Silly People

I am really surprised at some of the amusing and truly idiotic things people ask me about my snakes! Some of the best:

1) What about the BABY??!

2) Do they try to eat your (forty pound) dog??

3) Do they run loose?

4) Are you a freak? Why would you need/want/have 14 snakes?!

Then there are the people who are terrified of them. I have a few friends who won't even come inside of my house because of my snakes, even if the snakes are in another room and, of course, in cages. On one hand, this is fine by me- it keeps some of the more annoying people I know at a distance :D I guess I won't tell them that in my house, all snakes are in locked tanks in another room... in my front drive where they parked, there are countless scary black racers running loose! :O

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Originally Posted by TheOtherLeadingBrand

I am really surprised at some of the amusing and truly idiotic things people ask me about my snakes! Some of the best:

1) What about the BABY??!

2) Do they try to eat your (forty pound) dog??

3) Do they run loose?

4) Are you a freak? Why would you need/want/have 14 snakes?!

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Wow I get the same type of questions all the time.....except mine is a 85 pound dog and I only have 4(till this weekend).

Amazing the way some people think.....

I mean, hello, they live in tanks. I don't put my baby in the tank, but even if I did, he's not as small or as hairy as a mouse LOL

I get asked too if my dog tries to eat them (um, no, he could not care less that they even exist)

Hehe.....my best encounter with such silliness went like this:

Lady who wanted to interview me for a possible job: So, what do you see yourself doing five years from now?

Me: Seriously? I'd like to be breeding snakes by then.

Lady (with astonished look on her face): Snakes?!? How in the world does one go about "breeding" snakes?

Me: Well...you take the boy snake and put him together with the girl snake....

Laughter all around the table...some of it more nervous than mine! :rofl:

My mother won't step foot into my home because I have a snake. She said that it is disgusting! I am quite happy to have my snake regardless of what people think. I would not trade him for anything!

Lol, yeah, those kinda questions get old after awhile...But the one I get the most is "Are they poisonous?" Which is wrong on so many levels. No snake is poisonous, but can be venomous, and of course they ask this while I'm holding a snake, and people who do keep venomous snakes don't handle them that way to begin with. But you can't expect people who fear or don't know much about snakes to understand why others would keep them.
But I also get a lot of people that are fascinated and love that I have so many snakes(but 5 isn't enough really IMO). Some people never knew they liked snakes untill they got to meet and interract with one, which I'm always happy to do for some people.

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Originally Posted by Oroborous

Some people never knew they liked snakes untill they got to meet and interract with one, which I'm always happy to do for some people.

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:yes: My daughter and I both love being ambassadors for the snake world! :yes:

Yeah I love when I can introduce someone to snakes!

HAHA Judy that is so funny.

Once at my DH's work, we were yacking with a guy he works with. The snakes came up and I mentioned (or DH did, I can't recall) that we were going to breed them. This guy says something like, "How do they breed??" and I looked at blankly and said, "Boys have a penis; girls have a vagina" haha and he was like, "They do it?" and I was like, "Well, yeah!" hahaha It was so funny :)

My mom calls up to check in on us and ever since we built our collection from 1 to 5 and are now waiting for another 3 to hatch and another at the SD show, she doesn't stop about the snakes and how they're gonna kill us all. But she's kinda nuts anyway so...I unno.

My dog would potentially attempt to eat my snakes....he has a strong hunting instinct so I make sure to keep him back when I am handling them.

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Originally Posted by TheOtherLeadingBrand

Yeah I love when I can introduce someone to snakes!

HAHA Judy that is so funny.

Once at my DH's work, we were yacking with a guy he works with. The snakes came up and I mentioned (or DH did, I can't recall) that we were going to breed them. This guy says something like, "How do they breed??" and I looked at blankly and said, "Boys have a penis; girls have a vagina" haha and he was like, "They do it?" and I was like, "Well, yeah!" hahaha It was so funny :)

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Haha! freaking hilarious:8: Yeh, I have friends and people i work with tell me alot that my Bp and tarantulas are going to all escape and eat me one day:snake: They always think I'm crazy when I tell them that I have tarantulas that can eat mice as well as my snake who does too!:D I love the expressions from that one.

