Why People Are Afraid Of Snakes

I do a lot of thinking, and one thing I have given some thought recently is why people fear snakes. Obviously a human may fear a snake because some are venemous. Some snakes poison when they bite, some snakes strangle you to death, and some snakes are just scary looking. But why do we feel some snakes are scary looking? Is it their "danger/warning colors"? Why do some people, especially in the American culture (that is key), have a deep rooted fear of snakes?

Without getting too philosiphical and making an essay out of this, I believe it is because religion conditions many people to fear snakes, albeit indirectly. In Christianity, Satan appears to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the form of a snake. Some forms of Christianity even boast that this is how snakes lost their legs; God banished them after Satan's misdeeds in the Garden.

Yet in the old Jewish faith (I think it was Judaism), the snake was praised like a god. Some religions celebrate snakes. Some condem them. Some would argue this discretion between religions is only because as Christianity was trying to garner support, they had to compete with other religions. What better way than to condemn the gods or things that were worshipped by other religions than to say they are works of Satan? I am digressing.

I think that a lot of Christians especially have a deep rooted fear of snakes for no other reason that the fact that when they were very young, they were told stories that snakes we/are evil. They were not conditioned to fear poisonous snakes, they were conditioned to fear snakes in general because snakes=Satan. Many do not even know this to be the reason they fear snakes because they cannot understand this sort of psychology. They cannot objectify their personality and see themselves for what they are: well oiled cogs in a machine, built to believe certain things in order to act/reply in a certain way. But again, I don't want to turn this into an essay.

While I agree with you to a certain extent, as a Christian I've never had a fear of snakes for that reason, or for any reason. If you read the Bible (and sadly, many don't) no where does it say snakes are evil. Not in one place. I've had people tell me they are, of course, but I've brought my snakes to a Lutheran (and my old) school to show them to a pre-kindergarten class, and had nothing but interest. I think those that act that way are very few, but the whole of us is judged by their actions. Since I've only ever lived in America, I can't speak for any other country, but I do think it's unfair to bias a fear of snakes on that basis. Historically, Europe has a much deeper affiliation with Catholicism (since it was around for a lot longer, after all). Snakes are not only associated with Satan in the bible, but are also associated with wisdom, and are mentioned several other times in no way connected to evil.

I was never told as a child that snakes equaled Satan. He took the form of a snake, yes, but he wasn't actually a snake. Misinterpretation and plain old interpretation of the Bible can lead to a lot of misunderstandings. Perhaps Catholicism teaches differently, I wouldn't know, but from what I've seen and experienced, Lutheranism doesn't have that prejudice.

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Originally Posted by musicalKeyes

While I agree with you to a certain extent, as a Christian I've never had a fear of snakes for that reason, or for any reason. If you read the Bible (and sadly, many don't) no where does it say snakes are evil. Not in one place. I've had people tell me they are, of course, but I've brought my snakes to a Lutheran (and my old) school to show them to a pre-kindergarten class, and had nothing but interest. I think those that act that way are very few, but the whole of us is judged by their actions. Since I've only ever lived in America, I can't speak for any other country, but I do think it's unfair to bias a fear of snakes on that basis. Historically, Europe has a much deeper affiliation with Catholicism (since it was around for a lot longer, after all). Snakes are not only associated with Satan in the bible, but are also associated with wisdom, and are mentioned several other times in no way connected to evil.

I was never told as a child that snakes equaled Satan. He took the form of a snake, yes, but he wasn't actually a snake. Misinterpretation and plain old interpretation of the Bible can lead to a lot of misunderstandings. Perhaps Catholicism teaches differently, I wouldn't know, but from what I've seen and experienced, Lutheranism doesn't have that prejudice.

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I should have stated that my original post in no way applies to everyone. I will reply to the entirety of your response tomorrow.

Why are people afraid of anything?
Usually, the answer is quite simple.

Because they are different.

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

I should have stated that my original post in no way applies to everyone. I will reply to the entirety of your response tomorrow.

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Okay? I wasn't saying anything about everyone, just my experiences...

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Originally Posted by musicalKeyes

Okay? I wasn't saying anything about everyone, just my experiences...

