Whenever people find out that I keep turtles

Every single time...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9g-Ys6DXFk

Does anyone else get these kinds of comments about keeping herps?

I used to do a LOT of educational shows with my snakes. The comments I got to hear most often were; 'is it poisonous?', 'ick... a SNAKE.', and of course everybodys favorite. 'That would make a cool looking pair of boots'

:rolleyes:





(psst, by the way. The link in your video doesn't work)

I got the turtle soup comment when I was younger but not so much anymore. After awhile I just started to go along with it and start a conversation about what kind of "odd" animals I would not mind tasting. Another thing I do to diffuse some of the those types of questions/comments is describe what type of accessory each of my snakes would be; belt, neck tie, bracelet, etc. People chuckle when I mention Wafer would make a good belt for a very fashionable person and if they aren't grossed out by snakes it brings them in to ask questions.

Ive gotten the belt comment before with Tali :(

Ive heard it all too... I do like to tell people id like to eat dog or cat, usually get how could you omg! you have a cat... I like cows and chickens and pigs, if they were my pet i wouldnt eat them, but it wouldnt stop me from eating the animal.

Some of the top comments I've gotten from non-herpers:

"Aren't they poisonous/dangerous?"
"Does it bite?"
"Do they just crawl all over your house?" :snake:
"Aren't you afraid it's going to strangle you in your sleep?"
"The only good snake is a dead snake."
"It's going to kill you someday!" :rofl:

You get the drift!

"Heh, that snake would make a good pair of shoes!"
Me: "Where do you think I got the name Boots from, ding-dong?"
:rolleye2:

Actually, one of the main comments I get are how pretty Boots is. Or, of course, "Does it bite?" which is to be replied with "Yeah, if you're a rat."

The ones I got recently ..it's going to eat your cats or it's going to kill you in your sleep.

So ridiculous,these are balls I'm talking bout as well. Yes they are my first snakes,but those re the responses I've gotten when people here I got snakes

I hate when people see a full grown smallish snake and go, "Well, it's only that small for now. What are you going to do when it's thirty feet long?"

I got the turtle soup comments all the time when I had a red eared slider. "He's getting pretty big! His shell can be a bowl!"

I get the wow,they would make nice boots..a lot. Another one is the infamous "aren't you scared they are going to get out and kill you in your sleep?".

Sounds like plenty of great opportunities to educate some folk for our members. Not taking things personally is the key I've found; at least they're interested enough to comment. I kindly answer any questions and dispel some common misconceptions. Haters will hate and trolls will troll. Just so, there are often genuinely interested people on the sidelines so it's always good to keep your cool and strive to make it a positive learning experience.

It's funny, here in AZ I get a lot of curious people who ask a lot of questions (Little Dude even has a fan club with the neighborhood kids). But the DH says that in VA/WV/KY (where he's currently working) when people find out we have snakes the most common response is "but why?" As in true, genuine confusion that reptiles could even be kept as pets.

My coworker just told me a few minutes ago that his friend's gf said we should kill the snake we just rescued (and the other one I own as a pet) because they're evil and the form of the devil in the Bible. She also claimed it would kill us or our cats if it had the chance. Naturally, debating the point with her did no good.

I guess she's as entitled to her beliefs as I am to mine, but God help her (no pun intended) if she ever tries to hurt one of my critters.

Whoops, meant to say my bf* just told me that. He works with the couple I mentioned.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Artemille

I hate when people see a full grown smallish snake and go, "Well, it's only that small for now. What are you going to do when it's thirty feet long?"
"

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Lol,people are just stupid..they think they hear the word python or boa and automatically the snake will be a 20 foot long man eater