done something different, I might be saying "hey I got a dead snake in the mail today".

A very cold object is going to be much more rigid than one that is warm. Especially a dormant, near death reptile. Have you ever handled a frozen snake? Something tells me you haven't considering you still aren't completely convinced. It's literally the same as handling an icicle. They aren't just stiff, they're hard as a rock. If you hit it off something hard enough it would crack.We are all glad the snake survived, but there is nothing you could have done to prevent his death... nothing you would have done differently in those moments you unwrapped him would have made a difference. You could have laid him on your counter and walked away. He would have warmed up regardless.