Why I think people are so afraid of snakes:

This is just something that has been greatly brought to my attention over the past few months. I am the Animal care specialist at the pet store I work at, meaning I take care and handle all of the animals regularly.

Every time I have a snake out, whether it be a red tail, a ball python, or another type of harmless snake, 9 out of 10 people scream and run in the other direction; even though they see me from all the way across the store. It seems like their fear completely overcomes their logic, I mean do you REALLY think that this snake will grow wings, fly out of my hand and attack you?? Then I put the snake up and approach them, and the conversation usually goes as follows:

Me: have you ever had a bad experience with a snake?
Customer: no.
Me: have you ever been bitten by a snake?
Customer: no.
Me: have you ever held a snake?
Customer: no.
Me: then HOW can you be afraid of them?!
Customer: I don't know, I just am.


The reason I think people are so afraid of snakes is because they know nothing about them, and base everything they know off of what they see in movies, or hear from the media and/or their peers. Understandably, if I knew NOTHING about snakes and saw the movie "Snakes On A Plane" or "Anaconda" , I would probably be terrified of snakes as well. Snakes don't even get a chance from people to be understood, as the most irritating, incorrect statement that I have ever heard is "the only good snake is a dead snake". WRONG. Though there are snakes out there that can cause harm, people seem to accept every snake on the earth as one that will kill and eat a human any chance it gets. Wrong again. I have a good friend that has been terrified his entire life, and after he overcame the fact that I was holding my ball python Irwin near him, he decided to hold her and he FELL IN LOVE WITH HER!! This is just my little rant on the subject. Any similar thoughts? :)

We all fear what we don't understand.

So yes, a lot of it is just not knowing or understanding anything about them.

Gale

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Originally Posted by angllady2

We all fear what we don't understand.

So yes, a lot of it is just not knowing or understanding anything about them.

Gale

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Agreed. I run into this constantly. I have been able to teach quite a few people at least a little bit about snakes, and it usually assuages their fears or doubts. I've had people jump out of their skin when they saw a little garter snake, but a week later hold one of my big female BPs. It just takes a little education and understanding.

I like to tell people that my chihuahuas are far more dangerous than the snake Im holding. I usually get a snicker out of that. I also tell people I will give them $20 if they can make my snake bite them. That will usually break the ice and at least get them a little closer. A couple of times it has made a terrified person grab a snake from my hands. Money trumps fear sometimes! LOL! :D

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Originally Posted by Tfpets

I like to tell people that my chihuahuas are far more dangerous than the snake Im holding. I usually get a snicker out of that. I also tell people I will give them $20 if they can make my snake bite them. That will usually break the ice and at least get them a little closer. A couple of times it has made a terrified person grab a snake from my hands. Money trumps fear sometimes! LOL! :D

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I have to try this sometime!!!! :gj:

Going on the fear theme;

I took 3 of my bp's to my son's nursery school. One boy wouldn't come into the room until I was gone. However, three teachers heard I had the snakes in the room, and brought all their students. They all lined up nicely, came in 2 at a time, asked questions, and some got pictures taken with the snakes. A pure blast. The kids need to be educated young, and introduced in a safe manor. I was nervous as I did the show and tell in -20c weather. I microwaved those rice bags, covered in paper, and the three snakes all had their own bags which was all in a styrofoam cooler box, wrapped in a towel. That was a true test. Snakes are still healthy and I can't wait to show off the fourth one next time.

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Originally Posted by Tfpets

I like to tell people that my chihuahuas are far more dangerous than the snake Im holding. I usually get a snicker out of that. I also tell people I will give them $20 if they can make my snake bite them. That will usually break the ice and at least get them a little closer. A couple of times it has made a terrified person grab a snake from my hands. Money trumps fear sometimes! LOL! :D

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lol. good stuff. I used to work in a pet store in Toronto. The bird and small critters dept. I had a guy come in wanting to buy a hamster for his 3 year old daughter. I convinced him to buy a rat, cause I didn't want his daughter being bitten by the damn thing. (some hamsters are cool) but rats are way better!

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Originally Posted by Tfpets

I also tell people I will give them $20 if they can make my snake bite them.

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This is such a great idea! I'm so using it :)

I believe so many people fear snakes do to thousands of years of stigma attached to them such as eve and the apple, and all the horror stories of giant man eating snakes: as some believe it could just be a part of our subconcious that has developed over millions of years to be fearful of predators in general, misseducation helps none of this either. Just my 2 cents

You know adding to this theme a little. I adopted a lovely normal female who was born without eyes.

