What is the dumbest thing anyone has asked about your snake?

Wow, & I half expected no one to asnwer this question! Good stuff everyone! THANKS!

I "like" the people who think snakes are cruel or mean in how they kill their prey. I just watched Dixie dispatch a live mouse. From strike to swallow, I think it took her less than 90 to 120 seconds, and the mouse wasn't kicking anymore when she quit squeezing and started positioning to swallow.

If you want to talk about cruel, watch that precious family cat with a mouse. The cat will literally torture the mouse to death for as long as the cat can prolong the mouse's life and remains interested in playing with it, sometimes for 15 minutes to a half hour or more.

The snake doesn't waste any time "playing" with its prey.

My mother in law is the best one for these things.
"You better keep them locked up because they will get out and strangle the children." Yep sibling rivalry can be hell can't it.

"Do they have to eat rats?"
Nope when they get bigger they can eat rabbits.

Our largest right now is a bp who is about 3' 6". I can't wait until the boas are all grown up. Then she will be really freaked out. They wont only strangle the kids but they might just eat them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ffollett

"Do they have to eat rats?"
Nope when they get bigger they can eat rabbits.

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sure, you can say it like that, and it sounds normal, and the people might get disguisted, but not half as disguisted as when you say

"oh no, in a little bit, she will be eating cute wittle bunny wabbits"

but you gotta say it like a lil kid

they find you like you are a horrible person

My Aunt asked if when he grow up who was I giving it to, like what Zoo because it would be to big to keep and might attack my son ( mind you my son is 5' 7" )

I am on a mission to teach as many as I can that even venomous snakes do not attack because they are mean or evil. Most times it is because people almost step on them and such, that if left alone or givin some space they will go the other way.
Most days it is a lost cause

"What is it doing to the mouse?"

Was it bad for me to say, they are playing...?

Unfortunately, I meet a lot of visiotrs at the zoo that say things like "the only good snake is a dead snake", "we should kill them all" and other stupid thinkgs like that. One thing I like to ask them (especially women), is if they like mice and rats. Invariably they don't and often times seem more disgusted by them. I proceed to tell them that snkaes are (as many animals) and important part in our own lives. I explain how all snakes are carnivours with most of them eating rodents. I then explan that if we didn't have snakes that there would be mice and rats running or streets and in our houses - especially since rats can give birth 13 times a year with 20 babies in a liter. I also explain that farmers crops would often be destroyed making it difficult to get our favorite foods from the market and at a low price, and that since most people never even see snakes in the wild today I bet they'd rather have snakes then no snakes - because w/o them they'd surely see plenty of mice and rats. That usually gets them thinking and they often let their guard/prejudices down a bit. I then tell them that while they may initially think snakes are 'gross' and all deadly and dangerous animals, I can prove to them their thoughst are way off. I offer to them to stick around and I'd be happy to answer any questions they may have and let them touch/see some snakes.

It's hard not to initially want to just call them 'idots' and such (even though I think they are), but I've managed to get so many people who were scared and some even terrified of snakes (and wouldn't eve come in the door) to finally touch one and get interested in knowing more about their behavior and lives.

I always get people who walk in and see mbe holding a snake say "How can you touch/hold that?" (they also say this about our cockroaches, but I can kind of understand that - wimps!). My response: "Because there is nothing for me to be afraid of as long as I respect the animal and understand it." Then I follow up with: "Besides, don't you think he/she is beautiful". That gets their guard down to by getting them to see it for it's beauty.

If anyone is ever in Indianapolis, Indiana - you must stop by our zoo and visit our Deserts building "Drop Dead Gorgeous Snakes" exhibit (where our display snakes are). We have a room of snakes where the intent was to display them such that people would admire them for their beauty and get them to see them differently. They're not natural setups with branches or anything - they're done more in an artsy fashion.

The most stupid question to ask about your snake, and I know people ask this:

"Is that a snake?"

Er, no its not. Its a big piece of ugly sphagetti...

Some of the "dumb questions" or comments are based in a phobia of snakes.

Remember, though, that phobias are not rational. While I don't have a phobia of snakes, I still struggle with arachnaphobia. It's not rational. We have only two spiders in the US that are of any real potential danger to someone my size (the black widow and the brown recluse) and even those are not going to aggressively chase me down to bite me. The reality is that I have no real reason to be scared of spiders, and yet, I can still get that involuntary shiver up my spine when I see one, especially if the sight is unexpected. I do my best to keep it under control and not get into that "the only good spider is a dead spider" mentality, but it does take a conscious effort to do so. The same is true for people with snake phobias.

Don't belittle or trivialize their phobia; it's incredibly real to them. Try to work WITH it, and help them to understand that they don't have to LIKE snakes to respect what they do for the ecosystem. It takes time to work through something like that, and people are going to be more cooperative if they feel we respect what they're feeling as they try.

My experience with all the people I've met is that they are basically 'taught' to not like snakes. Most of them aren't really afraid - it's like they just think they're supposed to be. They just have misconceptions. I've not met one person who actually had a bad experience with them. Most have never even seen them - except on tv or in books. It's just a little too difficult for me to understand being afraid of something w/o having a reason to be - but I in no way show this frustration to the people I deal with.

Sunday I had these 3 big young men (looked like they could be college football players) who at first would not come near me and the ball python I was holding. They were clear on the other side of the room. They were so scared. I talked to them, calmed their fears and finally got them to come over one by one to touch him. It was just so funny, here you have 3 big guys afraid of a snake that's being held by a little young (I'd like to think I'm still young) women.