News: 2 die in rock python attack

So here is the Good Morning America segment. Again, news media getting things wrong. They showed some blood pythons along with the rock pythons, and equated the African rock python to an albino Burmese that was found in the shed in Florida.

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs...2704.html?vp=1

I'm seeing a lot of emphasis on the "neglect" that snake keepers obviously subject their charges to. "Hadn't been fed in a week/ hadn't been fed in a month"! Oh no! The poor, hungry, perfectly on schedule... well-fed... uh. Umm.

I feel like making a general factsheet for the public, letting them know that snakes do not eat every day, among other things.

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Originally Posted by Pickenprod

I'm seeing a lot of emphasis on the "neglect" that snake keepers obviously subject their charges to. "Hadn't been fed in a week/ hadn't been fed in a month"! Oh no! The poor, hungry, perfectly on schedule... well-fed... uh. Umm.

I feel like making a general factsheet for the public, letting them know that snakes do not eat every day, among other things.

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That isn't a bad idea at all.

I am sure that many people do not realise with a thermostat, one can with a fairly sound mind go on a weeks vacation and not have to worry about your pet. That alone is nothing to sneeze at.

Really once you get your husbandry requirements down, I can't think of many pets easier to care for.

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Originally Posted by Pickenprod

I'm seeing a lot of emphasis on the "neglect" that snake keepers obviously subject their charges to. "Hadn't been fed in a week/ hadn't been fed in a month"! Oh no! The poor, hungry, perfectly on schedule... well-fed... uh. Umm.

I feel like making a general factsheet for the public, letting them know that snakes do not eat every day, among other things.

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That is a great idea!!

I've been trying to reason with people all day on Yahoo! They refuse to listen to facts and just give in to their fears and believe all the sensationalism of the press and HSUS. I heard a report not long ago that things didn't add up with the autopsy and the Mounties are now looking at the Pet shop/apartment owner. Maybe people people just shouldn't jump to conclusions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pickenprod

I'm seeing a lot of emphasis on the "neglect" that snake keepers obviously subject their charges to. "Hadn't been fed in a week/ hadn't been fed in a month"! Oh no! The poor, hungry, perfectly on schedule... well-fed... uh. Umm.

I feel like making a general factsheet for the public, letting them know that snakes do not eat every day, among other things.

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Originally Posted by Raven01

That isn't a bad idea at all.

I am sure that many people do not realise with a thermostat, one can with a fairly sound mind go on a weeks vacation and not have to worry about your pet. That alone is nothing to sneeze at.

Really once you get your husbandry requirements down, I can't think of many pets easier to care for.

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No kidding! People are very ignorant about the needs of a snake, compared to more common pets like dogs and cats.

I keep seeing people say, "Why would you want a snake? You can't take it for a walk, you can't cuddle with it, you can't watch tv with it." What I want to know is why these are automatic criteria for what makes a "pet"? What if someone doesn't want an animal they can walk or cuddle? What if someone wants a critter they can just watch and admire? I'll tell you one thing... I have quite a few critters of my own, and they have their own unique needs, but one thing I LOVE about the snakes is the fact they do not need attention. I can watch them, I can handle them, but they aren't going to miss me or complain if I don't spend hours every day with them. My goats... they start screaming at me the moment I come home from work (mama goat wanting her grain and to be milked, baby goat just wanting attention). After I feed them and give them scratches, they scream at me some more when I walk away because I didn't spend enough time with them! I love that snakes don't care about that. ;)

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Originally Posted by sorraia

I keep seeing people say, "Why would you want a snake? You can't take it for a walk, you can't cuddle with it, you can't watch tv with it."

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Fish, the answer is fish. They are normal and make people go... oh.

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Originally Posted by sorraia

No kidding! People are very ignorant about the needs of a snake, compared to more common pets like dogs and cats.

I keep seeing people say, "Why would you want a snake? You can't take it for a walk, you can't cuddle with it, you can't watch tv with it." What I want to know is why these are automatic criteria for what makes a "pet"?

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^^This^^

Well said.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sorraia

No kidding! People are very ignorant about the needs of a snake, compared to more common pets like dogs and cats.

I keep seeing people say, "Why would you want a snake? You can't take it for a walk, you can't cuddle with it, you can't watch tv with it."

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I've gotten this from people a lot in the past too. My short answer is that they're like fish without the water. People seem to get it then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sorraia

No kidding! People are very ignorant about the needs of a snake, compared to more common pets like dogs and cats.

I keep seeing people say, "Why would you want a snake? You can't take it for a walk, you can't cuddle with it, you can't watch tv with it." What I want to know is why these are automatic criteria for what makes a "pet"? What if someone doesn't want an animal they can walk or cuddle? What if someone wants a critter they can just watch and admire?

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AMEN! I hear that all the time. Another thing that's really getting to me today reading some of the comments is how people think that anyone that has snakes is some kind of anti-social head case. I read one comment where a person said that snake owners should get some mental help because only a person that had a mental illness could want or identify with a snake. I had to stop reading for awhile because my blood was boiling.