Dumb questions thread.

Dont know if anything like this was posted, but i will go ahead and explain this.

What are some of the dumbest things you ever been asked regarding your snakes? For me, i would have to say it was "Why would you want such a horrible animal like that? It says in the bible they are evil!" :rolleyes: Thank GOD for Bible-thumping half-wits.

Well.. I have been asked that same question. Being a christian myself, it saddens me that some christians can't appreciate the beautiful animals that snakes are.

Anyway.. I have been asked 'does it still have the stinger in it's tail'
'is it a cobra'
'where is the rattle'
'why doesn't it eat you'
'do it's eggs come out of it's mouth'
'does it poop' / 'does it have a butt'
'will the tongue sting me'
'why isn't it slimy'
'if I cut it in half will it become two snakes'

etc etc..

Keep in mind this question was about a BP... not a retic/burm...

I was talking to one of my pit managers at work. He was telling me how he got his dog snake trained... For those of you who don't know how rattle snake training works... They take a venomoid rattler, put it in the middle of a room, let it coil and rattle... and then owners walk their dogs up to it, let the dog get curious and sniff around it.. and then they shock the hell out of the poor dog. Theory being, that the dog will now keep YOU away from rattlers when they're out in the desert with you.

So... to make conversation, I told him that Alika (my German Shepherd.... my 90 lb German Shepherd) gets kinda excited from time to time... and I'd be cuirous what she'd do if she were to knock over the viv that Jake's kept in. He says.... "Ball Pythons are constrictors right?" I say, "Yes." He says "So would it just kill the dog?"

Yeah... my 3 ft BP will constrict and kill my 90 lb German Shepherd.

"Like, is it slimy?"

"Has it ever tried to eat you?"

"Aren't they poisonous?"

Haha I can beat all those! Best question I got was, "Do they breed?". That right there made me laugh so hard!

I'm a Christian, too...and it saddens me that just because there are idiots out there that say they are Christians that people think all Christians are idiots. Being one myself, it's natural that I also know LOTS of Bible-believing Christians...and I don't know a single one who believes snakes are "evil." They may have the same kinds of dislikes and misconceptions of snakes as anyone else, but the "evilness" of them never enters the conversation.

I'm quite sure there are "Bible-thumpers" out there that use the Creation story to justify their prejudices against snakes...just as they use it to justify every other judgemental attitude they have against the world. But please don't think we're all like that.

Off my :soapbx: now....sorry!

The best (worst??? LOL) question I ever had was when I was talking to a very hoity-toity lady about what I want for my future and I mentioned a dream of breeding snakes. She gets a look of horror on her face and says "How in the world do you breed snakes???"

what gets me even more than the questions is when i tell someone about my snakes and my interest in herps and they immediately launch into detailed stories about each and every snake that they have had to kill. the one that got into the garage, the one in their mom's backyard, the one at the lake, the one in the woods that time when they were hiking, etc, etc. why would i want to hear that when i just told them i LIKE snakes and keep them as pets? that would be like someone telling me that they like kittens--they even have 2 or 3 of their own--and me then going into full graphic detail about how i murder every kitten that crosses my path. (no, i don't kill kittens, but you get the point.)

I've got a good one, 'Do they breathe through their skin?' :rolleyes:

I was also asked by my grandma, can I feed it lettuce instead? ...

Funny things is, my grandma HATES it that I have snakes. I had some frozen pinkies in the freezer, and she's like "You can't have them in there!". And I asked "Why?" and she said "'Cause I don't like the way they are killed!". And I laughed and I said "Uh, hello?! You got like 20 pounds of meat ranging from chicken, steaks and ribs, so why is it ok that you can contribute to their terrible death, yet the way mother nature uses mice as a way to feed snakes, is wrong?". She just replied "I hate the way they are killed". So me being me, I got as graphic as I could and explained in detail the death of a cow. Yet she still doesn't like the way snake eat their pray ... Go figure huh?

Right? Livestock is usually just slaughtered, but with frozen mice/rats they're usually CO2'ed first.

A ??? I get alot is are any of your snake's venomou's?I would never own a venomou's snake.

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Originally Posted by mlededee

(no, i don't kill kittens, but you get the point.)

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And here I thought we'd being seeing 'kitten killer' as your new title!! :lmao: :giggle: Sorry I just thought that was waaayyy too funny.

Now onto the point to the thread... I always love how people think they are going to kill my children. :rolleyes: C'mon folks. And no they're not free ranging. Sheesh. I also love it when large grown men squeal like frightened school children and won't step foot in my house. :devilish:

Vomitore, I got ya beat...." are they asexual?"

