Giant vinegaroons
- Thread starter sschind
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sschind
Well-known member
Looks like Monday may be the day. A few babies have left mom now (Sunday night) but they are still white. I may have glimpsed one that has turned darker but its hard to tell through the opaque plastic.
I have to tell this story but I'll warn you in advance it's a long one. I work for a company that does educational school shows. Mostly I do reptile shows but I have started to try to improve on our existing bug show. Friday night we did a science fair night at an elementary school in LaGrange Park IL and one of my "bugs" was a big female vingaroon. I put her in a plastic disposable glad type sandwich container and took the lid and cut most of it out leaving just a frame of sorts around the edge and placed a piece of 2 mil plastic (not your run of the mil plastic wrap) over the container and snapped on the lid. It makes a nice lightweight crystal clear viewing area. You can probably tell where this is going but it gets better.
I knew I had another small show today (Sunday) so when I got home late Friday night I decided to just leave the bugs in their containers in the Styrofoam fish box I transport them in. I just took off the lid to the styro and left the box in my animal room (spare bedroom of my apartment actually) I left this morning and didn't bother checking on anything so when I got to the show I set everything out and I after about 10-15 minutes I went around to check on everything and I see a hole ripped in the plastic of the vinegaroon container and nothing but coco fiber inside.
By now the kids and some of the parents were starting to file into the room and I didn't want to make a big deal by going through a full blown search so I kind of surreptitiously started glancing over things seeing if I could find it. I wasn't too worried because it was a small room with a tile floor several tables and chairs and not a lot of hiding places. I knew it would be easy to find but I didn't want to alarm anyone and I didn't really want it to come crawling out in the middle of the show and freak everyone out. I didn't find it and went on with the show and it went great. When it was over I had a few parents ask if I needed any help tearing down and I said "No thank you. I like to take my time and tear down in a certain way so I am ready for the next show without too much fuss" what I really meant was " No thank you now get out of the room so I can find my missing bug" I still didn't find it. I finally decided, after delaying my departure as long as I possibly could without arousing suspicion, that it had gotten out sometime Friday night or Saturday in my animal room. I think I mentioned that my animal room was really just my spare bedroom in my apartment right? I decided that this was both a good thing and a bad thing. It was good because I knew I wouldn't get a phone call from a hysterical youth ministries director screaming about this hideous alien bug that was trying to eat her. It was a bad thing because now this thing was loose in my spare bedroom. Now would be a good time to tell you that my spare bedroom is not a small room with a tile floor and very few hiding places. It is a small room but that is absolutely where any resemblance between the two rooms ends. Lets just say I think a flock of sheep could hide in my spare bedroom. There are lots and lots of hiding places. OK, OK my spare room is mess. On the drive home all I could think of was how long I would have to spend tearing the room apart looking for this thing. Well, that and how after tearing the room apart it probably wouldn't look any different than it did now.
So I get home this afternoon and I carry everything in to the apartment. A couple of minutes later there is a knock on my door and when I opened it my upstairs neighbor was standing there with an ice cream pail with a lid on it but I knew she wasn't offering me ice cream. Now, most of my neighbors know I used to own a pet shop so I am used to lots of "we were wondering if you knew what this might be?" type questions. Usually its a garter snake or a salamander or a toad that has found its way into the basement. It wasn't. She says "My mom (who just happens to be my next door neighbor) found this crawling across her living room floor and we were wondering if you knew what it might be" Oh I knew what it might be all right. I knew before I even looked in the bucket not only what it might be but exactly what it was. My first instinct was to lie and say something like " Golly gee no, I have no idea what it is but it sure is cool, can I keep it?" Instead I opened the bucket and said "Yeah. I know what it is, its my giant vinegaroon that escaped from his TEMPORARY container last night." I was careful to point out the TEMPORARY part because even though most of them know or at least suspect I have a few animals I didn't want them thinking I had Wild Kingdom running lose in my apartment. We went over to her mom's apartment and she comes out with her son and her boyfriend and they (the son and the boyfriend and the daughter) all get a huge laugh out of it. Mom wasn't laughing so hard but she wasn't really upset. After several apologies and another assertion that it had been in a TEMPORARY container. we all went back to our separate apartments.
I was very happy that I didn't have to tear my bedroom apart to find it but I was also a bit worried that she might say something to the landlord. I really didn't think she would as we do get along pretty well but still, you never know. I decided a little hush money might be in order so I went down to the corner tavern where I knew she and he boyfriend hung out and bought $20.00 worth of drink coupons. I went back an knocked on her door and told her boyfriend who answered "next time you are out on the town have a few drinks on me and tell Vicky again that I am really sorry" He laughed again and said "you didn't have to do that, we're neighbors" but I just said "Yeah but I feel really bad and I'm also hoping this will help keep it a secret if you know what I mean" He said "thanks and this never happened"
I am hoping, much like I am sure you are, that this is the end of it.
