Reasons why people are afraid of snakes

I want to hear every possible reason that you can think of why someone would be afraid of snakes so we can disprove every single one. Those of you who frequently bring your snakes to events might have some expierence with such people so you could provide me and the others some reasons. IMO the only thing that could possibly be gross about snakes is what they eat (not that I'm grossed out; Their food isn't nearly as gross as carrion!). This will be a great opportunity to help prevent the fear of snakes!

IMO, I think the main reason people are afraid of snakes is because of the media. Just a few days ago they had a story on the news about gravid anacondas that were getting ultrasounds. They later said anacondas grow larger then 35 feet and have been known to swallow several people at a time whole.:rolleyes:

I personally believe people are afraid of snakes because they know nothing about them. I think if people were better educated about reptiles in general they would not have these fears and anxieties. I always encourage people who see our snakes to ask questions and try to inform them.

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

Those of you who frequently bring your snakes to events might have some expierence with such people so you could provide me and the others some reasons.

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What sort of events do you frequently take your snakes to? :confused:

Because they are SLIMY! and they can CRUSH a human! and they are all venomous.
My mom used to tell me that snakes are the devil, because the devil was a snake in the bible.

Quote my roomates girlfriend " They bite and they are all slithery":gj:

i'd have to say the slimy factor too. but it's mostly a lack of knowledge and misrepresentation on the media's part. i'm taking my girl to my mom's
2nd grade class for a little question and answer session today. hopefully these kids will see that snakes aren't scary and that they can be rather cool.

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

I want to hear every possible reason...so we can disprove every single one.

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Consider that some 85% of the population of the US grows up reading things like this... Good luck "disproving" Genesis 3:13-15

13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring [a] and hers;
he will crush [b] your head,
and you will strike his heel."

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Originally Posted by Jonny2184

My mom used to tell me that snakes are the devil, because the devil was a snake in the bible.

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Lol, is your last name Bouche?

I think people are afraid of snakes for the same reason they're afraid to die, afraid of spiders, afraid of eating cow testicles, etc. People are afraid of the unknown/weird.

It seems to be a natural fear encoded into us. same as spiders and other unknowns. not to say everybody but most people. It seems most people have a fear of snakes until they hold one and get over it.

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Originally Posted by Jonny2184

Because they are SLIMY! and they can CRUSH a human! and they are all venomous.
My mom used to tell me that snakes are the devil, because the devil was a snake in the bible.

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This is where we disprove all of those (except for their biblical notorierty) 1. They aren't slimy at all. They're skin is %100 dry (unless they just went swimming) 2. Ever wonder why such stories make headlines? That's because they don't happen very often 3. More than 3/4s of all snake species are NON-venomous. See? There's an explanation to almost all of those.

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Originally Posted by juddb

Quote my roomates girlfriend " They bite and they are all slithery":gj:

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What about dogs? Some of them bite and almost nobody is afaid of them. That second reason is simply a fear of the unknown.

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Originally Posted by ctrlfreq

Consider that some 85% of the population of the US grows up reading things like this... Good luck "disproving" Genesis 3:13-15

13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring [a] and hers;
he will crush [b] your head,
and you will strike his heel."

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I'm sure lots of people read the Bible, but honestly, how many people are afraid of snakes because of their role in the Bible? Pretty much nobody! People are afraid of snakes because "they're slimy" and "they're gonna kill me" (things like that), not due to their biblical notoriety. P.S. I know a lot about the story of the snake too. If you want me to I'll PM you some explanations about the 6 curses of the snake

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

What about dogs? Some of them bite and almost nobody is afaid of them. That second reason is simply a fear of the unknown.

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Well i dont have racks of dogs in the apartment. And i understand that people fear snakes but you know what, i dont care. People come to the apartment all the time but unless you went into my room you would never know i had snakes. But some people do ask me why i have a rat colony in the dining room:rofl:. (We dont eat in the dining room, but the rats do hahaha irony). Anyway i went way off track....:gj:

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Originally Posted by Jonny2184

they are all venomous. .

