It's confirmed!

Chaos is a MALE!! I have had him out and about with me a bit today and he's been very good! No stressing at all. We went to the local mom and pop pet store and checked out his new friend, we went to the Marine recruiting station (he told me he wants to be a Marine!LOL) then to Home Depot. I think he enjoyed the attention! Got several "OMG it's a snake" "Aww isn't he cute" " Does it bite...( to which i responded only if you're a mouse!) I told his story about how he was abused and had several kids simply fall in love with him. So i think Choas is a great BP ambassader. ( yeah i'm sure i spelled that wrong) Once i get Lucy i plan on making her one as well.

Congrats. :)

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but please be careful taking him out in public. My local herpetological society is currently fighting a county wide ban on exotics because someone decided it would be a great idea to take their pet alligator out for a walk. I'm not trying to say don't take him out and let him be an ambassador, but please people careful where you take him.

Sounds like an awesome day! When I was taking my albino home with me, I decided to take him out of the bag and just chilled with him. Little did I realize, the people in the cars next to us were pointing and smiling! They all seemed amazed (in a good way) at this snake! It was awesome! I got shy though and put him away... LOL. I'm not used to so much attention from strangers :D

How did you confirm Chaos is a 1.0?

Also, please feel free to maintain your snake anyway you want to, but I can promise you'll be able to ski jump in hell before I took any BP of mine into a pet store. Why expose it to potential health risks from mites, RIs, and who knows what else?

Just keep in mind that even though you think your BP is an ambassador, not everyone will. Never under estimate the ignorance of your fellow humans.

Sorry, I'm jumping on the train too. Taking your Bp into a pet store is not anything I would ever suggest doing. It's a good way to bring home mites, or get your snake sick. What are the temps outside where you live? And yes, you may get a few ooh/aahs, there are going to be plenty that completely spaz out. I am glad you are enjoying your Bp, but please be careful with him.

Taking a snake into public, PERIOD is just a bad idea. Especially so in this time where the whole US is facing bans on their beloved pets.

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Originally Posted by SquamishSerpents

Taking a snake into public, PERIOD is just a bad idea. Especially so in this time where the whole US is facing bans on their beloved pets.

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I don't completely agree with this. We shouldn't have to hide in the closet like keeping reptiles is some deep dark secret or is wrong to do. The setting we take out animals to in public is what is important.

I helped my local herp society out when we did the Great Lakes Pet Expo and I took a few of my own pets with me. It was a great time in a controlled environment. People knew what they were getting into before they came near us and I got to educate a lot of people. We will doing a huge kid's expo this weekend too. The setting matters, you don't want to be waking down the street with a huge or even small snake on your shoulders because that is when people will start freaking out and these stupid bans get more support. Education is our best defense and kids and even some adults respond better to see some of these animals in person. :)

I don't even like taking my dog (an APBT) in public because people are afraid of and stare at her, even though she's 45 pounds, well-behaved, and a sweetheart. Needless to say, I'd be terrified to take my snakes to any place where the general public would see them. I get enough averse reactions when they AREN'T with me.

Congrats on your male snake though and good luck with your ambassadorial adventures. I'm glad people enjoyed meeting Chaos. :gj:

I took him to the store he came from...some one left him there after being misinformed on how to handle him. I knew the girls that nursed him would love to see him so i took him in there. They were happy to see he was doing well and most of the people i came in contact with wre curious more than any thing.

In the town where I live there has been a ban on all constrictor & venomous snakes for years & years......until recently! In 2009 the ban on ball pythons was lifted by the City Council allowing them to be kept. Venomous & larger pythons still aren't allowed, but at least the change is for the better and maybe others could be reversed later!

I think its a good thing taking a snake out in public. How are we suppose to teach new ideas to the public if nobody ever sees them? When I lived in Florida I would take a ball python to our horse shows and people LOVED it. (for those who have never been to a horse show, they are outdoors and people bring all sorts of pets to them, most commonly dogs and birds...) Even the people who were scared of snakes would come around and ask questions and take pictures. They ecspecially loved my Pied because he looks like a paint horse. And they were very curiuos when I started explaining breeding and codom genes, etc. When I didnt bring him, I got asked why??

I went to an anime expo and some guy was walking around with a kingsnake XD. He was friendly. I asked him if anyone had freaked out over it yet, but he said everyone loved it! Perhaps that goes along with the "setting" he was in. :P

I see both sides of this argument. Ophidiophobia IS common, and some people will freak out and cause a fuss if they see a snake out in public.
On the other hand, if people never see them, they think there is something abnormal about owning one.

Perhaps a good middle ground is to only take a snake out to places where it can be assumed to be welcome (like any other pet), and to be extremely courteous and sympathetic to anyone who shows signs of fear.

I think there are down sides to hiding them away at all times, and down sides to bringing them into public view. I don't think there is a certain 'right answer'.

