Discrimation for having snakes???

Who else gets this from family? No one is supportive of my dh and I having a snake, let alone 3 of them. We are already talking about adding a fourth (by summer) and they think we are crazy. We are also looking into breeding but that will be a few years from now at least. My brother called me tonite and gave me the third degree for having snakes :rolleyes: He thinks it is wrong to have snakes b/c one of my dd's likes mice and rats. Well my other dd asked for a snake?? He went into this big thing about how my other dd likes rats and it's cruel for her to see the snake eat (we haven't fed them yet and we are not planning to let our kids know what they eat yet). Basically he tried to make me feel horrible for even owning a snake b/c it eats rats and my one dd loves them :rolleyes: He ended the convo with a snarky comment and "well whatever you want to do I guess but just be careful" We have had a snake before so this isn't something new, but I'm bothered about why this irritates him so??

Ugh! :taz: Anyone else?

Thats ridiculous.. I've never had that happen to me..

My family is cool with my having snakes. As soon as the one I just bought gets here, I will have 9 in the house. A few of my friends, however, have told me not to expect them to accept an invitation to the house.:rolleye2: They dont have a problem with me having snakes. They just do not care for them, which is ok. To each their own.:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by angie7

Who else gets this from family? No one is supportive of my dh and I having a snake, let alone 3 of them. We are already talking about adding a fourth (by summer) and they think we are crazy. We are also looking into breeding but that will be a few years from now at least. My brother called me tonite and gave me the third degree for having snakes :rolleyes: He thinks it is wrong to have snakes b/c one of my dd's likes mice and rats. Well my other dd asked for a snake?? He went into this big thing about how my other dd likes rats and it's cruel for her to see the snake eat (we haven't fed them yet and we are not planning to let our kids know what they eat yet). Basically he tried to make me feel horrible for even owning a snake b/c it eats rats and my one dd loves them :rolleyes: He ended the convo with a snarky comment and "well whatever you want to do I guess but just be careful" We have had a snake before so this isn't something new, but I'm bothered about why this irritates him so??

Ugh! :taz: Anyone else?

---

This should get your chin up a little...

My mother called me a child-abuser for keeping snakes in the house with my little children. She wants me to kill the snakes before they kill my kids! No, no, I love my mom. She's great! But, like most people, has this irrational fear of the crawlies. And what else - she would kill a rat if she sees them in the house. I haven't told her yet that I raise rats for the snakes. Hah! No worries, really. I mean even if my mom will not open my emails anymore (I sent her pictures of the snakes with the kids and now she refuses all my emails), I'm hoping that every day that my kids are alive, she'll start getting used to idea and be more tolerant of the hobby. :D

My parents and my Ex don't like it at all, but my kids are really into it, as is my GF and her girls...the rest of them can pound sand. It's not like I force the snakes on them, and they can stay at my place or choose not too. Doesn't really bother me either way.

Yup, it’s sad to know that a lot of us can not share our passion with our families. My family does not know, I have not spoken to them in 7 years, but my husband's family keeps going on this kick that the snakes are going to escape and kill us or our daughter.

This is going to be the first time I spoke of this situation on here.
Right now our daughter is in the custody of the state, after my husband and I lost our jobs my husband and I got into a fight, when our daughter was at his mother's house. Because of this the state came and took her. One of the biggest claims they are now using against us is the snakes.
"They spent money on snakes when they cannot afford to pay the bills"
We got our tax return, paid all the bills, and then got a few snakes, a new camera, and a new guitar.....never even mentioned the new guitar, or the camera which cost 2X what the snakes did.

As of this moment my snakes are the only thing keeping me going.
I have been trying to dig up all the good things about snakes to take to court next month, but even with some great sites out there, good info is still hard to find.

At least 4-5 X per day I hear "you should kill those nasty things before they kill you or your kids" or "why would you want those" or "that’s nasty, those things are evil"

I will usually say back "I hate cats, THOSE things are Evil"

So yah, there is a lot of snake "racism" going on, and it is hard to deal with, but if you love them you endure and prevail.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

My parents and my Ex don't like it at all

---

That's why she's your Ex!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DutchHerp

That's why she's your Ex!

