Interesting Questions I'm asked at Work

At work a lot of the time I'm holding either a large BCI or albino burm, and here are some of my favorite questions I've been asked by the general public while doing so.

'Does it bite?' - ok, a valid question, but honestly, would I be offering to let you pet it if it'd bite you?

'Is it venomous?' - see above + duh!

'Is it slimy?' - They're shiny yes, but do they honestly look slimy? And would I be slinging it around my neck if it was?

'Does it have teeth?' - Ok, so you can't really see the teeth when a snake opens it's mouth, but why would everyone be so afraid of a snake bite if it was all gums?

'Is it a cobra?'

'Is it a rattlesnake?'

'Where's it's rattle?' - This woman believed ALL snakes had rattles

'Where do the batteries go?' - An honest question. Heard especially when holding the burm.

'Will the tongue sting you?' - Where did this come from? I'm asked this nearly every day.

My personal favorite:

'Does it still have the stinger in it's tail?'

lol thats great. i get asked alot of questions, but never some of those. ive been asked if they bite, how they eat, if their venamous, but stingers in the tail? lol. by the way shelby, while im here, theres a post for you in the off topic cafe :):)

lol,where do the batteries go,classic.
LMFAO

Yes, I responded to your post, Rex. I'm sure you saw that already though.

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Originally Posted by Jay001

lol,where do the batteries go,classic.
LMFAO

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Ah.. you'd be amazed at the number of people who don't think the snake is real.

One lady came up and touched the snake. She said 'Oh wow, it feels so real!' When I told her it was real, she ran off screaming!

Sometimes people make me jump because they start screaming when they realise I'm holding a real snake.

And these people manage to dress themselves and get themselves to where you are? "Will it bite?" is absolutely standard and is a reasonable question (just like when asked about a family dog), but from there the questions veer into the ridiculous, like when I get asked, "Aren't you afraid they'll kill your children?" Umm, no, they're ball pythons, not anacondas or cobras. Those, I'd be concerned.

Some people wonder why the snake isn't trying to eat me (the girth of this animal was like a tennis ball) Yeah, snakes can eat big things, but there IS a limit.

One guy (I think from India or somewhere..) Was yelling at me about how I was a snake charmer, and how that people get killed by their snakes all the time when they do that. He was really yelling and getting really excited, then suddenly he just whirled around and marched off. I was slightly confused by that one.

LOL! It's like you're working in a zoo where people are the exhibits. ;)

May I ask where you work lol? HA! where do the batteries go, thats a god one! Stinger in the tail? That ones even better! HOHOHO! (im working on my santa laugh)

I work at Serpent Safari reptile zoo.

Ok so today this guy comes up and says 'do you sell snakes by the pound? I've never tried snake before.' I said 'ummm..... no' And then he asked how much the one I was holding weighed

'30 pounds'

'how much does it cost?'

'around $300...'

'Oh, so the larger snakes are around $10 a pound?' (at this point I was doubting his sanity. He honestly seemed serious..)

So I told him 'well we sell pet snakes, not the snakes you eat' you may want to go to Texas and try eating rattlesnake there' (I was kinda joking with the guy, but he remained serious)

'do you offer recipies on how to process them when you buy the snake?' (it was getting hard to answer the guy at this point, I just wanted to laugh, but I just told him no, no recipes.)

'Do you have any cheaper snakes? Something less than $10 a pound?'

'nope'

'Oh.. well I have to go to Texas sometime then. Thanks'

The guy was foreign... who knows.

I volunteer at our zoo and get some of the same 'stupid' questions. I really hate the "Does it bite" question. I mean anything with a mouth can bite. I've gotten many of those questions already mentioned, but the three that take the cake for me:

1) Regarding an Emerald Tree boa we have on display: What do you guys inject the snake with to get it to stay still all day long?

2) A women at work was astounded to find out that snakes actually mate in order to produce offspring. She said she didn't know they had physical contact and she thought they had babies like birds - the female just suddenly has an egg. Then I had to explain to her that birds also physically mated - that the female just doesn't decide to lay an egg one day (she was even more surprised when I explained to her that even mice, squirrels, fish and all animals mate). She thought only cats, dogs and large mammals like lions, elephants, etc had actual physical matings.