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I know, I wasn't clarifying for you, I was clarifying for me. I should have originally stated that.

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

Why are people afraid of anything?
Usually, the answer is quite simple.

Because they are different.

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Definitely. Give them a bit of fur and some cute fluffy ears, and problem solved.

So then the assumption would support the idea that if Satan came to Adam and Eve as a duck then we would fear ducks?
I would say that media has a MUCH stronger influence than religion on fears in general. I believe it a common misconception that it is religiously based, although I think it most likely impossible to prove conclusively. Are the most religious christians the most afraid of snakes then? I would think not. When movies or tv shows depict snakes, what are they using snakes for? Killing people and attacking cute animals perhaps? Why don't we see snakes playing with the animals in bambee? Same reason that Peter's enemy was a wolf. They hunt other animals and KILL!!! OH NO!!!! We fear their quick movement and know that some are venomous, but which ones?! Also, everyone knows some story of someone getting bit by a venomous snake, even if it is just from the news. That is scary stuff.
As far as international, I was in africa for some time, and have several close african friends, (like grew up in africa), and I have found them deathly afraid of snakes. I think that is what they were taught as children because there are lots of dangerous ones but (depending on the area), not as good education on safety etc. Also, antivenom is not exactly on the grocery list over there.
Ok, that is all. Just some thoughts.

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

I do a lot of thinking, and one thing I have given some thought recently is why people fear snakes. Obviously a human may fear a snake because some are venemous. Some snakes poison when they bite, some snakes strangle you to death, and some snakes are just scary looking. But why do we feel some snakes are scary looking? Is it their "danger/warning colors"? Why do some people, especially in the American culture (that is key), have a deep rooted fear of snakes?

Without getting too philosiphical and making an essay out of this, I believe it is because religion conditions many people to fear snakes, albeit indirectly. In Christianity, Satan appears to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the form of a snake. Some forms of Christianity even boast that this is how snakes lost their legs; God banished them after Satan's misdeeds in the Garden.

Yet in the old Jewish faith (I think it was Judaism), the snake was praised like a god. Some religions celebrate snakes. Some condem them. Some would argue this discretion between religions is only because as Christianity was trying to garner support, they had to compete with other religions. What better way than to condemn the gods or things that were worshipped by other religions than to say they are works of Satan? I am digressing.

I think that a lot of Christians especially have a deep rooted fear of snakes for no other reason that the fact that when they were very young, they were told stories that snakes we/are evil. They were not conditioned to fear poisonous snakes, they were conditioned to fear snakes in general because snakes=Satan. Many do not even know this to be the reason they fear snakes because they cannot understand this sort of psychology. They cannot objectify their personality and see themselves for what they are: well oiled cogs in a machine, built to believe certain things in order to act/reply in a certain way. But again, I don't want to turn this into an essay.

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Typically most Christians who fear snakes fear them for the same reasons other people do. They've been misinformed their entire lives. I've not met one Christian who believed they were somehow "evil", or "demonic". I'm sure those people are out there, but most Christians understand the Genesis account of Satan's involvement was meant to paint a picture as opposed to give mankind a target to take our aggressions out on.

Instead Christians just like others believe all kinds of crazy stuff about snakes. One of my best friends is scared to death of snakes and it's because he was taught that if you touch them you'll get infected with toxins and die. When I ask him why I don't get sick and die he says because I've built up and immunity but most people don't. Whatever... I've given up trying to educate him about them.

People will always fear something, snakes are a very easy thing to fear. Just like any animal though, some one is scared of it. People are scared of mice just as much as snakes from my perspective, and they are cute cuddly and furry, but it's just something to fear, maybe because of disease, maybe because they are small and fast, who really knows. Fear is a very real emotion and can stem from just about anything. People are scared of heights, open spaces, closed spaces, some people are scared of water even! The human mind is the only reason I can give, it has so much going on you really can't pinpoint why we as humans fear anything. We just do and thats all there is too it really. The media or religion or anything really can influence our fears, but it is ultimately our choice what we fear for the mostpart, though it may be a subconcious decision that we don't know about. Fears are often pretty easily broken, I know I've met a couple people scared of snakes and managed to turn it around for the most part(a couple only like the one snake that I show to prove they aren't all bad, but I do also say that any snake can bite, so can any dog. Play with fire, and you can get burned, play with snakes and you can get bit.) in the end I really have no experience in psychology so I can't make a very good answer, but in my mind, there is no real answer. ~Caylan.S.~

