Woo Hoo! Four more down!

[Shann]

I know someone recommended that you take the dum outside for exercise, but I'm pretty sure she didn't mean taking it to the park :/

A couple years ago a snake in a public place wouldn't worry me, and even small snakes wouldn't necessarily worry me. But please use common sense. Taking a large, five foot, twenty pound snake to the park and letting it crawl around on the playground equipment is just asking for someone to report you, or push for even further bans. I am happy that this family was receptive to learning about them (after a while) but most people won't respond this well. There are lots of ways to get involved in educating the public, but I don't believe that snakes should be imposed on people. And in their minds, being anywhere in public areas "threatens their safety". And with a snake that large you need to be super careful. I trusted my BCI completely but she hadn't been outside in a while, I took her outside (in my backyard), and she bit me. And bites from a snake that size hurt and can bleed a lot. Just imagine your reaction as a parent if that happened to your child. I don't know where you are, but where I am I wouldn't be surprised if that snake was euthanized. The more experienced you get, the better you can read them, but you're relatively new to snakes, and that is a new snake for you.

I'm just asking you to be careful. I'm not saying, "don't take your snakes outside" just be smart about where you take them. If the park is the only place you can go because you don't have a backyard, just pick strategic places where they won't draw attention. Not crawling on the playground equipment. Snakes are under extreme scrutiny right now. Even small incidents make national and international news. They spread around the internet like wildfire. I'm all for educating the public, but be incredibly careful how you do it. I know people on here would probably disagree with me, but I think that especially large snake keepers need to be cautious right now.

I am very happy that you changed that family's mind though. That's really awesome, so good job! Take every little opportunity you can. You're super passionate about reptiles, and that's key. Use your love for them to show others what there is to love about them. I think you will do a lot for changing people's minds, I really do.