She is my spokesnake. People are drawn to animals with deformities or disabilities. Dog with three legs, cat with one eye, you all know what I mean.

Well, Athena has proven irresistible to people because she has no eyes. Even people who will get as far away as they can from a baby ball python or cornsnake, cannot help but be drawn to her. As soon as they hear she was born eyeless, they have to get close enough to see for themselves. And once they can see it, the questions start. How does she eat ? Can she see in heat with no eyes ? Does it hurt her that she can't see ? And on and on.

I tell them she eats just fine. Yes she can see in heat, in fact she can see you just fine. No, it doesn't hurt her or affect her in any way that she cannot see. Because she was born this way, she has no idea she's not just the same as any other ball python. Fascination draws them in, and before they know it, most want to hold her. Or at least pet her. They begin to talk to her, and tell each other how cool it is when she "looks" at them.

As she grows, she becomes even more interesting to people, because obviously she has a good life or she could not be so big and healthy. And people just can't comprehend she can have a normal life with no eyes. She has done more to educate people on "dangerous" ball pythons in the few months I've had her than years of me trying to tell people about them.

Gale

Embarrassing true fact. When I first got Ekans this February I was pretty afraid of snakes. I wanted one, I knew all about them, Everything else fine. But I was actually afraid to hold it. Well after a week of owning him I started to (this is embarrassing) hold him with thick gloves on. Would probably hurt still through the gloves but it gives you that false sense of security. Any ways after holding him 3 times (3 days) In a row I started to take the gloves off and now I have him out of the cage as much as a can. With no problems and I am completely fine with my new ball python to!

Biggest reason we fear things is fear of the unknown itself. Take that leap of faith. True wonders will come afterwards.

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Originally Posted by kon1

I believe so many people fear snakes do to thousands of years of stigma attached to them such as eve and the apple, and all the horror stories of giant man eating snakes: as some believe it could just be a part of our subconcious that has developed over millions of years to be fearful of predators in general, misseducation helps none of this either. Just my 2 cents

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The adam and eve story is a weak excuse for being afraid of snakes imo. If god picked a sloth to tempt them then it wouldnt have worked bc sloths are lame. He picked a snake bc theyre awesome and knew it would get their attention. BOOM

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

The adam and eve story is a weak excuse

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I think fairy tales are a great reference on why people are afraid of snakes :p

There is actually scientific proof that humans and most other animals have an instinctual fear of snakes. Baby girls will actually react with fear to snakes around 11 months old with no prior conditioning. Baby boys start having the same reaction around 13-14 months old. If you watch other animals around snakes, they almost always have a wary demeanor when approaching snakes. It's hard wired into most species. Then there are people like me who saw a snake and went "oooooo...." <grabs snake>. Pretty sure Darwin would say I shouldn't be in the gene pool. ;)

As people get older, many have parents who tell them that snakes are dangerous, etc and society reinforces that. It just takes a leftover instinct and magnifies it into a full blown fear of an animal that wouldn't hurt them.

Reptiliachnids, Ekans bite wouldn't hurt. Might break the skin but corns, even as adults, don't really hurt. Just make you jump when they strike. ;)

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Originally Posted by Dracoluna

There is actually scientific proof that humans and most other animals have an instinctual fear of snakes. Baby girls will actually react with fear to snakes around 11 months old with no prior conditioning. Baby boys start having the same reaction around 13-14 months old.

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Leaving the animals out of the equation, I would like to see this scientific proof that humans have an instinctual fear of snakes. Please direct me to the study or post a link.

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Originally Posted by Slim

Leaving the animals out of the equation, I would like to see this scientific proof that humans have an instinctual fear of snakes. Please direct me to the study or post a link.

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X2. I can understand animals that would be lower on the food chain being programmed to fear them. But we sit alone at the top of the food chain. I don't see humans fearing snakes instinctually.

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Originally Posted by Dracoluna

There is actually scientific proof that humans and most other animals have an instinctual fear of snakes. Baby girls will actually react with fear to snakes around 11 months old with no prior conditioning. Baby boys start having the same reaction around 13-14 months old.

