Is this statement accurate?

[LLLReptile]

Yep, agree with BCR229 - try to stay away from using words with a negative connotation along with the thing you're trying to convince someone is good. When writing letters to politicians, you also want to stay away from putting ideas in their head that they may not have had before.

"My ball python is so sweet, I take it for walks in the park and let it crawl in the grass! Kids come up and play with it all the time!"

Sounds good, right?

Switch that around - a policy maker or alarmist is going to see that and think "Oh no, these snakes are in the park! What if one escapes? Do they tie them up? They let kids touch them, what if one bites a kid? What happens if it poops on the grass, kids crawl on the grass! Dogs use that park, will snake poop make a dog sick?"

We know the answers to many of these questions, and are perfectly comfortable with those answers and the harmlessness of our pets. But what seems like a really great thing to talk about turns out to be terrible - we want to keep conversations with those new to reptiles positive and simple.

"Ball pythons are like the pet rocks of the reptile world, they're so harmless and docile" is a great one. "I use my snake for educational outreach" is another; you're saying the same thing, but instead of sounding like a potential risk of a loose snake in the park, you instead sound like an intelligent keeper who's a benefit to their community.

I would not even bring up the possibility that a snake would go after a cat or dog unless the other person does first. Phrasing it as a dog or cat could cause more damage to a person, yes, I do that regularly. One of my go-to phrases when people ask me about the snakes biting is that I am more worried about being bitten by the snake's food than I am about being bitten by the snake - no joke, either, rat bites suck!

Hope that helps!

-Jen