3) I was handling a ball python for visitors to touch and ask questions about. A gentleman was intrigued as he'd never touched one. He then asked me "Why would anyone have a snake as a pet?". Incidentally, I hate this question because sometimes visitors say it in a way to imply that something is wrong with someone who keeps snakes (and coming from someone with 10 - it's a little hard to not come back in defense mode). But anyway, I explained how sometimes people have allergies and can't keep your traditional mammals as pets, how snakes don't smell, are much more low maintence due to the fact that they eat less often and don't make messes as often as a dog - and this is where the fun (or shall I say wierdness began). He stopped me with a surprised look on his face and said "You mean they go to the bathroom?" he didn't understand how they could and actually wanted to know what it looked like and where it came from. This guy (a middle aged intelligent looking man) was dead serious. I showed him and explained (as wierd as it seemed). He then asked some other (more normal questions) as I think the fact that they too went to bathroom made him see them in a different light and he became very interested. Shortly after, he thanked me for my time, wished me a good day and went on his merry way.

It amazes me the way people think sometimes - or rather don't. :)

Your post reminds me of more.

1- Yeah people on several occasions ask how we tranquilize the snakes. They just can't believe a person can be holding a snake, and the snake actually doesn't want to devour the person! Also when they're in the zoo, they ask why the animals aren't moving (are you ALWAYS moving when you're in your home? neither do these guys!) *sigh*

2- Oh geez, I have to explain that all day. I always have to show people the poor snake's butt. Then they want to know exactly how they mate/go to the bathroom etc.

3- I get annoyed too when people ask why I like snakes/would want to have them. (isn't it obvious? ok ok fine..) People come up to me all the time and say how disgusting he is (a lovely BCI) and how ugly.

4- numerous people don't think snakes have bones. A couple of people thought you could cut a snake in half and get two. Hello.... snake does not = worm.

5- lots of people think they are warm blooded also. I though it was common knowledge that they are reptiles.. therefore cold blooded. :?:

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It amazes me the way people think sometimes - or rather don't.

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lol!

But yea, sometimes it seems like people think snakes are aliens, cus they don't think they eat, or breath, or mate, or poop!

Yesterday I was looking at some pictures of my blue tongue skink on the computer while on break. A coworker (the same one who didn't know snakes mated) sitting behind me asked if that was a midget snake. I explained that it wasn't one of my snakes it was one of my lizards. She got up close to look and kept saying it looks like a snake and asked why it didn't look like a normal lizard. She then asked me to show her a pic of a normal lizard. I was confused and asked what do you mean a normal lizard. She said "you know, the regular lizard." As we continued to talk I realized that she thought all lizards looked the same - now what lizard she had seen and was referring to (beardie, iggy, etc) I don't know. She was amazed (and I think felt a little stupid) after I explained that there isn't just one kind of lizard in the world, but that in fact there are over 3400 species of lizards.

What is it about blue tongues? We had one in the store for several months and EVERY SINGLE PERSON thought it was a snake! I just don't see it. Though glass lizards are related to skinks.. how many people have seen one?

Well,not everyone researches them on the internet and stuff,at least they learn something new.

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Originally Posted by bpkid

Well,not everyone researches them on the internet and stuff,at least they learn something new.

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Yeah but.. c'mon, it has legs, it's not a snake.

oh,no,i was talking about the snake questions

My recent favorite:

"Do you have a dwarf retic care sheet? I can only find info on the big kind."

K

Have we covered ... "What do I do with it when it gets too big?" or "What do I do with it when I don't want it anymore?"

Two of my personal favs.

-adam

My fav is "AHH,is it mean?" I have it around my neck,whatdya think? "Can I hold it?" No,its going to kill you with its 2 foot terror. "ACK!Get it away from me!" didnt you ask to hold it?

I had to get that outta my system.And these questions were asked by someone who says they research herps all the time.This person thinks an iguana can live in a ten gallon all its life and she keeps a red eyed tree frog in a 30 gallon community.

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My recent favorite:

"Do you have a dwarf retic care sheet? I can only find info on the big kind."