The pricipal at our sons school asked when we could bring our "unique" pets to school for show and tell. She met one of our bearded dragons and fell in love with him and when i told her we have a total of 3 she got excited and now that we have 2 BPs she's even more excited. I know they are just normal BPs but they look nothing alike. So i'm thinking about giving it about 2 more weeks just make sure Lucy is doing well before she makes her debut. I need to give some info about snakes and lizards to the school (oh yeah not just 1 class...i get to do the WHOLE school!) Anyone want to help me with some info to pass along to the young moldable minds? Any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

SNAKES ARE OUR FRIENDS, NOT EVIL, MAN EATING, SLIMY CREATURES!!!!
Just shout that at the begining of the presentation lmao

Well I took three of ours to my girls science class. I held one the teacher held one and my girls would hold one. I let me little girls tell the class about them. They made out a huge sheet about facts on snakes. Unfortunately one of my girls spent like 45 minutes talking about snake sex. OOOPS. My other one was somehow an instant expert on snakes and even knew all the ins and outs of two headed snakes. (She made up most of it)

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

SNAKES ARE OUR FRIENDS, NOT EVIL, MAN EATING, SLIMY CREATURES!!!!
Just shout that at the begining of the presentation lmao

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I noted it and i will defintely will say that to start with!! Thank you!!

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Originally Posted by gr8gugly

Well I took three of ours to my girls science class. I held one the teacher held one and my girls would hold one. I let me little girls tell the class about them. They made out a huge sheet about facts on snakes. Unfortunately one of my girls spent like 45 minutes talking about snake sex. OOOPS. My other one was somehow an instant expert on snakes and even knew all the ins and outs of two headed snakes. (She made up most of it)

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LOL Snake sex!! That's awesome! Looks like they are paying VERY close attention to the snakes!

I thank causuley just taking our pets out in public in general is a bad idea. I will from time to time take petsmart, but wont allow her off my neck because of other peoples dogs. but take her to the gas station or home depot I wont do. I wont even take mine to the vet in a manner where they can be seen... I always in a dark plastic bin and in snake bags. I will do educational presentations. but that is it

It seems that most people posting on this debate are forgetting a huge part of the issue - the owner! People will judge you and your pet. I'm not saying they should, but I am saying they will. So if all of the people who take their pythons and other herps into public are misinformed about their pet, talk to themselves, have poor personal hygeine or some other taboo, then that will be reflected back to the whole herp community. The pet, IMO, is probably the least of the concern, unless it is something large enough people feel is dangerous (such as the pet alligator).

I think some people are going to freak out about a snake no matter what, so don't waste your time on those people. What can be useful is talking to the people who are interested but don't know about pet herps. A well imformed, well groomed pet owner can use a well behaved, pleasant herp as an ambassador. I'm not saying you should start a herp campaign, but I don't see anything wrong with taking your pet to places where everybody else takes their pets. I'm saying it should be taken to an environment where it is welcome.

Somebody else pointed out failure to take our animals into public will keep people thinking that it is abnormal own a herp. Well, I suspect that it is abnormal, in the sense that the majority of pet owners have cats, dogs, and maybe birds. I don't see anything wrong with being abnormal, but we have to recognize we are a minority and there certain implications that go along with that.

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Originally Posted by captainjack0000

It seems that most people posting on this debate are forgetting a huge part of the issue - the owner! People will judge you and your pet. I'm not saying they should, but I am saying they will. So if all of the people who take their pythons and other herps into public are misinformed about their pet, talk to themselves, have poor personal hygeine or some other taboo, then that will be reflected back to the whole herp community. The pet, IMO, is probably the least of the concern, unless it is something large enough people feel is dangerous (such as the pet alligator).

I think some people are going to freak out about a snake no matter what, so don't waste your time on those people. What can be useful is talking to the people who are interested but don't know about pet herps. A well imformed, well groomed pet owner can use a well behaved, pleasant herp as an ambassador. I'm not saying you should start a herp campaign, but I don't see anything wrong with taking your pet to places where everybody else takes their pets. I'm saying it should be taken to an environment where it is welcome.

Somebody else pointed out failure to take our animals into public will keep people thinking that it is abnormal own a herp. Well, I suspect that it is abnormal, in the sense that the majority of pet owners have cats, dogs, and maybe birds. I don't see anything wrong with being abnormal, but we have to recognize we are a minority and there certain implications that go along with that.

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Thank you Captainjack! Being a woman with tattoos I get really wierd looks especially when i have a snake draped over my arm. Mostly from older people and misinformed or uninformed people. Men i encounter pay attention not only to the fact i have a snake but the fact i am a woman who has certain features that appeal to them. ;) Alot ask questions which i am happy to answer. My husband calls me the crazy snake lady! LOL