furthest thing form disgusting

[tesslyn]

The part that caught my attention is that the snake is around your neck while you drive. That is really irresponsible and scary. 1. What if the snake moves suddenly and startles you, causing an accident? 2. The snake could easy slip off you shoulder and out the window. This would cause severe injury to the snake. This is not a good idea.

I didn't say she was around my neck while driving? I said she was around my neck once we got out. My sister was holding her while I drove.

Thanks

[cecilbturtle]

I'm sorry if I was snippy. I get it. I love to show of my snakes to anyone and everyone! If the snakes liked it and the world was a different place I'd take one or two with me everywhere I went!

I'm glad you are so enthusiastic about your snakes! And I'm also really glad you take the constructive criticism well.

Good Luck!

[Kaorte]

In reply to Kaorte's post: Thank you for not being so quick to be blatantly rude to me. I was not aware of the implications, and no I didn't do it for the negative attention. I am totally new to this so I was unaware.

You are welcome. I don't think anyone is trying to be rude, they are just passionate about their viewpoints and don't like to see their reputation lowered by s

Not everyone is a snake lover! It is best to limit your snakes contact with people who may not like them, unless they specifically give you their permission to have the snake out.

Even when I have guests in my house, I don't take the snakes out unless requested. If there is someone who is frightened by them, I make sure to leave the snakes in their enclosures to make that person more comfortable.

It is up to us as snake keepers to give the world a good impression of what people who own snakes are like. Since fear of snakes is a VERY common fear, it is best to educate people with our words first, then introduce the snakes. In a public environment, this is nearly impossible.

The majority of people are going to think to themselves "why would anyone bring a snake to the mall?" Not "Look at that cute little snake!". The former gives people a negative image of snake keepers.

I understand the desire to bring the snake to public places, but the wiser choice would be to leave the snake at home where people can't attack it with their judgements. Instead, use your words to persuade them to the snake side

[King's Royal Pythons]

Ok, sorry, but the whole "it's so stressful for the snake" thing is just plain incorrect. I mean it could be, but it depends on the individual snake. I REGULARLY (as in EVERY SATURDAY) take a few out of my collection to the local Exotic pet store for a little public education on reptiles. There are a couple that I don't take because they did seem stressed the first time, but there are a few that go with me almost every time. My pied female is very social and inquisitive, but is not stressed. "How do I know she's not stressed"? Well, if you believe everything you read about ball python care (like how they are antisocial, or that you have to get them on a feeding schedule, or that you can't feed them in the same tub they live in) then you know that a stressed bp won't eat. My pied eats every time we get back from the store, and we spend about 4 hours there. There are so many incorrect, broad generalized statements about ball pythons that even most of the people in the hobby believe them, instead of taking the time to learn about each snake. They DO have individual personalities.

To the op:
If you feel like you know your bp well enough to know when it is sressed and when it is not, and it is not stressed when you take it out, then feel free my friend; we need MORE people like you to educate the public, instead of hiding them away like we know they are evil...

(Oh, and by the way...NO I don't feed on "every tuesday at 7 pm" schedule....when they look hungry (again, I've learned and can tell whether or not they will eat) I feed them. And I feed them in their own tub. And NO, I don't have ANY that are "cage aggressive" or confuse my hand for a rat.)

And before I get a bunch of hate mail....I have been doing this for about 4 years....No, I've never brought home any mites or respiratory infections, No, no one has been bitten, Yes, I have people sanitize before and after handling my snakes, and YES I have helped several people over their fear of snakes (one lady now owns a ball python because of our visit)

[RoseyReps]

Around 10 years ago or so when I had a JCP and worked in the mall I would bring him in on some Saturdays. He traveled in a sack to and from, and all I did was sit on a bench in front of my store (pet store) and let people approach me. I had many people come close to talk, some wanted to touch, but I never had anyone scream and run. This might be because I was sitting in full view, and if people wanted to steer clear they easily could. I wasn't walking towards them, or moving at all. I turned many people's minds around about snakes in general, and I believe that to be a good thing. Sometimes parents would let their kids come and they would stay 20ft back, then I would joking say oh come on, your little one isn't scared, be brave and come see what he feels like. My JCP would let me know when the show was over by crawling back into his bag next to me. I was always aware of his breathing patterns, etc. Everyone had to sanitize before and after, and stand in line to pet (never let anyone hold anything but his tail end, with his head and upper body being around my neck / head being away from strangers).

Now..would I do that today? Probably not. Seems to me a lot has changed in the past 10 years, and more and more people seem to have preconceived issues with snakes than ever before. I live in Florida, and the general consensus that we are being over-run with pythons (you know, because all pythons are the same ) is inescapable. The fear mongering media takes non-issue stories (like a bp being found in someones grass) and turns it into a horror story about how they are lurking around every corner eyeing up our kids and furry pets. I don't know if my JCP "liked" the experience, but do any of us know what our snakes like really? I know he never missed a meal, never tried flight or fight, and was never cage aggressive. I probably wouldn't recommend taking your baby out to public places any more. If you are interested in expanding people knowledge about snakes, you might talk to some local pet shops about doing a meet and greet style. Where people know what's coming, rather than shopping for clothes and looking up to see their biggest fear about to viciously attack their face *perception, obviously*.

You're not stupid, we all want to show off our awesome babies, and just because you made a mistake doesn't mean you should be lynched for it. Learn from it, move on, and try not to repeat mistakes made in the past

[darthkevin]

I say watch how the snake reacts. If you know your snake then you know how it will take being anywhere. It seems to me that the generalized statements are taking over. Will a python mistake your hand for a rat if you feed it in its home? Maybe. But is this true for every snake? Probably not. I took cuddles to the pet store and she was just fine. I bagged her up in a pillow case and took her there. She was handled by 3 people other then myself that she had never seen before. I bagged her and took her home. All was good.

[TessadasExotics]

Absolutely nothing wrong with taking your pet snake out in public. It would though be more appropriate to take it someplace where it would be more acceptable, like a pet friendly store or a park.

[tcutting]

13 total posts, 4 of which in this thread...

TROLL ALERT!!!

[tesslyn]

Well she just ate for me about 20 minutes ago. So it seems our little outing didn't stress her out at all. It took her about 5 minutes to kill the mouse too.

[DooLittle]

13 total posts, 4 of which in this thread...

TROLL ALERT!!!

Or maybe just new.. I'm not picking up troll.

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