i have to agree with pretty much everyone else, im a christian and obviously dont fear them, never have. and i dont know of any other christians who fear them from a religious standpoint as you suggested. not saying no one does, but im sure the number of religious fearers vs people who fear them for other reasons is greatly skewed towards people who fear them for other reasons.

i think for the most part its gunna boil down to people fearing something they know nothing or very little about, especially with how much misinformation is constantly circulated about snakes. and all the recent FL bs drama sure doesnt help either, or the media painting every snake as the impending doom of human kind lol

To be honest, I think a lot of people are afraid of snakes because they are taught to be afraid of them by their parents/other early influences. They grow up with the idea that they are 'scary' and as such they become afraid of them.

How many children of snake-owners do you see that are afraid of snakes?

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Originally Posted by alittleFREE

How many children of snake-owners do you see that are afraid of snakes?

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True that.

Because they're scary!

DUH!

Because when you watch the news for instance they dont state why the snakes are dangerous or the situation that made them that way. I.E. Open enclosure, Laziness, Hunger from lack of food, and so on..

The media will simply state

"Young child missing, Python found with remains inside."
or "Child missing, Python found around remains."

This is a conspiracy a friend and I had a while ago when authorities found a Burm that had tried eating a kid.

After the investigation is done the parents were put in JAIL. The investigation found the kid had been shaken or beaten to unconsiousness. Is it far fetched to believe that the parents did the ultimate evil and only knew one way to cover it up and that was the "snakes FAULT"

Here is the story:
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/19914383/detail.html#

This is why snakes are seen as evil. Not that people with bad intentions are any better. And again for the sake of those who might post, this was a conspiracy theory a friend and I had but the story itself is true. As far as weather or not the parents injured the kid and tried covering it up this is not proven.

J

12 people in 30 years... I always wonder what the numbers for cars are. I think every death statistic should be compared with those of cars, as they are something we tolerate, use, encourage, every day everywhere for nearly everyone.

I don't think people fear snakes just because of religion.. but I have heard it used as a jusification for their fears. "Well, I kill them/am afraid of them/avoid them/think they're gross because..."

Children learn to fear things from their parents. It is a learned behavior. There are also people with phobias (which are unreasonable fears).

Example:
I was an arachniphobe for the longest time until I actually made myself hold a tarantula. It was like a switch got flipped in my brain. I'm no longer petrified of spiders due to making myself realize that my fears were irrational. This is not to say that you'll see me out trying to find spiders to play with, haha. ;)

Reptiles are also much harder for humans to 'relate' to. We can empathize with other mammals because they tend to dispaly behaviors that are similar to our own. Reptiles do not.

There is no one single reason, but I will say this: All we can do is continue to educate!

Why do people fear sharks?
Why do people fear bears?
Why do people fear wolf packs?

Some snakes are venomous, and therefore dangerous to human beings, but your average Joe isn't going to take the time to see if a snake is poisonous before he gets his hatchet, shovel, or whatever.

You want to know the animal responsible for more human deaths than any other animal in the US (other than other humans)?




Deer.

But the bite of a shark off the Florida coast will get more media attention than a few dozen car accidents caused by deer across the US. As others have said, we've been taught that some snakes are dangerous, but we (American society as a whole, not those of us here on BP.net, obviously) are too lazy to identify a snake as dangerous before we kill it.

BTW, there is also a reference in the New Testament:

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Originally Posted by Mark 16:17-18

And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."

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Ever wonder WHY early christians chose the snake in the story of the garden of Eden? In pagan religions the snake was a symbol of feminine power/wisdom. The early Catholic church chose the snake purposefully as a means of establishing women as second class citizens. Choosing a pagan symbol made sense since the Church grew by converting pagans.