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Yeah, I'd like to see this too. I have no doubt that 11-14 month olds on general do react, but at that age it is a learned response, not an instinctual one. That kid would have had to have been locked in a closet it's whole life not to have some exposure to snakes. My kids do not have this fear, but when you grow up around 80 snakes it is kinda hard to. I do have to admit that my 3 yr old gets a little worried around them from time to time, but only after he gets bit by one. The snakes are teaching him not to pull out their tubs and stick his hands in.

I would actually believe that babies are instinctually afraid of snakes. A friends son has been around our snakes since he was about 2 months old, pet them a few times after he was 6 months old but recently decided he is deathly afraid of them. Don't know why, certainly didn't come from the parents!

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Originally Posted by Tfpets

I would actually believe that babies are instinctually afraid of snakes. A friends son has been around our snakes since he was about 2 months old, pet them a few times after he was 6 months old but recently decided he is deathly afraid of them. Don't know why, certainly didn't come from the parents!

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Soooooo that would make the fear a learned response and not instinctual.

I would actually believe that babies are instinctually afraid of snakes. A friends son has been around our snakes since he was about 2 months old, pet them a few times after he was 6 months old but recently decided he is deathly afraid of them at 13 months old. Don't know why, certainly didn't come from the parents!

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Originally Posted by Tfpets

decided he is deathly afraid of them at 13 months old.

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Again that would prove, it's not instinctual but a learned behavior.

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Originally Posted by Dracoluna

Baby girls will actually react with fear to snakes around 11 months old with no prior conditioning. Baby boys start having the same reaction around 13-14 months old.

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O ok I see why your saying that. ;) But I still don't agree. How would that study know that the child positively had never taken anything in negative towards snakes? Around that age kids personalities start shining through. Some kids are deathly afraid of cats, it doesn't mean they are wired that way. My son loves snakes. My daughter who is 14 months could really care less about them. Everyone is afraid or not afraid of things because of life experiences, not because we are programmed one way or the other.

This is crazy, put a snake next to a 3 month old and watch the kid try to put it in her mouth. By the time a kid is a year old they have probably been exposed to hundreds of snake related scenarios through various media. The walk in on the wrong part of a scary movie, or are just not familier with the animal in general, and they might be scared for a bit. Unless the fear is truely phobic, it can be overcome in a matter of minutes and a beer or two (ok we are talking about kids, a Zima or two). Also, why would we have an instinctual fear of snakes? We are not on their list food items. An instinctual fear of lions would make more sense, but no, they are cute and cuddly. Bears maybe, nope they most kids first best friend. Hey, thinking about it, the Care Bear Cousins didn't have a reptile representative. Ummmmmmmm

I would assume an instinct would be immediate upon sight developing say 3 weeks or so. Like touching something hot we instinctually pull away before there is time for thought. I would infer that at a later date instinct does not kick in but conditioning and learned response does. Snakes are sadly portrayed as the villain in popular media. I can only think of one movie in the last handful of years where a snake was a good character, The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Mrs. Plithiver.

Gale,
This is very very true! Our little one eyed girl is the snake I will use to introduce fearful people too. She is disarming that way. Add that she is super calm and very very chill doesn't hurt. Our vet loves her, it is funny, when she goes for a check up the whole office turns up to visit her. I don't know if it is because she has one eye or that she was tube fed for the first 4 months of her life (micro small twin her sibling was normal and she was smaller than a baby corn.) But in either case she is super calm no matter what you do to her. It is hard to be afraid of her she is 0% threatening.

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Originally Posted by angllady2

You know adding to this theme a little. I adopted a lovely normal female who was born without eyes.

She is my spokesnake. People are drawn to animals with deformities or disabilities. Dog with three legs, cat with one eye, you all know what I mean.

Well, Athena has proven irresistible to people because she has no eyes. Even people who will get as far away as they can from a baby ball python or cornsnake, cannot help but be drawn to her. As soon as they hear she was born eyeless, they have to get close enough to see for themselves. And once they can see it, the questions start. How does she eat ? Can she see in heat with no eyes ? Does it hurt her that she can't see ? And on and on.

I tell them she eats just fine. Yes she can see in heat, in fact she can see you just fine. No, it doesn't hurt her or affect her in any way that she cannot see. Because she was born this way, she has no idea she's not just the same as any other ball python. Fascination draws them in, and before they know it, most want to hold her. Or at least pet her. They begin to talk to her, and tell each other how cool it is when she "looks" at them.

