I was first introduced to cornsnakes when my daughter, then in first grade, announced one day that she wanted a pet snake.  I responded that I didn’t know anything about keeping a snake as a pet and that if she was serious about this, that she would have to learn about everything that was involved in choosing and keeping a snake for a pet and then present that information to me before I would even consider it.   I rather expected that to be the end of the topic but I was wrong.  My daughter duly presented me with books from her school library the talked about what great pet certain snakes make and how easy they were to care for.  “Easy” was what got my attention, knowing that any pet a 6 year old acquired would probably become Mom’s responsibility. 

So, after constructing a simple set-up, we got our first snake from a large chain pet store, a garter snake that died within a couple of weeks, along with all the goldfish we had bought to feed it.   We then fell in love with a very pretty red and orange cornsnake at a small pet store.  But when we went back to get it, it had been sold, and, assuming that all cornsnakes were about the same, settled for a different cornsnake that wasn’t nearly as pretty.  That snake thrived but we foolishly traded it for a ball python, which, like many ball pythons, refused to eat for long periods of time.  Also, we found it difficult to provide the higher temperatures and humidity they require and the larger tank size was hard to clean and didn’t look good in the space we had available for it.  I found I enjoyed having a reptile for a pet, but having one that wouldn’t eat regularly was too frustrating for me, even it the snake was okay with it. 

It was about this time that we inherited a bearded dragon, along with a complete set-up for it.  The beardie made an entertaining pet (although this particular one had seldom been handled and wasn’t very tame) but he usually required daily care to keep his food, water, and vegetables fresh, and I also had to keep and care for a cage full of crickets, with frequent trips to the pet store to replenish the cricket supply.  I had purchased some property in the Sierra Nevada mountains and begun to build a cabin on it, doing much of the work myself.  Being a single mom with a more than full time career, I really needed a pet that required less care.  So we took another look at cornsnakes.

This time I did my homework better and discovered that cornsnakes were not all alike!
I loved the colors and patterns, and their care was so simple that I didn’t have to choose just one.  I discovered I have a talent for caring for tiny hatchlings and for breeding for new colors and patterns.  Now I have over hundred snakes, which live on racks which line the walls of a room in my home.  I never tire of handling and caring for these beautiful creatures, and of introducing others to their bright colors and patterns, and gentle demeanor.

Goals for Poppycorns

• To have fun producing some of the most beautiful cornsnakes available, and introducing others to these lovely and often misunderstood creatures.

• To provide an opportunity for my daughter to learn business skills, life lessons,  responsibility, and a means of earning money to purchase for herself what American teens perceive as necessities.

• To provide a secondary income stream that can be devoted to providing for the poor and hungry in the world.  Here in America we have so much, but so much of the world has so little.  I read about the tragedies and famines in other places, but even though I draw a decent salary, it seems that as a single parent with a modest lifestyle and an old car, there’s still not much left over at the end of the month to give away.  All income from the snakes over expenses and what my daughter earns from feeding snakes and cleaning cages goes to provide for the neediest people.

For many years, I have sponsored a child through Compassion.  Currently, I am supporting Leah, a 9 year old girl in the Philippines, with whom I exchange letters.   Her father is a pedicab driver but is often ill.  Her mother cares for Leah, who is herself rather frail, and several other siblings.  Because of my support, Leah has a bicycle and new clothes, and attends a program that supplies a good meal and activities that expand the borders of her world.  One Christmas as I was purchasing yet another gift for an unappreciative relative, I decided to send $100 to Leah’s family instead.  They were so grateful, and detailed back what they had spent the money on…beans, rice, sandals, the pedicab rent… I was humbled and embarrassed by the contrast between my lifestyle and theirs.  Last winter I was sitting in front of the woodstove in my cabin, watching the snow come down, wrapped in a snuggly blanket.  It was so wonderful, I felt so blessed.  I said “Lord, this isn’t fair, I have so much and Leah has so little”.  He replied “It is fair.  You have yours now, she’ll get hers later.”   Ouch.

So I am more than compensated to be able to have this hobby-turned-business pay for the privilege of keeping these beautiful creatures that I am entrusted with.  Anything above that all goes back to those have no opportunity for such privileges.

My primary career is an agronomist doing applied research and non-formal education with the University of California, where my most recent emphasis has been with developing environmentally and economically sound methods of utilizing dairy manures as a nutrient source for crops.  My formal training in genetics, statistics, animal nutrition and research techniques have been put to new uses in managing my “herd” of beautiful snakes.