My mom studied theology for a while and told me about this. Pretty interesting I think.

Many people have legitimate phobias, which by definition are irrational and do not have a root cause. Likely it's something in the psyche that evolved as a result of the fact that there are species that can be fatal to humans.

When my sister had a snake in her classroom her students told her they found it creepy because you can't see how they move. They just seem to...go. I can see that. Plus they bite. And it's rather violent and startling when they eat something live.

Some scientists/psycologists theorize that the fear of snakes is something they call pre prepaired learning. Basically we have developed an instinctual fear of snakes because of the constant threat they created to are species in the wild.

I personally think its a very likely and interesting explination for the fear of snakes most people have.

Its just a theory, but its starting to build up steam. This was a facinating article I read about a year ago, it was released in the March 2008 Association for Psychological Science Journal. It also gives quite a few other article names that go further indepth about this theory.

http://www.faculty.virginia.edu/delo...s%20(2008).pdf

And the jesus fish is actually a symbol of the age of pieces. It is also theorized that jesus was a pieces.. The fear of anything is started and provoked by others. If you are raised around these aimals and taught about them at an early age, you are not afraid. Its actually quite easy to help people get over their fear simply by giving them info and allowing them to interact with your snakes over time. I just got over my fear of handling scopians all by myself. Just decided I wanted one and picked her right up. Got home and handled her for a bit and I like her alot.

We just need to work with people who are afriad at their own pace. Educate and when/if they're ready, let them interact with one.

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Originally Posted by krinklebearcat

Ever wonder WHY early christians chose the snake in the story of the garden of Eden? In pagan religions the snake was a symbol of feminine power/wisdom. The early Catholic church chose the snake purposefully as a means of establishing women as second class citizens. Choosing a pagan symbol made sense since the Church grew by converting pagans.

My mom studied theology for a while and told me about this. Pretty interesting I think.

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I'm sorry but the early Catholics may have tried to put women down. I honestly do not know but Satan is called a serpent because the oldest known copies of the original Hebrew writings called him that. Trust me if the early protestants could have found evidence of this they would have changed it. Also many times since there have been people to go back and re look at the writings. It would have been caught and changed long before now.
Also just so you all will know the first visual representation of the predicted Christ was a serpent on a pole in Exodus created by Moses at the direction of God.

I believe the fear today comes from many sources...
1. fear of the unknown.
2. To the uninformed they are sneaky. (Watch out for snakes when you go in the woods)
3. Hollywood has done a great job of villainizing them in horror movies and sci-fi flicks.
4. The fear of the venomous ones and the inability to tell the difference. Also the fact that they are hard to see in their natural environment.

These are some but there are probably more.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

And the jesus fish is actually a symbol of the age of pieces. It is also theorized that jesus was a pieces..

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Monica I'm sorry, but while the age of Pisces is symbolized by the fish, the Jesus symbol actually originated during the Roman persecution of the Christians. Two people would stop and talk on the road. One would draw half of the symbol in the dirt with a stick, his toe or some other object. if the other person was Christian he would complete the symbol by drawing the other half. It came from Jesus calling the disciples to be "Fishers of Men". Most of them originally were fishermen by trade...
By the way as one who used to have snakes thrust in his face as a kid I concur that we need to allow people to approach snakes at their own pace. GOOD POINT.:D

I dont know about the whole religous thing but i know plenty of people that have a fear of snakes for no reason (probably because there different) . But a way to undestand it is to look at something you fear and try to put yourself in the peoples shoes that fear snakes. take something you fear and apply it to snakes and you'll see.

for example im pretty dam scared of spiders LOL for no reason not religion not anything like that i just dont like the ugly little dudes, there nasty, and when i look at that and see how it scares me and then put myself in someone elses shoes and apply that fear to snakes i understand why people fear them better, and then i try to show them how cool and nice snakes actually are! :D

Maybe one day someone will introduce me to spiders better and show me that there not that bad but i doubt it.

just my take on the subject.

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Originally Posted by barres

BTW, there is also a reference in the New Testament:

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Originally Posted by Mark 16:17-18

And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."

