Edumacations, College Style

So last week I was invited to do a "lecture" on snakes and ball pythons in particular at my mom's school... but that was to a small special-ed class on a species that I already know.

This week, due to the nature of my persuasive essay (against the python ban, my final in this class) and my Prof liking it so much, I've been invited to do an actual lecture on the python ban and giant pythons as a whole for my English class. Which he decided to tell me... today. And the thing is... this Thursday. @_@;; I'm mostly prepared because of all of the research I had to do for my persuasive essay, but I'd like a primary source.

So guys. As giant python owners, what are your feelings (real honest feelings, not kneejerk reactions) on the 4 species being added to the Lacey Act and the 5 species they want to add?

And, I know for sure that one of my classmates is afraid of snakes. Now I've talked to her about this before and she said that she's not scared of the pictures or of snake talk, just the creatures themselves. However, I'd like to use some pictures and while I trust that she's not startled by pictures of small snakes... Burms are hardly something anyone would call "small". Any suggestions on how I should move forward with that?



Don't worry, I'm definitely on your side on this. I see it as no better than the pit bull bans, even if the ownership of these reptiles isn't banned (yet).

The python ban is completely unnecessary. There trying to fix a problem that nature itself is fixing and nature itself has made impossible for it to spread into other parts of our country. These animals lack the survival any where other then south florida. Take a moment and look at every other invasive species down there and what they are doing take a look at stray cats they are wreaking havoc on the ENTIRE country not just a section of florida but nothing is done because they are not big scary snakes. Cats also kill for fun not just to eat they like to stalk prey items and enjoy playing with them until they kill them. Florida had already taken steps to fix this situation it was a local problem and should of stayed a local problem. But with elections coming up they needed something to boost some votes for them. Even if there not banned as pets (YET) we still have lost the right to import new morphs/New Blood lines to mix with our animals. Most Burmese python morphs are a recessive trait so when imported they were all bred back to each other so at one point or another it would be nice to mix it up a little with some new blood. I mean pretty much every labyrinth in the country right now I believe are all related to bobs original pair. I could go on and on about this but at the end of the day its just politics we need less government in the private sector they have better things they could be doing for this country then wasting time and money on this.

Couldn't have said it better. Besides, they are only delaying it. IF they could survive anywhere else then the wild snake population would gradually spred anyways. Yet the gov. Doesn't do anything to prevent that. Not that they could.

The bans are unnecessary. I am 100% behind liciencing and regulation though. Not everybody is capable of owning a large constrictor. I think that required microchiping and an annuall facility inspection would be a much better choice than bans.

* I do not currently own a large constrictor but I do plan on owning them in the future.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

The bans are unnecessary. I am 100% behind liciencing and regulation though. Not everybody is capable of owning a large constrictor. I think that required microchiping and an annuall facility inspection would be a much better choice than bans.

* I do not currently own a large constrictor but I do plan on owning them in the future.

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You better plan on moving out of florida then lol

Yeah I know lol

Hey guys :3

Thanks for your input, but I've already give the lecture by this point in time. It went well, a lot of students that don't like snakes or don't care about snakes told me that I persuaded them that the ban was a bad idea and that simply regulating ownership in terms of permits was better instead. We had a good long debate on what counted as domestic afterwards and quite a few of my classmates that had previously been uninterested in exotic ownership as a whole chimed in on what is actually the domestication process and what counts as a domesticated animal vs an exotic, and ways that exotics can become domesticated.

The professor was so impressed by it (he's actually anti-exotic!!) that I was invited to do a second one, ungraded, to the whole school. That one was outside, and he specifically asked that I bring Quetzal with me, so I picked a day that it was in the 80s and sunny and gave my second presentation. Might not have done a lot of good numbers-wise, but in this community education goes a long way. :gj:

The classmate previously mentioned to be terrified of snakes managed to swallow her fear and stroke Quetzal's back and tail (I'd requested everyone to stay away from his head to keep him from being startled). Not an experience she wanted to repeat, but this is a girl who wouldn't even get within 10 feet of a snake before.



I got an A+ on my essay, another A+ on the persuasion, and my prof has put a good word in with next semester's professors to try to get me into the higher level English class. I'd say it was an overall success.