I just had to share it.
I have to tell this story but I'll warn you in advance it's a long one. I work for a company that does educational school shows. Mostly I do reptile shows but I have started to try to improve on our existing bug show. Friday night we did a science fair night at an elementary school in LaGrange Park IL and one of my "bugs" was a big female vingaroon. I put her in a plastic disposable glad type sandwich container and took the lid and cut most of it out leaving just a frame of sorts around the edge and placed a piece of 2 mil plastic (not your run of the mil plastic wrap) over the container and snapped on the lid. It makes a nice lightweight crystal clear viewing area. You can probably tell where this is going but it gets better.
I knew I had another small show today (Sunday) so when I got home late Friday night I decided to just leave the bugs in their containers in the Styrofoam fish box I transport them in. I just took off the lid to the styro and left the box in my animal room (spare bedroom of my apartment actually) I left this morning and didn't bother checking on anything so when I got to the show I set everything out and I after about 10-15 minutes I went around to check on everything and I see a hole ripped in the plastic of the vinegaroon container and nothing but coco fiber inside.
By now the kids and some of the parents were starting to file into the room and I didn't want to make a big deal by going through a full blown search so I kind of surreptitiously started glancing over things seeing if I could find it. I wasn't too worried because it was a small room with a tile floor several tables and chairs and not a lot of hiding places. I knew it would be easy to find but I didn't want to alarm anyone and I didn't really want it to come crawling out in the middle of the show and freak everyone out. I didn't find it and went on with the show and it went great. When it was over I had a few parents ask if I needed any help tearing down and I said "No thank you. I like to take my time and tear down in a certain way so I am ready for the next show without too much fuss" what I really meant was " No thank you now get out of the room so I can find my missing bug" I still didn't find it. I finally decided, after delaying my departure as long as I possibly could without arousing suspicion, that it had gotten out sometime Friday night or Saturday in my animal room. I think I mentioned that my animal room was really just my spare bedroom in my apartment right? I decided that this was both a good thing and a bad thing. It was good because I knew I wouldn't get a phone call from a hysterical youth ministries director screaming about this hideous alien bug that was trying to eat her. It was a bad thing because now this thing was loose in my spare bedroom. Now would be a good time to tell you that my spare bedroom is not a small room with a tile floor and very few hiding places. It is a small room but that is absolutely where any resemblance between the two rooms ends. Lets just say I think a flock of sheep could hide in my spare bedroom. There are lots and lots of hiding places. OK, OK my spare room is mess. On the drive home all I could think of was how long I would have to spend tearing the room apart looking for this thing. Well, that and how after tearing the room apart it probably wouldn't look any different than it did now.
So I get home this afternoon and I carry everything in to the apartment. A couple of minutes later there is a knock on my door and when I opened it my upstairs neighbor was standing there with an ice cream pail with a lid on it but I knew she wasn't offering me ice cream. Now, most of my neighbors know I used to own a pet shop so I am used to lots of "we were wondering if you knew what this might be?" type questions. Usually its a garter snake or a salamander or a toad that has found its way into the basement. It wasn't. She says "My mom (who just happens to be my next door neighbor) found this crawling across her living room floor and we were wondering if you knew what it might be" Oh I knew what it might be all right. I knew before I even looked in the bucket not only what it might be but exactly what it was. My first instinct was to lie and say something like " Golly gee no, I have no idea what it is but it sure is cool, can I keep it?" Instead I opened the bucket and said "Yeah. I know what it is, its my giant vinegaroon that escaped from his TEMPORARY container last night." I was careful to point out the TEMPORARY part because even though most of them know or at least suspect I have a few animals I didn't want them thinking I had Wild Kingdom running lose in my apartment. We went over to her mom's apartment and she comes out with her son and her boyfriend and they (the son and the boyfriend and the daughter) all get a huge laugh out of it. Mom wasn't laughing so hard but she wasn't really upset. After several apologies and another assertion that it had been in a TEMPORARY container. we all went back to our separate apartments.
I was very happy that I didn't have to tear my bedroom apart to find it but I was also a bit worried that she might say something to the landlord. I really didn't think she would as we do get along pretty well but still, you never know. I decided a little hush money might be in order so I went down to the corner tavern where I knew she and he boyfriend hung out and bought $20.00 worth of drink coupons. I went back an knocked on her door and told her boyfriend who answered "next time you are out on the town have a few drinks on me and tell Vicky again that I am really sorry" He laughed again and said "you didn't have to do that, we're neighbors" but I just said "Yeah but I feel really bad and I'm also hoping this will help keep it a secret if you know what I mean" He said "thanks and this never happened"
I am hoping, much like I am sure you are, that this is the end of it.
I just had to share it.
DinehCaveman
Well-known member
A happy ending for all.
