What do people say to you when you say you have snakes?

At one time or another I think I've told most of the people I work with that I keep snakes. Most seem mildly interested at first, then a lot of them just forget about it.

I think the most common one i get is the disgusted face and "ewww, why?" bs followed by the "Aren't you afriad it will eat ________". I do my best to educate those that will listen, but as a wise man once said "You can't fix stupid."

In order they say

Yuck
But why?
How many? Followed by rolling of the eyes once they get the answer.

I honestly don't disclose that I keep reptiles to people unless they are among my reptile connections or I otherwise know & trust them well enough to.

If there are people questioning a persons parenting then there is a problem.
Its very rude and only deserves the highest of blunt responses.

I would flip my wig if someone judged me as a parent because of what I do.
Ignorance or not it is uncalled for and isn't an excuse.

most ppl when i tell them that snakes are gross and are dangres but all pets coulb be dangres and none of my snakes are big enough to to any danger i think its mostly bc ppl are scared of snakes but inless you have a 17 ft burm that ur showing off theres no danger and i also have found that if u teach ppl about snakes and gently get them comfy with the snake they wil slowly change there mind i also have some ppl tell me that there the devil thats my fav one of all time....

It's kinda 50/50. Half the time it goes like: Eww! I hate snakes! And the other half I get questions about what kind of snake they are, husbandry, how big they get. Often I'll show people pictures of mine since they are all so different. When I show a picture of Nova, the silver streak girl a lot of non snake people get pretty surprised and say she's pretty.

With the "Eww I hate snakes group" I try to remain calm and counter their stupid myths and false knowledge they picked up from the media. I usually end up pretty irritated after it though I try not to show it.

I think just long enough exposure to someone who is enthusiastic about snakes eventually breaks through. One of my roommates hated snakes when we all moved in together. At first he'd see me hold one of them and ask questions. One time I had one of the girls out and she slithered over the table and was chilling next to his computer mouse. He stroked her a few times and said she was pretty cool. We still haven't gotten to the holding them part but when the other night he was asking me a bunch of questions about their care and colors and such. I showed him some of the morphs I planned to produce during my first breeding season and he was pretty surprised. He asked if there are any red snakes. I showed him a pretty blood python picture I've seen and he said he eventually wanted one someday, but first he had to hold one of mine. Snake hater to wanting to have one. :D

And my boyfriend hated snakes but now selectively likes Allure, my oldest one and will ask to hold him sometimes.

I get a lot of crap about my snakes expecially since i just had a baby, i get told they are going to eat her one day, the smell of a baby will make them more aggressive...etc. I think i heard them all by now. I even get crap about having cats lol i just ignore it tho there's no teaching my crazy granny. Every time she comes over i hear "where's your snakes im going to kill them if i see them." its got to the point where i have to watch out for all of my animals, making sure no one is going to get rid of them behind my back.

I usually get:

"Ew, why?!"

"Are they poisonous?"

"I'm never coming over to your house!!"

"Aren't you worried they'll eat your dog?"

:rolleyes:

But all of my real friends are cool with them, several of them are actually interested in reptiles/keep them.

Person: You have SNAKES?!?!?! O_______O!?!?!?!! *pets my dog on the head* What a lovely dog.
Me: Yup.
Person: Aren't the snakes dangerous?!
Me: See that dog you're petting? *points to dog*
Person: Yeah?? *keeps scratching dog's head*
Me: She's trained to bite the scat out of you on command.
Person *moves hand asap*
Me: See this snake? *points to snake*
Person: Yeah............
Me: It's going curl up into a ball........


OR

Person: Do you have rats?
Me: Yes.
Person: How many?
Me: A crap ton....
Person: ????
Me: I breed them for pets and food.
Person: Food......for what.................
Me: My snakes and ferrets.
Person: Snakes.....What kind of snakes
Me: Ball Pythons
Person: Python??? Don't those need food larger than rats!?!?!?! Pythons are HUGEEEEEE!!!!!!
Me: *SMH* =______=;;