Ohhhh, that's so lovely, Deborah! I'm so glad you even feel that way, whether or not you'll ever be "allowed" (pardon the word) to have a snake.

It's always so much fun to see people reach this beautiful point of understanding these lovely animals and being willing to even consider having them as pets. They're certainly low maintenance - I thought cats were, until I had snakes! Almost no maintenance!

I'm also really happy that you could feel their personalities - well, more so Bob's - Fluffy was pretty timid and just hid most of the time.

No, I won't ever have another snake. It sounds silly, but I'd feel disloyal to Bob. I guess because I still haven't got over that awful day when I had to say goodbye.

Plus I think I'd always be comparing any other snake because I just can't imagine ever having that kind of bond with another one, or finding one that's as unusual as he was.

It feels sort of like if I can't have Bob, I don't want any other snake.

I've never actually said or written any of that before. Feels a bit silly on seeing it in writing but I can't help how I feel. I don't think I could cope with a pet of any kind after that. I just don't feel like I can put myself through it again. I've lost so many pets down the years. It's always so, so hard, but I always found my way to getting another one.

But this loss just finished me.