Originally posted by popcornbird
No offense to anyone, but I HATE snakes! They are so scary and creepy and slithery and worst of all.............POISONOUS!! I know not all snakes are poisonous, but even the one's that aren't are so scary and creepy.
There are no poisonous snakes, other than (possibly) the yellow-bellied Sea snake. Other than that there are only venomous snakes. You would come ot no harm if you ate the snake (poisonous), but it has an injection mechanism and can pump a harmful substance into your blood (venomous). Sorry if that sounds anal, but it's a pet peeve of many herpers. ^_^

I am always distressed when someone freaks out when they see my snake. It baffles me how a small animal sleeping calmly in my hands can invoke a scream. Not only that, the fast motions that often follow scare my poor baby!

I have, in the past, gotten very upset with people for doing that. I always get a lot of questions about my girl, and I find that if someone is open-minded enough to ask a few questions about why I like her, their fear diminishes. Even if they don't pet or hold her, it seems that a lot of people go away with a better understanding of these wonderful creatures.

One thing I have discovered in frequenting various forums is that reptile people are generally much more open-minded than people who are into other pets. For example; I stopped by one forum to inquire about my pet mice and found stuff like; "You have to wonder, do snakes really NEED to eat mice or do these people just like to watch them die a horrible death?" I cried because it hurts that someone could think that I love killing mice, and that I torture them while I'm at it.

Or "I wish snakes WERE banned as pets, for all involved." What would this accomplish? Would you take from one person their beloved pet just because it is a predator? Stupid, stupid, STUPID!!! Cats are predators! Not only that, cats eat every day! I think they are certainly more of a detriment to the mouse population than a snake. Why not ban cats? (I'm just using this as an example; I love my cat dearly)

Eh, I guess I should stop before I get really angry and can't stop....