My roommate refuses to step foot in my room for any reason, and my door has to remain closed at all times. :rolleyes:

My family however, they love my snake. Everytime my mom/dad/brother calls, I always get the '..And how's your snake doing?' Though, they think I'm insane because I plan to get more (snakes). :D

I actually was showing my mom pics of my snakes yesterday- she thought they looked cool! She told me to BRING my pieds next time I visit!

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Originally Posted by TheOtherLeadingBrand

She told me to BRING my pieds next time I visit!

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That would make for an interesting family dinner ;) :P

i get "you're crazy!" a lot. like, a lot-a lot. but mostly people just laugh.

No one in my family gets it, but they know i've liked snakes for years and it was only a matter of time until i got one (or more.)

my dad is okay with them, my mom is terrified. i'm hoping she'll get past it but if she doesnt its okay with me.

i also get "omg won't they eat you!" or "omg won't they eat your cats?!" or "omg is it POISONOUS???!!!eleventy"

lol. i try to educate people about them. thats my goal :)

:D:D Oh, I love the stupid things people say when snakes are mentioned.

My family have mixed reactions. My partner likes them (but doesn't love them), my mother thinks they're interesting, my father (ex-navy) thinks I'm insane, and my ex-husband and 10yr old daughter think they are awesome and ask about them all the time. :)
My friends also vary, from 'Wow, that's so neat', to 'Oh my God they'll kill you.'

My favorite comments include:

'They're in your BEDROOM???'
'How do they all get along?' (thinking they were all in the same enclosure)
'Have they ever squeezed You?'
'Why would you have SNAKES as pets??'
'What do you do with them?'

Probably the funniest thing ive had with people like this is, My girlfriends best friend is a big animal rights person and she went on a 45 min verbal diarrhea about how it was cruel to feed mice and rats to my snakes. after she was done it took me 2 sentences to have her excuse her self so she could remove her foot from her mouth.

"well, is it not cruel to let these animals that i have taken the obligation to care for properly starve to death? Its the circle of life." she has not said anything about them again.

otherwise ive never had any one suggest a 2.5' 3' or 1.2' snake could eat my cats or ferrets.

I get that too!!!

"What do you DO with them?" (uhh??)

"Do they all get along?"

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Originally Posted by TheOtherLeadingBrand

I get that too!!!

"What do you DO with them?" (uhh??)

"Do they all get along?"

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the adorable lil girl my girlfriend watches on occasion asked if they do any tricks but you cant blame her :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by JeffJ

the adorable lil girl my girlfriend watches on occasion asked if they do any tricks but you cant blame her :rolleyes:

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Haha.
"Yeah watch this...I call it the squish and gulp(tosses mouse in)."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!"

We don't have snakes yet but with our geckos people are ALWAYS asking "Oh! You mean like the geico gecko?!" NO! Geesh...they're leopard geckos. lol. And they don't talk. *rolls eyes*

I dont tell people I own snakes anymore its just annoying and some people's ignorance is just too much for me. I have a few friends at work whom I have invited to my house many times but always refuse because of my snakes. But I guess thats ok because I have a tendency of showing them all off when I have company. I am proud of my hobby but after doing this for 4 years I can tell you there is such a thing as a stupid question. :snake::snake:

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Originally Posted by malt_geckos

We don't have snakes yet but with our geckos people are ALWAYS asking "Oh! You mean like the geico gecko?!" NO! Geesh...they're leopard geckos. lol. And they don't talk. *rolls eyes*

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Ohh I wish they did ans you could get them little suits. I would just die if that were a reality. That would be the most adorable thing ever. I love geckos and their googly eyes. My little googly is staring at me right now. Probably mad because i have the light on.

