Snake prejugdice ? Grrr

[puddintain]

I AM SO ANNOYED! WHY DO NON SNAKE PEOPLE HAVE TO ACT SO SILLY ABOUT SNAKES? I JUST TOLD MY BEST FRIEND THAT I COULDN'T GO TO HER HOUSE TODAY BECAUSE MY NEW SNAKE WAS BEING DELIVERED. SHE WENT ALL CRAZY! She wanted to know why we needed another nasyy snake and said she is never coming back to our house because now there is going to be a snake in my room and one in the living room. I've tried a million times to get her to at least give Zipper our corn snake a look over. He's harmless! I'm not asked her to like him, but don't be so dumb! I don't like cats at all, they make me sneeze and snot and all sorts of itchy, but I don't tell her that hers is nasty. So why do people think it's ok to bash snakes or other exotic pets??? whew I feel better I think I just needed to fuss a bit.

[Ben Biscy]

you should see the replies to the hr669 threads i've started elsewhere. makes me ashamed to say i'm proud to be an american

[MiniJ83]

I hate spiders. HATE spiders. And if one of my friends kept insisting that I come over and look over their new tarantula...i'd flip out. LOL.

It's an irrational fear, but it's real. I respect other peoples feelings, and don't try and shove my snakes down their throat. You have to have thick skin as an exotics owner, not everyone will be passionate about your hobby.

[snakecharmer3638]

I don't think the OP was trying to shove anything down anyones throat. She simply said she couldn't spend time with her friend because her new snake was arriving. If your so called best friend acts that way then maybe she is not such a good friend. We have five snakes at our house. And both me and my daughter have friends that do not like snakes. But none of them has ever said that we shouldn't keep them or refused to come visit because we have them.

[Ben Biscy]

I hate spiders. HATE spiders. And if one of my friends kept insisting that I come over and look over their new tarantula...i'd flip out. LOL.

It's an irrational fear, but it's real. I respect other peoples feelings, and don't try and shove my snakes down their throat. You have to have thick skin as an exotics owner, not everyone will be passionate about your hobby.

i have an extreme fear of falling, yet i work heights.

i have a phobia of snakes, yet i own, breed, and sell them.

i have an EXTREME hatred/fear for spiders, yet i don't say a word when people own them, show them, or insist on having the enclosure where i have to be.

above all, i'm claustrophobic to the point of insanity, but when i MUST be in tight quarters, i control myself even though i'm hating every nanosecond.


if you understand you have an irrational fear, you can take measures to correct your reactive behavior. most people's phobias are encouraged by the attention they get when they pitch a fit, and the behavior becomes natural and acceptable to the person suffering from the anxiety.

[MiniJ83]

I was only making a point.

If my friend, no matter how good a friend, had a spider enclosure in several rooms of their house...I would stop going to that house. I'm that scared of arachnids. Like I said, it's an irrational fear, but it's one I can't overcome. Doesn't matter how good of a friend I am.

On the OTHER hand, if you can't respect someone elses phobias...I'll leave it at that.

[Ben Biscy]

as someone who sells animals, i can totally relate to respecting others. i don't pressure anyone, but at the same time i try to coach people who do have fears, even if it's just subtle hints. what's amazing and rewarding is when someone who IS fearful calms down to the point of boasting to others how they handled a snake, and then end up coming back to purchase one of their own :p

[puddintain]

Sometime I think people just do it for drama sake. I understand a phobia. My grandpa is terrified of snakes and he is this way because he served in viet nam and the snakes he saw there were huge and scary to encounter. It's left him with a ph0bia of them. I can respect that, we cover Zipper's cage when he is over and don't take him out. But my friend, it just seems like she acts silly about it because it's cool to act that way.

[Freakie_frog]

As someone that has more than my share of snakes. I get the same questions all the time. I have some friends that are always egar to see the animals and some that want nothing to do with them. I explaine to the ones that don't it doesn't hurt my feeling at all everybody is different and if at any time they change their mind they are more than welcome to come over and experance the animals at a distance they are comfortable with for a time length that they are comfortable with.

I have had some converts my mom wanted nothing to do with my first snake but now she goes digging through the tubs looking at different things. Her favorite is my big female Mojave..

Then you get some like my wife..Shes been around the snakes for 6+ years and still will almost clear a room if I bring one in.

The key is to be understanding and tell people that you don't expect everyone to share your hobby and that perfectly fine, but that if they ever were curious that you be willing to explain or show them anything they want.