Female Ball Python keepers?

Just curious how many of you are out there. I've noticed there are more and more women out there keeping snakes. However, it never fails that I say I keep snakes and people look at me like I'm a nutbag. If I were a man, it feels like I wouldn't get the same reaction. Any cool stories? I love story time :D

I'm a guy and when people find out i have snakes their reactions are either curious and accepting or they're completely disgusted by it and afraid of them haha.

I think theres already a female snake keeper thread....but yes, I agree that keeping and breeding snakes is becoming more and more popular with women...in fact, from what Ive seen there are just as many women that love snakes but don't have any because of hubby's fear of them as there are men that love snakes and cant have any because there wives wont let them because of their fears of them! Imagine that! Im glad my husband loves snakes just as much as I do...its a huge part of the "agreeable" part of our relationship :D

I are woman, here me hisssssssssssssssssss.

Seriously though, we're awesome. All the other ladies, being all "EEKKK A SNEK!" are less than awesome. I lurv my scaley babies :)

Funny story:
Many moons ago, when I worked at PetLand, there was a rather large (like linebacker) man and his 4-5 year old daughter browsing all the little aminals. I approached the little girl and asked her if she could hold anything in the store, what would it be. Snek! You got it girlie. So I go get a subadult children's python we had at the time, and bring her out to the little herper. She squeels excitedly and listens while I explain how to hold the snake. All the while, daddy is cowering in the corner. He agreed for her to hold it but would not get within 10ft of it. I finally looked up after she had held it for a while, cooing over it etc, and said to him "Your daughter is braver than you are, open your mind and your heart and you just may find a new passion!" I finally got him to touch it, and as soon as he touched it you could see he relaxed. It wasn't "slimy" and it didn't instantly kill him...Long story short (not really...) they ended up buying a little ball python weeks later, and up until the day I left (~4 years after they purchased it) they would come in every week to get food, and show me pictures of their happy healthy snek friend. I would always joke with them about how the daughter was brave, and had to hold daddy's hand to make him brave. She thought that was the bees knees. Being big and brave and all ;)


Edit: My husband wanted nothing to do with snakes, and finally, after 4 years, he agreed to having a bp. Now we has 11, and planning on many many more ^_^

I'm here (I don't post in the female keeper's thread). I usually don't tell strangers I keep snakes, but I've gotten "wow cool!" from other female coworkers and others who are kinda "ya cool whatever" lol One day though (I work retail) I was ringing up two girls (maybe early twenties, around my age) where one was saying to the other about how she needed to go pick up a live feeder for her boyfriend's snake and how gross and disgusted she was about it (though kudos to her for doing it for him!). I mentioned how I feed f/t but I too need to get live sometimes for some of mine. They looked at me with disgust and surprise and left without saying anything lol

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

I'm a guy and when people find out i have snakes their reactions are either curious and accepting or they're completely disgusted by it and afraid of them haha.

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Same :rolleyes:

Female here. I was shocked when I first joined, to see how many keepers were female! And my daughter will be a future female keeper/breeder as she is the one that started all this. :)

Go to any reptile expo and you see roughly a 50-50 split between male and female reptile enthusiasts. And, not just people showing up as couples with one or the other bored out of their skull.

My girlfriend however has not warmed up to my snakes yet but, she adores her cresties. Truth be told the little guys are growing on me too.

I'm female! :3
I don't really put it out there that I have snakes unless I know the person I'm speaking to is comfortable with them.
My entire family and extended family hate snakes. Something about some Asian superstition that snakes are demons or bad luck, or whatever.:rolleyes:

But when the situation calls for it, I will defend the reputation of a snake any day from ignorant haters.

My boyfriend is indifferent about my snakes. He does like my mojave a lot, but thinks all morphs look the same in general..... >_<;;

Here's a thread with a poll that asked the same question:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...les-Poll/page6

I'm a girl, contrary to popular belief.

My coworkers hate snakes but put up with me blabbing about mine constantly.

I'm not one to shy away from admitting I have snakes. I love talking about them.

I also own multiple snake/reptile shirts that I'll wear to work/the mall/etc

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/17/e8yzugun.jpg
When I wore this to work one day almost every customer asked me what it meant hahaha

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Originally Posted by Raven01

Go to any reptile expo and you see roughly a 50-50 split between male and female reptile enthusiasts. And, not just people showing up as couples with one or the other bored out of their skull.

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Lol, this describes my DH perfectly! The first time I made him go to our local expo it was all "I don't like red tails, they have creepy eyes" "WTF how can a... what is this thing? Ok how can a freaking ball python cost $5k!?!? And how it it made of champagne?!" Last year it was "Why aren't there any decent hets? How come no one has any recessives?" The rants are still there, they're just about better topics now!

