Snake Phobia

yup, just gotta get used to it, and eventually, (from what ive seen) they fall in love.....:)

I have a friend who can't even watch snake films, I bought the All about ball pythons from vpi and my friend cant even watch it, scares her that much.

i think my mom pretends shes got that but she way to calm for it to be the real thing

When my mom first got a snake, i was really scared of it, I was afraid it was going to attact me or bite me. But once I realized that it wouldn't do anything to me, I started to love snakes. Now we have 6 snakes, which i hold regularly, and soon i am going to buy my own snake.:)

Well yesterday evening our Emily had finished her shed and was out and about and really proud of her beautiful new skin. So as we had a relative staying over at Grandma's (who lives in the next street) and the relative had never met Emily and wanted to - we took her around.

My daughter Kat was sat on settee next to Grandma (Emily was wrapped up inside her hoodie and couldn't be seen) - well when Kat got her out Grandma shot off that sofa as if she was on a spring (she's 90 :P ) and headed the furthest end of the room. Had to laugh - Emily is all of 2ft and still a baby. Our parrot is the size of an overgrown cockatiel and far more dangerous.

It's grandma's phobia of snakes that has transferred itself to both her sons (including my husband) - he won't touch her and has no intention of it.

Oh my! I know I shouldn't laugh but the idea of that poor old Granny zooming up off the couch was just too funny! Hope you didn't give the poor old dear too bad a fright LOL.

It is amazing how uninformed the general public is about snakes. We've had some people that think they are dangerous to have around our children. Like we'd keep any pet...snake...dog...whatever that would present a real danger to our children! We have very strict rules about handling and will not let even the smallest snake in the house go around any child's neck. We are also dead strict on washing up after handling the snakes.

Quite honestly I feel the average dog is probably more of a risk to a small child than any of my ball pythons but you can't convince most people of that unfortunately.


~~Jo~~

Oh yes, dogs can definitely be dangerous - I've got a relative recovering now from a dog bite so severe the hospital reckoned they couldn't even stitch it properly! and that wasn't because the dog attacked him, but he was defending his own dog against it - and it was the other side of a wire fence.


My parrot, though, is definitely dangerous - so much so that in hormonal season he will fly and attack his perceived "hated" person - even though that person is normally the person who looks after his every need (i.e. me!). He's definitely heading for a wing clip as I've had some really severe bites from him in the past and he would even attack my face if he could - he just can't control himself inm this period. Thank god this only happens once a year - the rest of the time he loves me. Do snakes get hormonals??

I had a snake phobia as well growing up. I can remember a guy in high school who brought in his garter snake to class and when I finally noticed him in the corner with it, I nearly fainted.

What got me over it will probably make you laugh, but it really comes down to two men. Steve Irwin (AKA The Crocodile Hunter) and Jeff Corwin (AKA Massive Hottie). I love nature shows and always have and I would watch these guys handle seriously hot snakes and constrictors with not fear, but love and admiration. After a while, I began to not be so afraid of snakes.

Then a friend of mine got a corn snake and I handled him (the snake, not the friend) and I was just enchanted. I then went across the Bay Bridge to East Bay Vivarium in Berkeley and talked to them and asked about a good beginner snake and they mentioned a ball python. I had never heard of them, and at the time, the word python made me think of this show where I saw a reticulated python eat a 6 foot croc. But I went home and did some research on them and everyone said the same thing, that if you get a CBB baby BP, it is quite possibly the best beginner snake.

So, they had a baby male BP there and the next weekend I went and bought him. They told me not to feed him for four days and leave him alone. So, here I was stuck in the same room with an animal I have been terrified of for years. Every time he stuck his head out of his hide, I nearly had a heart attack and thought to myself, "What the hell did I just get myself into." But after 3 months or so, I could not be happier with him. He is such a precious little creature and does not have an aggressive bone in his body. The only regret I have is that I didn't get my BP from a breeder who raised the snake on F/T because my guy has only gotten live all his life and I have a feeling that he may just not eat anything else.

As far as getting over a snake phobia, there are a myriad of ways. The most important thing though is you have to want to get over it, which is usually the biggest problem. I have actually gone to therapy for anxiety management and here is what my therapist did with me.

1. Visualize that with which you are afraid clearly in your mind. Once you are able to do this without anxiety move on to the next step.
2. Look at a picture of what you fear.
3. Look at what you fear from a safe distance and keep moving a little closer each time your anxiety subsides.
4. Next, touch what you fear.
5. Then when ready, hold what you fear.

These steps may need to be repeated over and over for a while.

The biggest thing to remember is that a fear of snakes is an irrational fear, and if that is recognized then getting over the fear just takes some fortitude and a little persisitence. Having someone with you who does not share this fear is of great help as well.

Rachel