Sigh...

Don't you hate being in a room full of snake-haters? Last night I was talking with my boyfriend's mom and his pregnant sister. She was complaining that her husband might want to get a BP and that she didn't want a snake in the house with the baby. I just gritted my teeth; I know that many of you have kids and your BPs are much less harmful to kids than a small dog! But I have learned that if you say anything to people who dislike snakes, you are always outnumbered and wrong in their eyes. Geez, I am glad I have you guys to sympathize!

as a father of 3, I can say for certain that little kids are more dangerous to kids than snakes are. Kids are rough business. :)

i feel your pain no one i know likes snakes and no matter how much i explain to them how stupid it is to fear them they still wont let it go what pisses me off is that most admit that I'm right but they still wont stop fearing them its so ingrained

I agree with you completely there!

Amen, Ken, amen!

HAJLEJLUJLEAH!!

Hehe....a most excellent point, Ken!

Ginevive...I have been in a similar position with my husband. He was/is uncomfortable with the idea of a python in the house with our toddler son. Nevermind that said python will most likely only be ~4' long and more docile than any dog we've ever owned. But gentle, patient persuassion, along with lots of studious research, and one particular point, has helped him to consent to me buying my own bp later this summer.

That one particular point: He trusts me to raise his kids...trusts me to buckle them into the car, trusts me to keep them from burning themselves on the stove or falling into a swimming pool or wandering away from home......he should trust ME to never put my kids into harms way, even if he never trusts a snake.

Our "dangerous" python will live in a securely locked enclosure and only I will have access. I think I can live with that. :wink: :mrgreen:

Ginevive, I hear ya! My kids love the BPs but my father, who wanted to teach a 9-year-old to drive a couple of summers ago and didn't see why I had a problem with that, thinks I'm endangering the kids with reptiles as pets. Some people just don't get it.

Yeah its funny how people react when you say the words "python" or "boa". They just dont seem to realise that there are so many different shapes ,sizes ,colors within each family. Say ball python and what comes to their minds is a 15 foot version of Charles Manson. You tell them "they only get 4-5 feet and are generaly docile, shy animals". And guess what they think of? Yep you got it a 15 foot version of Charles Manson. Its amazing how conditioned people are to fear all snakes.

LOL!! I'm agreeing with Ken in a BIG way...heck...my kid is more dangerous to herself than either of the snakes could ever be to her!

I was talking to some people about having ball pythons and this one girl got all offended when I said you feed them mice. She actually said, "I'm going to chop up a snake and feed it to my mouse." This made me very mad. First of all, she doesn't even have a mouse, and second of all I had to point out that mice don't eat snakes, so that is just a cruel and idiotic thing to say. Snakes eat rodents, it's nature, get over it! Her friend even told her that's the stupidest thing she's ever said. Gggrrr, I was very angry.

yeah people are veyr uneducated in this area. Only because media and other uneducated parents and such fill their heads with useless information about these beautiful creatures. Beagle is very right with people not seeing through the blindfold and only thinking of a "15 foot charles manson". But all we can do is try our best to educate them. In most cases it can be like trying to change someones religion. I dont' understand why its so serious.
I actually changed someones mind on this one time, when they had done the same thing. "OMG, you keep snakes in your house? You don't have kids, do you?" Well, it was a visit to the wifes friends house, and they were housing three pit bulls along with three children. So i just started to come across the same way about her dogs. And instead of it leading into a big animal argument, I educated her, and she educated me. And all was fine. She ended up coming over and handling hydra. It was amazing.

It can be done, but it is tough. Patience is key

I totally agree, Freak....Patience is the key. As much as it frustrates me to have people be so close-minded about our enjoyment of herps...it frustrates me at least as much to see fellow herp-lovers start railing at them and calling them "stupid" or cursing at them...whether to their face or behind their backs. That sort of attitude will never win anyone over.

Our next door neighbors are nice people their kids play with our kids and are our friends. The wife of the couple is terrified of snakes but she is not the hateful type of person she is nice about it even if she does not understand which is cool. The funniest part of it is she raises gerbils :lol:.

Its the way of the world! I have come to accept it and not pay any heed. :)

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Originally Posted by JLC

it frustrates me at least as much to see fellow herp-lovers start railing at them and calling them "stupid" or cursing at them...whether to their face or behind their backs. That sort of attitude will never win anyone over.

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Was this comment directed at me? Because with the girl I was talking about, I didn't call her stupid, her friend did, and I certainly didn't curse at anyone. I just thought it was mean for her to say she would chop up a snake when she knew that I had one, and I told her so, and pointed out that mice don't eat snakes. That was it.

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Originally Posted by gen

Was this comment directed at me? Because with the girl I was talking about, I didn't call her stupid, her friend did, and I certainly didn't curse at anyone. I just thought it was mean for her to say she would chop up a snake when she knew that I had one, and I told her so, and pointed out that mice don't eat snakes. That was it.

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Ohhhh no no no.....That comment WAS stupid! I'm very sorry that I may have implied that you fit into this category. I haven't seen too much of this attitude here, but certainly on other forums, there are a lot of hotheads who who utterly revile anyone that doesn't take their viewpoint and love their animals...and I fear that people who do that do as much harm to the acceptance of our hobby as the newsmedia's sensational horror stories.

Alright, cool. Just making sure. :)

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and I fear that people who do that do as much harm to the acceptance of our hobby as the newsmedia's sensational horror stories.

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Very very very true

i have to sit at work all day listening to my boss tell me he wants to make boots out of my snakes. talk about pissing somebody off.

LOL...There are definitely jerks on both sides of the issue, Will. And there are times when someone may deserve a scathing reply. Tell him he can make boots out of your snakes the day you come to work wearing a coat made from his dog(cat...whatever).

Kung-Pao kitty!! Or tell him you'll send a starved 25' AfRock to visit him in the dead of a summer's night.


Better yet Will . . . . tell him his girly rodeo-clown feet are way too small to be worthy of such boots!

will, i knwo the feeling. My wife and mother are always cracknig jokes about making hydra into a purse.