Also don't forget the slippery slope concern... I'm not, nor will I ever be a large snake owner, but that doesn't mean I don't think responsible people shouldn't have them, and if I don't speak out in against Lacey, then they'll come for the snakes my husband wants to get... then they'll come for all reptiles. There is already a suburb in my state that bans "...all constricting snakes, and raccoons." I dunno about those dangerous corn snakes, but they mentioned raccoons too! :rolleyes:

/not a big snake owner, but a greatly concerned herper

// also took too long to write this - good job on the lecture!

There are quite a few large constrictors they haven't thought of banning yet.. :D

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant
The bans are unnecessary. I am 100% behind liciencing and regulation though. Not everybody is capable of owning a large constrictor. I think that required microchiping and an annuall facility inspection would be a much better choice than bans.

* I do not currently own a large constrictor but I do plan on owning them in the future.

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Originally Posted by Denial

You better plan on moving out of florida then lol

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Originally Posted by John1982

There are quite a few large constrictors they haven't thought of banning yet.. :D

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yeah lol

I'm really hoping to get into retics

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Originally Posted by John1982

There are quite a few large constrictors they haven't thought of banning yet.. :D

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Which ones are you referring to? They were originally 9 and it got dropped to 4 but dont be fooled they are still working on adding the rest.

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Originally Posted by sleepygeckos

Also don't forget the slippery slope concern... I'm not, nor will I ever be a large snake owner, but that doesn't mean I don't think responsible people shouldn't have them, and if I don't speak out in against Lacey, then they'll come for the snakes my husband wants to get... then they'll come for all reptiles. There is already a suburb in my state that bans "...all constricting snakes, and raccoons." I dunno about those dangerous corn snakes, but they mentioned raccoons too! :rolleyes:

/not a big snake owner, but a greatly concerned herper

// also took too long to write this - good job on the lecture!

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Yup, I added that too. My city has largely resisted breed bans, although Reading has banned pit bulls, and I discussed two recent incidents of child maulings by dogs (one a pit, the other a lab) and how people use outliers as fuel for fear and harsh legislation instead of focusing on the problem itself. For the in-class lecture I had everyone who owned a dog that weighs more than 50lbs raise their hands (pits, ACTUAL American Pit Bull Terriers, are not 80+lb dogs but more like 40-60). Then I asked them how they would feel if tomorrow the government announced that in 60 days they could no longer move with their pets if they went out of state.

Point really hit home as I'm in an art school and most of us are likely not going to remain in PA for jobs but become freelancers or move to better-known artistic areas. To quote a classmate, "I guess senators like angry letters in their mailboxes" :gj:

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Originally Posted by Jazi

Point really hit home as I'm in an art school and most of us are likely not going to remain in PA for jobs but become freelancers or move to better-known artistic areas. To quote a classmate, "I guess senators like angry letters in their mailboxes" :gj:

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:gj::gj:Really good point there about moving with a beloved dog... too bad the senators don't even read the angry letters anymore. LOL

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Originally Posted by Denial

Which ones are you referring to? They were originally 9 and it got dropped to 4 but dont be fooled they are still working on adding the rest.

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What's the standard for being considered "large?" Scrub and olive pythons can exceed 13 feet...

Just wondering, what school exactly do you go to in Lancaster? I am from the area and thinking about some schools there.

I'm glad to hear that you made a good impression with your presentation. Always good to introduce more people to snakes and show them how "nice" they actually are.

PCA&D, it's expensive but I love it. Transferred there this year and enjoyed every second, planning on finishing up my education there. Don't give up sunny Florida for boring Amishville though :P I don't understand why anyone would want to come back here.

Yup, I was debating a lot of topics for my presentation/essay, but one of the requirements was that I also had to do a devil's advocate presentation/essay which meant I had to argue in favor of the ban and I wasn't allowed to set up a strawman argument and had to use facts and research. Since a lot of what I set myself 100% behind has a lot of psuedoscience and religion fueling the opposing side (gay marriage and breed bans being examples), I had to pick the one with the least amount of media sensation fueling the opposing side. It's a lot of "what ifs", but they are valid concerns to an extent. "Improper handling CAN lead to death, ban them all!" can be turned into "improper handling CAN lead to death, so do xyz and don't be an idiot", etc.

Ok, very nice.
Those Devil's Advocate essays can be fun, and are always informative.

Personally I dislike Florida, but most people love it here.

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Originally Posted by olstyn

What's the standard for being considered "large?" Scrub and olive pythons can exceed 13 feet...

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In alot of states, towns, and counties there are laws governing snakes that get over 6 feet so that can include alot