How Do You Approach Educating Uninformed Pet Owners?

[alittleFREE]

Alright, so I ran into an awkward situation at my workplace last night.

Long story short, a few weeks ago one of my coworkers found out I have reptiles, and told me they have a Mojave BP that’s six years old. Of course I was like, “Awesome! We’ll have to talk snakes some time!”

Fast forward to last night, I was hanging out in the lobby at work (we work at a dance studio so there’s always parents and students to talk to) and she was working at the front desk. She asked to see a picture of my snakes, so I pulled out my phone and started showing her my Cal King. She then goes, “Does she pull herself out of her skin when she sheds?” And I was kind of confused by the phrasing of her question, but I just went, “Yeah, she gave me a nice full shed the other night actually.” I had a picture of it (I posted it on here in the Kingsnake section yesterday as well actually) so I showed it to her.

Then she says, “See, mine won’t shed on his own. I have to sit down and peel it off of him.”

Obviously red flags started going up, but before I could say anything, a parent in the lobby goes, “Oh my gosh, that’s so gross,” and my co-worker responded, “I actually kind of enjoy it.” Then someone came to the front desk to ask her a question and my chance was gone.

I don’t know what I could have said without being rude. I was thinking about it on the way home, and I figure I could have at least thrown out, “Oh, you should try misting with a spray bottle when he’s about to shed. It might help him get it off on his own.” Or something casual like that. But I didn’t have the time to think it through or chime in.

So my question is: How do you approach trying to educate people without offending them? I have to see her every day, and on a personal level, I really like her. She obviously cares about her snake if she sits down and takes the time to peel stuck shed off. However, we all know that a) if your snake is constantly having stuck shed, there’s a husbandry issue and b) pulling it off like that is not the best or safest solution.

What would you do?



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[Skyrivers]

I am not very fluffy. I would have made several suggestions and asked a few more questions to make sure everything else was ok. If they love their animal they will listen. If not then they are not much of a pet owner or friend. Just my 2 cents.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

By minding your own business if it was a friend it would be different but this

awkward situation at my workplace last night.

could become a lot more awkward, create more serious work issues and not end well.

A lot of people want to do what they want to do and hear what they want to hear and when they don't they often get upset, heck we see it here all the time, the difference here we don't have to be around those people on a daily basis.

Work should be just that anytime you mix in work with other things it can backfire pretty fast.

[Sonny1318]

It could be a delicate situation depending on the person. I personally would of said to them that the snake should be shedding on its own, and helping in that situation good do more harm then good (explain retained eye caps) And hopefully they’ll be concerned enough to listen to your advice. And you could further educate them, and send them in the right direction as far as overall husbandry and care. Best of luck.

[dboeren]

I would just try to be gentle about it. No judgement, just a friendly suggestion. Your proposed wording sounds fine to me.

[Ronniex2]

Let’s just say it’s not your boss.. So there are littlerules here, but there is the point you would like to establish, as in
She may care for her snake, and that is fine and dandy, butyou as an experienced reptile owner care for her snake more! How? You heardthat and made this post, lol.. so this is something we all can relate to with inexpreienced pet owners but people should know that they should do research on their animals before trying to purchase them. in particularly speaking you and her share thesame species of snake so i know it was hard to hear, and not say anything.
So I feel as though it is our duty to inform wheneverpossible! Almost like a Doctor has to treat a sick person no matter what? That’syour paitent, and she needs medication, you are her drugs!! She needs a her dosage (she needs a man if she peeling king skin at night lol) but I don’t judge,I play clash royal and every interesting battle or update or strategy I figureout (splitting gobbling gang, push from faster troops, 3 crowns on a 2 banger) Ishare, no matter if its repeated info or they don’t care, if someone uses 1thing, I can hang my hat on that
It’s up to us (you guys really, cause all I do is repeatwhat I read) to inform! That’s all, "hey, I have to inform you that that is not thebest way to care for the snake", in my professional opinion. Not to be all uppity ortry to sound too smart, but a simple brief explanation, if you feel like youare up to it. If I had heard that conversation, I would have chimed in, like “youpeel you snake's shed?”…. reading this post had my skin was crawling, so walking byand over hearing someone saying that, being a snake owner myself, I would havehad to suggest the misting thing too. But as you explained with the lack of knowledgealready displayed, asking, “what is your hydrometer reading?”, you would haveprobably lost her at that point lol.
But again, if it’s a co-worker, just send her a link to acare sheet website, or if you feel as though she needs this site, people don’t wantto talk but they can post, so there is always the cheet sheets for pet advisse .. if only there was an app for this #theforum

[Bogertophis]

As Deborah pointed out, it can be awkward at work, especially if you're not on "equal footing" as employees. But I'd have tried gently as you did to offer
suggestions about humidity, misting, humid-hides (especially) and even let her know about this forum.

[bcr229]

For your coworker / friend just keep the advice light and easy:

"Oh wow I had a snake like that too and I read (or my vet told me...) that if I increased the humidity in the cage that would help him shed. There are some pretty cheap and easy ways to do that - what is your snake's setup like? Maybe I can give you some ideas based on what I did."

[Craiga 01453]

That is tough being a co-worker. But maybe just start with something like "Hey I was reading a bit about BPs and shedding after our last conversation." And ask a few questions about their humidity and setup, just general questions. And if your co-worker is receptive try to offer polite suggestions.

You could always mention BP.net and suggest she join. Tell her how much you've learned here and that it's a friendly community. Then maybe she'll join and learn more while here.

Just a few thoughts. I hope it works out for all involved, especially that poor snake who has it's sheds peeled off. Uggh... Good luck!

[Alter-Echo]

I'm about as delicate as an rpg in a China shop, but honestly just offer her advice on how to help her snake shed better... if she cares enough to pick his shed off by hand then I doubt she will be offended.