Halloween...Snakes at the door?

Was thinking of having Alice and Charger out tonight when I answer the door for trick-or-treaters. Anyone ever incorporate any of their snakes into Halloween? What kind of responses did y'all get?

Thanks,
Robbin

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Originally Posted by RobbinRN

Was thinking of having Alice and Charger out tonight when I answer the door for trick-or-treaters. Anyone ever incorporate any of their snakes into Halloween? What kind of responses did y'all get?

Thanks,
Robbin

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My boyfriend was actually thinking of doing that. Knowing all the stupid people in the world, I wouldn't risk it. But if you do decide to go for it, let me know how it goes =]

I often take my BP's out on walks during the day and get some pretty good reactions. People are mostly curious and want to touch. Occasionally there will be a kid with eyes as big as saucers who won't get within five feet of me :D
I was considering taking my good, ol' dociler-than-a-dishtowel male out with me tonight but have decided against it. My main concern is it being to cold...and that people can get a little crazy on Halloween night x)

I would say bad idea.

People are beyond stupid and you need to realize 99% of the population doesn't like snakes.

I was going to do that but a real dummy here(Winnipeg) got bit on his face by his Viper and lied about it and etc. So there is a bit of fear now of all snakes so no snakes at the door this year.

I actually have one of my BPs in with me at work today :D. I didn't feel like making an actual costume so I decided to come as the "crazy snake guy" lol. She's actually been a huge hit here! Everyone except for one or two people love her and can't believe how sweet she is. As far as having them out when the trick or treaters come by I would say try it for a little bit, I mean you'll be in your house right? You can always just go put them away if they start getting too cold or if people give you a hard time. But I don't think it's true that "99% of people doesn't like snakes". I actually just helped one of the girls get over her lifelong fear of snakes! She's in her 50s and has never held or really looked at a snake and she was just now holding my Selene and saying how beautiful she was and how cool they are lol. So I'd think it could be sort of the same with those kids and their parents, I'd think they'd be more curious than anything.

I realize people have an innate fear of snakes, so conversations with people about my pets usually don't go very well, especially when they hear I have pomeranians as well! You can imagine their immediate reaction :rolleyes:

Anyway...cold is not an issue. I'm in Texas and will not actually go out with them. I've lived in this house for 14 years and the majority of the kids have grown and gone. We hardly get any trick-or-treaters anymore. My husband will be here and, if I end up getting them out, no one is crossing the threshold and I'll institute a "no touching" policy for protection of Alice and Charger from all those sticky germy hands.

Robbin

If you were opening the door with your snake(s) in hand, without thrusting them out into danger, I'd think it was cool. Especially since you have already thought of the no-touching policy. Perhaps you could even have hand sanitizer just in case someone is very facinated?
I try to use my most docile males as represenatives of how very cool snakes are. Let them show people that they are a pet animal.. not a scary myth.
I do not advocate leaving snakes as decorrations, tkaing them out to scare people, or shoving them at anyone in order to get a reaction. But if it's around your neck/arm/in your hand.. it would make a cool halloween story that the kid had to "brave" the snake lady in order to earn his/her candy.

Adam and Theresa, that's pretty much what I had in mind. Answer door, snake around my neck, hand saniziter in my pocket. If I were a kid, I would be talking about it the next day! Both my snakes are males at 3 ft, 750 and 850 grams (perfect sizes), and very sweet. I have Alice's baby 10 g tank empty except for paper towels and a hide, and the UTH has been turned on to keep it warm. I'll use it as a holding tank for quick easy access and switch the snakes out so that one doesn't get too stressed. Seems like a cool idea, so I think I might give it a try. I'll let y'all know how it goes :D

Thanks for all the input...

Robbin

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Originally Posted by panthercz

I would say bad idea.

People are beyond stupid and you need to realize 99% of the population doesn't like snakes.

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Agree 100% plus take into concideration any added stress to the snake.

Well...just had my first pair of trick-or-treaters. The little girl asked, "Is that a snake?" I turned around so she could see Alice's head and she said, "Cool." They didn't ask to touch and I didn't offer.

Robbin

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Originally Posted by RobbinRN

Well...just had my first pair of trick-or-treaters. The little girl asked, "Is that a snake?" I turned around so she could see Alice's head and she said, "Cool." They didn't ask to touch and I didn't offer.

Robbin

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I think thats great! Over on the halloween thread in the off topic there was someone there talking about having their snake out in the same way. I think its a great idea and I'm sure it makes the kids night! I know it would have made mine when I was younger.

Okay..keeping y'all posted ~

Second pair didn't even notice I had a snake around my neck

In the next group, one little girl said, "Aww...so cute."

Obviously, it's all about the candy :rolleye2:

I have done snakes at the door in the past -- and it's always been positive or they don't even notice. However at this point -- I wouldn't want to call attention to the fact that I have snakes in the house. :snake:

Well..it's over! We only had 4 groups this year. Three noticed and one didn't. Only one little girl asked to touch. Another little girl's mother got closer and commented on how beautiful Alice was.