I have a very select few that are cool with my snakes, but when the rest start going on about my snakes,.... I just so soyly remind them that my boyfriend lets his two four foot long BP's sleep in his bed.(my boyfriend rents enough space on the bed to just barely lay down from the ladies) As soon as they got big enough to get out of the tanks,.. he let them just run around and the room is theres.. They normally shut up after that....

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Originally Posted by TheOtherLeadingBrand

Yeah I love when I can introduce someone to snakes!

HAHA Judy that is so funny.

Once at my DH's work, we were yacking with a guy he works with. The snakes came up and I mentioned (or DH did, I can't recall) that we were going to breed them. This guy says something like, "How do they breed??" and I looked at blankly and said, "Boys have a penis; girls have a vagina" haha and he was like, "They do it?" and I was like, "Well, yeah!" hahaha It was so funny :)

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They are called Hemipenes excuse me. :P

And I love seeing peoples faces when I tell them that snakes have two. :D

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Originally Posted by JLC

Hehe.....my best encounter with such silliness went like this:

Lady who wanted to interview me for a possible job: So, what do you see yourself doing five years from now?

Me: Seriously? I'd like to be breeding snakes by then.

Lady (with astonished look on her face): Snakes?!? How in the world does one go about "breeding" snakes?

Me: Well...you take the boy snake and put him together with the girl snake....

Laughter all around the table...some of it more nervous than mine! :rofl:

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I don't care who you are that is funny stuff right there!!

I tell people I have snakes only if I know them really well or they will never come to visit ( snakes aren't allowed at my new house but we keep them anyway because there isn't an actual reason of why we can't have them. They don't stain the carpet or create waste everyday or even make the house stink which is why they wont let us have rodents or birds either) But I do go to the mall with them sometimes. They are super stars because I get requests from a mall photo studio for their talents. People glare at me when I let little kids pet them and freak out when the snake flicks its tongue at the child ( they think its a preemptive strike thing...:rolleyes: ) Snakes are not evil.. I wish more people would realize that.

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Originally Posted by python1024

My mother won't step foot into my home because I have a snake. She said that it is disgusting! I am quite happy to have my snake regardless of what people think. I would not trade him for anything!

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Since I got my snake last week my mother won't come over anymore either. She rarely visited anyways so oh well.

Dont worry, were all freaks here :D

I first told my BF's mom that we were planning on getting a BP and her eyes just went wide as can be, lol. After a while she understood since her son is allergic to all furry animals, and I'm a huge animal lover. I haven't told anyone else yet, I want to see/hear their response when I say "So we got a Ball Python, wanna come over and see it?" instead of just "We're thinking about getting a Ball Python!"

I have a few nieces, hopefully they can come down and I can educate them on snakes before they get too old and bratty!

If I had a quarter for every silly question I got, oh I would be up to my neck in morphs! :D

The most common questions that people ask(or say to) me when they see my snakes is:
"Whoa, I didn't know snakes drink water!" And, "Oh wait, I just ate, do you think they'll bite me?" Because we all know how much snakes love hot wings. :rolleyes:

And I have ran into some people "claiming" they once owned a snake, "Oh yeah, I use to have a bp(and/or Red tail ball python, or Burmese ball python), and it was 8 feet long, I wish I would have taken pics of it, but I had to get rid of it." My response: "Would you like to hold this bp?" Theirs: "Nah.., thats ok... You can put it back now though." (while looking nervous)

Oh and the classics, "Are they poisoness?" and "Can they kill you?"

People think your snakes will bite them because the people just ate? WOW lol

My girlfriend is always asking stupid questions and ive had snakes for over a year.
My dad is scared of my 18inch long Cal King. When he would come over to pick up my brother I would take out my BP and he would be out on the driveway in seconds.