As she grows, she becomes even more interesting to people, because obviously she has a good life or she could not be so big and healthy. And people just can't comprehend she can have a normal life with no eyes. She has done more to educate people on "dangerous" ball pythons in the few months I've had her than years of me trying to tell people about them.

Gale

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Originally Posted by Rob

How would that study know that the child positively had never taken anything in negative towards snakes?

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And, I still haven't seen a link to this study. We are now starting to debate the results of a study with out any proof that it exists :rofl:

:popcorn:

Nothing definitive, but a good read:
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatre...ve-or-learned/

Hmm, I'm just taking a shot in the dark here...but is it maybe possible that fear can sometimes be a genetic trait? Passed down from parent to child, thus, the child instinctively being afraid of snakes if one of the parents are, without any other further knowledge of snakes?

Fear is not genetic, Its learned.
If fear was genetic we wouldn't have to teach our children not to touch the stove or not to stick their hands in a fan, or to not do anything else that would otherwise hurt them, cause it would already have been hard wired in their brain to not do these things over the hundreds of generations that have passed....

Obviously that's not the case, children are born not fearing anything and parents have to teach them things to avoid in order to 'potentially' avoid harm.

Its after a child experiences something negative or painful about a matter that they start to fear it, as to not have to experience it again,but it could also immediately tie in with a parents reaction as well, sometimes the baby fears it only after the parent saw it and reacted a certain way, thus making them fear it too even though it never directly caused them any harm.But again that's a reaction that they learned.

Fear of snakes is largely, if not entirely socialized, but I will say this. I obviously have no fear of snakes, but when I am out hiking or walking through my yard in the summer, if I see one I ABSOLUTELY have a brief physiological reaction, simply because my brain knows it has a split second to determine if it is a rattlesnake or a harmless species. Obviously if it a rattlesnake I love it just the same, but my approach of the situation is entirely different. This to me is a learned survival mechanism. No matter how much I love snakes, my brain has learned that I must be selective about which ones I grab in the great outdoors, therefore, I have a split second of adrenaline pulsing through me if one appears. It's really interesting to me because it is not fear, it's an involuntary defense mechanism: Do I need to jump back quick? Rapidly change my footing? Or leap forward and catch it! My brain has to rule out the first two before I can proceed.

We are designed with the capability for this reaction. Our ancestors did not have antivenin, they had to proceed with caution around all snakes or die. I think this is the root of the fear, generation upon generation passing on this wariness, even with the emergence of modern science and medicine. And snakes do still kill people every year all over the world, so there is a tiny grain of logic to the fear. What is illogical is blaming harmless species and being afraid of what can't hurt you.

Something I've noticed is that people who are afraid of ball pythons with normal paterns often aren't as afraid of an obvious morph.

I own a pair of piebalds. I've had people who were afraid of my het pied be able to handle the pieds. The pieds look more 'tame' to them. So far all but one who has handled the pieds was able to bring themselves to handle the normal appearing het after they held the pieds.

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Originally Posted by Redneck_Crow

Something I've noticed is that people who are afraid of ball pythons with normal paterns often aren't as afraid of an obvious morph.

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This is probably because their interest in the unusual animal outweighs their "fear." Glad you found a way to educate those around you about snakes.

I'm pretty sure everything that is coming up in this argument are learned responses. I have a five year old little brother, who has seen anaconda and all those movies and does not fear any of my snakes. His father, totally scared of them. Proving it is not instinctual or genetic. As for animals, my lab has absolutely no problem walking up and bumping noses with my 12 foot boa or any of my snakes. Now if the snake was to strike at her she would LEARN to leave it alone.
As for the rattlesnake vs garter snake thing, that's learned as well. Because you had to LEARN a rattle snake can kill you with one bite. All fear is learned. That's why you TEACH your children. If it wasn't why would we have to tell them to stay away from guns or sharp objects?

Look at it this way, there's tons of stuff that most of us would be squeamish about for no logical reason that would be totally normal, every day stuff, in other parts of the world.

People just have feelings, and education can only go so far. I mean we can laugh at all these reactions because we know it's silly, but we'd have the same reaction to other stuff that someone else would find silly. So y'know... It's human *shrug*

This is what freaks me out! I get so freaked when I see a common house centipede run across the floor that I can't even shriek. It actually takes my breath away. I think it has more to do with how incredibly creepy they look and how fast they move. While I know they are harmless and actually kill and eat all the house bugs you really don't want around, I still fear them.

http://img.tapatalk.com/a693619d-3a47-0fe9.jpg

So when people tell me they're afraid of snakes I try to understand their point of view, but I also try to educate them and help them get over it.