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I just wanted to clarify that what I was getting at is that there are some Christian groups who use venomous snakes as part of their worship based on this passage, further showing that a fear of snakes is not universal among Christians.

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Originally Posted by krinklebearcat

Ever wonder WHY early christians chose the snake in the story of the garden of Eden? In pagan religions the snake was a symbol of feminine power/wisdom. The early Catholic church chose the snake purposefully as a means of establishing women as second class citizens. Choosing a pagan symbol made sense since the Church grew by converting pagans.

My mom studied theology for a while and told me about this. Pretty interesting I think.

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It would be somewhat difficult for early Christians to choose a snake in the story of the garden of Eden, since the story is part of the Old Testament. Now we have no "original" (Hebrew) manuscripts of the Old Testament, but there is a Greek translation of the OT, called the Septuagint, that pre-dates Christianity and includes the story of the garden.

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Originally Posted by krinklebearcat

Ever wonder WHY early christians chose the snake in the story of the garden of Eden? In pagan religions the snake was a symbol of feminine power/wisdom. The early Catholic church chose the snake purposefully as a means of establishing women as second class citizens. Choosing a pagan symbol made sense since the Church grew by converting pagans.
My mom studied theology for a while and told me about this. Pretty interesting I think.

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In academics, it is important to point out that which is documented or which is theory. As has been explained, this story predates christianity......by quite some time. Now, it may be interesting how this connection can be made, but without further explanation, it seems unfounded. I'm sure your mother learned that the christians did not write the Old Testament.
I don't think that I would specifically label the early christian church, up to maybe 100 CE as being more suppressive than the general cultures at the time. A great respect was clearly present for women mentioned in the New Testament. As far as the Catholic church under the Romans later on, I don't think they had need of suppressing women more so than was already common practise. But I guess it would come down to opinions in the end.
I also appreciated the mention that a very important symbol of Jesus from the old testament was the serpent in the time of Moses. Along with that, I believe it was Christ who encouraged people to be, "wise as serpents and harmless as doves".
(Sorry for hijacking the thread).

Interesting thread and timely too. As it happens, I asked several of my friends just the other day to explain why they didn't like snakes. Nearly everyone I know is rather grossed out that I now own one, so to help me understand their fears/aversions, I flat out asked them what it is about snakes that turns them off so much. Here are some of their answers...

1. They're slimey (we know they're not, but others who've not truly been introduced to them think they are).
2. They move funny.
3. Their eyes creep me out.
4. They move (strike) so fast!
5. They slither.
6. Their tongue is weird/gross.
7. They bite all the time.
8. As a Christian, I just don't like them because of the fall of Adam and Eve!

That last answer was from one of my very dear friends and I have to admit I was really surprised to hear it. I am also a Christian and, ironically, most people in our church are actually not put off by my python at all. But my friend is and I thought it interesting that this really is a valid, if not common, reason for disliking snakes.

The other answers were, I thought, quite amusing actually. But I am attempting to see things from their point of view and respect their feelings so they will hopefully be more receptive to education.

Another thought is that reptiles are so different from warm-blooded mammals. They do move differently, their eyes are different, there is a coldness about them that isn't like a dog or a cat or other mammal. They are just different and we as a society tend to fear what is different or unknown. Just my thoughts....

Same reason people are scared of things like sharks.
Media, and common misconceptions.

Most people who are scared of my ball pythons seem to believe they'll strike at them, or strangle them.

-After 5 minutes of looking at me handle them they think differently.
-After touching them (sorta petting, like they would a cat) they realize they're not cold (amazed how many people think they're going to be freezing cold) or slimy, but smooth and room-temp.
-After more than one visit, most are even willing to try and hold one, normally a sub-adult.
-After a couple tries, I let them hold one of my friendly adult males or females.

Now all my friends tell others what they have learned, and I often have friends of friends wanting to visit for a look.;)

Once misconceptions are gone, people fall in love, or at least lose their fear.
I now have a bunch of people on any-time call updates for when my females lay a clutch, they find the eggs fascinating!

Another odd fact (personal experience only): males seems to be less afraid of them to begin with...However, when a male is afraid, he takes far longer than any of my girl-friends to man-up and hold one.:O

I didn't read the original post, but can answer the question...