I'm a woman, contrary to belief lol. I have a friend coming over with her niece tomorrow, and I'm thinking I'll be making a snake enthusiast out of the little girl once I bring Magnus out, she's been begging my friend to bring her over here since I first explained to her that Magnus is little and not slimy at all. Haha. I think it helped that I told her about his snakey tongue kisses too. Who doesn't need a little flicky kiss every once in a while?

People were already looking at me like if I was nut before so the snakes did not make a huge difference ;)

I often get "are the snakes your husband's?"...I guess people assume if there are snake in the house they Mus belong to the man.

Another fellow female here! :) I was once a snake hater. All of them. If I spotted somebody holding a snake, I'd run into another room and wouldn't return until I knew the snake was gone. One night, after quite a few drinks, I got talked into holding a small juvenile BP. After that night, I was absolutely determined to own one someday. Finally bought my little gal a few months ago and I'm on a mission to change people's opinions of them just as mine was that night. I had been terrified of snakes my whole life, up until that night. I figure if I could overcome such a huge fear, other people could too...even if it may take a few drinks. :rolleyes:
Nobody has ever given me a weird look or anything after finding out I own a snake. Most either become really interested and ask questions or they're just like "oh..yeah, that's cool.." I've only ever gotten an "ewww" when talking about feeding time. :P

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Originally Posted by Deborah

People were already looking at me like if I was nut before so the snakes did not make a huge difference ;)

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Hahahaha same! Thats why most people don't seem that surprised when they hear i have them lol

When I had my boa as a younger lass, the response was mostly "cool!". It's a little more mixed with fascinated abhorrent shock now (followed by lots of questions), as soon as people start asking, "Wait, how many snakes do you have?!?!" Of course, I get a similarly shocked response when I mention my backyard chicken flock, so I guess many people just forget there are other animals than the furry and fishy kind. :rolleyes:

I am an older female keeper. It might just be me, but it seemed like people were much more open to my reptile hobby when I kept corn snakes in my 20s and 30s but now in my 50s with ball pythons, not so much. I do have a couple of friends that enjoy hearing about the snakes and seeing them, but most want nothing to do with them.

chick here, I got started when the kid wanted a snake, hubby was not interested, still not.
of course, I got stuck caring for her after about a month :(
Once I figured out the many, many different varieties I was hooked.
Friends and family think I'm a freak because of it but LOVE when the babies start pipping, go figure.
I love when I go meet someone to buy a new one and they're shocked when a girl shows up, lol.

I can't help but wonder if Animal Planet-esque shows like Animal Hoarders and Fatal Attractions have actually fed the image that we're all societally-defunct sociopaths.

I too have girl-parts! People have always thought I was weird, I've had some people tell me I "seem like I'd keep snakes," no idea what that means lol. Others are weirded out, a few are very interested, most ask how big they get. I don't tell everyone but I don't keep it a secret either. My boyfriend and I got into them together when I randomnly decided I wanted a corn snake, it just grew from there. People are usually shocked when I tell them I have almost 20 of them.

I'm a female as well... I guess my image leads people to think that I am more of a girly-girl than a tom-boy because when I tell people my interests, including keeping numerous reptiles, I get shocked and awed faces in response (and copious questions too)
I have friends who listen to me blab on and on about my snakes, I guess they understand my passion lol, but most people I am around, don't.
My parent's would tell you that I was born with the passion for reptiles. I kept toads and newts, and the occasional Garter snake that I would catch... I even tried to catch a Black Racer (or Indigo snake, I was never quite sure what it was, but it was around 5 foot in length, which was a foot and half longer than me at that time) Ever since I can remember, I loved snakes and lizards and just about every reptile imaginable. I don't know what sparked the passion, lol. Maybe Jurrasic Park and Godzilla? xD
As soon as I had the chance, I got my own snake... which soonly after turned into many snakes. Now I keep 6 snakes, 4 lizards, and 6 turtles. To be fair, most of the turtles are my father's and most of the lizards too, but we share reposibility of them. He didn't like snakes, ever, but I helped him get over his disinterest with my interest.

This thread is a rip off! Wheres all the pics?! :D

I am also a girl! :D

I've always loved reptiles and animals in general. I always had numerous pets and at one point, a bearded dragon.

I always wanted a snake but my mother wouldn't have it. When I went off to school I got myself a pet snake. Parents weren't pleased and told me to return it. No way!!! I rebelled and got 20 something more :P :P

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I always wanted a snake but my mother wouldn't have it. When I went off to school I got myself a pet snake. Parents weren't pleased and told me to return it. No way!!! I rebelled and got 20 something more :P :P

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I came off the same exact boat.
I always wanted snakes, but was never allowed. Parents hated and still hate them.
I went to college and got ferrets.....then snakes......then started a rat colony....and more snakes.