I'm getting use to the idea that I have centipedes. I've had them for years but I've finally convinced myself that if they're eating all the bugs that can cause damage or spread disease, I can tolerate them.


<---Signature--->
Snakes, Jeeps, Dragons, Nature, & Knives.. Makes my world go-round!

A friend of mine joined me at a Reptile Expo despite being terrified of snakes in the way you describe, Foschi. She tenses up, freezes, very short breathes and can't even squeak she's so freaked out. When we first walked in, a friend of mine was holding his 5ft boa and my friend did a 180 and ran out the door, haha.

After some convincing, she came back in. When she held my hand, she nearly broke it a few times when she freaked and tensed up.

Eventually we convinced her to come see my friend's Grey-Banded King snake named Slinky. He's so chill and laid back. Just sits there. After some support, encouragement and letting her ask questions, she finally touched it. With a single finger. And she screamed, but she touched it.

The other day I invited her over to my place to see my new corn. A lovely (big) Butter female. She's a little more quick, pretty heady and fun to juggle. She calms down after a minute. My friend was more able to approach this snake than all the others at the Expo. I asked her why, and she flat out told me: "This one is pretty."

So I think your theory on the 'wildtype' does apply to some people's fears. My friend was able to even approach her cage with the door closed and look at her without so much as a squeak or 'scared' dance, haha.

It's an interesting approach, and one I've seen a few times. They will be scared to approach a small boa, but they will easily step up to a big albino, or something unusual (such as the snakes mentioned here with disabilities).

Expos and education are probably my favorite aspect of this hobby. Always great to see people learning to appreciate them, even if it's a slow process or they need some encouragement. My other half used to not be a fan of geckos. Not afraid, but not a fan. Now, he takes them out on his own, and 'claimed' one of my geckos as 'his' gecko. So it does happen. Just takes a different perspective sometimes!

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Originally Posted by Wiggy

Look at it this way, there's tons of stuff that most of us would be squeamish about for no logical reason that would be totally normal, every day stuff, in other parts of the world.

People just have feelings, and education can only go so far. I mean we can laugh at all these reactions because we know it's silly, but we'd have the same reaction to other stuff that someone else would find silly. So y'know... It's human *shrug*

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Totally true. I am freaked out by worms if they touch me. And I am not a squeamish person, I'm good with snakes, spiders... but worms. No. And people tell me "worms are kind of like snakes, that makes no sense!" Nonono. Worms are slimy and sticky and you can't see their head. Snakes have non of those problems. :rolleye2:

:cool:I was extremely afraid of all snakes when I was a younger buck. But decided one day, that since I loved looking at them from far away, that I'd go out and find one, and see how they actually interacted with me in the wild. It took almost 4 hours for me to find NC's own Copperhead, and after reenacting a bit of some old Croc Hunter episodes, I had the guy by the tail! He was miffed, at first, and believe me I've seen some Cop bites, they can be pretty bad; BUT I had a mission, and after a bit of handling, the little guy loosened up and actually let me hold it further up the body. It was adrenalizing, scary as hell, but it opened my eyes to a newfound love for snakes above anything else. Now I own a wild-rescued Garter and a 6month old Normal BP, and they are my whole world. Education and experience is key, when it comes to herps. 'Tis what I've learned.

I agree with the "unusual looking" snakes to be less frightening to people it's crazy, my mom is TERRIFIED of my normal BP, who that I might add has the calmest personality of any snake I have handled, but I showed her a picture of a pied and she said she liked it because it "was pretty and didn't really look like a snake". Haha whatever you say momma. :rolleye2:

http://img.tapatalk.com/a693619d-3a47-0fe9.jpg


I have NEVER seen anything like that! It looks like a bad sci-fi joke, a photoshopped cricket or something! If I ever saw one of those, I think I'd be freaked out as well!

Gale

It's a house centipede! I love those things, they're pretty interesting and eat spiders and other bugs, and my cat crunches them if they wander where she can get them.