That was it. He's back in his tank all curled up in hide.

Robbin

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Originally Posted by RobbinRN

Well..it's over! We only had 4 groups this year. Three noticed and one didn't. Only one little girl asked to touch. Another little girl's mother got closer and commented on how beautiful Alice was.

That was it. He's back in his tank all curled up in hide.

Robbin

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Sounds pretty successful to me!

I've been invited to parties because I was walking down the street with my snake around my neck. It's good stuff.

My bf got dressed up and was the one passing out candy so for a short period I took our big female Lily out for a bit. Wasn't planing on having her at the door or anything, just chilling with her while I watched him pass out candy. Well, he had to run to the bathroom and of course a little girl came to the door. So I held the snake sorta behind me and told the girl to just grab some candy out of the bowl. Didn't realize that Lily decided to stretch straight out enough that the little girl noticed her. She asked if it was a real snake. I said yes. She said cool and left. So I'm glad it went well and didn't scare the girl. lol But I will say my boyfriend scared a couple of groups of kids with just his costume and our decorations outside. lol

Glad to hear you had a good night with the snake out!

I had Dante around my kneck answering the door and a group of about 6 boys and 2 girls knocked on my door and the girls wanted to see him and pet him. I had some Guy ask me how good of a pet they are. He was thinking about getting one and I told him to come here and we'd help him get set up.

I will have to be the dissenter.

I have an adamant no snakes in public stance. I think that there are people that are genuinely terrified of snakes, and firmly believe they have a right to not be exposed to snakes without warning.

Call me new school too, but I just do not think it is fair to the snake to expose it to potentially unstable reactions and risking a bite to yourself or a child (anyone for that matter)... but can you imagine the field day that would happen if someone`s snake darted out and struck a kid on halloween?

What happens when someone falls off your step trying to get away from the snake, or someone else reaches in quickly to touch it, etc.?

But I am the same with dogs etc. I think animal keepers take far too many liberties with their animals and other people`s personal space and boundaries.

Since you asked... just my 0.02 dollars worth.

Bruce

I was thinking about doing that and then I thought about the people on my street that hate snakes and would probably try to call the cops saying they bit them... My neighbors are complete jerks

I think that with children it can help not be afraid of snakes.

When I was in the 3rd grade a teacher brought her BP to school to show everyone. After that day I had no illogical fear of snakes even with all my mother’s fighting to make me afraid of snakes. My mother is deathly afraid of snakes and feels like all snakes should be dead on the spot. Although since I have been surfing this forum I show her how illogical her fear is every chance I get.

I still avoided snakes in the wild as I was not sure which ones are venomous.

Sorry started to ramble. In short I think that exposing people to the fact that not all snakes are bad while giving them reasonable space to decide if they want to be around is a great idea!!!!

In our part of Alabama frivolous lawsuits abound. :snake:

I remember when I was a child, there was a guy 2 streets over that would take his snake out on halloween and let it go in the street (obviously he was supervising). It was a long time ago, but it was a massive animal.

Nobody complained...people who wanted to stay away did. The great thing about snakes is that its a learning experience for many people...its a little different from coming in contact with a dog. Especially children, who aren't naively afraid of things yet- they're open minded enough to try something simply because their friends did. I take my BP or my RTB to the park with me often, and "convert" the kids early, before silly fears take ahold of their lives.

I had one of my babies out at Halloween. I had my little sister there to help and she held her baby while I handed out candy. We didn't have anyone that wanted to touch the snakes, but I actually had a mom that was completely fascinated with the snake and wanted one herself.

I've had my pet rats out every Halloween for the last three years. Kids LOVE to pet them :D Too cute. This year I lost my pet rat, Kitty, and I've recently replaced her with a baby that I had out for the kids to pet. They all thought she was the cutest thing. I also had a big cage of four adults all different colors and the kids loved watching them. The moms didn't even freak out!!!!

I appreciate all the responses and input to my original post. I think everyone had valid points for both the pros and cons. I enjoyed hearing the experiences of others.

Thank you all so much for sharing :gj:

Robbin

I think it sounds like a really neat idea. But on the other hand no matter how tame we think our BPs are they still are wild animals. Even if the snake has never even hissed before there is that one in a million chance that something will set them off. You have to wonder if it's really worth the risk of having your snake bite someone, no matter how small the chances.

What if the neighbor down the street keeps rats or gerbils or rabbits? What if they had the same idea as you and let the children touch/hold the animals? Then the kid comes to your door, reaches for some candy with their warm delicious rat hands and BAM! Extremely unlikely, but stranger things have happened. :O

I did it. All the neighbors went crazy !
They were like: Is it real ? Doesn't bite ? Let me handle it a little bit. ''
I would say total success !