Anyone have a friend who is terrified of snakes?

I have this friend who is terrified... and I mean TERRIFIED of snakes. If he even sees one he litteraklly screams and run as far away from it as he can. Yes he's straight.

I asked him why and he says it's the way they move that freaks him out so much. I asked and he told me he's never had a bad encounter with a snake before, ever, so I can;t figure out WHY he;s afraid of them!

It's litterally an irrational fear. He's got no reason to be afraid.
All my other friends, girls and guys, either like or don;t mind my snakes. Most of them ask to hold my Cali King and lemme tell you, my Cali King loves to be held!

It's strange! I guess maybe because I don't have any sort of phobia. No animal scares me or even makes me flinch. I don't really get why someone could be afraid of something like a snake.

You're more likely to get bitten or scratched by your dog or cat when they're playing with you!

Anyone else know someone like this?

*I'm* like that, but not with snakes. I adore snakes, but lizards make me scream and run like a little girl. For me it is also about the way they move. They have this creepy wiggly run thing they do that weirds me out. It's an irrational fear and I have tried to get over it - I've touched several different kinds of lizards, even had an iguana set on my shoulder once. But I can only get over it momentarily. As soon as I'm away from them that fear comes right back again.

I learned about these kind of fears in psychology, and you don't really have to have any bad experience that you remember, but something as simple as seeing a "scary" snake at a young age on TV can make you terrified for life. Its classical conditioning. I am scared to death of spiders....yet I know they cannot hurt me (the ones around here can't) and they are 1 thousand times smaller than me but...ewwww...haha

I have several friends that are like that. One so bad he won't even come on the front porch. I believe that our society and culture helps to ingrain this irrational fear of snakes into our minds.

I blame part of it on the choice of scholars to interpret the Hebrew word "nachash" to mean snake/serpent in the Bible when it more fittingly should have been translated sorcerer or wonder maker. Even for those who aren't Christians the whole story of the fall of man due to the deception of the "serpent" sticks with most people at some level.

My brother is actually terrified of snakes. When my stepfather and I wanted to get snakes when I was in elementary school, my mom and brother threatened to move out into our camper if we brought a snake into the house. Well of course they didn't but they wouldn't go near the snakes. My mother would sometimes hold the ball python but my brother never would. When I got my first snake, Zim in '06, I tried to show it to him and he locked himself in the room and wouldn't come out until I left the house. It was just a baby corn snake. Jeesh. Thankfully most of my friends are ok with the snakes and actually like seeing them, but not always hold them. I have an irrational fear of heights and deep water but as far as animals, I am very uncomfortable around big dogs ( I was bitten by a rottwieler) but afraid of animals, no.

I have one friend that cannot come into my space knowing there are snakes in my apt. She is doing better though as she can enter my hallway now... she was that scared initially.

But I think most people that are scared, usually can preface it with "I have an irrational fear of..." they know there is no reason, but it is so deeply set that they cannot control it.

But on the good side, I have had a few friends that have asked if they could come over and look at... eventually get near the cages... in time see one... and even touch it.

Have had 4 experiences like that, and each time they have ended up being very positive, and once people break through that, they just love them.

Bruce

I'm affraid of deep water and heights too. They are weird fears. My uncle Jackie is terrified of snakes. We always play jokes on him like throwing a rubber snake on his shoulder. Haha. I guess it doesn't help his fear anyway but you can't help getting even with an Uncle ^_^.

-Austin

I do have friends that were terrified of snakes...

What kills me is I want to share my passion with others and those people happen to be my friends and family. One person that really sticks out is Jackie she would look at them at an "across the room" distance. Now (This is over the period of me knowing her) she will actually hold them! I am so proud :tears:

Now all of my friends will at least share a room with them...stay in the room while they are out and some will even interact.

In the beginning many had this horrible stereotypical perception about them. I am just glad to help and dismiss this.

I can definitely understand peoples fear of snakes, my Mom was reasonably afraid of them until she held my ball, that changed everything. She would still scream if she saw a wild rodent in the house and is uneasy about me wishing to breed rats (gotta work her into allowing me) which is also understandable as she has had previous bad experiences with large rodents. I am petrified of centipedes, arachs, even harmless little crickets, basically any bug drives me NUTS, I plan to get over it in the future but I don't think I'll ever be at a state where I am actually comfortable with them. You have to respect a persons fear because everybody is afraid of something, without fear what would the world be?

