Farewell, sweet serpent

Evan McLean, of Gem State Crystals, shared this obituary for Buddy, the rattlesnake who occupied a display case at the Moscow store for more than 30 years.

Buddy died a few weeks ago, and his body is being preserved by a taxidermist so his legacy can live on for Gem State customers at the shop at 404 S. Main St.

He was an attraction for many who loved snakes — and even for some who didn’t. The novelty of seeing a live rattlesnake behind a thin pane of glass was enough to draw both awed appreciation and curious revulsion.

Being present on a feeding day, when a beady-eyed, white mouse was placed in Buddy’s enclosure for his consumption was, again, a source of intrigue or mortification, depending on the onlooker.

Here is McLean’s homage to the late reptile:

Buddy the rattlesnake shed his mortal coil last month.

Though deemed immortal by many, he died after 34 years of educating the public on northern Pacific rattlesnakes and rockhounding tips via his terrarium at Gem State Crystals in downtown Moscow.

The size of a pencil, he was found by police after a University of Idaho homecoming parade on Main Street, predating the city’s ban on keeping wild animals.

He likely wriggled out of a hay bale on a flatbed and into our hearts.

He brought joy to three generations of visitors.

He brought fear to three generations of ophiophobics.

His memory will live forever in the hearts of staff and customers.

His body will live forever in the shop once back from the taxidermist.

McLean generously shared these additional facts about Buddy's life:

• Northern Pacific rattlesnakes are not usually found in the Moscow area but in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, where it is warmer and rockier. Buddy likely was baled up somewhere in the valley and fell out during the UI Homecoming parade in Moscow at the corner of Fifth and Main streets.
  
  
• Given the season he was found and his age, releasing him in the valley would most likely have caused his death. Then he was far too imprinted to terrarium life to release after that.
  
  
• He was put into the case with Fred, another, older, snake of the same variety. He was Fred’s “Buddy,” hence the name.
  
  
• After a couple of years, when Buddy came of age, we accidentally found out that Fred was Frederica when she became pregnant. She was too old to be pregnant, though, and
  Mary Stone/Inland 360

  Buddy in his terrarium, with lunch mouse in the background.
  died as a result; no babies were delivered.
  
  
• He lived in an antique cigar vending case with many rocks from the area, each numbered with a guide on the glass for people to learn more about local minerals and what one might encounter when rockhounding or hiking in the valley.
  
  
• Buddy ate mice obtained from Moscow pet store Pets Are People Too. He would normally only eat the white ones, because he was imprinted on them from an early age.
  
  
• He would eat once a week in the summer and not at all in the winter, because of hibernation.
  
  
• He did not need a heat rock or lamp like pet store snakes because he was not a tropical snake, which is what most pet store snakes are.
  
  
• Up till his death, we had parents bringing in their children showing them the snake saying, “I was your age when I first met Buddy.”
  
  
• The city of Moscow does not allow wild animals, but Buddy was grandfathered in because of his age and existence before the law.
  
  
• Buddy would shed twice a year on average, sometimes one and sometimes three times. Each time, a button formed on his rattle. Many think the rattle is indicative of age, each button representing a year, but that is not the case.