Interesting Questions I'm asked at Work

[Shelby]

At work a lot of the time I'm holding either a large BCI or albino burm, and here are some of my favorite questions I've been asked by the general public while doing so.

'Does it bite?' - ok, a valid question, but honestly, would I be offering to let you pet it if it'd bite you?

'Is it venomous?' - see above + duh!

'Is it slimy?' - They're shiny yes, but do they honestly look slimy? And would I be slinging it around my neck if it was?

'Does it have teeth?' - Ok, so you can't really see the teeth when a snake opens it's mouth, but why would everyone be so afraid of a snake bite if it was all gums?

'Is it a cobra?'

'Is it a rattlesnake?'

'Where's it's rattle?' - This woman believed ALL snakes had rattles

'Where do the batteries go?' - An honest question. Heard especially when holding the burm.

'Will the tongue sting you?' - Where did this come from? I'm asked this nearly every day.

My personal favorite:

'Does it still have the stinger in it's tail?'

[rex322]

lol thats great. i get asked alot of questions, but never some of those. ive been asked if they bite, how they eat, if their venamous, but stingers in the tail? lol. by the way shelby, while im here, theres a post for you in the off topic cafe

[Jay001]

lol,where do the batteries go,classic.
LMFAO

[Shelby]

Yes, I responded to your post, Rex. I'm sure you saw that already though.

lol,where do the batteries go,classic.
LMFAO

Ah.. you'd be amazed at the number of people who don't think the snake is real.

One lady came up and touched the snake. She said 'Oh wow, it feels so real!' When I told her it was real, she ran off screaming!

Sometimes people make me jump because they start screaming when they realise I'm holding a real snake.

[Marla]

And these people manage to dress themselves and get themselves to where you are? "Will it bite?" is absolutely standard and is a reasonable question (just like when asked about a family dog), but from there the questions veer into the ridiculous, like when I get asked, "Aren't you afraid they'll kill your children?" Umm, no, they're ball pythons, not anacondas or cobras. Those, I'd be concerned.

[Shelby]

Some people wonder why the snake isn't trying to eat me (the girth of this animal was like a tennis ball) Yeah, snakes can eat big things, but there IS a limit.

One guy (I think from India or somewhere..) Was yelling at me about how I was a snake charmer, and how that people get killed by their snakes all the time when they do that. He was really yelling and getting really excited, then suddenly he just whirled around and marched off. I was slightly confused by that one.

[Marla]

LOL! It's like you're working in a zoo where people are the exhibits.

[BallPythonBabe448]

May I ask where you work lol? HA! where do the batteries go, thats a god one! Stinger in the tail? That ones even better! HOHOHO! (im working on my santa laugh)

[Shelby]

I work at Serpent Safari reptile zoo.

Ok so today this guy comes up and says 'do you sell snakes by the pound? I've never tried snake before.' I said 'ummm..... no' And then he asked how much the one I was holding weighed

'30 pounds'

'how much does it cost?'

'around $300...'

'Oh, so the larger snakes are around $10 a pound?' (at this point I was doubting his sanity. He honestly seemed serious..)

So I told him 'well we sell pet snakes, not the snakes you eat' you may want to go to Texas and try eating rattlesnake there' (I was kinda joking with the guy, but he remained serious)

'do you offer recipies on how to process them when you buy the snake?' (it was getting hard to answer the guy at this point, I just wanted to laugh, but I just told him no, no recipes.)

'Do you have any cheaper snakes? Something less than $10 a pound?'

'nope'

'Oh.. well I have to go to Texas sometime then. Thanks'

The guy was foreign... who knows.

[Tigergenesis]

I volunteer at our zoo and get some of the same 'stupid' questions. I really hate the "Does it bite" question. I mean anything with a mouth can bite. I've gotten many of those questions already mentioned, but the three that take the cake for me:

1) Regarding an Emerald Tree boa we have on display: What do you guys inject the snake with to get it to stay still all day long?

2) A women at work was astounded to find out that snakes actually mate in order to produce offspring. She said she didn't know they had physical contact and she thought they had babies like birds - the female just suddenly has an egg. Then I had to explain to her that birds also physically mated - that the female just doesn't decide to lay an egg one day (she was even more surprised when I explained to her that even mice, squirrels, fish and all animals mate). She thought only cats, dogs and large mammals like lions, elephants, etc had actual physical matings.

3) I was handling a ball python for visitors to touch and ask questions about. A gentleman was intrigued as he'd never touched one. He then asked me "Why would anyone have a snake as a pet?". Incidentally, I hate this question because sometimes visitors say it in a way to imply that something is wrong with someone who keeps snakes (and coming from someone with 10 - it's a little hard to not come back in defense mode). But anyway, I explained how sometimes people have allergies and can't keep your traditional mammals as pets, how snakes don't smell, are much more low maintence due to the fact that they eat less often and don't make messes as often as a dog - and this is where the fun (or shall I say wierdness began). He stopped me with a surprised look on his face and said "You mean they go to the bathroom?" he didn't understand how they could and actually wanted to know what it looked like and where it came from. This guy (a middle aged intelligent looking man) was dead serious. I showed him and explained (as wierd as it seemed). He then asked some other (more normal questions) as I think the fact that they too went to bathroom made him see them in a different light and he became very interested. Shortly after, he thanked me for my time, wished me a good day and went on his merry way.

It amazes me the way people think sometimes - or rather don't.