---

Matt, for a 17-year-old, you're pretty shrewd! :D

They just don't understand, because of that they look down on it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by angie7

Who else gets this from family? No one is supportive of my dh and I having a snake, let alone 3 of them. We are already talking about adding a fourth (by summer) and they think we are crazy. We are also looking into breeding but that will be a few years from now at least. My brother called me tonite and gave me the third degree for having snakes :rolleyes: He thinks it is wrong to have snakes b/c one of my dd's likes mice and rats. Well my other dd asked for a snake?? He went into this big thing about how my other dd likes rats and it's cruel for her to see the snake eat (we haven't fed them yet and we are not planning to let our kids know what they eat yet). Basically he tried to make me feel horrible for even owning a snake b/c it eats rats and my one dd loves them :rolleyes: He ended the convo with a snarky comment and "well whatever you want to do I guess but just be careful" We have had a snake before so this isn't something new, but I'm bothered about why this irritates him so??

Ugh! :taz: Anyone else?

---

My family nor my girlfriends family care. when they stop by some times i have him out and they even hold him.

my mother loves him to bits, but i guess she would since she had a 20.5 ft Burmese Python when she was a little bit older then my age. a breeder gave her to my mother, she needed to be re homed. :P

None of my friends or family care. Most of them think it's cool. I have a few friends already begging for any "extra" reptiles as soon as I get any hatchlings going :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

My parents and my Ex don't like it at all

---

thats why, somethings make there way to the curb my friend :P

My mom isn't thrilled about me having snakes, but as Slim mentioned, our combined kids love them as much as we do. My sister is "scared" of them but we have a bet with her that if Slims wins a round of pool she holds one. Which tells me it is more about understanding than anything. Case in point, a very close girlfriend of mine was visiting recently and she was not thrilled about even being in the same apartment with them. But after learning more about them and seeing them she held one and admitted that it was pretty cool.

I think like most things in life, it is a misunderstanding of the animal and lack of education. The best thing you can do is educate them and stay strong. You may not ever change their minds but at least you know you have tried.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DutchHerp

That's why she's your Ex!

---

Well, that's not the only reason, but I get your point:D

I'm sorry, but any normal human being would likely be more concerned about the four dogs than the tiny snakes. I got bit in the face by a nasty dog when I was younger(only opened the sliding glass door and WHAM, yay for scars on faces near the eyes).

I've also been bit by the Ball Pythons... Wow.. The tiny needle punctures.. Wait! Where'd they go? I got bit? See that little mark there?! (friend says 'where?') You say, "here! Right here, that little... Oh wait, that's a freckle, nevermind.. ".

Yeah...

Give me the snake bites anyday. I know what it's like getting bit by mammals and I would rather get bit by my 8.5ft boa than a dog or cat. Never had a snake bite get infected either. I still have a large scar where my cat decided that getting an injection hurt and he was going to bite me. This is from 1.5 months ago, LOL. Got bit a few weeks ago by a baby ball and *snort* can't find it!

Tell them they're crazy and once you get a rabid lemur, THEN they can gripe at you for endangering your children. *big eye roll*

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Face

My mom isn't thrilled about me having snakes, but as Slim mentioned, our combined kids love them as much as we do. My sister is "scared" of them but we have a bet with her that if Slims wins a round of pool she holds one. Which tells me it is more about understanding than anything. Case in point, a very close girlfriend of mine was visiting recently and she was not thrilled about even being in the same apartment with them. But after learning more about them and seeing them she held one and admitted that it was pretty cool.

I think like most things in life, it is a misunderstanding of the animal and lack of education. The best thing you can do is educate them and stay strong. You may not ever change their minds but at least you know you have tried.

