Taking your BP out in public

[BranceM]

Here's two great quotes from another thread on this forum talking about taking snakes out in to public:

My snakes don't enjoy car rides and public places so I don't feel the need to bring mine anywhere. An besides I have enough things going on making people look at me I don't feel the need to add something else that's only purpose is to bring attention to me.

Indeed. Was the purpose of this exercise to relieve the boredom of the snake? Was it to socialize the snake? Was it provide some sort of mental or physical stimulation for the snake? Or was it to draw attention to the owner? People take their dogs out to socialize them, or sometimes because the dog has anxiety issues, for companionship or for a dozen reasons that have nothing to do with drawing attention to the owner. However some people DO take their dogs out in public to draw attention to themselves - and for the OP's sake I am hoping she does not share that desire to use her snake to be the center of attention. Taking a snake or a monitor out to stores or parks or flea markets does nothing good for the animal - in fact it is a stressful experience for the snake.....and comparing taking a snake into Lowes to a service dog or a kid is an apples to oranges comparison and is frankly stupid. As others have pointed out, we need less provocateurs in this hobby.........less people who feel the need to impose reptiles down the throats of people who fear them, and let's face it - the general attitude of the public towards reptiles is not favorable. Frankly when I see this type of behavior I worry - I worry that the person may be owning the snake for the wrong reasons. I see red flags whenever someone new to the hobby relates these types of stories to me. Maybe I'm wrong in this case, maybe I'm not...but this phase of behavior.......the strutting about with the animal in public places and lapping up the attention.....is many times a precursor to the next phase: this strutting act is getting less and less curious people, and I just realized that all this animal does is hide and poop - I'm going to sell it. Enjoy your snake in the privacy of your own home. Do not draw attention to yourself or this hobby (either on purpose or not) by taking that poor animal out in public. No one designated you to be the ambassador for my hobby. I am amazed that you had no idea that people were that afraid of snakes...............I do not believe that for one minute.