News From The Mews

I've always been a fan of artist Lili Chin, who specializes in animal drawings. She often works with animal trainers to create useful drawings of dog, cat, or bunny body language. What does a fearful dog look like? An overstimulated cat? A curious bun? She's got an illustration for it! See the full image here: Doggie Drawings by Lili Chin But what does happy snake look like? How can you tell if a snake is scared? I never learned snake body language other than hissing or striking means "stay away." Fortunately Lili recently published a guide to snake body language that shows much more nuance.  If Emory the rat snake has twitchy movements, an s-shaped neck, or tight coils around my arm, I know that she's starting to get uncomfortable. I should give her a break so she doesn't feel the need to escalate to hissing or striking. Being able to respond to her "whispers" of discomfort keeps me safe from bites and respects her feelings.