Why do people have to be so crummy?

[SecurityStacey]

Yes I know... people are going to be rude and unhappy and what not but it still is awful.

I'm new to snakes, but I've always liked them. I knew not everybody liked them but it never seemed that big of a deal.

I made the mistake of posting on craigslist to try to find someone local to split a frozen mice order online with to help with shipping costs and as of now my email has about 50-100 messages of people telling me that it is horrible, that it is wrong, that my ad should be deleted (which it was).

Just made me feel crummy.

[LadyOhh]

Well, after feeling crummy, remember that you are taking care of a living breathing creature that needs sustinance. Be proud of that.

Those people just don't understand..

[Spaniard]

Its a shame and stupid but its the reality of it all. People give me sob stories sometimes at the pet store how they have a pet mouse or a pet rat and its horrible that I feed them to my snakes.

My response to them is, "Will it make me a better person in your eye if I let my snake starve to death?" That usually does the trick

I'm sure those same people have no problem eating eggs for breakfast, chicken for lunch, and steak for dinner. But since they never took a walk through a slaughter house they don't much care as long as its nicely packaged at the supermarket!

Simply put when people have irrational fears they come up with irrational thoughts and do irrational things. I wouldn't let it bother you as you'll be dealing with all sorts of stupid comments as a snake keeper.

[pythontricker]

yeah what heather said is true. they aren't looking past the fact that you are feeding a live and breathing animal. But that you are helping keep another animal alive by sacrificing the mouses life. Its nature, and if it wasn't like that, nothing would run correctly. My theory is, Eat or be Eaten. That will never change, hopefully.

[Shadera]

Some people just feel like they have to shove their opinion down others' throats. I recently gave up a moderator position on a parrot forum and left there because everyone reacted with violent disgust when I posted pictures of my snakes, even with the word "snake" in the thread title as a warning. I won't surround myself with such negative attitudes if I don't have to.

I'm sorry you had such a lousy experience. I hope you have many more good ones to make up for it.

[Inknsteel]

As individuals, everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion. Take in what you choose to take in and let the rest slide off your back.

As long as your ad didn't violate the Craigslist TOS, repost it... And in your post you can address the fact that your ad was flagged. Clearly state that the bleeding heart types need not reply, that you are simply looking for someone in your area to split the cost of a bulk pet food order. It's no different than ordering a large quantity of dog food and splitting it with someone... And I like that response "Will it make me a better person in your eye if I let my snake starve to death?" Hell, put that in for good measure...

[Argentra]

Heh... I get that ALL the time since I bring home feeders from the store by BUS. In critter keeper boxes.

So far, responses have been more curiosity than disgust, but I'll NEVER forget this one woman... she saw me get on with the adult mice in the boxes and flinched. Then, when she heard me tell someone else why I had them, she got up, snorted rather loudly, proclaimed that it was 'Horrible!' and moved to the back of the bus. Before I could say anything, a young man turned to her and asked why keeping a pet alive was so horrible. She got off at the next stop, but I was so surprised at what that guy did... Of course, I thanked him and spent the rest of the trip answering his many questions.

To a lot of people who tell me it's "cruel" or "awful"... I let them know that I have had pet rats I loved, and that my breeder mice all have names and are spoiled rotten. That, of course, confuses them as to how I could ever 'subject animals I like' to the 'horrible fate' that is being fed to a snake. First, I tell them that it's nature and there's a difference between pet and prey. Then, I let them know that I CO2 my rodents before they're fed off. That usually hushes them up.

As for the whole apartment thing.. I also live in an apartment and have had to pay a $300 pet deposit for my snakes since the new manager hates snakes. When we moved in, the old manager thought it was neat (and I only had 3), so no deposit. We renewed our lease and had to pay. That sucked, but oh well.
Everyone in this complex knows me as the 'Snake Lady'. I have snake crossing signs on my front door to remind the maintenance people (since two of them are really afraid of snakes) and just as a general reminder. My neighbors in my new building think it's great, and half the office staff are always asking me about them.
It all depends on the types of people in your complex and HOW you handle and approach the situation with residents. If you flaunt your snakes with no warning and keep them in less than optimal conditions, you'll get a LOT of complaints (like the moron above me did with the normal female I got away from him). If you inform people gently and let them know the facts (like 'my snakes are not giants and not poisonous), then they accept it a bit better. In my experience, at least.

[Bruce Whitehead]

sorry to hear that Stacey... CL is the worst. It is about fluffy bunnies and kittens in baskets. Anything else gets flagged.

People can spam it, post breeder sales, sell all sorts of products that are forbidden, but if you mention anything about a snake, feeder rodent, etc. it gets flagged and the hate mail ensues.

I know this first hand.

That is why we have sites for *us*.

Sadly, there is still so much stigma attached to snakes.

Bruce

[Earl]

Stacey this should make you giggle...I had a few friends over the other weekend as a small party for an old bud of mine who got married in Vegas, we hadn't met his new wife (number 3 by my count) until then so she knew very little about us and had no idea my wife and I keep a few Pythons but was thrilled to see we adopted a Pitbull that was rescued from a dog fighting ring and how nicely she was coming along. She claims to be the worlds biggest animal lover.

She thought we were so cool until she needed to get some ice for her drink and instead of getting it from the refrigerator like I told her she went in to my chest freezer which is full of large and small frozen Rats.

Her blood curdling scream was the first indication that the evenings festivities were about over!



Anyway I give my friend and his new bride about 8 months until they divorce.

*snickers*

[JeffFlanagan]

Why feel bad for encountering morons and freaks on Craigslist? That's what Craigslist is for!