Snake Phobia

Ok I must admit that before I purchased a Ball Python I had a fear of snakes. I went thru these little phobia classes to get over my fear, it was worth it, now I can pick my pets up like its nothing. Any of you all had a snake phobia at first? Would did you do to get over it?

My girlfriend has a snake phobia that she just can't get over. What classes did you take? It would be awesome if she could enjoy these fine creatures with me!

My husband has a phobia of them - his mother has always hated them and I'm afraid has instilled this fear in him from when he was little. Ugh - horrible smelly slimy things!! Problem is he doesn't even want to get over his phobia ... :(

my boyfriend did too, trick is to slowly get them used to it, first you get them to handle it being around, then feel them, and so on, it worked for him, now hes got one of his own and he wont leave it alone!

There was a guy in Florida a yr ago that raised pythons, I told him I wanted one soon but I was scared of snakes from childhood memories. He told me him and his wife offered snake/reptile training classes on weekend and it was free. So I took the classes for about 2 months. I remember having this 5ft python crawling over me, I thought I was gonna faint. He just crawled around and seemed to enjoy being handled.

Now when I bought my 2 baby pythons from Petco, the lady who was getting them for me was terrified and she was serioulsy shaking. I told her I could reach down and grab them if she wanted...lol. Although mine are just babies now, I know they will grow bigger, so I try to interact with them as much as I can to build that trust.

oh man, i love these guys, awesome temprement and i find it so calming just to hold them

my grandma has a real phobia of them she'll like faint if she see's one (well almost)

That's pretty cool; snake-phobia classes! I think that more places should offer those.
I never had a phobia of them, but friends of mine had. When they visited and merely touched one of my snakes, it was a huge step for them. Seeing how they were harmless and not slimy, most people who I have seen touch one for the first time, go away feeling much less afraid.

i know, isnt it weird how so many people think snakes are slimy? so not true

What we do with anyone we know that's afraid of snakes is let them see our kids of varying ages handling our snakes with confidence. Makes a lot of adults feel sorta comforted that a kid can be "safe" with a Ball Python. Also I try to get them to focus not on the whole "big scarey" snake but on something specific like a pretty pattern on the snake or how it's muscles move so beautifully under it's scales or whatever. I always encourage our less snake loving friends to just touch the snake gently down it's body well away from the head (which I make sure is under control) so they can have a small experience of how lovely a snake feels without feeling "threatened" by the worry of getting bitten.

The only thing I wonder about is if snakes can pick up a fear scent from a human much like a dog can. Since I'm not sure, I'm always more careful that the snake is under good control around folks that are scared in case it makes one of our snakes react differently than it usually would.

Amazes me how often people have no basis for their fear of snakes and are quickly fascinated with ours. If someone is really phobic though it's not kind or fair to push them too fast to be around a snake.....real phobia is a tough thing to deal with.


~~Jo~~

yup, just gotta get used to it, and eventually, (from what ive seen) they fall in love.....:)

I have a friend who can't even watch snake films, I bought the All about ball pythons from vpi and my friend cant even watch it, scares her that much.

i think my mom pretends shes got that but she way to calm for it to be the real thing

When my mom first got a snake, i was really scared of it, I was afraid it was going to attact me or bite me. But once I realized that it wouldn't do anything to me, I started to love snakes. Now we have 6 snakes, which i hold regularly, and soon i am going to buy my own snake.:)

Well yesterday evening our Emily had finished her shed and was out and about and really proud of her beautiful new skin. So as we had a relative staying over at Grandma's (who lives in the next street) and the relative had never met Emily and wanted to - we took her around.

My daughter Kat was sat on settee next to Grandma (Emily was wrapped up inside her hoodie and couldn't be seen) - well when Kat got her out Grandma shot off that sofa as if she was on a spring (she's 90 :P ) and headed the furthest end of the room. Had to laugh - Emily is all of 2ft and still a baby. Our parrot is the size of an overgrown cockatiel and far more dangerous.

It's grandma's phobia of snakes that has transferred itself to both her sons (including my husband) - he won't touch her and has no intention of it.

Oh my! I know I shouldn't laugh but the idea of that poor old Granny zooming up off the couch was just too funny! Hope you didn't give the poor old dear too bad a fright LOL.

It is amazing how uninformed the general public is about snakes. We've had some people that think they are dangerous to have around our children. Like we'd keep any pet...snake...dog...whatever that would present a real danger to our children! We have very strict rules about handling and will not let even the smallest snake in the house go around any child's neck. We are also dead strict on washing up after handling the snakes.

Quite honestly I feel the average dog is probably more of a risk to a small child than any of my ball pythons but you can't convince most people of that unfortunately.


~~Jo~~

Oh yes, dogs can definitely be dangerous - I've got a relative recovering now from a dog bite so severe the hospital reckoned they couldn't even stitch it properly! and that wasn't because the dog attacked him, but he was defending his own dog against it - and it was the other side of a wire fence.


My parrot, though, is definitely dangerous - so much so that in hormonal season he will fly and attack his perceived "hated" person - even though that person is normally the person who looks after his every need (i.e. me!). He's definitely heading for a wing clip as I've had some really severe bites from him in the past and he would even attack my face if he could - he just can't control himself inm this period. Thank god this only happens once a year - the rest of the time he loves me. Do snakes get hormonals??

I had a snake phobia as well growing up. I can remember a guy in high school who brought in his garter snake to class and when I finally noticed him in the corner with it, I nearly fainted.

What got me over it will probably make you laugh, but it really comes down to two men. Steve Irwin (AKA The Crocodile Hunter) and Jeff Corwin (AKA Massive Hottie). I love nature shows and always have and I would watch these guys handle seriously hot snakes and constrictors with not fear, but love and admiration. After a while, I began to not be so afraid of snakes.

Then a friend of mine got a corn snake and I handled him (the snake, not the friend) and I was just enchanted. I then went across the Bay Bridge to East Bay Vivarium in Berkeley and talked to them and asked about a good beginner snake and they mentioned a ball python. I had never heard of them, and at the time, the word python made me think of this show where I saw a reticulated python eat a 6 foot croc. But I went home and did some research on them and everyone said the same thing, that if you get a CBB baby BP, it is quite possibly the best beginner snake.

So, they had a baby male BP there and the next weekend I went and bought him. They told me not to feed him for four days and leave him alone. So, here I was stuck in the same room with an animal I have been terrified of for years. Every time he stuck his head out of his hide, I nearly had a heart attack and thought to myself, "What the hell did I just get myself into." But after 3 months or so, I could not be happier with him. He is such a precious little creature and does not have an aggressive bone in his body. The only regret I have is that I didn't get my BP from a breeder who raised the snake on F/T because my guy has only gotten live all his life and I have a feeling that he may just not eat anything else.

As far as getting over a snake phobia, there are a myriad of ways. The most important thing though is you have to want to get over it, which is usually the biggest problem. I have actually gone to therapy for anxiety management and here is what my therapist did with me.

1. Visualize that with which you are afraid clearly in your mind. Once you are able to do this without anxiety move on to the next step.
2. Look at a picture of what you fear.
3. Look at what you fear from a safe distance and keep moving a little closer each time your anxiety subsides.
4. Next, touch what you fear.
5. Then when ready, hold what you fear.

These steps may need to be repeated over and over for a while.

The biggest thing to remember is that a fear of snakes is an irrational fear, and if that is recognized then getting over the fear just takes some fortitude and a little persisitence. Having someone with you who does not share this fear is of great help as well.

Rachel