---

i have a friend the same way as your sister. wouldn't even go up to the second story of my house because of my BP. it took me weeks to convince her to just look at it. and she eventually held him a week or 2 after that first exposure. she also admitted that they are not killers like she thought and now has no issues. I agree its an education issue. A dog can be just as dangerous if provoked, people just dont understand its not plotting to eat your face... usually :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JeffJ

its not plotting to eat your face... usually :P

---

Well, except for my Cinnamon boy....you can just look at him and tell he has bad intentions:rofl:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

Well, except for my Cinnamon boy....you can just look at him and tell he has bad intentions:rofl:

---

so slip if we have a conversation and i say "eat your face" in it. am i referring to your girfriend (Face) or your physical face... now im just confused lol

Tell that to all of my Granites(6). They have no other intention except to eat your face or go for your jugular, one or the other.

an ammendment to my previous statement:

My girlfriend is scared of big snakes. She doesn't want to feed or hold 8 foot 25+ boas, and she wants a nice pane of glass between her and a 16 foot retic.

Which is understandable, and better than having no respect for their abilities. I wouldn't want to be bit and wrapped by a 16 foot retic. It's not about it being a snake, it's just about being a large undomesticated animal. Dogs and horses and cowsshe's ok with because they're domesticated, but similar to big snakes she doesn't feel comfortable in close proximity to uncaged alligators, sharks, bison, chimps(lol)...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Tell that to all of my Granites(6). They have no other intention except to eat your face or go for your jugular, one or the other.

---

maybe you look tasty? they are not plotting to eat you. they just get the idea on the fly haha

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mainbutter

an ammendment to my previous statement:

My girlfriend is scared of big snakes. She doesn't want to feed or hold 8 foot 25+ boas, and she wants a nice pane of glass between her and a 16 foot retic.

Which is understandable, and better than having no respect for their abilities. I wouldn't want to be bit and wrapped by a 16 foot retic. It's not about it being a snake, it's just about being a large undomesticated animal. Dogs and horses and cowsshe's ok with because they're domesticated, but similar to big snakes she doesn't feel comfortable in close proximity to uncaged alligators, sharks, bison, chimps(lol)...

---

lol chimps, did you see the news too? lady got got her arse handed to her by her pet chimp.... never thought id be seeing that on the 11 o'clock lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JeffJ

so slip if we have a conversation and i say "eat your face" in it. am i referring to your girfriend (Face) or your physical face... now im just confused lol

---

Jeff,

Our Cinni tired to eat my face last night. He is new, young, still settling in and a bit stressed. So you could say "Face, had her snake try to eat her face"...LOL Now everything is clear as mud! :confused: ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Face

Jeff,

Our Cinni tired to eat my face last night. He is new, young, still settling in and a bit stressed. So you could say "Face, had her snake try to eat her face"...LOL Now everything is clear as mud! :confused: ;)

---

haha yah Slim gave us the play by play cometary last night. i laughed, couldnt help it. Had a visual of a girl pulling an almost kung-fu manoeuvre to avoid this lil guy filled with piss and vinegar :P

My family is really split with the whole snake thing. My parents hate snakes (although my father is a bit more tolerant), but my cousins and aunts and uncles are facinated and want to meet them. My cousin is a huge animal rights activist so she loves everything that moves, haha. She wanted me to bring my snake to her 4 year olds birthday party but I told her it probably wasn't a good idea. Plus my mom would have a cow.

Dontcha just Loooove how people see evil, poisonous, kid-killing monsters when they hear 'snake'...even if it's just a small BP or corn??? :O:rolleyes:

I have no problems with any of my family. My dad, by virtue of the Navy and trips to Vietnam and such, does NOT like snakes OR rodents and "can't understand how his daughter could love those things so much"...but he doesn't do much more than tease me about it. :)
My mom thinks it's cool, though she tells me it would take her a while to get physically used to them if she ever managed to visit.
My Ex and especially my 10yr old daughter think it's the greatest! In fact, I recently heard that Katy looks forward to my emails with picture updates of the snakes so she can "freak out her friends and classmates" (You know...the whole "Your mom has SNAKES??"). Both can't wait to come up for a visit and Katy always asks me how the snakes are doing. That's my girl! :D
My BF, Ari (the one who actually lives here with me and the snakies), has no problems at all and actually likes the snakes. He holds them for me from time to time and talks to them at night when they're out cruising their cages. He does have a tiny problem with how much space they take up...but since I'm working on fixing that with the stacked cage system and a second rack, it's not as much of an issue. :)

No, the people I get words and looks from are the random folks who overhear me talking about my babies with my friends. THAT'S when I hear the usual - "Aren't they poisonous?", "OMG, they're in your Bedroom? Aren't you afraid they'll strangle you in the night?", and of course - "Those things are evil, you should get rid of them!" :rolleyes: Some people just will never be taught.