haha my best friend who looks kind of like a tough guy, one those tight pants'ed, long hair, guns n' roses type of guy, and back when we were in high school everyone just thought he was one of those pissed off, tough guys. anyways, back a few years back, my friend had baby corn snakes and i was holding one, and he would NOT hold it and i asked him why not, and he responded with "dude. they can sense fear, i don't like that." so i finally get him to hold it.. and it makes the slightest movement, he drops the snake on the bed, kind of squeals and runs to the opposite side of the room and i couldn't stop laughing

My daughter in-law is very scared of snakes. She's okay when they don't move, so long as she is not holding them. If they move, she very quickly backs away. She is good in that she is careful to not pass this fear onto her son~ especially since he comes over all the time to hold grandma's "sneeks"! Anyway, I am starting to work on desensitizing her to them, step by step. She's a very brave girl and I am very proud of her~ it is hard to face one's fears and conquer them.

Both my father and my boyfriend are scared to death of them. My boyfriend is slowly coming around. I've been trying to get him to hold my little BP hatchling but so far he's just been trying to manage to stay in the same room with her! At one point he almost worked up the courage to touch her with a finger while I was holding her, but he chickened out. He does make friends with the mice I bring home to feed her, though. We were having a conversation about what to buy each other for our 4 year anniversary that's coming up and the first thing he said was, "Please tell me you don't want another snake..."

My father will probably never change because we don't live in the same state anymore, so he doesn't ever see my tame snake. He only sees the ones on our farm, which like to hide in the barns and stuff like that and scare him. He actually does tolerate the rat snakes and other non-poisonous ones because...they eat rats :) The only snakes I'd say he *hates* are water moccasins because he has been bitten by one and because they're all over where we live, so it's a constant fear for him. I understand that more than people who just have an irrational fear (like my boyfriend!) because they've never had a good experience with snakes and only heard bad things.

You already said it...it's irrational.

I love snakes, lizards, any reptile...
but I will have a heart attack if you put a taranchula anywhere near me. Spiders FREAK ME OUT. and I know better...i know a taranchula is not going to do anything to me, much like my ball pythons, but it's just this unexplainable irrational fear that I have.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

My brother is actually terrified of snakes. When my stepfather and I wanted to get snakes when I was in elementary school, my mom and brother threatened to move out into our camper if we brought a snake into the house. Well of course they didn't but they wouldn't go near the snakes. My mother would sometimes hold the ball python but my brother never would. When I got my first snake, Zim in '06, I tried to show it to him and he locked himself in the room and wouldn't come out until I left the house. It was just a baby corn snake. Jeesh. Thankfully most of my friends are ok with the snakes and actually like seeing them, but not always hold them. I have an irrational fear of heights and deep water but as far as animals, I am very uncomfortable around big dogs ( I was bitten by a rottwieler) but afraid of animals, no.

---

Hey, I have a fear of deep water too. I mean, I don't really mind swimming in a lake or ocean, but when I do, I always have this knowledge in the back of my head that the ground is 100-thousands of feet below me.

I have 1 friend who is freaked out by snakes and one who won't even let me talk about them. I don't understand it either, these are gentle creatures. Have you noticed a lot of people, when you ask them why they won't hold it, they say it's slimey? I dunno where that comes from.

Another one of my friends loves my snake and comes over anytime he can to take a look at it. Trying to talk him into getting one!

As far as me being scared of snake and bugs, i'm not. There are certain bugs I don't like and do run away from if they get near me or touch me. Wasp and Cockroaches. I had a roach on my foot one night and almost flipped my computer desk. It was scary.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skoalbasher

Hey, I have a fear of deep water too. I mean, I don't really mind swimming in a lake or ocean, but when I do, I always have this knowledge in the back of my head that the ground is 100-thousands of feet below me.

---

Not to mention there are two sharks right below you playing rock/paper/scissors over who gets you.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nathanledet

You already said it...it's irrational.

I love snakes, lizards, any reptile...
but I will have a heart attack if you put a taranchula anywhere near me. Spiders FREAK ME OUT. and I know better...i know a taranchula is not going to do anything to me, much like my ball pythons, but it's just this unexplainable irrational fear that I have.

---

I actually want a big spider!! My girlfriend was reluctant on the snake, but said "You will never own a spider with me in the apartment".

I said, ok, see you later. :D


:salute:

I think everyone I know except for 3 people is terrified of snakes. Unfortunately when people think of snakes they think of vipers and giant retics not balls like most of us have. Until you get one in some ones hands, if they are willing, there is no way to get people to not freak about them.

