Flag Farm’s Stitch, the cold-blooded slitherer, finally knows the warmth of love

Snakes may be cold-blooded but they still need love and specialised care to thrive in captivity.

Flag Animal Farm is home to a variety of animals, and in the ‘creepy room’ you can find some of the reptiles.

Stitch the ball python is one such resident who frightens and delights in equal measure.

He is another of the farm’s rescue cases, and was found in dire condition a few years ago.

Stitch had been kept in a cage with a damp floor, and the constant moisture made his underside scales rot away.

It took the expertise of local vet Dr Kevin Stevens, and the two reptile experts on the Flag staff just to keep him alive.

“We were worried about him for a long time, but his scales have now fully returned and he interacts with our other two ball pythons constantly,” said Flag Animal Farm owner Genevieve Chisholm.

Stitch was originally thought to be a female, but with proper living conditions and medical care it has been discovered that he is a male.

Snakes feed on rodents and other small animals, which means they have to be kept separate as there are a multitude of animals that would be on Stitch’s menu otherwise.

“We buy frozen and pre-packed food for the snakes from Hillcrest, I wouldn’t be able to bear using other animals from the farm,” said Chisholm.

He is proof of the concept which runs through Flag Farm, that there may be no perfect animals only the perfect environment to help them flourish, said Chisholm.