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LOL, as if they are gonna be cared for differently?!

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Have we covered ... "What do I do with it when it gets too big?" or "What do I do with it when I don't want it anymore?"

Two of my personal favs.

-adam

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Haha, um....how bout...
#1 ummm....if its gonna get too big...don't get it?
#2 If you dont want it for its whole life....then...dont get it!?

Wait... I just thought of one someone asked me at a reptile show:

"How come snakes don't have legs?"
I replied "Because they don't want them...*looks oddly at person, laughs silently in head* "
They replied "Ok, cool. mom, lets go find a lizard that doesn't want legs!"
I seriously didn't think they would beleive me....but evedentally you can't think these days, and have to know.*sigh*

and another:

"How do they breath with a cold heart?"
Me: "What are you talking about"
Them: "you didn't know they were cold-hearted"
Me: "Umm....no hun, cold blooded, not cold-hearted"

Setting: Me, holding my snake at a petshop (mind you, its 2 ft. long)

kid: "EW! Why are you holding that?"
Me: "Because I want to.."
kid: "Isn't it gonna kill you! Its gonna bite you and kill you!"
me:" Its 2 ft long, and it isn't venemous, how can it kill me?"
kid: " All snakes are venemous"
me: "No, they aren't. I am holding this snake because I want to, and they aren't venemous, and it isn't going to kill me"
kid: "You're disgusting"
*kid runs away*
Ya know, its one thing for tthem to call my snake disgusting (ive gotten used to it...kinda), but to call me disgusting because i'm holding it! ug! The nerve of that kid!

lol! geez the society of today, darn video games!

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Have we covered ... "What do I do with it when it gets too big?" or "What do I do with it when I don't want it anymore?"

Two of my personal favs.

-adam

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Those questions make me sick. Stupid people buy burms, then dump it or get eaten by it and make more stupid people make stupid laws that make stupid people feel more safe while smart herpers can't keep the snakes they want.

It also bugs me when someone says they have a snake and I ask them what kind it is, and they kinda give me a blank stare and tell me they don't know. How the heck can you expect to take care of it if you don't even know what it is?!

One guy was obviously confused when he said he had an 18' ball python. :shock: Now THAT I would like to see.. lol

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Originally Posted by Shelby

What is it about blue tongues? We had one in the store for several months and EVERY SINGLE PERSON thought it was a snake! I just don't see it. Though glass lizards are related to skinks.. how many people have seen one?

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A lot of people think they look like snakes (blueys), but I don't see it.

haha... people amaze me. i've had tons of my friends that are terrified of my snakes. one of them was too scared to hold Apollo, and he's only 21 inches long!! she was ok with handling Pandora though.. i have no idea why a smaller snake is scarier than i bigger one. :?

i had my family over for Thanksgiving, and i had Pandora out... i went to give her to my cousin who's 10, and my aunt like flipped out. she was like "omg, it's going to bite him!! dont let that thing bite him, if it does, your moms gona get it!" and i was like "why would i let my little cousin hold something that would bite him?? as long as he doesn't make her mad, she's not going to bite..." and she got all flustered and couldnt watch. a few of my other aunts ran away when i came near them with Pandora.. hehe. it's fun going up behind some one, holding a snake up, going "BOO" and watching the terrified look on their faces as they scream.
i'm evil. :)

A few that I hear often around my house when people want to see Pelota is

"So what do you do with the bones?"
I ask what they mean.
"Don't snakes eat the mouse, then cough up the bones later?"
I just shook my head. :)

My mom, the day before I was getting Pelota.
"So Cody...honestly...tell me right now. This snake you're getting isn't venomous is it? If it is, be careful...but I dont want it near me"
I don't know which is the scariest...the fact that she waited till the day before I get the snake to ask if it's venomous, or being okay with me getting a venomous snake for my first snake(if it was venomous). :)

My Gramma also keeps thinking it eats meats and vegetables. Even after I tell her it eats rodents. She was finishing her hamburger, and was full, and asked if I wanted to bring the leftover meat to the snake. I was like "Okay...but this might take a lot of mouse scenting for her to strike it...."

