A TikTok user who shares her home with 11 reptiles, seven of which are snakes, has revealed how she creates amazing artwork by letting them “wriggle” over a specially adapted canvas.
Brittni, 27, an executive assistant from North Carolina, US, creates the paintings with the help of her seven snakes; Thorn, a California Kingsnake, Persephone, also known as Peri, a Corn Snake, E. Coli Lou, an Ivory Ball Python, Noodles, a Spinner Blast Ball Python, Zero, a Grey-banded Kingsnake, Fletcher, a Plains Hognose and lastly Onyx, a Mexican Black Kingsnake.
In addition to her slippery friends, Brittni also owns four lizards; Merlin, a Bearded Dragon, Mac, a Crested Gecko, Vince, a Leopard Gecko and BoomBoom, a Red Tegu, who also assist with art sessions.
Now the unlikely group have built a bevy of 30,000 fan on TikTok (@brittniszoo) thanks to their unique designs.
“I did a similar painting with my dogs a few years back, so when we recently purchased a new house, and were in desperate need of décor, I decided, why not let the other members of our family make something for us?’ Brittni said.
“Not only is it a fun process for me, but it allows my snakes to get some enrichment.
“Like all animals, snakes need mental and physical stimulation, and although I do provide them with large enclosures and lots of things to climb on/explore, it is always nice to get them out and let them see and experience new things.
“In particular, they all seem to be fascinated with the lights I use and any reflective surface.
“The simpler paintings follow a few basic steps. First, I will pick out a variety of non-toxic, acrylic paints, I Will place those in a circle, and I will basically just let the snakes explore/knock down colours.
“Whatever they ‘pick’, I will then pour the paint onto the canvas. Originally it started as paint blobs dotted around the canvas however I choose.
“Once I pour the paint onto the canvas, in whichever form I prefer, I always cover it in plastic.
“I will pour those onto the canvas from darkest to light. This makes the paint much easier for the snakes to spread around and gives it a more organic look.
“I have also started creating my own stencils and pouring their colour choices into those to make reptile silhouettes.
“The paints I use are non-toxic – I am very serious about safety. I do not want to risk any harm to the animals by letting them come in contact with it. Reptiles explore with their tongues – I can’t imagine tasting paint would be very enjoyable.
“Once the paint is spread out, or the snake starts to show signs of discomfort/stress; I will end the session and put the snake away.
“The entire process takes less than 10 minutes. Snakes don’t love to be overhandled, so I make sure the sessions are short and sweet.”
She shares clips on TikTok – many of which have gone viral on the app.
A TikTok user who shares her home with 11 reptiles, seven of which are snakes, has revealed how she creates amazing artwork by letting them “wriggle” over a specially adapted canvas.
Brittni, 27, an executive assistant from North Carolina, US, creates the paintings with the help of her seven snakes; Thorn, a California Kingsnake, Persephone, also known as Peri, a Corn Snake, E. Coli Lou, an Ivory Ball Python, Noodles, a Spinner Blast Ball Python, Zero, a Grey-banded Kingsnake, Fletcher, a Plains Hognose and lastly Onyx, a Mexican Black Kingsnake.
In addition to her slippery friends, Brittni also owns four lizards; Merlin, a Bearded Dragon, Mac, a Crested Gecko, Vince, a Leopard Gecko and BoomBoom, a Red Tegu, who also assist with art sessions.
Now the unlikely group have built a bevy of 30,000 fan on TikTok (@brittniszoo) thanks to their unique designs.
“I did a similar painting with my dogs a few years back, so when we recently purchased a new house, and were in desperate need of décor, I decided, why not let the other members of our family make something for us?’ Brittni told NeedToKnow.online.
“Not only is it a fun process for me, but it allows my snakes to get some enrichment.
“Like all animals, snakes need mental and physical stimulation, and although I do provide them with large enclosures and lots of things to climb on/explore, it is always nice to get them out and let them see and experience new things.
“In particular, they all seem to be fascinated with the lights I use and any reflective surface.
“The simpler paintings follow a few basic steps. First, I will pick out a variety of non-toxic, acrylic paints, I Will place those in a circle, and I will basically just let the snakes explore/knock down colours.
“Whatever they ‘pick’, I will then pour the paint onto the canvas. Originally it started as paint blobs dotted around the canvas however I choose.
“Once I pour the paint onto the canvas, in whichever form I prefer, I always cover it in plastic.
“I will pour those onto the canvas from darkest to light. This makes the paint much easier for the snakes to spread around and gives it a more organic look.
“I have also started creating my own stencils and pouring their colour choices into those to make reptile silhouettes.
“The paints I use are non-toxic – I am very serious about safety. I do not want to risk any harm to the animals by letting them come in contact with it. Reptiles explore with their tongues – I can’t imagine tasting paint would be very enjoyable.
“Once the paint is spread out, or the snake starts to show signs of discomfort/stress; I will end the session and put the snake away.
“The entire process takes less than 10 minutes. Snakes don’t love to be over handled, so I make sure the sessions are short and sweet.”
She shares clips on TikTok – many of which have gone viral on the app.
In one, which was viewed 1.9 million times and racked up 163,000 likes, she shows a gray snake “picking” blue, orange, grey and green paints.
In another post, one snake poses with a makeshift beret on his head and lies next to a canvas stand, and several completed artworks.
“Does he do commissions?” said a user on one popular post.
“What a talented little guy!” commented another user.
Someone else said: “That snake is better at painting than me.”
“Aren’t they like colourblind? Still cool tho.” added another user.
“Beautiful guy! What morph is he?” asked another user.
When asked about the response to her unusual art sessions, Brittni revealed the reptile community can be a divided space.
She said: “I try to keep my videos uplifting and to really show reptiles off in a positive light; so far most of the viewers have reacted positively. I honestly think my biggest critics are other snake/reptile keepers.
“Women are already treated differently in the reptile hobby, and although it is becoming more inclusive, many of the older keepers tend to look down upon us. The other big ‘no-no’ in the community is anthropomorphism.
"Basically, snakes/reptiles do not have the same emotional capacity as other animals (such as the ability to love), although they can learn and build trust with someone, snakes will never actually ‘like’ us.
"I can understand why some reptile enthusiasts see my commentary on my videos in regards to the animals ‘liking’ a certain colour, or personifying their actions could be misleading.
"I make a ton of educational videos as well, and it is never my intention to provide incorrect information, but my content is also meant to be light-hearted, fun, and also funny (at least I laugh at myself) – and that something that I feel is lacking in the reptile social media community.
"There is a lot of super great educational content out there, but it is mostly targeted towards people who keep reptiles.”
When asked what kind of artists her snakes were, Brittni had an interesting comeback.
She said: “They are terrible painters. They are really good at wiggling, though. Some of the paintings definitely come out as a bust if they pick colours that don’t work together or if they aren’t in the mood to wiggle around.
“When they do get going though, it makes for some crazy cool patterns and textures in the
paintings.”
Brittni does not sell many of her paintings but intends to sell them from $20 - $30 and donate a share of the profits towards reptile charities and shelters.
ENDS