It's been years and they're still trying to get me to get rid of the weasels. I think they would disown me if they knew how many snakes I actually had. heh.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I am also a girl! :D

I've always loved reptiles and animals in general. I always had numerous pets and at one point, a bearded dragon.

I always wanted a snake but my mother wouldn't have it. When I went off to school I got myself a pet snake. Parents weren't pleased and told me to return it. No way!!! I rebelled and got 20 something more :P :P

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This.

I do keep them all in the back room when my mom visits though, she's so scared of them. I figure I would react the same way if she was keeping pet spiders (shudder).

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Originally Posted by satomi325

I came off the same exact boat.
I always wanted snakes, but was never allowed. Parents hated and still hate them.
I went to college and got ferrets.....then snakes......then started a rat colony....and more snakes.

It's been years and they're still trying to get me to get rid of the weasels. I think they would disown me if they knew how many snakes I actually had. heh.

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Yeah... my mom found out about my collection a few months back. She isn't happy about it.. but that is too bad! They don't control my life.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I always wanted a snake but my mother wouldn't have it. When I went off to school I got myself a pet snake. Parents weren't pleased and told me to return it. No way!!! I rebelled and got 20 something more :P :P

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Yeah, that sounds like me too.... I was never allowed to keep anything I caught, indoors. Which meant I couldn't keep any of the wild-caught snakes for long... not that it would be a good idea to keep something wild contained in a shoebox for a long time, let alone, inside your home.
But now, my living room has 3 tanks in it, and my semi-attached "dining room" has 6 tanks in it. I don't really use my dining room to eat in, it's more of a "computer and reptile room with a table and chairs in the middle", room.

My mom knew immediately when I got my snakes.... because I flawnted my companions just to freak her out.
She isn't fond of them, but she thinks they are pretty. So I guess that's a start.

I'm female. I kept lots of fish as a tween/teen, a colony of hermit crabs, and a red eared slider I raised from a tiny baby. I bought a $5 turtle behind my parents back when I was 12 then forfeited lunch money to buy ever growing aquariums until I moved out and gave him to the local tropical store because I couldn't keep a big enough tank in my first apartment.

I haven't had anything but dwarf puffers in four years but now have the research and resources for snakes, which were never allowed as a kid because my mom was so scared she couldn't even look at them on tv. She managed to become "allergic" to every pet attempt except for her very neglected parrots.

I have a ~1000sqf apartment that already had everything basically plotted out, but I'm good with minimalist interior design and aligned a series of black low dressers, a 36" exo terra, and a 4 slot rack into a sleek 14 foot long bedroom dresser/counter.

My husband luckily wasn't afraid of them, but was hesitant at first. Now he claims the biggest one is his.

Ah, hi. I'd planned to stay a lurker and use this place to build up my reptile husbandry knowledge for a few years until I'd actually gotten a BP, but this thread is tempting.

I've really really liked reptiles since I was fairly young, and I love how different they are from mammals. They're just amazing animals, through and through. However, my mother literally thinks snakes are evil and Satanic and blah blah blah... so I've never had the pleasure of caring for any sort of reptile yet.

I'm a female, and while I don't have any snakes yet due to my current circumstances[I'm still stuck living with my snake-hating mother and I'm about to make the transition to college, so now is clearly not a good time], I plan to get a BP when I'm ready[read: have my own place and a steady stream of income]. My girlfriend likes them, too: her dad used to own snakes. I'm almost looking forward to getting funny looks when the time comes, haha.

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Originally Posted by moondevourer

Ah, hi. I'd planned to stay a lurker and use this place to build up my reptile husbandry knowledge for a few years until I'd actually gotten a BP, but this thread is tempting.

I've really really liked reptiles since I was fairly young, and I love how different they are from mammals. They're just amazing animals, through and through. However, my mother literally thinks snakes are evil and Satanic and blah blah blah... so I've never had the pleasure of caring for any sort of reptile yet.

I'm a female, and while I don't have any snakes yet due to my current circumstances[I'm still stuck living with my snake-hating mother and I'm about to make the transition to college, so now is clearly not a good time], I plan to get a BP when I'm ready[read: have my own place and a steady stream of income]. My girlfriend likes them, too: her dad used to own snakes. I'm almost looking forward to getting funny looks when the time comes, haha.

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Hello Lurker! Welcome :) :)

Snakes make wonderful college pets. Seriously. If for some reason you are super busy and aren't able to take the snake out, it doesn't really care! It is perfectly happy being left alone :P Just give them clean water and a rat once a week and you are good to go!


Oh mothers...

I got my first snake in my second year of college. Best decision ever!