Sometimes I wonder about my family...

hahahaha.... i can't imagine a snake eating vegetables.. it's like when stupid Petco has crickets in the tanks with ball pythons and red tails... i've mentioned it before that bps and boas arent going to eat something thats not warm and fuzzy... let alone something they cant constrict. how do you constrict a cricket?? :?

How do you constrict a hamburger?

haha!!! i think i'll go cook some roasted chicken for Pandora now...

Someone on another forum said they caght a "python" 5 months ago, and that it had eaten 1 mango(out of 3) and 1 mouse....I have no clue where they "caught" this "python" or why in the world the snake would eat a mango...but...

They make snake steaks. I have heard of feeding little baby kingsnakes crickets because pinkies are too big for it.

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Originally Posted by BallPythonBabe448

They make snake steaks. I have heard of feeding little baby kingsnakes crickets because pinkies are too big for it.

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maybe a kingsnake... but a ball python? i think not.

This just emphasizes how important it is to keep answering these questions and combat the ignorance. I mean, yeah, to us they're often really dumb questions, but better that they ask them and learn, right?

Constricting a cricket? eww... squish.

My mom really surprised me yesterday when she asked if Bo (my cali king) was venomous. *sigh* and I thought you were coming along, mom..

Yeah, several people were surprised when I told them that snakes weren't vegetarian. Wow... how on earth do you get that idea?

The venomous viper slowly sneaks up on the unsuspecting bananas....

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Originally Posted by Marla

This just emphasizes how important it is to keep answering these questions and combat the ignorance. I mean, yeah, to us they're often really dumb questions, but better that they ask them and learn, right?

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Absolutely right Marla - I just wonder if people say these things w/o really thinking or they really believe it.

I think the dumbest question I've been asked was if I was going to feed all 5 dozen crickets I was buying at once to my crested gecko.

The worst one I've heard was "How long can the ball python live in this display container?" (not like would it be okay for an hour when I set up the tank or something...but acutally how long could live in the tiny plastic cup before it needed a tank! I think the people selling the ball python were as horrifed as I was.

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Absolutely right Marla - I just wonder if people say these things w/o really thinking or they really believe it.

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I'm sure some of them are trying to be funny, but others are just so misinformed that they actually believe those things. This reminds me of a fun web site, which will show you the kinds of goofy ideas people get into their heads: http://www.iusedtobelieve.com/ (and especially relevant here is the Creepy Crawlies section).

haha that website is funny. i used to believe a few odd things of my own.. :?

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This just emphasizes how important it is to keep answering these questions and combat the ignorance. I mean, yeah, to us they're often really dumb questions, but better that they ask them and learn, right?

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amen sista!

if anyone gets the chance, take your pets to show and tells. I have gone to my neice and nephews school with my snakes and other pets. Ya gotta hit em while their young! It was alot of fun. The teacher was asking questions right along with the kids.

I hope they invite me to come again this year...

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Originally Posted by green_man

if anyone gets the chance, take your pets to show and tells. I have gone to my neice and nephews school with my snakes and other pets. Ya gotta hit em while their young! It was a lot of fun. The teacher was asking questions right along with the kids.

I hope they invite me to come again this year...

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Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun! I'm a sucker for showing off my animals though. lol

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Originally Posted by green_man

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This just emphasizes how important it is to keep answering these questions and combat the ignorance. I mean, yeah, to us they're often really dumb questions, but better that they ask them and learn, right?

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amen sista!

if anyone gets the chance, take your pets to show and tells. I have gone to my neice and nephews school with my snakes and other pets. Ya gotta hit em while their young! It was a lot of fun. The teacher was asking questions right along with the kids.

I hope they invite me to come again this year...

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I've actually been wanting to do that since I got Pelota. I keep telling my sister that if she ever has a show and tell thing at school, let me know and I'll bring in Pelota. She's in high school though....and I haven't seen many show and tells in high school. ;)

Ooooh....my mom's friend has a young daughter though. Maybe I can get her to have me bring Pelota in for show and tell. I love to educate people about snakes. Sadly though, most of the time they don't want to hear it. :P

You should do stand up. a sort of humorus way to egimacate the consumers.
can't you see it? "live from Serpent Safari reptile zoo it's Shelby and amazing wind up snake".
at least right comics or something.

i still get asked if dart frogs are toxic - on 5% of the US knows anything about herps and that's
not much at all...

