Snake haters drive me crazy!!

[NYHC4LIFE8899]

I have had people say to me it's going to kill me in my sleep. It's going to eat my cats. What if it gets loose and kills a kid.

lol,I've heard so much ridiculous non sense..my usual response is,I'll see when it happens,what else should I say. Debate with ignorance. I'd rather not.

plus,I'm 35 yrs old and when I told my parents I got one,well I won't say what my mother said and all my father said was is you aren't serious. They are petrified of snakes. I have always wanted one and was never allowed to get one either because of my parents or a girl,well now it's time for me to do what I like,so I got 2 hahaha and i live them both...

[angllady2]

Even of this thread is old, it's still a relevant topic. I get a lot of snake haters here as well. Most of the time I just ignore it. Sometimes though I admit I stoop to being childish and shock people a little.

Like the time I bought 30 shoebox storage boxes at the local dollar store. The cashier commented I must be doing a LOT of organizing. I told her no, they weren't for organizing. Then she wants to know why I need 30 storage boxes if they aren't for storage. I told her, " You really don't want to know what I use them for, so let's just leave it at that." So naturally now she insists on knowing. I keep trying to put her off, but she won't hear of it. Finally I give in. And I tell her, " I raise pythons, and these are what I put the baby pythons in while they are small." ALL of the blood drained out of her head, I thought she was going to faint. Finally, she manages to squeak in this high hissy little voice, " You mean those monster snakes I heard about running wild in Florida!!!! What if they get out of those flimsy boxes!!!" I managed to keep a straight face but barely. I say calmly, " No I raise ball pythons. They are very popular in the pet industry and only get about 4 feet long. And if I was stupid enough to let a valuable and treasured pet escape my house, it would certainly be killed by a predator or car long before cold weather did. Snakes are tropical animals, and very few if any could survive the cold."

She looks at me for a few more minutes. Clears her throat nervously and manages to tell me to have a nice day. Needless to say, she doesn't ask me why when I buy 10 or more of anything in that store.

I do occasionally take one of my snakes outside. My largest female Akashi enjoys being out in the sun with me, so on warm late afternoons, I take her outside on my shoulders to soak up some sun. I stay in my own yard, and most people who pass by never even notice her. But on the few occasions someone has noticed her, mostly it is young kids and they are fascinated with her. Since I know her and trust her, I will let them come up one at a time to see her up close and pet her back or sides. She's a perfect angel with this, and the kids love her. The mom's are usually not so thrilled, and won't come near her. But the only one to ask if she was dangerous [ from across the street mind you ] I told her no. I said, "Unless the kids have been playing with mice or rats, she won't bite." This seemed to satisfy her, and much to my surprise she gave the kids permission to come down and see her whenever I had her out, she just told them to remember to be gentle like with any other animal. I'd call that a win.

My mother of course thinks I am crazy. I brought one to see her, and while she admitted it was pretty, she still does not understand why anyone would want one as a pet.

Gale

[NH93]

For me, it's opposite with my parents: my mom thinks it's cool (and she's not one for pets) and my dad thinks they're gross... at least I've got one on board. Not that it matters. They live so far away from me it'll be MONTHS before they come to visit!

[Archimedes]

My reptiles aren't allowed beyond my bedroom by my mother's decree. When I lived in the basement, she would have to go through my room to go out back on occasion, and she'd peer into Magnus' tank from the doorway to see if he was out before making a run for the back door.

My dad is slightly better, but not much. He watched me feed Magnus the first time he ate after I brought him home to live with them. But as a rule, he'd prefer snakes didn't exist on his plane. Lol.


Sent from my cool hide

[TheSnakeGeek]

since i still live in my home town i went to high school in, on more than one occasion my roommate has run into people i haven't talked to in years. he told me they've asked him why i turned in to "some weird snake guy." lol there's a reason those prejudice people don't have the pleasure of being a part of my life any more. everyone is weird in their own unique ways. some people try to hide it, but those of us who embrace it have a helluva lot more fun.

[Bluebonnet Herp]

everyone is weird in their own unique ways.

The hell you talkin' about weird? I think it's weird to not own a snake!
Personally, showing off my ball python with confidence, especially on Halloween, tends to get fascinated or otherwise less negative interactions. I guess it differs on how you view it. Sometimes, if you don't care about having your hobby rejected and boast it confidently, haters will avoid you speechlessly and those more fascinated by it will check it out and be quite fascinated. Last Halloween, I brought Boots around the neighborhood, and every time there were those groups of people who hang out on their driveway sippin' beer or whatever and handing out candy, I'd show her off and not a single person flipped out. They either watched from afar, snapped several pictures, and, mainly children, would pet her. The only person who wasn't interested was my buddy who was with me and he'd just walk off and ditch me because I was taking too long. lol

Anyways, in short, this year I'll be dressing up as some sort of undead Steve Irwin and Boots is part of the costume yet again.

[Melody]

Wouldn't it be awesome if we can just carry them around like a person walking a dog? I think it would turn people on to snakes if they can see how harmless our BPs are. Unfortunately with all of the hysteria going on right now, that doesn't seem like a good idea even though it is within our legal rights (depending on local laws).

Me and my friend took our boa on a walk once, and the elders called the cops lol -_____-