This Week's Feature
Football Players' Pets
Lions and tigers and bears-oh my! Well, maybe not lions and bears exactly, but the pets that belong to several of the Auburn football players are just about as dangerous. Undoubtedly several of the players have a very diverse taste when it comes to picking their pets. While most people own the likes of dogs, cats and fish, several of the player's pets range from exotic snakes to alligators.
Due to the enormous rigors of being a student-athlete, many of the players have opted for pets that require less time and effort. With practice, weights, meetings and classes, pets that need attention are hard pressed to fit into the schedule of an Auburn football player. Thus, pets such as snakes are very popular among the team. Among those who have snakes include defensive end Josh Weldon, who owned an Albino Burmese Python.
"I got the snake because I like reptiles a lot," said Weldon. "Plus, he was really easy to take care of. All I had to do was feed him about twice a week. He ended up being about five feet long."
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Antwoine Nolan and |
Corner back Antwoine Nolan is also a snake owner. In fact, Nolan owns two snakes named "Ghost Face" and "Little Dirty". Nolan agrees that the snakes are easy to take care of and make really good pets for the busy football players.
"You just feed 'em once or twice a week and take them out every so often to play with them," Nolan said. "The key is you just have to be careful that they don't get loose."
Nolan recalls a story when one of his snakes mysteriously disappeared.
"Little Dirty got loose in my room one time and I couldn't find him for a while," Noland noted. "My roommate finally found him and he wasn't too happy with the whole situation."
And then there is the deadly scorpion that belongs to tight end Reid Tankersley. Tankersley enjoys his scorpion and shared why he chose this particular creature for a pet.
"Well, it started when I was young," Tankersley said. "I got the chance to handle scorpions and I became totally fascinated with them. When I finally got to Auburn, I saw that Tiger Shark Pets had some for sale, so I went straight there and got one.
"It really isn't too hard to care for. I feed it crickets and small mice and take it out of its cage to play with it. The handling is the hardest part and having people come over. They're always scared of him, so fewer people come to visit, and if they do, they never go near his cage."
Another out of the ordinary pet is "The Abbott," a one-foot alligator that belonged to center Cole Cubelic. Cubelic kept his alligator in a large aquarium in his room. The only alligator-owning player on the team, Cubelic claims that it was not the best pet to own, as he has since departed with "The Abbott."
"I thought it would be cool to have an alligator as a pet," said Cubelic. "I didn't realize it would be as hard to keep though.
"The actual feeding and cleaning wasn't bad, but the handling was difficult considering he wasn't very tame or friendly," Cubelic said.
Cubelic's hand almost became an appetizer for "The Abbott."
"Once I was holding it and it ended up biting my hand," Cubelic said. "I had to get Josh (Weldon) to help pry his teeth out of my hand. It hurt, but I didn't need any stitches."
As Cubelic found out, owning a pet requires extra time and dedication. The players that own pets have to juggle an already hectic schedule and make sure their pet is cared for properly. Sometimes those pets end up being just a little more trouble than expected and the players have to get rid of them.
"I just couldn't find enough time to take him out of his cage to handle him," said Weldon. "I ended up selling him to someone else because I wasn't taking care of him like he needed. I was just too busy."
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