Hamsterand snake best friends at Tokyo zoo Hamster named Gohan, right, and snake Aochan live togther in a cardboard box at Mutsugoro Okoku zoo, outskirts of Tokyo, in this January 14, 2006 photo. Gohan and Aochan make strange bedfellows: one's a 9 centimeter dwarf hamster; the other is a 120 centimeter-long (yard-long) ratsnake. Zookeepers at Tokyo's Mutsugoro Okoku zoo presented the hamster _ whose name means "meal" in Japanese _ to Aochan as a tasty morsel in October, after the snake refused to eat frozen mice. But instead of indulging, Aochan decided to make friends with the furry rodent, according to keeper Kazuya Yamamoto. The pair have shared a cage since January 18, 2006 (AP Photo/Mutsugoro Okoku Zoo, Kyota Nomura) January 18, 2006 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/Bluewildlife/snakenadham.jpg[/I "I've never seen anything like it. Gohan sometimes even climbs onto Aochan to take a nap on his back," Yamamoto said. Aochan, a 2-year-old male Japanese rat snake, eventually developed an appetite for frozen rodents but has so far shown no signs of gobbling up Gohan -- despite her name. "We named her Gohan as a joke," Yamamoto chuckled. "But I don't think there's any danger. Aochan seems to enjoy Gohan's company very much." The Tokyo zoo also keeps a range of mostly livestock animals, and promotes "cross-breed interaction," according to Yamamoto. But Gohan and Aochan's case "was a complete accident," Yamamoto said. 2006 Associated Press. ** Somehow I think Aochan the ratsnake may [i]just[/i]become peckish soon. Look out Gohan your days are numbered!!!