Hopefully you can educate your family about the snakes and help remove some of those preconceptions.

I do think snakes have a stigma, for those that do not have snakes...

When I got my first BP a friend said to me "I did not think of you as on of those guys that has a snake."

Having one was novel to people... having 45, now they just go *meh*.

But being that they know the snake room is secure and if they do not want to then they never have to see a snake, that helps those few that have valid fears to feel more relaxed.

But there are family and friends that will not come into my house because of it, and we work around that.

I think part of having snakes is understanding that not everyone does get it, or wants to share in it. And some people have genuine fears. That is part of educating and informing.

I hope you have some positive experiences to outweight the bad ones.

Stick with us. We LOVE snakes. :)

Bruce

PS: Same goes for friends that want to talk to me for 5 hours about their cat... NO I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR CAT FOR FIVE HOURS!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Argentra

No, the people I get words and looks from are the random folks who overhear me talking about my babies with my friends. THAT'S when I hear the usual - "Aren't they poisonous?", "OMG, they're in your Bedroom? Aren't you afraid they'll strangle you in the night?", and of course - "Those things are evil, you should get rid of them!" :rolleyes: Some people just will never be taught.

---

My favorite is... "are they all loose?" :rolleye2:

I wanted a snake for the longest time when I was a kid, but my mom wouldn't let me get one. As soon as I was 18, I bought my first snake and there was nothing she could do about it. She's ok with her now though, as long as she doesn't have to see any mice getting eaten.

A lot of guests that come to my house wanted to see my snake out of curiousity. But often they were so grossed out or actually scare of her that they'd refuse to hold her or even touch her. :(

But it sounds like my experiences aren't nearly as bad as most of you guys. Then again I've only been keeping snakes for a year and a half now.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

I'm sorry, but any normal human being would likely be more concerned about the four dogs than the tiny snakes.

---

Well considering that one of them is a Great Dane, that would make sense :) My dh and I use to be involved in rescue for GD's and had a 175 lb rescue male that we decided to keep due to health concerns. He passed away when our twins were just 4 months old, no one was concerned about him but they are of a snake??

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Face

Jeff,

Our Cinni tired to eat my face last night. He is new, young, still settling in and a bit stressed. So you could say "Face, had her snake try to eat her face"...LOL Now everything is clear as mud! :confused: ;)

---

well maybe you should not have that mouse costume on while checking on the snakes:rofl:

as for the family mine dont care and they know if they did complain about it i would just get more and more.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by angie7

Who else gets this from family? No one is supportive of my dh and I having a snake, let alone 3 of them. We are already talking about adding a fourth (by summer) and they think we are crazy. We are also looking into breeding but that will be a few years from now at least. My brother called me tonite and gave me the third degree for having snakes :rolleyes: He thinks it is wrong to have snakes b/c one of my dd's likes mice and rats. Well my other dd asked for a snake?? He went into this big thing about how my other dd likes rats and it's cruel for her to see the snake eat (we haven't fed them yet and we are not planning to let our kids know what they eat yet). Basically he tried to make me feel horrible for even owning a snake b/c it eats rats and my one dd loves them :rolleyes: He ended the convo with a snarky comment and "well whatever you want to do I guess but just be careful" We have had a snake before so this isn't something new, but I'm bothered about why this irritates him so??

Ugh! :taz: Anyone else?

