Is there really a huge controversy over reptile ownership??

[redshepherd]

It's totally unfair, but I think for you ladies a part of it is gender expectations. When I was a kid and catching lizards and mantids to put in a jar people never batted an eye. A female friend in elementary school was told it wasn't good to join me because only boys do that.

I actually never thought about it this way before, but it's totally true! If one of my dude coworkers owned/bred snakes, I don't think people would think it's out of norm at all. Or even better, they'll most likely think he's the cool wildlife guy.
Whereas owning snakes would make a girl "weird".