Well this wasn't a question, but you'll love it anyway. I told someone I had a pet snake and it lives in my bedroom, a woman who overheard me comes up to me and says:

"You really shouldn't do that"
"Do what?"
"Have a snake in your bedroom, it is dangerous."
"No it isn't."
"Yes it is!!! It will break out of that container and wrap around your neck and kill you!"
"He can't kill a human, he isn't big or strong enough"
"How do you know that? Are you sure?"
"Ma'am, the snake is a baby and I have already handled him. He hasn't and won't hurt anyone."
At this point she pats me on the cheek, and says:
"You poor girl!! You are going to wake up dead some morning. I don't know why people don't listen to me, you'd think that........"
And she walked away.
This was yesterday at the grocery store.

"Is it de-fanged?":sigh2:

I got called wierd for walking in the woods looking for reptiles....by a neighbor that seen me walking up with a snake hook....a suntanning guy with nipple rings called me weird...LMAO. The assumptions that are made about you as a person because you own reptiles drives me nuts....ha ha...sterotypes.

I get the 'This one time I killed a (insert common snake here)" comments alot.....I just say to myself...next time they talk about their pet dog or cat, I will casually mention how I like to kill them when I see them with no owner....(just to be sarcastic, I would not really kill a cat or dog).

I get asked if they are venomous all the time. Alot of the other graduate students are from India....so anytime it gets brought up, they instantly think I have cobras for some reason.

I get the quantitative questions alot....i.e. how many do you have? how big are they? how many times have they bit you? how long have you had them?

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Originally Posted by 4theSNAKElady

Vomitore, I got ya beat...." are they asexual?"

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Haha my aunt asked me that this weekend. I said ... "Uh, no ... you are thinking of worms".

Every single time I meantion I have a snake, without fail, the person asks me "What do you feed it?" It's a SNAKE, what do they think I feed it???

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Originally Posted by JLC

I'm a Christian, too...and it saddens me that just because there are idiots out there that say they are Christians that people think all Christians are idiots. Being one myself, it's natural that I also know LOTS of Bible-believing Christians...and I don't know a single one who believes snakes are "evil." They may have the same kinds of dislikes and misconceptions of snakes as anyone else, but the "evilness" of them never enters the conversation.

I'm quite sure there are "Bible-thumpers" out there that use the Creation story to justify their prejudices against snakes...just as they use it to justify every other judgemental attitude they have against the world. But please don't think we're all like that.

Off my :soapbx: now....sorry!

The best (worst??? LOL) question I ever had was when I was talking to a very hoity-toity lady about what I want for my future and I mentioned a dream of breeding snakes. She gets a look of horror on her face and says "How in the world do you breed snakes???"

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Well maybe you took what i said the wrong way, religion, combined with an ignorant person is a bad thing. i wasnt going off saying that all christians are whackos. ;)

Just happened to me today, yet another dumb question.


Idiot : "How many crickets does that thing eat in a day?" :rolleyes:


Me : "Oh, plenty...i have a friend with a 14' burmese python that will eat millions of crickets a day. They have to inject each and every one of them with mind-altering steroids before they can eat them. And then the mothership comes down and incubates them so they can morph into power rangers."


Yes, im a very long-winded smart @$$. Needless to say, the guy was shy to ask anymore questions. LOL

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

And here I thought we'd being seeing 'kitten killer' as your new title!! :lmao: :giggle: Sorry I just thought that was waaayyy too funny.

Now onto the point to the thread... I always love how people think they are going to kill my children. :rolleyes: C'mon folks. And no they're not free ranging. Sheesh. I also love it when large grown men squeal like frightened school children and won't step foot in my house. :devilish:

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Umm... just so you know, to some people on the internet, "killing kittens" has a different meaning...

Which makes giving someone the actual TITLE kitten killer, very funny :P

well now that's just not right at all. :bolt:

um...pardon my ignorance but whats a kitten killer on the internet? (maybe this requires a PM)


best EVER was right after i got Monty my mom asked my....

"Can't u just feed it...snake pellets?"
to which my dad responded
"What u wanna go to the store and buy Purina Snake Chow?"

These questions are funny, but really, I think they are fair questions to people who have no idea what the answer is. When people ask me silly questions, I try to be helpful and answer them honestly or point them to the website I made up. I many seasoned herpers might think questions like these are obvious, but it's what you know and what you are used to.

