Odd News: Snake and Hamster Become Pals

At a Tokyo zoo, a hamster (aptly named "Gohan" which apparently means "meal" in Japanese) was placed in the tank of a rat snake who was refusing to eat frozen mice. In a strange twist of fate, the hamster instead befriended the snake. The rat snake and hamster have been happily cohabitating for a couple of months now, sometimes even curling up together for naps. Oh, and the rat snake decided frozen mice were okay after all. A photo of the odd couple accompanies the news item. Mind you, once that snake gets bigger, Gohan may live up to her name!

I guess perhaps a warning is in order: do not try this at home! Actually, I don't recommend feeding live prey at all, as a stressed and threatened rodent can inflict serious injury on a snake (so technically, the above mentioned rat snake is as lucky as the hamster). I do have some other suggestions for dealing with snakes that refuse frozen prey, though.