What really gets me is when people like the snakes, but once you feed them a mouse or rat they want nothing to do with snakes. What do you think im gonna feed it? salad?

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Originally Posted by TheOtherLeadingBrand

People think your snakes will bite them because the people just ate? WOW lol

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What makes it even funnier (and slightly "scarier") is that about 99.8% of everyone who asks to hold them says that, AND some even continue to ask that. :O

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Originally Posted by RoyalGuardian

I tell people I have snakes only if I know them really well or they will never come to visit ( snakes aren't allowed at my new house but we keep them anyway because there isn't an actual reason of why we can't have them. They don't stain the carpet or create waste everyday or even make the house stink which is why they wont let us have rodents or birds either) But I do go to the mall with them sometimes. They are super stars because I get requests from a mall photo studio for their talents. People glare at me when I let little kids pet them and freak out when the snake flicks its tongue at the child ( they think its a preemptive strike thing...:rolleyes: ) Snakes are not evil.. I wish more people would realize that.

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They let you bing your snakes to the mall? That is awesome!

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Originally Posted by Jyson

What makes it even funnier (and slightly "scarier") is that about 99.8% of everyone who asks to hold them says that, AND some even continue to ask that. :O

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Wow.......... :rolleye2:

Completely agree. The worst statement i get, is how they will eventually break out of their enclosures, and stangle me in my sleep. AND it doesn't matter how much you argue, they are always right.

I posted pictures of my babies on my facebook, and when the second person told me i was crazy, I said, "Look, I'm not asking anyone to like them, but I do. They aren't as dangerous as everyone thinks they are, and as long as I know that, I don't care what everyone else thinks." My little outburst kind of shut some people up, and I even got an ok out of my very, very anti-snake mom.

So, that satisfies me. lol.

The one I get quite often and it always cracks me up is...

But....but....but...you look so NORMAL!!!!! (apparently one must be some sort of visual freak to own reptiles :rolleyes:)

Yep I look like your typical older mom type, yep I to the horror of my daughters tend to wear high waisted "mom" jeans, yep I've been known to drive a mini-van full of stinky hockey equipment and yep I do spend a lot of my time yelling "if I have to pull this car over.....!" oh and I'm an elementary school library lady.

Guess somehow that just doesn't fit into some people's minds along with "and she loves her 40 snakes, especially the 9 foot one boa" :) I guess I never liked small minded people that figure we should all fit nicely into the file boxes of their minds.

Yea I am called crazy for owning reptiles in general
I think the number one question I get from people when I show them my snakes are

DO THEY BITE?

The truth is...YES They do....but ball pythons are docile so they do not choose to bite, they ball up, hence the name ball python
But I don't tell them that. I just tell them "No, they are called ball pythons because when threatened they ball up into a ball."

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Originally Posted by JeffJ

the adorable lil girl my girlfriend watches on occasion asked if they do any tricks but you cant blame her :rolleyes:

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I saw a CL ad a while back, and the seller claimed they had taught their BP tricks. In the photo of the snake "begging", someone was holding a mouse over the snake and it was raised up in the "Cobra"position to investigate... I do want to say that my adult does a pretty good impersonation of a pro wrestler when he bodyslams his F/T all over the tank....



Rob

well I get it all the time "why do you want snakes", but once you get used to them they are great. And other people that just wont come in the house if they know you have snakes, but to be honest my are all in viv and hide 90% of the time so dont even know they are there.

But I am also one of those people with silly questions as 2 of my python hatchlings (about 9 months old) have just escaped and my other half and me were wondering if they might try and attack my kitten,

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Originally Posted by guambomb832

Yea I am called crazy for owning reptiles in general
I think the number one question I get from people when I show them my snakes are

DO THEY BITE?

The truth is...YES They do....but ball pythons are docile so they do not choose to bite, they ball up, hence the name ball python
But I don't tell them that. I just tell them "No, they are called ball pythons because when threatened they ball up into a ball."