For comparison, I had an Indian woman as a roommate for about a year (Indian as in India, yo). She came from a fairly well-to-do family in Bombay and had had pet dogs growing up. The idea of having pet cats digusted her (!), so she had lots of nervous and surprising questions when we started living together as I had cats. =)

She of course loves them now, especially since her now husband is a long time cat lover as well, hehe and they have several. ;)

i got a funny lil story


one day i had buttercup out ( 8.5 ft burm) and a friend of mine who knows nothing about any reptiles was with me. Well anyways she was out and crawling all over me as normal and she had wrapped the last bit of her tail around my ankle while she was crawing on my arms, (so she knew she was secure i assume) anywas the second she did this my friend started freaking out yelling that snake was trying to kill me, literaly yelling , i tryed to tell her what the snakew was doing and she was almost in tears and just freakign out... my b/f came running downstairs to see what was going on and looked at us, then looked at her and rolled his eyes and walked back upstairs

Hehe, little Carmen does that when we have her out - I call it "security tail". =) Very Charlie Brown-blankie...;)

"As long as my tail is wrapped around <insert body part>, I'm safe!"

I havent gotten any of those ****-ronculous questions but I have gotten asked

"why would you want a snake, you cant cuddle with it"
my response
"why would you want a bird or a hamster?"

The whole Christian thing is nutty...I'd ask those same people who throw the bible references about snakes at me the whole "isnt premarital sex off limits, and envy is a no-no, lusting after others....oh and dont forget about cursing as well. and my favorite....putting faith in false idols!" these are the types of things I would say to them, they shouldn't open there mouth and say something so ignorant if they themselves do not lead a model christian life. if i offend anyone i am sorry...just thought I'd get that on out there.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Is a good place to search to find internet references. (is that link ok?)

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Originally Posted by 4Khan

I havent gotten any of those ****-ronculous questions but I have gotten asked

"why would you want a snake, you cant cuddle with it"
my response
"why would you want a bird or a hamster?"

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My boss asked me that, and I replied, "Why have kids?". Haha!

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Originally Posted by Vomitore

My boss asked me that, and I replied, "Why have kids?". Haha!

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hahahaha! thats a good one!
I have found there is more work in keeping a snake than in babysitting.

well i find im getting told a lot of things about my snakes, lol. one kid at school, when i told him i had a four foot python, said it could eat me. i was also told by a rat loving teacher at school that you dont have to feed them rodents, you can feed them crickets and dogfood stuff for snakes.

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Originally Posted by mr~python

well i find im getting told a lot of things about my snakes, lol. one kid at school, when i told him i had a four foot python, said it could eat me. i was also told by a rat loving teacher at school that you dont have to feed them rodents, you can feed them crickets and dogfood stuff for snakes.

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can you imagine trying to feed your python dog food!
I would sit on the teachers head!

Oh this thread has been fun to read LOL! I had a crazy experience recently with an older lady. She was in our house and well you can't miss the fact that a 6 foot snake is in a huge glass tank in the livingroom now can you LOL. So she proceeds to ask about it killing our 4 year old son. Now if that's not the stupidest question! I know I shouldn't be offended but geesh, do I look like the kind of parent that puts one of my precious children at risk unthinkingly. So I explain and try to educate her, showing her the lock down lid on Rauri's cage, explaning what type of snake he is, that he is not venomous, etc. I think she's getting it but who knows right. Not two weeks later I'm talking to her on the phone and she asks "is that cobra you have gone to it's home yet????" Cobra! Good lord! Apparently not only did she not get my lil speech but she somehow managed to convince herself that a Columbian Boa is a Cobra! Humans are wierd!

This same lady has three of the yappiest, most irritating little ankle biter dogs you've ever met. You cannot even speak to her as they will not shut up or stop trying to either hump your leg or bite it. I seriously was tempted to tell her that Rauri isn't likely to eat Mikey, but he's probably enjoy a few close moments with her pack of miniature yappers!

Btw no offense to those that own small breed dogs. I just can't understand why some owners of miniature breeds seem unable or unwilling to give them basic obedience training. Funny how this lady hasn't a clue that her 3 dogs are way more risk to my young son, as they are nippy and totally undisciplined, yet allowed to run loose around her house (heck they run the dang house LOL).

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Is a good place to search to find internet references. (is that link ok?)

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OK, I see what "killing kittens" is now - but I don't get why that phrase is used for that meaning. Hmmmmmmm - guess I'm too old to "get it"! LOL

I absolutely love the question "Like, doesn't it sting you or something?"

Yeah...with her stubby little tail. Yep.

Or another favorite. "like...is it poisonous?"

Sure. Okay.

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Originally Posted by The Cannibal Monkey

Every single time I meantion I have a snake, without fail, the person asks me "What do you feed it?" It's a SNAKE, what do they think I feed it???

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...
...why, you feed it Purina Snake Chow, of course!!

No, no, no. You feed it Herpanuba: Premium Snake Chow. For the best, healthiest snakes.

