Where have you taken your snakes?

[LightningPython]

I take my some of my snakes to events a few times a year with my local reptile group. We have heated Viv's for each animal and if the weather is nice we do some handling so the public can see them up close.
It's fun to do and I enjoy it c:

[zina10]

The ones I currently own haven't "traveled"

However, I used to own a pair of Normals that went to quite a few places with me. They were incredible calm and curious. Never seemed stressed, never stopped eating, despite the "trips".
When handled at those "outings" they continued to move slow, calm and deliberate. They were also strangely UN-headshy. The only snakes I ever had who wouldn't jump or pull away if you touched or even held their head.
I often wish I had just kept them, they were really cool snakes.

I used to be part of a reptile club and we went to and also hosted a few educational reptile presentations. At one of them I was holding my big female Delilah. A lady walked up with her autistic daughter and asked if her daughter could "pet" the snake. I allowed it and her daughters face just lit up. She told me her daughter wasn't communicating (not talking) and didn't really show emotion often. We (Lady and I) were amazed when her daughter was so gentle and showed such care for a little 'ole Ball Python snake. She then held out her hands to hold Delilah. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about it. I knew Delilah would stay calm, but I wasn't sure if the girl could control her movements enough to hold a snake gently. However..I just couldn't refuse. I put Delilah on her arms and she continued to hold her very gently and thankfully Delilah just "hung out" without trying to get away. It was very touching. I KNOW...its just a snake and this sounds like one of those butterflies and rainbows stories. But for about 15 minutes that girl just cradled Delilah and looked at her like she just loved her. So gentle, too. The mom was blown away, too. She said the girl usually had a hard time holding still for long or staying focused on anything. Usually these kind of stories are about puppies or kittens or even horses. Not snakes...

I also took my Russian Ratsnakes with me as well. Until one of them managed to get out of the tub while I was driving...I remember trying to change the radio station (had eyes on the road) and something "touched" my hand. I look down and its Scarlett !!! Of course I grabbed her, knowing if she could get in or under something, god knows if I could get her out. On that road, there was nowhere to pull over, I was over a water way. I held her close to me and she proceeded to wrap around the headrest posts and my neck..LOL. Great. Of course she couldn't do harm, but dang if she didn't "hook" around everything and I couldn't untangle her while driving. Finally I reached a part of the road where you could pull over into a small parking lot. I remember peeling in there, breaking hard and finally having 2 hands to try to unwrap Scarlett from my neck, headrest, etc. Got her off eventually and stuffed back into her tub. When I looked up I saw I was not far behind a pickup truck with 3 guys sitting on the bed, staring at me. How embarrassing....LOL. So I peeled back out and went on to the wildlife park.

I also took my snakes to my daughter elementary school once. THAT was a blast. The kids had NO fear and were very funny and so willing to learn. The adults wouldn't even come close..haha.

[Ax01]

i'm really glad to hear all of the positive reactions to all of your snakes when given the opportunity. however, has anyone have a really negative one? like folks running for the hills type of reaction?

[zina10]

Well, I have a different perspective about a "negative" experience.

When I lived in Savannah we used to go down to "Riverstreet" quite often. Its beautiful and there are a lot of people down there, lots of Tourist there.
So it could get "crowded".

One day I see this guy walking down Riverstreet, in a tiny tank top, showing off his muscles (that part I'm ok with, lol) and with a Ball Python around his neck.
The weather was not exactly ideal for a BP to be out and about. But on top of that, I'm NOT a fan of taking snakes out into the public, into crowded areas. Unless its for a specific and planned event.

There ARE people with an actual phobia to snakes, and walking among them with a snake around your neck is not halfway as cool as that guy thought he was. It wasn't exactly good for the snake (to cool of a day) and in the crowded area some people almost came face to face with the snake before realizing it.

I know its just a Ball Python, not a Rock Python, but still...that is not the way to introduce the public to our hobby and to the fact that snakes are actually pretty cool animals.