I'd understand someone being afraid of those. Where I am, they fall out of old spickets and crawl up drains, especially if you live in an old building. It's gotten to the point where if I want to guarantee that there's no centipede in my glass of water, I either need a filter on the faucet or I need to turn on the water, let it run for a few seconds to make sure nothing falls out, and then put my cup under. Can be a bit startling to someone who's not used to alienesque insects in their piping. Here it's just common knowledge that if it's an old house, they'll be around somewhere.

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Originally Posted by angllady2

http://img.tapatalk.com/a693619d-3a47-0fe9.jpg


I have NEVER seen anything like that! It looks like a bad sci-fi joke, a photoshopped cricket or something! If I ever saw one of those, I think I'd be freaked out as well!

Gale

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They get huge too. Imagine the one in the picture being 4-5 inches long and from side to side the leg span is about 1 1/2 inches or more...

Yep! Definitely creepy! My house is a brick ranch with a crawl space instead of a basement and it's 45 years old so I see one run across the floor about once a week. 0,O



<---Signature--->
Snakes, Jeeps, Dragons, Nature, & Knives.. Makes my world go-round!

When I introduce someone new to my collection, I start with the BEL. Very few people have seen a white snake with blue eyes, and the beauty and fascination overwhelms any fear. Of course, the BPs calm demeanor helps as well.

I would like to see study done concerning fear of snakes and those raised on the Adam & Eve story. It would be interesting to see if that has any bearing. Kind of a fantasy's bearing on reality study.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

The adam and eve story is a weak excuse for being afraid of snakes imo. If god picked a sloth to tempt them then it wouldnt have worked bc sloths are lame. He picked a snake bc theyre awesome and knew it would get their attention. BOOM

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I actually think it makes sense. Not ONLY the Garden of Eden story, but just the spread of "modern" religion in general.

Snakes were often worshiped by earlier cultures, cultures which were seen as savage, pagan, uncivilized. So with the rise of a few modern Western religions, their religious texts and beliefs began to demonize snakes as a symbol of suppressing the older heathen ways. People were afraid of heathens and afraid of going to hell, so they learned to be afraid of the things associated with them as well. And in a world largely dominated by Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc, the beliefs got passed down and haven't dissipated yet, even though people have forgotten the reason for it.

Obviously it's not the only factor in fear today, since not everyone practices one of these religions, but it definitely played a major part.

I never used to care for snakes, and grew up out in the country side with lots of snakes. My sister used to be terrified of them! Then I started working at the local zoo as an intern, and met Kernal a very sweet corn snake. About a year later I got my first corn. My sister got used to him being around even touched him from time to time. Last year she picked up her own corn snake and I got my first bp. My 18 month old even picked one. Now I have multiple bps that my husband tolerates, and my sister is thinking of taking a nice sized female after I get her fixed up, and she gets a clean bill of health after quarantine.
She has admitted meeting them when they were smaller helped her a lot. My grandmother on the other hand can't even know where I keep my reptiles even my leos if she comes over. I do believe she would have another heart attack if I brought one out around her No matter how beautiful the snake is.

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Originally Posted by angllady2

http://img.tapatalk.com/a693619d-3a47-0fe9.jpg


I have NEVER seen anything like that! It looks like a bad sci-fi joke, a photoshopped cricket or something! If I ever saw one of those, I think I'd be freaked out as well!

Gale

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WHY. WHY WOULD YOU POST THAT EVER. I screamed and fell out of my chair.

I consider myself extremely fortunate I have never seen a house centipede. I've seen the odd centipede/millipede, but always outside and never one that looked like that.

I wonder if you could sell those as pets ? I see all kinds of bugs and such offered for sale as pets, I'd bet people would be willing to pay for those just for the creep factor. Might be a way to control the population around your house. What do you think ?

Gale

Haha! I saw a house centipede scuttle across the floor where I work not too long ago. Me and a coworker caught it in a plastic slushy cup, wrote "what the hell is this?!" on the cup with a sharpie and put it on the counter. :P Someone identified it as a house centipede for us. After learning its identity, we released it outside. Very bizarre little creature, but harmless.

i used to take my normal female out (Back before she was a breeder) and wear her around my neck...peoples reactions were typically "isn't she going to bite you?!" or "isn't she going to choke you!?" my response: Yes, thats why she's around my neck...?

i think it has a lot to do with religion and lack of exposure. i get a lot of questions about how getting bit feels and my response is it like a kittens bite, just faster. its pretty sad self-defense--a few pinpricks by some hair-like teeth.