Ophidiophobia

[Hannahshissyfix]

Just curious what others take on this is. Did you previously have a fear and get over it and become a reptile lover? What helped change that? I've personally never understood many irrational fears. I'm sure growing up spending my days allowed to roam the woods and being exposed to all sorts of creatures has a lot to do with it. I've always been a fan of "know your enemy" so if a person is saying they hate snakes because theyre afraid of local venomous ones then wouldn't it make more sense to actually do atleast a little research to be able to accurately identify the ones to avoid vs. say a harmless little rat snake that I've still seen idiots kill? Is it the lack of limbs that people find creepy? I'm glad I've been able to show many friends and family how harmless many snakes are or let them hold their first one and get over the uncomfortableness. I also make it a point to take every opportunity to teach my kids about what is native around us so that they don't have any fears of the unknown.
Not a BP but just a little backyard discovery this summer my son thought was "adorable".


And who could be afraid of something with blue eyes and a purple head?

[JoshSloane]

Great job exposing your kids to all animals. I had the same upbringing, and was taught about all forms of life. But, I still have intense arachnophobia. No matter how many times I try to touch a tarantula at an expo, year after year I just cant bring myself to do it.

[ItsAllNew2Me!]

Great job exposing your kids to all animals. I had the same upbringing, and was taught about all forms of life. But, I still have intense arachnophobia. No matter how many times I try to touch a tarantula at an expo, year after year I just cant bring myself to do it.

Ugh same here JS i think it is the fact that there are too many legs! lol. But I think it is great to allow children to explore and get a feel of everything around them. My son likes to pick everything up or explore it even the ones with more than four limbs . I often have to tell him wait don't touch it if you don't know what it is. Seems my son is the opposite of the norm but i guess i am too just not so extreme.

[bigSAK]

what morph is your BP?!

[Crowfingers]

Great job exposing your kids to all animals. I had the same upbringing, and was taught about all forms of life. But, I still have intense arachnophobia. No matter how many times I try to touch a tarantula at an expo, year after year I just cant bring myself to do it.

If you get close enough to ask if you can touch it, you're doing way better than me! I can't even walk past expo table unless I'm on the other side of a fairly wide isle, and even then, it's a fast walk I can't even look up pictures on the internet or in books. They just creep me out...nothing else gives me the same reaction, and I don't have a reason. It's like one part of my brain is saying "You're being irrational again, chill out" and the other part is screaming "I NEED TO RUN AWAY NOW!!", the run in terror part wins (sometimes literally - the speed of reaction in directly proportional to the size of the spider)

[LittleTreeGuy]

When I was a kid, I was brought up "the only good snake is a dead snake". If you ever saw one, you should kill it. That was the first 8 years of my life, and my grandfather was the sole male figure in my life, and his defense, we lived in an area of copperheads and rattlesnakes. Many other non-hot snakes, as well, but that was the feeling.

As i got a little older, and moved an hour or so away, the rattlensnakes and copperheads become less common. I'd occaisonally run across a big black/rat snake on a country road or some gartner snakes when mowing around old buildings. At this point, my new stepfather new his snakes pretty well and had come from a farming background. I only saw him kill one snake out of many, and that was just because it was a copperhead that kept coming my grandmothers house. He relocated it a couple of times, but that snake (we assumed it was the same one) kept coming around.

Maybe it was this upbringing, I'm not sure, but I was terrified of seeing snakes and there was no way I wanted anything to do with touching them. Fast-Forward 25+ years and I think reptiles are very interesting creatures. I become interested in bearded dragons and debate getting one. I came across a post that said BP's were a better "beginner reptile pet" than a beardie. It went downhill from there. I went to a couple of expos where vendors were happy to hand me a snake (before I even asked or could think about it).... Now I'm a BP owner and will be building my own rack very soon.

Now, how did I get from "kill at first sight" to, "oh cool, can I hold that one too?"....? I think a lot of it has to do with education and understanding of the animals. As G.I. Joe would say... knowing is half the battle.

[Crowfingers]

Took to long to edit, for the OP's original question, I don't know if you would consider this as a reptile-based fear, but I held off getting on for so long because I'm afraid of fires, and heat lamps / thermostats / heat pads are all another thing that I worry about. I still have moments of anxiety when I have to leave for long periods of the day and know that no one is home, but it's getting easier. I am a little proud of myself because now, I can leave knowing that something is plugged in and all will be ok. I actually unplug everything that does not need electricity (computers, tv, radio, toaster oven, etc), but now if I forget and leave one plugged in I just think, "well the snake has been plugged in 24/7 for months and everything is fine, so this will be too", and I don't just rush home from where ever I was when I remembered. On the plus side, my electric bill is about $40 less each month.

[Hannahshissyfix]

Took to long to edit, for the OP's original question, I don't know if you would consider this as a reptile-based fear, but I held off getting on for so long because I'm afraid of fires, and heat lamps / thermostats / heat pads are all another thing that I worry about. I still have moments of anxiety when I have to leave for long periods of the day and know that no one is home, but it's getting easier. I am a little proud of myself because now, I can leave knowing that something is plugged in and all will be ok. I actually unplug everything that does not need electricity (computers, tv, radio, toaster oven, etc), but now if I forget and leave one plugged in I just think, "well the snake has been plugged in 24/7 for months and everything is fine, so this will be too", and I don't just rush home from where ever I was when I remembered. On the plus side, my electric bill is about $40 less each month.

This actually sounds how I am. I guess I probably have a bit of PTSD from a house fire a few years ago. I made some dumb choices trying to get all of my animals out and almost passed out in the process.It wasn't even caused by any neglect on our part (just old wiring in a 110 year old house) but it was pretty traumatic for me to lose pets so it took me a while before I got more animals and I still an a bit OCD about checking plugs, the stove, turning everything off..

[Hannahshissyfix]

what morph is your BP?!

That's just a little Super Mojave. He's getting ready to shed but his eyes are always blue just a little darker usually. I named him Frank after Ol' blue eyes himself.

[Annageckos]

I'm not afraid of snakes, I grew up spending a lot of time in a tattoo shop surrounded by all kinds of reptiles and creepy crawlies. I do, oddly enough have a fear of spiders. I try to fight it, and sometimes the rational side wins. But often I run instead. I hate it, it's stupid. I'll freeze up if I try to go closer, I can't move myself closer. Saying that I did have a rose hair tarantula and even held her once. I'm ok if they are behind glass.

I have a couple of thoughts of people being afraid of snakes. One is education. Many people are not exposed to snakes and if they are it's negative. Religion, I don't want to get too much in to it but the bible make snakes out to be evil. Many people honestly think that snakes are satan. Then you have evolution. Most primates are afraid of snakes. There have been studies with captive primates and snakes. The researchers put a fake snake in a paper bag, the chimps I think it was, would reach into the bag looking for food and when they saw the rubber snake they would drop it and run, alarm calling. All the rest would run too. This is seen in wild primates too.

My dr is afraid of snakes, I'm not sure how we got to talking about it. But he wants to learn, he ask a ton of questions and I explain that snakes will not chase after you and attack. That most snakes are harmless and will try to get away from you if they can. He thought that snakes are aggressive and will attack if they see you. I'm not sure if this is a common misconception or not. He's getting better, he wants to learn and is open minded.