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no they are all posionous (sp?)

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Originally Posted by martyb

no they are all posionous (sp?)

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It's poisonous....
And it bugs me badly when people say poisonous.. it's venomous!!!

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Originally Posted by martyb

no they are all posionous (sp?)

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I used to always get confused with "venomous" and "poisonous" but there is a very strong difference between the two. Venomous means it will hurt/kill someone if he/she is injected (bitten, stung, etc.) with the venom. Poisonous means if someone eats the object he/she will be affected. Example for venomous: A rattlesnake is venomous but it's edible, so they're not poisonous. Example for poisonous: If someone is bitten by a Barracuda they'll just need a whole bunch of stitches, but if you eat one you'll get sick.

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

I want to hear every possible reason that you can think of why someone would be afraid of snakes so we can disprove every single one. Those of you who frequently bring your snakes to events might have some expierence with such people so you could provide me and the others some reasons. IMO the only thing that could possibly be gross about snakes is what they eat (not that I'm grossed out; Their food isn't nearly as gross as carrion!). This will be a great opportunity to help prevent the fear of snakes!

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You have to remember, people's fears started thousands of years ago when information that was available back then was lousy or non-existent, unlike now.

It's hard to break people's ingrained fears after thousands of years of handed down "All snakes are bad and need to be feared and or killed".

Nothing much has changed since then, parents raise their kids to fear them. Because we fear what we don't understand. Just my opinion!

I know very few people who fear snakes, but none of them can give me a reason as to why they are afraid. My wife will occassionally touch my ball python if she's trying to convince one of my nephews that he is OK, but for the most part she avoids the snakes because she doesn't like the way they move. I wouldn't say she's afraid of any of them though. Most people, I'd have to say is just the fear of the unknown like has been previously posted.

Misinformation/Misconception (some people are not educated about snakes and many think snake = danger).

Religion (a few do take the scriptures a little too literally).

Media (when you hear about snakes in the media it is often bad press which does not help this hobby).

Real phobia (a rare irrational fear often based on a traumatic experience).

Well I always respond to the bible issue by asking if they are also afraid of Mom and Apple Pie, since a woman and an apple were also involved...why just hate the snake LOL.

Humans always fear what they don't know well to some extent. Even if you explain to them the fact that their yappy lap dog is a far bigger risk to their small kids, they still tend to think my snakes are the greater risk. Silly really but that's folks and all you can do is try to educate the ones with minds open to it.

ponders if lap dog will fit in ? no just kidding. I personally love the question don't they bite ? Like dogs, cats, goats, horses, swans,rats,mice,pike all don't or wont bite. And yes I have been bitten by all the aboved mentioned animals the horse might take the cake for pain. Simple answer if it has teeth it will bite so will kids under like 10 give or take a few years.I think people just don't have any facts on snakes other then what they get from silly movies or folk lore. Though I will never have a venomus snake in the house as I do get bit by everything. That's not out of some silly fear just a given fact at some point it would bite me.

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

I'm sure lots of people read the Bible, but honestly, how many people are afraid of snakes because of their role in the Bible? Pretty much nobody!

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It's not a question of whether someone is afraid of snakes because of their role in a story, but rather one of whether that base preconception of snakes (which are used as a metaphor for satan in the bible) as evil animals becomes accepted as being a foundation truth.

Beyond that, all rationalizations about them are jaded by that single inaccurate grain of information that was mentally ascribed as truth.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Well I always respond to the bible issue by asking if they are also afraid of Mom and Apple Pie...why just hate the snake LOL.

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Because neither the woman or the apple were the earthly embodiment of satan. Many other irrational fears have been instilled by ancient claims of something or other being evil, and such fears will continue to thrive as long as we hold on to these irrational beliefs.