My Rant

[Coils]

I'm not sure if this falls DIRECTLY under this category, but I just can't take it anymore and have to get all of this off my chest.

I hope you people who love ball pythons and general reptiles as much as I do agree with what I have to say. First of all, how many people here who love reptiles ever get a chance to sit down and watch Animal Planet, Discovery, TruTV or other stations that talk about snakes from time to time? Has anyone EVER noticed that when watching these channels snakes always get a really bad reputation?? I'm so sick of hearing how awful snakes are and how "deadly" a creature they can be on these stupid programs. ESPECIALLY when they show like a corn snake or something and say it's capable of being a "killer". Of course they are predatory, but they talk about snakes in the sense that ALL of them are a danger to -humans- and a potential threat to our well being!

I went off the edge last night upon watching a clip of a redtail boa being handled in a bar. Supposedly the owner was showing it off and even let it sniff and tongue flick a baby's face. Why a baby was in a bar I don't know, but even I would never stick a baby with a snake no matter how much I trust the animal. The redtail was a rather large size as well. Amazingly nothing happened with the baby and snake encountering one another; HOWEVER, when the snake was passed to a younger girl the snake bit a man standing nearby in the face when he decided to lean in and give it a kiss. The narrator or host of the show starts laughing and comments, "Oh my god. That right there is why no one should own a -snake-," as if you’d have to be stupid/crazy to love a reptile.

Okay....I was beyond pissed. People are probably ten times more afraid of snakes than they should be because of stupid shows like this. I am not sure why the snake got agitated, but who knows for sure. It probably had just had enough of the excitement and large crowd of people. They are animals after all. A cat can and in fact IS usually prone to attack or bite for no reason! What is the difference then? No one on these shows ever comment on a cat being dangerous or "deadly." Dogs could even be considered "deadly" if you had to go by the amount of times people actually HAVE been bitten or attacked by them and YET they are "man's best friend". No offense my furry friends.

On a previous day I also watched a clip about a snake that was loose in a dorm complex on Untamed and Uncut(Animal Planet). The narrator spoke dramatically about the animal being a huge killer and capable of constricting it's prey to death as pythons do. During this they showed a short video of a huge burmese killing a deer and then more quick shots of retics. When they flashed back to the dorm complex they showed the alleged "killer" snake that had wondered into the bathroom toilet....it was a freakin' BALL PYTHON! For crying out loud it wouldn't even be capable of killing a human. They can bite and what-not, but come on...seriously??

As the narrator continued to talk dramatically about the "killer" snake he said that a special crew had to come in and properly removed the "wild animal" so everyone could be safe in the dorms. Upon saying this they showed the "special" group of people just reach in a calmly grab the snake out of the toilet. It didn't even react or attempt to attack anyone....and yet they failed to mention how it put up no fight once so ever and was a docile creature that was probably someone's lost -pet-.

I am just so sick of snake's getting such a bad reputation on the TV. Everyone out there who doesn't actually OWN one of these amazing animals and has no experience is going to buy right into all this crap. About a week ago they had a 2 hour long special on the Invasive Species in Florida. Can you guess who was the main culprit of it all? Of course, snakes. I understand that it IS a problem and that VERY stupid people out there abuse their right to own these exotics, but the way they spoke about the snakes was the same as any other program. Supposedly every known snake in the entire world is "deadly" and a threat to our lives, capable of killing or seriously injuring us. It makes me sick to my stomach listening to such garbage.

You let me know when a ball python or corn snakefor that matter is responsible for the death of a full grown human being. Sure a large python could do some damage if hungry enough, but again…it’s stupid people who aren’t responsible and stupid TV shows that play up how deadly they ALL are that adds to the entire scare of owning a snake or other reptile in the US.

Thus ends my long rant. Hope you enjoyed if you actually read the entire thing. Now please enjoy some pictures of me and my own tame and lovely redtail boa, Eve that I had to add just to show how much joy you actually CAN get in owning a snake! <3