Still scared

I don't get it. A few months ago, the dogs were putting up a fuss in the yard, and when I went over to see what the problem was, I found a long dark snake caught up in the bird netting that is wrapped around the green house. I looked it up on Google - didn't seem to be venomous - OK, so, w/o actually touching it with my hands, I managed to cut it free. More Googling determined it was almost certainly a king snake. Good, because they can eat the rattlers around here.

So, after all that, and getting sort of drawn in to snakes on the 'net...I watched about a million videos, felt desensitized, and found I wanted a snake enough to contact a couple of breeders. I even ordered Vincent Russo's book on boas.

This evening, I found another king snake by the back steps. It is not the same one. It is a little smaller. I could only force myself to get within a few feet of it. I'm still afraid! (I also don't get this, because I used to chase and handle garters as a kid. Apparently, I'm only OK with snakes that have green stripes.)

Anyone else have this issue?

Nothing wrong with being nervous around snakes. You need to think about what is is specifically that scares you. Are you worrying about a potential bite? Or is it something else?

The more confident you are while trying to grab it the less likely you are to get bit. It doesn't hurt, just go for it. Plus if you do get bit you'll feel like a gladiator because you're bleeding with no pain. Just make sure you know what kind of snake you're grabbing ;)

There's also a huge difference in dealing with a wild (or wild-caught) critter versus one that's captive bred. We give the wild snakes a decent amount of space as they can be pretty aggressive / defensive. One large garter even decided to attack the lawn mower the other day. Fortunately the hubby got it shut off in time so the snake didn't get hurt.

The neighbors know us as "those weird snake people" and we've relocated more than a few from their garages. We don't touch them directly, just use the field hooks/tongs to gently get them to a safer place.

I'm really not sure what the fear is.

I keep a flock of placid hens which turn into Godzillas when they are broody. They stab my hand fiercely every day when I reach under to collect the eggs. I just expect the stab and take it.

The wild snakes just an aura about them - I don't know. Dealing with the first one caught in the netting wasn't easy. Probably took half an hour just to work up the courage to get near enough to snip off the plastic threads.

I want these guys around. I keep the place clean and picked up, but we have a mouse problem. I catch one or more almost daily in the live traps. They get dispatched and fed to the chickens as part of the morning chores.