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When I get asked that (and it's likely the 2nd most popular question I do get asked) I always respond that anything with teeth can and will bite. I also inform people quite truthfully that I've been bit more often when nursing my own babies or by a teething toddler than I have ever been bitten by any of our 40 snakes. That tends to make people, especially other women, laugh and understand my point a bit better.

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Originally Posted by TheOtherLeadingBrand

2) Do they try to eat your (forty pound) dog??

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That one always cracks me up! I have a 42lb dog, and people have asked if I'm worried they'll eat him - LOL. :8:

Then there's my best friend who has two tiny Malti-Poo dogs, and refuses to bring them over since I got the snakes. She's afraid they'll be eaten, even after I explained how BPs can't eat anything bigger than a rat... not to mention, mine are secured in cages and very well-fed. Oy vey. :rolleyes:

My mother in law will not step foot in my house. Oh darn!

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

I also inform people quite truthfully that I've been bit more often when nursing my own babies or by a teething toddler than I have ever been bitten by any of our 40 snakes. That tends to make people, especially other women, laugh and understand my point a bit better.

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That's a good one! :D My cats have bitten me more times than I could count, but I have yet to be bitten by a snake... too bad people can't see logic, and get caught up in the stigma and lies.

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Originally Posted by Swingline0.0.1

My mother in law will not step foot in my house. Oh darn!

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I'm sure that breaks you up tremendously..... :rofl::P

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Originally Posted by claireree

well I get it all the time "why do you want snakes"

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That's probably what I hear most often, especially from my mother! She isn't afraid of them, and even held Delilah for a few seconds recently... but she keeps asking me "Why snakes? What's the appeal of a pet you can't cuddle with?" She's only ever owned cats, so just doesn't get the concept of exotic pets. ;)

My interest in snakes all started out as a joke. My boyfriend is allergic to anything that has fur, and we were in Petco once and he jokingly said "Well I'm not allergic to snakes, we should get a ball python!" we laughed about it, then I got to thinking, well if it's the only sort of pet I can get... why not? Of course two months later, we're still setting up our first tank, and we plan on getting a bunch of snakes! We haven't even gotten one and we're hooked.

So, anytime when people ask me "Why a snake?" the answer is simple: Boyfriend is allergic to everything else!

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Yep I look like your typical older mom type, yep I to the horror of my daughters tend to wear high waisted "mom" jeans, yep I've been known to drive a mini-van full of stinky hockey equipment and yep I do spend a lot of my time yelling "if I have to pull this car over.....!" oh and I'm an elementary school library lady.

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OMG, other than hockey equipment, you sound just like me, even down to the elementary school libary lady, ROFL!!!

Why are people who have never touched or been near a snake scared of snakes???

It's been nearly 40 years after falling in love with snakes when I finally got one. I still can hardly believe it! Alas, only the day after we brought it home, that story broke in the news about the python that had killed a 2yo girl in Florida, I think it was. Over in another forum I frequent was a most hateful thread about "the only good snake is a dead one." Of course, others chimed in their agreement. A few of us spoke up, but the person was so adamant, to the point of purposely continuing to spew hate. I was still in that glow of thrill and disbelief that I finally had my own snake (instead of only touching other people's), so that REALLY burst my bubble. Thankfully, that same day (last Wednesday) I found this forum. Amen!

The week prior, when we were still looking, I showed my co-worker the Craigslist ad of the BP we wanted, and she was stunned. "Why do you want a snake? They're just cold-blooded killers. They don't know any better." <--her actual words

Since then, even though we happily chat about most everything under the sun, I haven't told her that I finally brought one home, and don't plan to tell anyone else. It's hard when you have to shut up about something that makes me so happy. :(

So again, amen for this forum! :banana:

That is sad! Don't hide your snake love. We ARE out there, and we can help educate people- "I've had twenty snakes with my newborn for three and a half months... and life is good" :)