Goin out with your Snake

That emmy is breathtaking.. *sigh* someday. :)

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Originally Posted by monk90222

That jungle gym is awesome..you should sell them!! That snake is beautiful...hows her temperment?

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She's a sweetheart.;)

Craig

just remember... a snake is a wild animal and will bite if it smells a prey item like a rat. lets say a little girl had a pet rat(not with her) and pet the snake.... whoops! the snake bites her and you have a lawsuit that could possible ban snakes. :(

I think it deffinately would depend on the snake, the handler, the location and the circumstances. I've not even had a chance to take Karma outside because it is winter here, but I have done it with many other snakes in the zoo I volunttered at.

JBZ has a bunch of "demo" or "strolling" animals in a barn out of public view. When weather permits they have demos in which trained volunteers (always in teams of two to prevent escape, etc.) take the animals out an let the public pet them (with two fingers only, one person at a time) and we educateed them about the animals.
They always rotated the animals so that they would never go out too often (most herps only 1-2 times a month) and never get stressed. They were all raised from very young ages to do this.
Last time I was there they had two bps, two corns, two types of milks, and two types of rat snakes, among other herps.
they go out for set amounts of time (usually an hour) and in that time many people touch them and learn.
I had alot of cases in which people we afraid, but decided to touch them and figured out that they were warm, not slimy and weren't going to kill them. There were surprisingly few people terribly afraid of them. Some of the parents that were afraid of them still let there children come learn about them (an oportunity they'd probably otherwise miss out on). I remember one time a mother telling her daughter "Go touch the snake honey, I don't want you to be afraid of them like I am."
The few people that were afraid didn't hyperventilate or have panic attacks, they just ran passed or walked the other way.
Oddly enough, I think more people were afraid of the chickens....and one guy was terrified of the budgies....:rolleye2:

:pinkele:

Well well well, who knew this would take off as it did, I have no intention on taking out my pet to scare anyone, but just as i like to go out with my dog i would like to have one of my balls with me as well, i would keep to myself for the most part and if someone finds out i have a snake wrapped around me then they do and decide what to do, scream, run, ask quesitons.

My balls are all very intune to me or perhaps im just crazy, when i come down in the morning, they all peer out and say good morning, they are very well handled and are not jumpy at all unless you come from behind and bump them in the face they jump but i would too. When we come home they again peer out and start moving around a bit, sorta to welcome us home, like i said perhaps im nuts, I do have a big enclosure for them, kinda like a mansion if you will. its 4ft high 2ft wide and long. Lots to climb on and such, as well I have kids and they all take them out here and there and never have issues, i think they like to get out. This is why the question arose, specially after i saw the guy at the park.

Ill give it some more thought that is for sure but am loving what im reading.

my rtb, sabrina is used to riding in the car. her first owner took her out all the time, so when we get into the car she climbs up and coils on the visor... i make sure it's flat to hold her there. obviously she's small enough to sit there.

when we get to the petstore, i wrap her around my neck and off we go to deliver silkworms. both stores are great about letting me know ahead of time if they have any mites... but i use Provent-A-Mite in my snakes enclosures anyway, so it's never an issue for me.

sabrina seems to enjoy the outings. she fights when we get home to stay out of her enclosure LOL she's never missed a meal from it, or shown any stress that i can detect. obviously, i could be totally wrong... but in my experience with taking her out it's all been good.

honestly, if i felt i was harming her, or harming others... i would leave her at home but she's always been welcomed everywhere we've gone. ;)

do i do it for attention? no... would i stop if sabrina seemed unhappy or unsettled in the car? absolutely!

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Originally Posted by fionafancypants

:pinkele:

Well well well, who knew this would take off as it did, I have no intention on taking out my pet to scare anyone, but just as i like to go out with my dog i would like to have one of my balls with me as well, i would keep to myself for the most part and if someone finds out i have a snake wrapped around me then they do and decide what to do, scream, run, ask quesitons.

My balls are all very intune to me or perhaps im just crazy, when i come down in the morning, they all peer out and say good morning, they are very well handled and are not jumpy at all unless you come from behind and bump them in the face they jump but i would too. When we come home they again peer out and start moving around a bit, sorta to welcome us home, like i said perhaps im nuts, I do have a big enclosure for them, kinda like a mansion if you will. its 4ft high 2ft wide and long. Lots to climb on and such, as well I have kids and they all take them out here and there and never have issues, i think they like to get out. This is why the question arose, specially after i saw the guy at the park.

Ill give it some more thought that is for sure but am loving what im reading.

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Are they all in one cage? I was just wondering.

Yes they are, why?? i know you were just wondering but,,.

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My question is this, who goes out with their snakes round their necks or... what is your experience, do people freak out or do they accept you and run to see the snake. I was at the doggie park and had thought to bring one, but decided not to, and what do i see at my doggie parkl???? There was someone there with their boa! TOTALLY COOL

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I did used to do this when I was younger, but I now realize that it's a bad idea. Many people are terrified of snakes and they have a reasonable expectation of being able to walk down the street without be confronted by their deepest fears. Additionaly it can be stressful for the snake being out of it's cage away from familiar surroundings and being surrounded by scores of people that it would probably perceive as being predators. Also it can be hard to control the situation when there are many people crowding around you wanting to pet your snake. Often it only takes one bite from a scared animal to achieve notoriety that you really don't want.

What I have found to be a good alternative is joining a local herp society and joining them on periodic 'hands on' educational shows. A group of people from the society get together to put on a reptile display at an organized event. Often times people will seek us out and invite us to events. We've done things as diverse as a Vet school open house, boyscout jamborees, company picnics, special events at zoos and museums and other things like that. It's a CONTROLLED environment. snakes and other reptiles are brought to the site bagged up and in insulated coolers to make sure they feel secure and are in a climate controlled environment, they are brought out at the site and are on show for no more then 2 hours at a time, or less depending on how the animal is doing. If your animal is acting stressed out, you have a portable hide box in which you can put it away immediatly instead of having to walk all the way back to your home or car. There are tables set up, with us on one side and the public on the other. This puts some space between us and the public and limits the number of people that can crowd around you, again this gives you better control of the situation. We have signs up all around us saying who we are and what we're doing. Not only does this draw in people who may be interested, but it also warns away people who may be fearful.

It's always a good and noble idea to want to educate the public and show them that many of their preconceived notions are inaccurate. Some may come away with a greater understanding of reptiles and may be a little less fearful of them and won't be so quick to chop off that garter snakes head the next time they come across one in their garden. And you get a chance to show off a little bit (which is always fun) But there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. The best way is to show them off in a controlled setting, surrounded by like minded people who can give you support.

Mark

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Originally Posted by MarkS

It's always a good and noble idea to want to educate the public and show them that many of their preconceived notions are inaccurate. Some may come away with a greater understanding of reptiles and may be a little less fearful of them and won't be so quick to chop off that garter snakes head the next time they come across one in their garden. And you get a chance to show off a little bit (which is always fun) But there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. The best way is to show them off in a controlled setting, surrounded by like minded people who can give you support.

Mark

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Brilliantly said!! :clap: