An education experience - Very excited!! :)

For our final college English essay/final, we are allowed to choose a research topic of our choice. I knew immediately that I wanted to do it on the herp society and the laws that are affecting it, as well as the myths and misunderstandings about many of the species. Not only do we have to write a paper, but we also get to do a presentation/Q&A! :) This will be a great opportunity to educate more people on a very misunderstood hobby/animal(s). I was discussing it with my professor after class and I mentioned that it would be pretty cool if I could actually bring in my boa, but acknowledged that just suddenly forcing a classroom of people to be close to a larger snake might cause more harm than good. But he said that if the class could vote beforehand on whether or not they would be comfortable with that, as well as check with the college to make sure having her there for a period of time (a little under an hour) would be okay, then he would definitely love to have her as a guest. (She would be brought to me when class was about to start, and since it's my last class of the day I would leave with her to take her back home.)

I'm very, very excited for this opportunity!! It's a chance to educate people who probably have never actually learned about snakes to understand more about them and hopefully change some opinions about them. Plus they're college kids; if they find out something cool, odds are that they'll tell more people about it, or correct someone if they hear them say something that is untrue. And I feel Satin is a GREAT ambassador; she's always been wonderfully calm, even younger kids have held her (supervised) with no problem. She just kinda lays there and "sniffs" you. I'm really really hoping I'll get the okay to bring her, but even if I don't it's still a wonderful opportunity!!

Congrats, most colleges do not have rules against students bringing in animals unless they are recognized by the state as being "dangerous" by defintion. It's a wise idea, though, getting the students to vote before hand on their thoughts of having a constrictor in the classroom. Enjoy, and triple check all of your sources.

Cheers

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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

Congrats, most colleges do not have rules against students bringing in animals unless they are recognized by the state as being "dangerous" by defintion. It's a wise idea, though, getting the students to vote before hand on their thoughts of having a constrictor in the classroom. Enjoy, and triple check all of your sources.

Cheers

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I've heard that there's a rule of no animals allowed unless they're service animals, but I think that's just if you want to bring your pet on campus without permission. I'm sure if it's talked over with the school, they're allowed to make exceptions. And yes, I don't want to scare anyone or force them to be around a snake if they've got a phobia. That's the opposite of helpful for my case. xD

I'm sure that for my research I'll be using the forums as an extra check for validity if I'm unsure. :) There are many people (and topics) on here that are a wealth of information, since most of it is first-person experience!

True. Just remember that your Satins voice! And yeah the general rule is service animals for daily basis but for class presentations at my school it was a per class basis. In Biology 1 I brought numerous reptiles for the herp section of the course. Same for vertebrate zoology. However my speech and debate class put a stop to live animals after a 7' boa got loose "terrifying" the crowd (happened a year prior to my taking of the class). Remember. Don't be that person!


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In my Herpetology course a few years ago, we had to do our final paper with a presentation on a non-native herp of choice. A lot of the people were able to get permission to bring in their pets. That is actually where my interest in ball pythons initially came from. We did have a 2 or 3 in class that were opposed to the idea of snakes, but the owner kept the snakes in one part of the class room, and if any one was interested in handling the snake, there was time set aside where those students could, as well as any Q&As that wasn't related to actual presentation. It made for a fun filled few weeks of class instead of the cut and dry presentations.

Just make sure that you get proper approval from the school, not just the teacher. It also might be a good idea to keep some distance between you and the rest of the class, to prevent those with a phobia from getting to nervous.

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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

True. Just remember that your Satins voice! And yeah the general rule is service animals for daily basis but for class presentations at my school it was a per class basis. In Biology 1 I brought numerous reptiles for the herp section of the course. Same for vertebrate zoology. However my speech and debate class put a stop to live animals after a 7' boa got loose "terrifying" the crowd (happened a year prior to my taking of the class). Remember. Don't be that person!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Yes! I'm very excited to be her voice. Hopefully people will meet her and maybe not run out and buy a snake, but next time they see one they'll either leave it alone (if it's in the wild) or if it's a captive one they'll want to meet them. As for her getting into any trouble, that's why I'd have her come for the class only, and maybe have a little bit of time outside for others to approach if they want to see her or ask more questions. :) She'll have an escort always, the spoiled girl.

I'm feeling really good about this. Every little bit of education helps!!

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Originally Posted by Erndogg

In my Herpetology course a few years ago, we had to do our final paper with a presentation on a non-native herp of choice. A lot of the people were able to get permission to bring in their pets. That is actually where my interest in ball pythons initially came from. We did have a 2 or 3 in class that were opposed to the idea of snakes, but the owner kept the snakes in one part of the class room, and if any one was interested in handling the snake, there was time set aside where those students could, as well as any Q&As that wasn't related to actual presentation. It made for a fun filled few weeks of class instead of the cut and dry presentations.

Just make sure that you get proper approval from the school, not just the teacher. It also might be a good idea to keep some distance between you and the rest of the class, to prevent those with a phobia from getting to nervous.

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Yes, I plan to talk to the admins as soon as I know the date of my presentation. And I would keep her at the front of the class, either with me holding her, or (if he's free during that time period) my bf holding her, as well as bringing a tub to place her in just in case. After class, if anyone expresses an interest in seeing her close up/touching her/holding her, they can stay and do so when the others leave. I don't want to force anyone to have their comfort zones invaded.

I'll be bringing hand sanitizer that day as well for anyone that wants to touch her.

me and a couple friends of mine did a presentation at my church for the kids with reptiles including a large snake and several snakes and a couple Ts. This took place on a wednesday night when we have regular church service. I told my pastor that some of the congergation might not be happy with the fact that there will be snakes in the church. He told me he didn't care and he would just let the people know that it is happening and if they choose not to attend then they didn't have to...

I hope you are able to bring you snake into class to show what a wonderful animal they are. Good luck!!!

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Originally Posted by crepers86

me and a couple friends of mine did a presentation at my church for the kids with reptiles including a large snake and several snakes and a couple Ts. This took place on a wednesday night when we have regular church service. I told my pastor that some of the congergation might not be happy with the fact that there will be snakes in the church. He told me he didn't care and he would just let the people know that it is happening and if they choose not to attend then they didn't have to...

I hope you are able to bring you snake into class to show what a wonderful animal they are. Good luck!!!

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The only reason I'm going through the administration is because it's a college. Since there's thousands of different people there, I don't want to cause some disturbance because someone saw her and freaked out. :(

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Originally Posted by xFenrir

The only reason I'm going through the administration is because it's a college. Since there's thousands of different people there, I don't want to cause some disturbance because someone saw her and freaked out. :(

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Oh no I understand I would do the same thing.

The school approved bringing Satin! Well, they responded with an email saying I needed to have my professor email them saying that it was okay/true. We're going to have a vote on Friday in class to see if majority of people would be okay with having a snake in the classroom, and if that goes okay then she'll get to come visit and help me out. :)

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Originally Posted by xFenrir

The school approved bringing Satin! Well, they responded with an email saying I needed to have my professor email them saying that it was okay/true. We're going to have a vote on Friday in class to see if majority of people would be okay with having a snake in the classroom, and if that goes okay then she'll get to come visit and help me out. :)

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Sounds great! I'm sure that the two of you will make amazing ambassadors!

That is soo awesome

So judging by the general consensus of the class, they want me to bring Satin. :) There are 2 or 3 people that are scared/worried/don't like snakes, but I stayed after class with them to address their fears and questions, and while they said they will be by the door for the presentation, they expressed that they did have some amount of curiosity and would at least like to look at her. I explained that I would bring her in a container so that people can have adequate warning to choose whether they would like to leave or move before she comes out, and that nobody would be forced to touch her. They actually started asking me questions like "what does she eat?", "where do you keep her?" and "how do you know her moods (happy, upset, calm)?"


I think this will be a great experience for everyone. I'm sure that even if people leave still afraid of snakes, that at least they'll be informed and hopefully understand them a little better than when they came in.

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Originally Posted by xFenrir

So judging by the general consensus of the class, they want me to bring Satin. :) There are 2 or 3 people that are scared/worried/don't like snakes, but I stayed after class with them to address their fears and questions, and while they said they will be by the door for the presentation, they expressed that they did have some amount of curiosity and would at least like to look at her. I explained that I would bring her in a container so that people can have adequate warning to choose whether they would like to leave or move before she comes out, and that nobody would be forced to touch her. They actually started asking me questions like "what does she eat?", "where do you keep her?" and "how do you know her moods (happy, upset, calm)?"


I think this will be a great experience for everyone. I'm sure that even if people leave still afraid of snakes, that at least they'll be informed and hopefully understand them a little better than when they came in.

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this is so awesome good luck with the prentation!!!

This is an awesome opportunity for you to spread some positive words about snakes and those of us who keep them as pets. As has already been pointed out in this thread, if you don't do it right, you could end up doing more harm than good, but it sounds like you are doing all the right things!

One time I was showing off one of my snakes to a non-snake person (not afraid, but didn't know anything about them), and the guy decided to reach out and pat the snake on the head! Scared the snake half to death, but luckily all it did was try to withdraw so quickly it nearly fell out of my hands, but it could easily have resulted in a defensive bite. So make sure if anyone gets close enough to the snake to touch it, that you've briefed them at least a little bit about where & how to touch it.

Let us know how it goes!

Just in case anyone was interested, I had my presentation this past Friday. It was a huge success!! Satin was on her absolute best behavior, although she did get a little nervous at first (nobody else would be able to tell, I only knew because she had her grip of death for a few minutes while she figured out what the deal was with the new area) and everyone asked tons of questions. :) She even hung out with me for the rest of the class, since it was a bit cooler than I thought it would be in the classroom so I acted as her personal heater, and people took pictures and just watched her as she sniffed around a bit (I told people that was okay, just as long as they didn't crowd her or use any flash). For a little while she was laying her head on my purse and staring at one of the guys that sits across from me, and he said he didn't think Satin liked him all that much. I explained that they've got good eyesight and she was either just trying to figure out who he was, or she just didn't care at all and was just laying there. :P Even after I left and was waiting for my ride, people came up and asked me what was in the tub I had (it had "SNAKE TUB: ONLY FOR SNAKES" written on the top so nobody uses it for any other storage stuff) and by the time my ride was there I had a whole group of people asking questions and wanting to take a look at her.

I think the coolest part though was when I was strapping Satin's tub in the backseat, I heard a group of people go "There was a snake here and I missed it?! Aww that's so cool!!"



All in all I think it was a great day for everyone, and a lot of people are now more educated about snakes. :) Even most of the people who at first said they didn't want to be anywhere near her came up at the end and touched her. I can't be any prouder of Satin for being a perfect scale-y ambassador, and I hope I get another chance like this again!! :D

Sounds like it was a huge success!! I wish I had more opportunities to show my snakes to people who have never seen a snake before.

I'm really glad you got that opportunity and everything went smoothly :) Congrats!

I find all of the "fears" behind snakes are driven by lies and/or myths. People hear ball python and only comprehend the python part and assume 30 foot man eater. People hear boa constrictor and focus on the constrictor part and assume that they will choke people out for no reason. You are a great ambassador to the hobby. You did a good thing X! Thanks for being a responsible snake owner.

Awesome Congratz on the success. I am glad things went well and that you didn't have any issues. I think it's great when people area able to help dispel some of the myths and fears about snakes. Who knows, you may have just convinced some one in your class to become a future snake keeper! :gj: