It is an unusual attraction I have for the creepy crawlers that most others  have nightmares about. I sit up at night, watching my slithering monster wrap and coil around the branches of his tank. He stays awake in the dark, adventuring through the decorum his aquarium has to offer. Sometimes, I’ll hear a faint thump as his limp body hits  the mulch covered floor. It doesn’t affect him, however; he’ll continue on his perilous journey to the distant other side where his hideaway resides. It is these adventures at night when his creamy-brown and black-blotched scales glide effortlessly over the terrain that keep me intrigued by his unappreciated beauty .

When I first received my four month old python, setting up his home was something I could not take lightly. Everything had to be perfect to represent my new friend in a way that portrayed his “spine-chilling” effect. I started by shopping for  his habitat decorations , consisting  of a dusty grey and charcoal colored dinosaur skeleton, a foot long artificial turtle shell, and a hollowed out rock to give his tank a more authentic feel.  Picking out his hiding hole was a challenge given the hundreds of options I was granted, all arranged on the wall in the back of a PetSmart in Worcester Massachusetts. When I saw the six inch high dinosaur with its teeth creating perfect maze-like obstacles for my smooth creature, I knew it was a necessity.  A cracked velociraptor skull  was  perfect to exhibit the terrorizing stereotypes  of my mellow snake. The walls and borders of his fifty-five gallon tank were strewn with brown vines, bottle green leaves, and the occasional pink and blue flowers. The vines entangle the dinosaur skull and the turtle shell shelter  to take up most of the open space the terrarium provides .

Decorating his  tank in an ironically  foreboding manner was only done to tease  those who fear  such gentle giants. Ball pythons, which grow to be approximately five feet long and six inches in diameter, are nearly  as intimidating as a mouse (assuming mice do not warrant fear). Ducking, dodging and curling into a tight  ball are  the consistent reactions of my fearful friend  when I reach down to grab him. Those who tremble when they see him usually don’t understand that he is as scared of them as they are of him. Consequently, misconceptions and unwarranted fear force me to keep my unacquainted friends in the dark of his existence until they can meet him with an open mind.

I named my snake Hiccup after a character in the animated film, How to Train Your Dragon -- a favorite of mine as a freshman in high school. I find the name, though quirky and different, to be endearing and fitting of  his amusing personality.A hiccup, the comical minor malfunction in someone’s diaphragm, also resembles the inhalation  of fear most experience  when they first meet him. 

Three years ago when my snake first entered my life, I never imagined  how much  my creepy crawler--who will  be my companion   for the next twenty years --would define who I am. My affection for Hiccup differentiates me from the rest of my classmates. I don’t fear the appalled looks or judgments of those around me anymore because they will never understand how fulfilling it is to love a creature that is so widely misunderstood. I don’t expect anyone to understand  just as my sweet hiccup doesn’t expect to be loved and understood by everyone. Hiccup has taught me about acceptance and passion and I will forever be changed by loving and caring for him.