It is interesting because I tutor a 10 year old in my apartment and she is afraid of snakes. However, she went slowly from entering the room where the snakes were, to watching me handle them, to wanting to hold their tails (the heads were scary), to holding my BP Meerah all by herself! If you say "snakes" she cringes and screams, or if she sees a pic of one she automatically recoils, but then if I remind her that she knows how to handle snakes, she becomes interested. Now she is obsessed with watching my corn snakes eat lol. I would says he is still scared of them, but as soon as she gets over the initial reaction she is OK.

I just hope that she grows up remembering my snakes and doesn't pass that fear down to her children.

My parents never told me anything good/bad about snakes as a child, but they brought me to nature centers where I would inevitably beg for shed snake skins. I guess since they were in the nature center, and I trusted the nature center, I trusted the snakes.

Since my parents never reacted strongly to snakes I never did either. I think parents have a lot to do with it.

My mother....

Not so much terrified anymore, but when I started, she could NOT understand why I would want to surround myself with "THOSE THINGS"

She touched my Pastel once cause it was freshly shed and "pretty"

But yeah... At least I don't have to worry about suprise visits.. :D

There are many people that are afraid of snakes, a few people mentioned that these fears were irrational. Fearing snakes is not really an irrational fear at all, it is in our genes. It is an innate fear that most babies are born with. I have seen studies where an infant is shown a snake and knows to be afraid of it. Our ancestors were afraid of snakes, because some were venomous and could kill you. This fear goes back that far. As mentioned before this fear can be worsened with classical conditioning.

All of this being said, once someone is educated about snakes: that they are not all dangerous, they are not out to get you, and they have many benefits to us (eg. rodent control), then most people will overcome this fear they have.

If you are scared of a harmless pet corn snake that you actually believe is harmless, then yes that is an irrational fear, but being scared of snakes in general until you learn better is perfectly rational. just wanted to throw my 2 cents in.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jwenker1

There are many people that are afraid of snakes, a few people mentioned that these fears were irrational. Fearing snakes is not really an irrational fear at all, it is in our genes. It is an innate fear that most babies are born with. I have seen studies where an infant is shown a snake and knows to be afraid of it. Our ancestors were afraid of snakes, because some were venomous and could kill you. This fear goes back that far. As mentioned before this fear can be worsened with classical conditioning.

All of this being said, once someone is educated about snakes: that they are not all dangerous, they are not out to get you, and they have many benefits to us (eg. rodent control), then most people will overcome this fear they have.

If you are scared of a harmless pet corn snake that you actually believe is harmless, then yes that is an irrational fear, but being scared of snakes in general until you learn better is perfectly rational. just wanted to throw my 2 cents in.

---

Uhh, it's not the fear of snakes that just happens. When you are born, you don't know what a snake is. Their probably just scared of the unknown.

My sister and my mother-in-law are terrified of snakes. My mother-in law will come into the house, but not the room the snakes are in and my sister refuses to enter the house at all.
Personally, I have an irrational fear myself, so I do understand how they feel, because mine really silly. I'm afraid of mice. Not rats, just mice. Stupid, huh? I've had pet rats and really enjoyed them, but mice freak me out.
I have a heart attack every time one of the cats catch one. They are cats so they usually play with it for a while after they catch it, you know, let it go, then catch it again. I usually either leave the house or see if I can get the cat to take the mouse into the bathroom and then shut them in. Irrational fears really stink!!!! I know when I'm being reasonable that a mouse couldn't hurt me and is doubtless much more afraid of me than I should be of it, but it doesn't help.

I don't have any phobias, and I find people with irrational fears annoying.

Maybe if I knew what it was like...

haha i just tell my friends that my baby corn snake doesnt have any teeth. This usually helps them a bit with getting over the fear. My corn is extremely friendly, and i have literally scented my pinky finger and tempted him to bite it but he wouldn't so now i know that his chance of biting anyone is pretty much 0 lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mina

My sister and my mother-in-law are terrified of snakes. My mother-in law will come into the house, but not the room the snakes are in and my sister refuses to enter the house at all.
Personally, I have an irrational fear myself, so I do understand how they feel, because mine really silly. I'm afraid of mice. Not rats, just mice. Stupid, huh? I've had pet rats and really enjoyed them, but mice freak me out.
I have a heart attack every time one of the cats catch one. They are cats so they usually play with it for a while after they catch it, you know, let it go, then catch it again. I usually either leave the house or see if I can get the cat to take the mouse into the bathroom and then shut them in. Irrational fears really stink!!!! I know when I'm being reasonable that a mouse couldn't hurt me and is doubtless much more afraid of me than I should be of it, but it doesn't help.

---

I don't think you should let your cats play with wild mice. Especially in your house. Scared or not, bad idea.

