Why I think people are so afraid of snakes:

http://img.tapatalk.com/a693619d-3a47-0fe9.jpg


I have NEVER seen anything like that! It looks like a bad sci-fi joke, a photoshopped cricket or something! If I ever saw one of those, I think I'd be freaked out as well!

Gale

It's a house centipede! I love those things, they're pretty interesting and eat spiders and other bugs, and my cat crunches them if they wander where she can get them.

I'd understand someone being afraid of those. Where I am, they fall out of old spickets and crawl up drains, especially if you live in an old building. It's gotten to the point where if I want to guarantee that there's no centipede in my glass of water, I either need a filter on the faucet or I need to turn on the water, let it run for a few seconds to make sure nothing falls out, and then put my cup under. Can be a bit startling to someone who's not used to alienesque insects in their piping. Here it's just common knowledge that if it's an old house, they'll be around somewhere.

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Originally Posted by angllady2

http://img.tapatalk.com/a693619d-3a47-0fe9.jpg


I have NEVER seen anything like that! It looks like a bad sci-fi joke, a photoshopped cricket or something! If I ever saw one of those, I think I'd be freaked out as well!

Gale

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They get huge too. Imagine the one in the picture being 4-5 inches long and from side to side the leg span is about 1 1/2 inches or more...

Yep! Definitely creepy! My house is a brick ranch with a crawl space instead of a basement and it's 45 years old so I see one run across the floor about once a week. 0,O



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Snakes, Jeeps, Dragons, Nature, & Knives.. Makes my world go-round!

When I introduce someone new to my collection, I start with the BEL. Very few people have seen a white snake with blue eyes, and the beauty and fascination overwhelms any fear. Of course, the BPs calm demeanor helps as well.

I would like to see study done concerning fear of snakes and those raised on the Adam & Eve story. It would be interesting to see if that has any bearing. Kind of a fantasy's bearing on reality study.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

The adam and eve story is a weak excuse for being afraid of snakes imo. If god picked a sloth to tempt them then it wouldnt have worked bc sloths are lame. He picked a snake bc theyre awesome and knew it would get their attention. BOOM

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I actually think it makes sense. Not ONLY the Garden of Eden story, but just the spread of "modern" religion in general.

Snakes were often worshiped by earlier cultures, cultures which were seen as savage, pagan, uncivilized. So with the rise of a few modern Western religions, their religious texts and beliefs began to demonize snakes as a symbol of suppressing the older heathen ways. People were afraid of heathens and afraid of going to hell, so they learned to be afraid of the things associated with them as well. And in a world largely dominated by Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc, the beliefs got passed down and haven't dissipated yet, even though people have forgotten the reason for it.

Obviously it's not the only factor in fear today, since not everyone practices one of these religions, but it definitely played a major part.

I never used to care for snakes, and grew up out in the country side with lots of snakes. My sister used to be terrified of them! Then I started working at the local zoo as an intern, and met Kernal a very sweet corn snake. About a year later I got my first corn. My sister got used to him being around even touched him from time to time. Last year she picked up her own corn snake and I got my first bp. My 18 month old even picked one. Now I have multiple bps that my husband tolerates, and my sister is thinking of taking a nice sized female after I get her fixed up, and she gets a clean bill of health after quarantine.
She has admitted meeting them when they were smaller helped her a lot. My grandmother on the other hand can't even know where I keep my reptiles even my leos if she comes over. I do believe she would have another heart attack if I brought one out around her No matter how beautiful the snake is.

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Originally Posted by angllady2

http://img.tapatalk.com/a693619d-3a47-0fe9.jpg


I have NEVER seen anything like that! It looks like a bad sci-fi joke, a photoshopped cricket or something! If I ever saw one of those, I think I'd be freaked out as well!

Gale

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WHY. WHY WOULD YOU POST THAT EVER. I screamed and fell out of my chair.

I consider myself extremely fortunate I have never seen a house centipede. I've seen the odd centipede/millipede, but always outside and never one that looked like that.

I wonder if you could sell those as pets ? I see all kinds of bugs and such offered for sale as pets, I'd bet people would be willing to pay for those just for the creep factor. Might be a way to control the population around your house. What do you think ?

Gale

Haha! I saw a house centipede scuttle across the floor where I work not too long ago. Me and a coworker caught it in a plastic slushy cup, wrote "what the hell is this?!" on the cup with a sharpie and put it on the counter. :P Someone identified it as a house centipede for us. After learning its identity, we released it outside. Very bizarre little creature, but harmless.

i used to take my normal female out (Back before she was a breeder) and wear her around my neck...peoples reactions were typically "isn't she going to bite you?!" or "isn't she going to choke you!?" my response: Yes, thats why she's around my neck...?

i think it has a lot to do with religion and lack of exposure. i get a lot of questions about how getting bit feels and my response is it like a kittens bite, just faster. its pretty sad self-defense--a few pinpricks by some hair-like teeth.