Several of my friends are afraid of snakes. My best friend, who I've known for about ten years, doesn't even like being near them... yet she comes with me to every reptile expo, has touched my gentlest ball python and even claimed my mojave bumblebee as "her snake". She never bothers to ask why I keep snakes, she knows I love them and that's what she wants for me. She's getting a lot better around snakes, and gives me input on what morphs to buy now.

Another of my good friends was scared of my snakes before she actually met them. I brought them out and let her see what they were really like. When she left, she said, "You know, they really weren't as terrifying as I thought they'd be." That's an exact quote.

One person totally freaked out that I was getting a python because he thought it was going to get huge... I kind of laughed at that. Later, I showed him pictures of adults and the various morphs, and he started asking me about how they are as pets. He and his brother are thinking about pet reptiles now.

Two others, while they have never seen my snakes in person, seem interested in them and they like the pictures. One of them really wants to see my collection one day.

A family friend had been a little wary of my snakes at first, but when we asked her to care for our house while we were on vacation, she had no trouble caring for the snakes. She said she enjoyed being around them and even learned how to hold them.

You know, if we can get our friends to like snakes, I think that's evidence that the rest of the population can learn to tolerate them as well with a little education.