They are afraid because 1- They are afraid, they hear snake and automatically think "Big/Mean, it's a danger to my family,pets yadda yadda yadda"...or 2- They are just not informed on the different species and the the basics, like how big they get, their temperment (90% have puppy dog attitudes) and just assume they are just nasty things that will strangle or kill anything they can get ahold of..

I'm kinda dealing with this situation myself, my wifes Mother is pretty scared of them and FINALLY let me get one after giving her some knowledge about the species...She was concerned about the baby...LOL...I told her the snake is MORE likely to get hurt then the baby will ever have to worry about....

But yeah, it's mainly from being UN-Informed or just Closed Minded to this GREAT and WONDERFULL hobby of OURS...

-Wildman

A lot of people I have spoken to have told me that they are scared of snakes because the don't have legs. They find that a animal that can travel without using any legs is just creepy looking.
Me on the other hand, I find it fascinating. I enjoy seeing how one animal in this world has developed it's entire body into one huge muscle to move it's body. If I'm not mistaken no other animal does that, besides fish, sharks, whales ect. who have fins, and tails which help them a great deal. A snake have to choose it's direction and propel it's self along with one muscle, nothing helping it. I love how they can do that.

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Originally Posted by barres

Why do people fear sharks?
Why do people fear bears?
Why do people fear wolf packs?

Some snakes are venomous, and therefore dangerous to human beings, but your average Joe isn't going to take the time to see if a snake is poisonous before he gets his hatchet, shovel, or whatever.

You want to know the animal responsible for more human deaths than any other animal in the US (other than other humans)?




Deer.

But the bite of a shark off the Florida coast will get more media attention than a few dozen car accidents caused by deer across the US. As others have said, we've been taught that some snakes are dangerous, but we (American society as a whole, not those of us here on BP.net, obviously) are too lazy to identify a snake as dangerous before we kill it.

BTW, there is also a reference in the New Testament:

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To be fair, there is a huge difference. Dying because you hit a deer with your car is different than and animal proactively trying to kill and eat you. One is malicious and one is not.

Media, religion and them having no arms and legs contribute to people hating/being afraid of snakes.

Why are people afraid of snake?????
That's easy its because they are all poisonous and they eat small children and your cats and dogs.

Am I right ??????

Lol sorry I have too much time on my hands ....slow day at work today !

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Originally Posted by BigBlue56

To be fair, there is a huge difference. Dying because you hit a deer with your car is different than and animal proactively trying to kill and eat you. One is malicious and one is not.

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I know there is a huge difference, but the statistic is still valid. I was making the point that an animal that most people would consider to be completely harmless (Bambi, anyone?) is actually the statistically most dangerous animal in the US. And not all deaths due to deer are car accidents; a very small (I believe) minority of them are gorings by bucks. I would also argue that most animal attacks on humans are neither proactive nor malicious. I would argue that they are the result of the animal feeling threatened by the human.

I haven't been on the forums in a few days, so I'm gonna reply to this before I read everyone's responses, so forgive me if I'm a little off here.

I grew up Lutheran, with a Catholic mama. I went to church until I was 15, and never once were we taught to fear snakes because they equal Satan. After I turned 21, I became a part of a campus ministry group called Chi Alpha. They taught to love all creatures, no matter what (they were a non-denominational group).

Although I went to church until I was 15, I stopped believing in the Lord when I was around 13. Please don't ask, it's a really long story that involves my medical history. Just know I stopped believing. I continued on through Confirmation mostly to please my mama.

I picked back up in my faith around 18.

That being said, I do see where you're coming from, as Christianity has played a huge role in shaping the world as it is today. But I think Christians are taught many more things, and a fear of snakes comes from personal opinion, not because of Satan. Snakes don't have legs, they eat differently, they have the power to kill in many different ways... a lot of things.

However, I know a woman who is deathly, and I mean DEATHLY afraid of cats. Some say cats are half in, half out... I can't even look at a tarantula without having a death grip on my fiance's arm.