[tttaylorrr]

There ARE people with an actual phobia to snakes

just to digress a little: it might be hard for people like us to realize, but the phobia is real. i gave a friend of mine a panic attack through Snapchat when i sent her a picture of my bp — a picture! i had no idea until she very sternly (yet politely) explained not to do that again, lol.

[zina10]

just to digress a little: it might be hard for people like us to realize, but the phobia is real. i gave a friend of mine a panic attack through Snapchat when i sent her a picture of my bp — a picture! i had no idea until she very sternly (yet politely) explained not to do that again, lol.

Yes, it can be very real, and very upsetting to people.

I'm that way with spiders. I not only freak out, but also get nauseated and feel like I'm going to have a heart attack !!! Even pictures make me queasy. It has gotten a "little" better, but still...

Of course, where I board my horse there are many, many brown widows and other assorted spiders. Not to mention the wolf spiders around our pool.

I once had my horse tied, washing her, when I felt a "tickle" on the back of my shoulder. Thinking it was a fly I just kept shrugging my shoulder, trying to get it off. Finally looked over my shoulder at a big, fat widow.

O>>>>M>>>>G

The screech I let out could have woken the dead. I simultaneously threw the horse brush into the air and smacked the spider off. The horse spooked so bad, she broke free and ran for her life...lol. Thankfully I wasn't bitten but I kept thinking I was, because I felt ill and light headed.

So yes, phobias are very real and can be very uncomfortable. Hence why I'm not a fan of parading my snakes around unsuspecting people in public. I just don't think this is a good way to educate people about the hobby.

[redshepherd]

Yes, it can be very real, and very upsetting to people.

I'm that way with spiders. I not only freak out, but also get nauseated and feel like I'm going to have a heart attack !!! Even pictures make me queasy. It has gotten a "little" better, but still...

So yes, phobias are very real and can be very uncomfortable. Hence why I'm not a fan of parading my snakes around unsuspecting people in public. I just don't think this is a good way to educate people about the hobby.

Same! And yeah, for that reason, not a fan of just parading my snakes in public just for "cool factor"/showing off, and definitely not the right way to do it if you are trying to educate people LOL.

If I look at it from the other person's point of view: I see some dude parading around a mall with two giant spiders on his hands and feeling cool about himself...

1. I think he's gross
2. I think he's an idiot.

Sure, maybe you can show a couple curious people and get a couple converted to appreciate them, but there are also the MANY who see you from afar and hate/fear it, and think more badly of snake keepers, because of you.

And... I've only brought my snakes OUT out once to show some moron who I thought was genuinely interested in snakes after we chatted for a couple weeks. I drove three of them in boxes out to meet him in our old school's parking lot. After 2 minutes of holding them with mild interest and taking a "cool factor" photo of himself with my boa, he goes, "So have you had lunch yet?"

I said yes I have, and we parted ways soon after lmao.

[zina10]

If I look at it from the other person's point of view: I see some dude parading around a mall with two giant spiders on his hands and feeling cool about himself...

Can you believe it..just reading that made shivers run down my back, LOL !!!!!

And that other guy...LOL, guess it wasn't so much the snakes he was interested in...

About phobias..I have to say, I used to have one about snakes. Nothing as bad as the spider one, but I really didn't like snakes. So every now and then I wonder if I could get over my spider phobia. I went so far to think about getting a tarantula. And then I researched. I was sitting there feeling sick as I was reading...and the pictures !!!! So..I guess I'm not quite there yet. Although I did find it rather touching reading about someone trying to "save" their tarantula that had a bad shed or something ? They seemed just as attached as we are about our snakes.

Gosh, but even typing all that...I keep having shivers run down my back.

..

[bcr229]

Last fall I took a ball python, a savu python, and a juvenile reticulated python to a local high school to do a presentation for an environmental sciences class. The teacher wanted to show the students how the animals had evolved for their particular environments.

It was a big enough hit that he wants me to do it again this spring, but with a BRB, and Dum, and a BCI.

[tttaylorrr]

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