I think the best response to this kind of jackassery is to just ignore it. Sure, a lot of people could legitimately say their fear is phobia, but at least half of the people (especially girls/women) who freak out like lunatics like this are either slightly uncomfortable and are making a much bigger deal of it than need to or they aren't very uncomfortable at all and they think it makes them look cute to scream, cry, yell, flail, run from the room then back into the room, etc.
If a person calmly says, "I don't like snakes, I'd rather not see them," they they probably really have a snake issue. If they act as described above, they probably aren't really that scared at all and are just putting together a ridiculous story to tell later. Don't give them the attention they're after. Stay calm, put the snake away, ask them to leave the room, whatever.
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