It isn't a case of let them do it. They won't let me take the mice from them, I've tried. I can't move as fast under tables, couches, and beds as they can.
Believe me, I would like it very much if they didn't do that. I don't like them torturing the mice, and I really don't like them playing with the mice at all. I do what I can.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mina

It isn't a case of let them do it. They won't let me take the mice from them, I've tried. I can't move as fast under tables, couches, and beds as they can.
Believe me, I would like it very much if they didn't do that. I don't like them torturing the mice, and I really don't like them playing with the mice at all. I do what I can.

---

You know what works? Beer. Serious, pouring beer on your cat will get them to stop doing anything..



Before I get flammed on this, I've only done it once, and that was to stop 2 cats fighting and it worked great.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skoalbasher

Uhh, it's not the fear of snakes that just happens. When you are born, you don't know what a snake is. Their probably just scared of the unknown.

---

You are correct, you dont know what a snake is when you are born. It has been shown however that there is an innate fear of snakes in infants, infants see plenty of things that are unknown to them, and these things dont elicit the response that a snake does. It is not about knowing what it is, this fear is in our genes from tens of thousands of years of living side-by side with snakes. It isnt a matter of knowing its an instinct. does that make more sense?

my boyfriend and my step-mother are TERRIFIED of snakes.

my step mother claimed she was "chased" by a neonate boa. and my boyfriend had some bad experience when he was younger or so he sais. My mother refuses to come anywhere near my appartment if she knew i had a snake, which is why i just dont tell her (she dosent come to visit anyway). my boyfriend who was initially terrified at the THOUGHT of me getting a snake, can now be in the same room as her, as long as he cant see her. he cant even see snakes on TV like in movies or if we're watching animal planet. he freaks out. and i feel bad because hes a big tough guy who would do anything to protect me.

unless its from a snake. lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Karbon

I have this friend who is terrified... and I mean TERRIFIED of snakes.

---

One of my (RL) friends is gay and has a large collection of snakes, including a very nice JCP. ;)

As for friends who are terrified of snakes... well, I have one, but she was born and mostly raised in Hong Kong where children are taught to fear snakes, because some of them are hot. I guess her fear is a little more understandable.

I think you have to look at whether it's just a fear of the unknown or a true phobia. I have a family member who is truly phobic about snakes. He's a big tough guy, a truck driver and all that but he cannot even be around rubber or toy snakes. It's no joke to see an adult male literally break into a cold sweat so I'd never even consider asking him to even view one of our snakes out of consideration for him. Not everyone has to like what I like.

On the flipside, I was talking with a teacher at my son's school yesterday about our snakes. She shuddered and said she was "afraid" of snakes. So we got talking and it comes out that she spent all her early years at her grandmother's during the summer months. Her grandmother lived an area of the U.S. that has a lot of Copperheads. She was trained as a young girl to be VERY snake wary, to not touch and to run if she saw any snake (her grandmother's way I'm sure of protecting a curious young girl).

When I acknowledged that it was smart of her grandmother to protect her but that the snakes we keep are not like Copperheads and in fact our 6 year old has his own BP, she became really interested. She asked some really good questions about how we keep them, their temperment, care needs, etc. When I told her about some of the rescues, you could see her feeling empathy for the snakes. Empathy is a great first step to caring about a creature she never thought needed rescue like a cat or dog might. She may never be completely comfortable with snakes but you could see her opening up her mind to why my family is so fascinated with them.

I think education is the key. I believe you do need to be sensitive to someone's fear/phobia/life experience and realize that it usually comes from somewhere. Sometimes you can help address that, sometimes it's just what it is but it never hurts to try to pass on some real information. :)

My Brother and I live together, and he is afraid of the snakes I have. He was not against me getting them, just didn't want anything to do with them. He has been slowly coming around, looking at them, and admiring the patterns that they have. He still won't touch them, but I think it's just a matter of time. His attitude is changing constantly towards an interest in the Ball Python. Who knows maybe this time next year he will be helping with the growth of the collection.

My wife and I have taken our snakes into the local infant school.
The kids are about 5 or 6 years old.
What always makes me laugh is that the little kids love to touch and hold the snakes, they have no fear at all, while the teachers all stand outside the room terrified of the snakes.
I asked them why they are scared, 'they didn't know they just were'.
None of them had ever seen a live snake before !!.
The more the teachers reacted the more the kids became nervous, I think they were following the example set by the teachers. Maybe this 'fear' is something we pass on to our kids unconciously

I have a friend who is terrified of snakes. I did not know this until we were driving down the highway and showed him the new snake I had acquired. Let's just say he's a lot better driver than I thought!!!:bow: