What do people say to you when you tell them or show them your snakes?

[bad-one]

I have two friends that love them and enjoy holding my two boys. One of them has actually asked if I would give her my normal boy (1st one she ever held)

My mom has actually grown to like them a bit (she really likes my baby geckos). She has never been scared. She just doesn't want to have to wash her hands so she doesn't touch them.
My dad thinks they are cool, but I think he feels they are a waste of time and money.

Then there's people who won't come into my house or room because they are deathly afraid of the buggers no matter how much explain about them. I get asked if they can kill me, or if I've been bitten.

My favorite reaction is when someone just looks at me like I'm a wierdo, as if I didn't know that already!

[jjc]

In the barely a month I've had my BP, I've heard most of these. One of my step-sisters is a total freak about snakes and once moved out of her house for something like six months until she bought another house because she found a (non-venomous) snake in her house. Her poor husband was calling herpetologists and Googling away in an attempt to stop the madness, but obviously didn't convince her.

My family members all seem to think I've purchased a retic or burm, no matter how much I try to tell them that a BP is unlikely to even see 5', much less devour me/the other pets/neighborhood children.

My favorite is when friends/family declare they're never stepping foot in my house again. I am thrilled at the prospect of never having to tidy up again. I'm getting more snakes! Snakes, the cheapskate's answer to a housekeeping service...

[pavlovk1025]

They dont say much anymore, just cant wear long trenchcoats anymore and cant go by schools.

[Eventide]

I get all kinds of responses, most of which have been mentioned here already.

"You have WHAT?"
"You have HOW MANY?"
"What do you feed them?"
"Don't they bite?"
"Aren't you afraid of them getting out in the middle of the night and strangling you/crawling into your bed/biting you?"
"Aren't you worried about getting salmonella?"
"You...are crazy!"
"Why would anyone want a pet snake?"

One of my favorites:

Person: "But aren't they kinda like fish: you can't get them out, pet them, cuddle with them, etc."
Me: "Ohh, yes, you can! They're great cuddlers! And they give fantastic neck massages!"
Person: O.O

My mom threatened to never visit if I got a snake (my first snake), but I managed to convince her it would be okay. That's pretty much all the leeway I've ever received from her, especially since I told her I have not one, not two, but MANY snakes. She still doesn't know exactly how many I have, but I'd like to keep it that way. If she knew, I'm not sure she'd even talk to me anymore! She is phobic, and she thinks snakes are awful creatures ("the only good snake is a dead snake"). I've asked her why she feels this way; she responded with, "I don't know."

It's rare, but sometimes I get more unusual reactions:

"Really? COOL! Where'd you get them?"
"Oh, I used to have a ball python/corn snake when I was little!"

[Mike Schultz]

My landlady pretends they don't exist as long as they are kept behind a closed door whenever she pokes her nose around the place to check up on things

[Kuba]

hmmmmm...
for me the most common ones are,
"What are you going to do with him when he gets 10 feet long"
" Are you alright"
" You have a whaaaat?!?"

[Didgie]

My friends just told me I was crazy when I told them I was getting a ball. I'm waiting for someone to visit and go to get something out of the freezer....hahaha. We've got "our food" and "mousesicles" seperate, but I know they're bound to freak.

Also "Won't it strangle you?" "You'll get poisoned!" I mean, even before I was researching for buying my first snake I knew that BP weren't poisonous. o.O People are so weird.

[sg1trogdor]

Hmm let see....
Well when my neighbor saw mine she ran in horror. I wish I was joking. lol. They are good people so I am not worried about it. Lately seems to be "OMG thats DISGUSTING!!! Thats about the time remind them of how their dog licks its junk all day and licks them in the face or eats its own excrement.

[sg1trogdor]

"What are you going to do with him when he gets 10 feet long"

I am in the process of training him to eat vagrant children from the neighborhood.

Or

I was thinking of letting him loose in a nursery. You know since snakes eat small children and everyone of them has a taste for human blood.

[Oxylepy]

Everyone thinks it's cool, I've met dozens of people who say they have always wanted snakes, and girls always seem to want to come over to see them.

Forget puppies, go to college and own snakes, they're the best girl magnet

I've never met anyone who called me crazy in any other way than a joke, and the people who joke are the ones who want to see the most pictures. I've had people tell me not to talk to them about it because they have phobias, and I just apologize. The best reactions are when you find other snake owners, or better yet when you find out about that guy with the alligator in his apartment who lives in the section 8 housing complex.