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Originally Posted by Lucifer

Just happened to me today, yet another dumb question.


Idiot : "How many crickets does that thing eat in a day?" :rolleyes:


Me : "Oh, plenty...i have a friend with a 14' burmese python that will eat millions of crickets a day. They have to inject each and every one of them with mind-altering steroids before they can eat them. And then the mothership comes down and incubates them so they can morph into power rangers."


Yes, im a very long-winded smart @$$. Needless to say, the guy was shy to ask anymore questions. LOL

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I LOOOOOOOOVE! it! I think I'll put as my favorite quote "Better to be a smart@&& than a dumb***t! :D :D I'm a SA too, and PROUD of it! :devilish:

My former roommate asked me something similar when I told her how small Oreo was. She literally asked "What does it eat? Crickets???" I basically (snorted) said, no I have to get newborn pinky mice to feed Oreo.

I also love the one about grown men backpedaling from the snake. Happened to me in college w/the prof's boa. I've never seen a 250+ pound football player MOVE soooo fast!!! :rofl:

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

I get the 'This one time I killed a (insert common snake here)" comments alot.....I just say to myself...next time they talk about their pet dog or cat, I will casually mention how I like to kill them when I see them with no owner....(just to be sarcastic, I would not really kill a cat or dog).?

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*THANK* you. I don't know why so many people feel free to immediately say nasty things about an animal you obviously love, it's the height of rudeness and disrespect. My pets are my *family*, and I love them as members of my family. I had a nice long chat with a lady on the bus the other day about her pet rats. Was the first thing out of my mouth "Half of my freezer is full of dead rats for my snakes." NO! She's talking about her own pet rats that she loves dearly, and I respect that.

When someone tells me about their beloved ...mrph, hard to think of an animal I don't like... but lets say one of those naked sphinx cats or a dog breed I don't find particularly attractive I don't instantly go "Oh man, how ugly! Why would you ever want one of those?" It's the same to me as looking at a picture of somebody's newborn and saying "Oh wow, what an ugly kid! Hey, I hear babies taste like chicken, do you think that's true?" I mean... who would DO that? But people do it all the time in regards to -especially exotic- pets!

Yesterday at work a woman stopped at Karen's cubical to look at the pictures of our "kids". I mean, she took the time to stop and look at the pictures of the snakes to say "Ew! Ew, ew, ew!" And that was it. Nice. When Karen told me that, I told her "How rude, I bet she wouldn't like it if people stopped by her desk, looked at the pictures of her children, and said 'Ew!'" It's fine to think that and feel that way, but it's just the height of rude to say it to someone's face.

:soapbx: I could go on, but I'll save it for LJ. Just a major pet peeve of mine.

Yeah when I worked at the reptile zoo it was very common for someone to tell me how many snakes they have killed, and 'the only good snake is a dead snake' etc etc.

God.

Lastnight, I went over to Justin's house and his 'rents were there. Fine and dandy. I got his sister to touch Ophelia and Dad was kind of cute about looking at her.

His MOTHER, however, pissed me off. "Eww! Gross! That's on my leather couch!"

I wanted to tell her, "It's okay, Sharon. She'll only crap on your couch if you scream too loud!"

This was when I was handling my BP at 18" i was asked "If it bites you will you die?!"

Oh man, about the thing where people tell you how many snakes theyve killed...i usually reply like so



Idiot : "I've killed so many snakes, atleast four hundred."

Me : "Well holy s***, youre a regular american hero! Dang captain america, why havent they awarded you some sort of medal? Thats really amazing! By the way, hows your sister/wife? Still having fun at the trailer park? Well, crocodile dundee, i have to get going...but calm down on the snakes a little bit, its not their fault that your brother and your father are the same person."



something to that effect.

Here's another one....


Just happened to me this past Monday while visiting friends.

She asked me what's new in my snake world. Told her about FD's corn, Kishnah. ...."Why do they call them corns? Do they eat corn?"

*snort*

Keep in mind that at the time my BP was a little over a foot and a half long and maybe the size of both my thumbs together. My grandmother found our I had him and was like you know he'll get out and choke you to death. LOL. Wow I keep on the look out for that one.. LOL

My mother won't even *look* at my snake, she thinks it's 'slimy' and if she touches it, it will immediatly leap, with no legs mind you, from my arm/hand onto her neck and procede to choke her to death. Ah, public schools...;) (J/k I go to public school :P )

Why do people think that snakes will get out of their enclosures and hunt us down to kill us? I never understood it.

Maybe they are like organized snake crime mobs that call each other at night to plan a massive escape and one day they are all going to break out at the same time and kill all the keepers. Yeah....that's coming.... mmhmm, I am sure of it.