But anyway, because I haven't read any responses yet, I'm sure your post caused a lot of different opinions to come out. I just have to say, I love posts like this, because I love hearing other people's views and ideas on things. :gj:

I think it is a combination of their reputation and the media blowing things out of control. Take spiders for instance. There are thousands and thousands of species of spiders in the world. Very very few can even bite you. Even less can hurt you and only a couple can kill you. But when people think of spider they think of something like the black widow. There is an interesting misnomer about black widows. First, most female spiders are known to eat their mate, not just widows. But the black widow legend mostly came out of Oklahoma where a suicidal man in the early 1900s tried to commit suicide by being bit by pet black widows. He did die, but probably due to overdosing on painkillers found next to his bed, not from the actual spider bite. I am not saying that widows cant hurt you because they certainly can, but their reputation is drastically over done. There are only a handful of snakes that can hurt you let alone eat you. But the media is only interested in ratings. BIG SCARY DANGEROUS SNAKE THREATENS MAN is a much more dramatic headline then "Man Bit By Python Because Of Egotistical Actions." Unfortunately many people would rather not learn about snakes and just choose to fear them. For me the biggest way to get over a fear of something is by understanding what it is I fear. I used to be terrified of snakes, spiders and roller coasters. I read about snakes and spiders, forced myself to be near them, went to a zoo and held a snake and now I love them. I love the little guy sleeping in his hide. I love roller coasters too. I think there are many people here who used to fear snakes but now love them simply because they gave them a chance. Unfortunately much of society would rather be sensational then be rational.

I think being afraid of snakes is such an individual thing that you cant go finding a "General reason".

Well my father in-law is scared of snakes because living in Texas he was taght to fear them. One time I hace to rip up his downstairs bathroom to get a baby Garder snake out

There has been many studies done on this exact topic. One of the conclusions the researchers came up with was that the fear of snakes is a learned behavior. Through out our lives we are conditioned to be afraid of certain things fire, heights etc. Now all of us don't learn the same way so you have people that can be firefighters because the fear wasn't instilled the same way as to become overwhelming. The research is really interesting and I would suggest reading up on some of them.

i wouldnt say im afraid of wild snakesbut when i unexpectadly see one it makes me jump a bit but im ok with it, i used to be afraid of snakes when i was younger all together but i kinda grew out of it i guess, i always wanted one even tho i was a little afraid so i went to the pet store and just started holding them and then baught my own after lots of research...face your fears and get a new friend out of it :)

Honestly I think It's because there have been more years in the U.S. being taught to fear snakes. And parents taught kids at a young age to stay away from snakes (obvi a safety issue) and no one really started keeping snakes(especially more exotic like pythons and such) until the sixties. They've only been really popular for a little over 50 years versus the thousands of years people have lived in the u.s. hearing stories of pythons eating alligators which leads to them thinking they could be man eating. We've been taught longer to fear snakes and stay away from them rather than love them and tame them.

Another Thead from the Dead :gallery:

I think people in my area are afraid of snakes because of mistaken identity. To all of us herp savvy people the differences between a poisonous and harmless snake are immediately obvious. However most will grab the shovel or swerve the car first then maybe try to identify. It doesn't help there are non poisonous dopplegangers either especially when water snakes are babies :/


http://wildlife.blurtit.com/var/ques...cooperhead.jpg

http://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/pics/nerfas4.jpg

http://www.muherpsociety.com/sitebui...ottonmouth.jpg

http://www.herpnet.net/Iowa-Herpetol...rsnake_new.jpg

just though i'd say since it bugs me just a smidge...there are NO poisonous snakes only venomus. poison is normally ingested(meaning you'd have to eat the snake to have any problems) and venom is ingected into muscle or blood stream

Because they are evil and deceitful and God punished them by removing their legs because they tricked Eve into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and they will eat you. They are just gross slimy dangerous creatures that nobody should own. Just kidding, I think it is because alot of people just arent that smart and base their judgements off of opinions, stereotypes, and biases which are unsubstantiated beliefs and value judgements instead of concrete facts based on actuality and substantiated knowledge.:banana:

God had to pick the most BA creature to tempt adam with so obvi he chose the snake... duhhhh