Snake befriends its hamster lunch in zoo (longer version)

Snakes usually have hamsters for lunch. But when rat snake Ao-chan and dwarf hamster Gohan-chan met at a Japanese zoo, it was love - and not at first bite. Now, the 120-centimetre snake and gray hamster are room mates, living together in a heated glass box. Gohan-chan, whose name means quot;mealquot; in Japanese, was literally, meant to be the snakeapos;s dinner. quot;When we first found Ao-chan, the snake refused to eat so we went to a pet shop but was told they were out of frozen mice and suggested we try a hamster. However the moment we put it in the cage, it was instantaneous friendship and the snake seemed to have no appetite for it,quot; said zoo keeper Kazuya Yamamoto. But the love is obviously is shared only by the snake and the hamster. Hanna-chan, a mouse-hunting cat, has been eyeing Gohan-chan ever since Ao-chan decided to befriend it.