I'm bringing my snake in for show and tell. I can't decide wich one I should bring in though, mayble I'll bring 1 of my BPs, and my RTB.

I think he was putting you on, that is similar to the routine I use to play with people at stores etc...

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Originally Posted by Shelby

I work at Serpent Safari reptile zoo.

Ok so today this guy comes up and says 'do you sell snakes by the pound? I've never tried snake before.' I said 'ummm..... no' And then he asked how much the one I was holding weighed

'30 pounds'

'how much does it cost?'

'around $300...'

'Oh, so the larger snakes are around $10 a pound?' (at this point I was doubting his sanity. He honestly seemed serious..)

So I told him 'well we sell pet snakes, not the snakes you eat' you may want to go to Texas and try eating rattlesnake there' (I was kinda joking with the guy, but he remained serious)

'do you offer recipies on how to process them when you buy the snake?' (it was getting hard to answer the guy at this point, I just wanted to laugh, but I just told him no, no recipes.)

'Do you have any cheaper snakes? Something less than $10 a pound?'

'nope'

'Oh.. well I have to go to Texas sometime then. Thanks'

The guy was foreign... who knows.

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tthats funny...."Snakes by the pound" lol....

Someone on another forum, said that water snakes tasted like chickens, how she knew this..I dont know....but her water snake did mysterially(is that a word?) go missing...

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Originally Posted by green_man

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This just emphasizes how important it is to keep answering these questions and combat the ignorance. I mean, yeah, to us they're often really dumb questions, but better that they ask them and learn, right?

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amen sista!

if anyone gets the chance, take your pets to show and tells. I have gone to my neice and nephews school with my snakes and other pets. Ya gotta hit em while their young! It was a lot of fun. The teacher was asking questions right along with the kids.

I hope they invite me to come again this year...

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I'll be taking a couple of our critters up to my kids' school in a month or so, when my younger daughter's class gets to the topic of reptiles in their study of vertebrates for science class. That will make me the third person this year to bring reptiles that her class has gotten to see, but the others were general instead of topic-specific.

Anyone who is interested in teaching kids about reptiles should find out when in the curriculum vertebrates come up and make their offers to teachers at that grade level or make offers pretty much anytime to pre-k through 3rd grade teachers. If the teachers believe that you are sincere and informed and that safety won't be an issue, they will often take you up on it. Plus, in some states (like GA) it's required to perform some number of educational hours in order to get a certificate to keep certain types of reptiles, so you might get more out of it than satisfaction.

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Originally Posted by MilkmanWes

I think he was putting you on, that is similar to the routine I use to play with people at stores etc...

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Oh believe me, I was very suspicious of that fact from the time the guy opened his mouth. He was very convincing though, I'm still not sure. lol

Deven.. about the dart frogs. It is my understanding that darts lose their poison when taken into captivity.. that they get it from something they eat in the wild. So.. how bad is that question really?

ever get the kids that raise their hands to ask a question and then end up telling you that they have a dog and it like ice cream...
it is a great chance to teach a lot of things, but study first...LOL like what else lives in termite mounds along with hte royal python?

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Originally Posted by Deven

ever get the kids that raise their hands to ask a question and then end up telling you that they have a dog and it like ice cream...
it is a great chance to teach a lot of things, but study first...LOL like what else lives in termite mounds along with hte royal python?

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:roll: Oh yes, all the time. I always say to them 'you have a question?' when they raise their hand. Then when they're like 'you know what..' I'm like oh no.. lol

At my job I do a lot of educational shows, and I give tours through the reptile zoo, so I get a lot of kids who TALK.. and TALK.. or the kind that has question after question after..

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Originally Posted by Marla

I get asked, "Aren't you afraid they'll kill your children?" Umm, no, they're ball pythons, not anacondas or cobras. Those, I'd be concerned.

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I get this one alot at work too when people find out I have snakes.

Isn't that silly? You could ask someone who kept horses the same thing (a powerful kick can do it!) but I doubt they get asked that often.