---

I'm sure that there are just as many people that would find the idea of keeping rats as pets totally disgusting. If they are not bothered by that, why should you be bothered by your brother's opinion? By the way, I have no idea what a dh or a dd is.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bruce Whitehead

My favorite is... "are they all loose?" :rolleye2:

---

Ah yes...that one. :D Similarly, I also hear "Are they all in the same tank?" when I say how many I have (12). Naturally I try to educate, or at least give the correct answer to, as many people as I can that ask those questions... but it's not always possible. :)

33 responses and NO ONE has asked what the HELL a DD, or a DH is?!?!?!?!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Patrick Long

33 responses and NO ONE has asked what the HELL a DD, or a DH is?!?!?!?!

---

Glad I'm not the only one that is confused... :confused:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Patrick Long

33 responses and NO ONE has asked what the HELL a DD, or a DH is?!?!?!?!

---

DD=Dead Dog? Def Dope? Done Deed?
DH=Dead Horse? Dot Hop? Dope Happy?

The fear of snakes is a learned behavior. Irrational as it is, people (like my mom) who have this fear learned it from someone else.

PS - Yeah, by the way, what is a "dd" or "dh"? I could write other initials in response to asking this question, but I don't want another nastygram from the forum police.

PSS - Oh yeah - I can top the OP. We were going to rent a house in a subdivision (they are all newer rental homes) but they agency actually has a rule on the books that they won't rent to people with snakes (lizards and all are fine, just not snakes). Naturally we got we walked out. We thought at first the guy was kidding - but he wasn't. we asked "why", but he didn't know.

This is in Tucson, Arizona. Anybody that thinks I'm making this up can contact me and you can check for yourself.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

I'm sorry, but any normal human being would likely be more concerned about the four dogs than the tiny snakes. I got bit in the face by a nasty dog when I was younger(only opened the sliding glass door and WHAM, yay for scars on faces near the eyes).

I've also been bit by the Ball Pythons... Wow.. The tiny needle punctures.. Wait! Where'd they go? I got bit? See that little mark there?! (friend says 'where?') You say, "here! Right here, that little... Oh wait, that's a freckle, nevermind.. ".

Yeah...

Give me the snake bites anyday. I know what it's like getting bit by mammals and I would rather get bit by my 8.5ft boa than a dog or cat. Never had a snake bite get infected either. I still have a large scar where my cat decided that getting an injection hurt and he was going to bite me. This is from 1.5 months ago, LOL. Got bit a few weeks ago by a baby ball and *snort* can't find it!

Tell them they're crazy and once you get a rabid lemur, THEN they can gripe at you for endangering your children. *big eye roll*

---

Well I have to disagree with your first statement. A normal human will be more concerned with a snake than a cat or a dog. A normal human is also irrational and ignorant. Most people don't have a clue. With a little education some will come around. I don't have anyone that is deathly afraid. I have a few that gave me the whole "Well you won't see me over again." They have all been over since. I explain it like this. I keep a single ball python. Its a predator that eats rodents. They stay pretty small and stay in their cage most of the time. Its basically a cross between a fish and a cat. It like a fish in that it stays in its cage most of the time and doesn't require much maintenance if setup properly. I can leave it for a few days and not worry about it. I have both the fish and the snake on a battery backup, thermostat controlled temps and a timer for lighting. Its like a cat in the fact that I can hold it and have it out of the tank. Its a predator like a cat and gets about the same weight as a cat. There is nothing insidious about the animal that I am leaving out. Cats and dogs are an order of magnitude more dangerous. I am routinely scratch accidentally by my cats or minorly hurt while playing with cats and dogs. I have never been hurt by my snake.

I have a rule. I am not afraid of any single animals that weight more than a gram and less than 20lbs unless they are venomous. There are definitely a few parasites that freak me out so I had to put in the more than a gram part and when you get into large groups of little animals I can get pretty freaked out. Once you get over 20lbs its a case by case basis. I love horses and I am scared of badgers.

I have had people wonder how I could keep a ball python in a rack like that...People dont realize that as a pet we are better able to simulate their real life environment and behavior then 95% of the dogs people have as pets...

ie...dogs in general are not meant to be indoor pets.....If you own a hunting dog and keep it as a house dog and never take it hunting....is that alright?