Another woman checking in! Though it's really my seven year old daughter who got the whole family into snakes last year. Now I couldn't imagine life without them.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

This thread is a rip off! Wheres all the pics?! :D

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Well go ahead then, and post your picture, Sally. :p

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Originally Posted by mike41793

this thread is a rip off! Wheres all the pics?! :d

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x2

Boom.
http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps40609a3d.jpg

I'll work on getting some decent pictures of me with my snake. For now, this is all I've got..
http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/...ps63549735.jpg

She isn't usually one to pose for the camera. Any time I've tried to get a picture with her hanging out on my neck or something, she starts to climb up into my hair or wrap herself around my ponytail. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by DooLittle

Female here. I was shocked when I first joined, to see how many keepers were female!

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Same!

I only have pictures of myself, or of my snakes.... non of both. Maybe i'll post a pic later,

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Originally Posted by BeccaBurrr

I'll work on getting some decent pictures of me with my snake. For now, this is all I've got..
http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/...ps63549735.jpg

She isn't usually one to pose for the camera. Any time I've tried to get a picture with her hanging out on my neck or something, she starts to climb up into my hair or wrap herself around my ponytail. :rolleyes:

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Is that a hookah you're toking on?

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Originally Posted by BranceM

Is that a hookah you're toking on?

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It is indeed! She likes to climb on the hose sometimes. Once she's on it she likes to be a dare devil and escape to the table where the hookah sits, or just wrap herself up on top like in the pic. :D

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/8...e964ca38_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/8...b273401e_b.jpg

You should call her Caterpillar (Alice in Wonderland reference).

I'm 4' 10" and look like a 15 year old and was talking to an employee at Petco the other day about my 6 ball pythons and he was like, "Wow, you are the last person I would expect to have 6 snakes!" I love getting comments like that...I get them all the time when I tell people I work with all kinds of huge animal species, so I think it's really neat that women are becoming more and more prevalent in these hobbies and careers! Especially short ones like me haha ;)

EDIT: I also now realize that I have no pictures with any of my snakes, even with my baby boy Zuma who started it all! I'm ashamed...

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/18/yhe7aher.jpg
Me and Damon

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/18/eraju7aq.jpg
Mama and Boo rip

Nice necklaces ;)

Why thank you. Aren't they lovely? Hahaha

I can be pretty girly when I feel like it and especially at work. When people find out I own snakes the usual response is "really? you don't look like you would own snakes" and then "Wait.. how many!?"... Then most people start teasing me a bit about it when they get over the initial shock, a lot of people ask me questions, and even a few think it makes me pretty cool lol Ha even a close friend of mine thought I was lying to her when I told her I had about a dozen.

Another female here, although I'm on the "my son asked, ergo I now have snakes" side of the equation. Actually, we now have four -- 2 ball pythons and 2 sand boas. Only two are my son's. The other two are mine.

My husband's not as into it as I am (pretty much my son wanting a snake was a GIANT green light to a latent desire I had to get my own, LOL), but he is tickled by the fact that I enjoy them so much. He's also helpful when I get shrieky about exploding f/t food. Bless that man.

Here's a recent-ish picture he took of me with Lucy:

[IMG]http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/...psb5514c3e.jpg[/IMG]

Pardon the lack of makeup, but I figure if I'm game enough to post this on Facebook and my reptile blog, y'all can handle it as well ;)

Lordy...I started this thread then got too busy to post!

I got my first snake (a corn snake) in September 2011. Growing up, my mother would not let reptiles of any kind (except turtles that my brother had) in her house. I've always been fascinated with snakes and would catch earth snakes and garter snakes and keep them in my room for a couple of weeks before letting them go. When I went off to college and later when I found an apartment that would allow snakes, I found myself with corn snake. I never told my mom until I had the snake in my possession. She was NOT pleased and swore she would never come to my apartment ever again. In July 2012, I rescued a ball python (my first ball python) and from there my addiction grew. Now I have 5 corns and 4 ball pythons with 2 more on breeding loan. My mother has since come to respect my snakes and actually asks to hold them.

As for other people, they always look at me like I'm absolutely crazy. However, some of my family are becoming more and more accepting and ask to know more about them. I've already got a home for my first normal male hatchling! My cousin (she's maybe 13 or 14) is IN LOVE with my lesser boy and convinced her mom and dad to let her have a snake. So I told them she could have one of my babies that I hatch out this year.

As for pictures, I HATE my picture being taken so I don't think I have any pictures of me with my snakes....

Since someone asked nicely...
http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps8c526dae.jpg

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps37808839.jpg

I am girly girl with a big snake obsession that has been with me since childhood. I wasn't allowed to keep any snakes as a child, but now I have all kinds of them, and I never get tired of them. Often people who meet me are very surprised to hear that I keep snakes and seem to think the hobby doesn't match my personality. I'm never sure what to make of that kind of comment......