Quote Originally Posted by Cheesenugget View Post
If you want more people on your side in any argument, the first step should be, "What can this THIS do for me?"

You have 6 seconds to grab your audience attention.

Yes, of course snakes make good pets for the RIGHT people. Compared to the domesticated counterparts, exotic pets can still be a challenge, especially when access to or finding an affordable properly experienced veterinarian is a huge obstacle for many people. The best pet for anyone is to be able to enjoy it, feed it, and care for it, which includes vet care. Many pet owners like the cuddles, that is why they lean towards cats and dogs in the first place.

For all the points you make about why snakes are better vs dogs and cats, as an owner of all 3 types, I can tell you 1. The pet hair comes with the territory but it is really not much a grievance for many owners. 2. A lot of dog owners, myself included, take their dogs with them on vacation. People are treating their pets more like family nowadays. 3. There will always be dog bites and car scratches, but just like snakes, you need to supervise and read your pet's behavior. There are usually red flags and signals before a bite or scratch, just the same as you watch for stress and fear signals from your snake.

So again, your best bet to get people on your side is, "What can snakes do for me?"

There are some research done on snake metabolism and diabetes. Or how the snake move can benefit science. How many rats can one adult snake eat per year, and point out how important this is and list what type of disease a rat can transmit to people. How is snake venom helping people?

Use statistics, numbers, make it clear why snakes matter to society.

Then, the second part to this would be pet keeping. Point out how people with allergies can still enjoy companionship. How more and more people are keeping reptiles due to busy work life and how that works for them. How some snakes can eat more than rats and mice, so a keeper can have options if they are not comfortable with rodent prey. Snakes are great pets for the RIGHT people, those who will do the research, the husbandry work, and understand what they are signing up for.

Good luck.
You bring up an interesting approach that I'm definitely going to spend some time looking into. I know I'll be in the minority during this speech and I don't plan on winning anyone over. It's just the way it is when it comes to something as taboo as snakes but my hope is that I'll make it as fun and interesting as I can in hopes of pointing out some things that people haven't considered. Thanks again for your input. It's definitely provided a different way to approach this presentation.