I understand the fear and danger of having them in the house....goes with our primal fear of the unknown and the first mention of the serpent back to adam and eve......although I have no statistics at the tip of my fingers I would find it safe to say their are more injuries and death per year from our accepted house pet the dog to children and adults then snakes....

The unknown to people means they are easily acceptable to accept and form opinions based on lore, tv, movies etc etc......Most individuals that come off that way see having snakes in a different light when you talk about it being more abnormal they way we take dogs and put them in an environment or cage that goes against their instint and the general death per year by dog statement....

I have found that people are more grossed out about me keeping rodents in the freezer than about me having snakes.

I haven't had any problems. The worst I heard was from my uncle who told me one day someone was going to walk into my room to find all of my snakes strangling me and two of my aunts thought I was crazy. My mother doesn't like them(i think she's scared, but won't admit it), but everyone else is fine with it. Everyone that comes over and knows about my snakes wants to see and hold my snakes and they usually end up asking if they can have it. Lol.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mrmertz

The fear of snakes is a learned behavior. Irrational as it is, people (like my mom) who have this fear learned it from someone else.

PS - Yeah, by the way, what is a "dd" or "dh"? I could write other initials in response to asking this question, but I don't want another nastygram from the forum police.

PSS - Oh yeah - I can top the OP. We were going to rent a house in a subdivision (they are all newer rental homes) but they agency actually has a rule on the books that they won't rent to people with snakes (lizards and all are fine, just not snakes). Naturally we got we walked out. We thought at first the guy was kidding - but he wasn't. we asked "why", but he didn't know.

This is in Tucson, Arizona. Anybody that thinks I'm making this up can contact me and you can check for yourself.

---

what you need there is about 20 ppl contact them about it and tell them they have snakes then play the oh theyre not allowed ill just go somewhere else. eventually that rule will change

am my the only one who just came home and said "hey sweety, we have a pet snake now. come help me get the stuff out of the car." and she was like "ummm the eat your babies and pets kind?" lol

If child protective services are worried make sure your enclosures have a lock on them. My family thinks my ball is going to die because my aunts did? It makes no sence! My inlaws think that we should get rid of all our pets!

For those needing the proper meaning of Dh = dear husband, DD = dear daughter.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rebeccabecca

If child protective services are worried make sure your enclosures have a lock on them. My family thinks my ball is going to die because my aunts did? It makes no sence! My inlaws think that we should get rid of all our pets!

For those needing the proper meaning of Dh = dear husband, DD = dear daughter.

---

ST Kitts, i was there last weekend.

anyhow. tell your parents that death isnt contagious :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Patrick Long

33 responses and NO ONE has asked what the HELL a DD, or a DH is?!?!?!?!

---

DD= dear daughter and DH= dear husband...I thought everyone know that computer lingo...sorry :D

My brother approached my dh (husband :)) yesterday and told him that we are going to have a hard time selling our house b/c of the snakes. It's not like the 4 inside dogs, 2 cats, TONS of kids toys strung out all across the floor won't deter them, it's only going to be the snakes :rolleyes:

Hm.. well in Disney last week there was a blood python on display.
My simple reaction and comment was that I was planning on getting one of those sooner or later.

You wouldn't believe the glares I got. Odd, how if an animal is in a zoo setting, it is terrible to have such as a pet. Same thing could've happened with a ball.. and they sell those at Petco.

Before summer, I intend on having 14 snakes. 18 reptiles. My family is pretty alright with it.. but I think they think I'm a bit strange for it.

Not from family... My cousins got a ball python, so i got one too because i liked them. Then my brother got a leopard gecko because he liked my snakes, and my other brother got a tortoise because he liked our reptiles, then I got another BP. xD

other families think we're crazy, though. lol

I have people give me crap all the time. But the first time my parents came up I told them it was feeding day when they were looking at the snakes. My dad left the room, my mom screamed, dad came back. They thought it was awesome to see them eat because they stretch and swallow a fairly large sized prey. Now they think snakes are a little cool :) My boyfriend's not into it. I plain to breed also, and I told him some day when I start getting money out if it I'm not sharing any with him!

Just wait till you have a religious freak telling you that you're not right because serpents are the devil, etc, etc.