Why don\'t people like snakes?

[Squeezer]

I'm sure most of us have met and will continue to meet people that say"Ewwww I hate/am afraid of snakes" when they find out that you keep them. When you ask them why, what do they say? This morning my roommate first refered to Squeezer as "that darn thing" and then after I gave him a bath she complained because I left the towel that I used to dry him off, on the bed. She wasn't upset that I left a damp towel on the bed, it was because I used it on "him".
So I ask her why she doesn't like Squeezy and she says"Just because" and I say "just because isn't a reason, why don't you like him? Her: "because he's a serpent." Me:"ok..and?" Her: "Serpents are a sign of evil". Riiiiiiiiight. What does my snake do? Lets see, he sleeps, occasionally eats a rat, dunks his head in his waterbowl, he likes to explore when I get him out and he likes to climb on me. Where's the evil? He hasn't tried to bite me and I don't think he ever bit his former owner. Feather did but I'm sure she had her reasons. I was telling a lady the other day about how I accidentally killed Feather and she said " I can think of worse things to have killed." That's just mean. I think it all comes down to 1) fear of the unknown and 2) fear caused by misinformation, and now I have to go back to work.
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[Bry]

I don't like snakes. They're ugly, mean, icky, and slimy. They're evil spawns of Satan that kill for fun and grow to 100'. Oh yeah, and they're all poisonous.

Bry

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[savannah_babe]

thats what it is, exactly. i can be holding one of my snakes, and a customer will walk in the door, and flip and yell at me to put it away, so i do. its one of those, "if you dont like reptiles, why are you coming into a store that has them?" is the way i see it. i try to explain to them, but some people dont even care. i just smile and finish buisness with them. its a fear of growing up killing snakes that come into your backyard, its not all their fault, its how they were raised. but if they dont want to learn, that is thier fault. just cause they got bit by some snake in their yard when they were 8 now means that this 30 year old wont even come near one. i can see where they are coming from in a way, everyone starts somewhere with the knowledge of herps, but in a way its just plain resistance on their part of not wanting to learn. oh well..my 2 cents...
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[schatzie001]

Snakes are satan spawn.
Mine crawl out of their cages at night and whisper in my ear with the dark lord's instructions which usually include:
drinking too much on the weekends
listening to that devil music Rock N Roll
and do naughty things with my husband [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]

I know I should get rid of them, but when they stare at me and never blink once, I know that I cannot turn them out. It is out of my power so I can only do my best to live with it. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]
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[morti]

I think that the true psycology of an ophidophobe involves two predominant issues.

1) Snakes are evil. This is a deeply ingrained idea that has been a part of human culture throughout history. It's not just in the Christian religion either. Because they are So different from other animals, snake have suffered from humans being taught from a young age that all snakes are bad and an abomination before the Lord. The fact that the same set of people usually believe that all animals were created directly by the hand of God does not change this oppinion any. The creation story is where this idea sprang from and it is a tough one to overcome.

2) Lack of education. Most people suffer for an overwhelming lack of knowledge regarding reptiles in general and snakes specifically. Most people KNOW that snakes are slimy, smelly, and foul tempered. They are postive that they are all "poisonous" and that all snakes will all seek a person out specifically for the purpose of killing them. They suffer from irrational fears because of this. Many people claim to have had a traumatic experience in childhood regarding a snake. These people are also suffering from lack of education because no matter what you tell them that is good about snakes, they fall back on that childhood experience like a shield.

Most people have the mentality that the only real pets are fuzzy, have four paws, and should be allowed to free-roam. They can't see the attraction of an animal that does not show affection (if that is what you want to call what a cat does... I have other theorys). Most will haltingly admit that yes, some snakes are, in fact, pretty but they won't go near them. That is as far as the attraction goes. To them I say with pride "More For Me!"

I think that in your particular situation, your roomate suffers from a lack of education and a lack of willingness to gain that education. Who knows? She might be right and we are all going to go directly to #$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^& without passing go. *shrug* I don't think so, but anything is possible. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

-Your Sick Uncle Morti.
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[jpaulson]

"People fear what they do not understand" Period.

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>and do naughty things with my husband </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

AHHH!!! The REAL reason Herm keeps snakes!! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]
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[LdyDrgn]

Most of our snakes are in our bedroom now.... They don't have to travel very far to talk to me in the middle of the night [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

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What don't die can't live. What don't live can't change. What don't change can't learn. - Granny Weatherwax

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[BWSmith]

One word: Upbringing
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[XzyluM]

Like Donnie said, they don't know any better. Most of them believe anything that appears in a magazine or the media. Maybe if they had a better understanding and didn't believe all the rumors they others carry around it'll be a different story.
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[Stormyva]

Two words: Idiots and Ignorance

Idiots are the ones that teach their kids that reptiles are bad and instill a fear of them in their children.

Ignorance for the ones that harbor that fear and lack of knowledge and dont try to educate themselves and develop thier own personal opinon.

Hey I guess those two I's could apply to a lot of other things in life too [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
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[eddie]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>Most of our snakes are in our bedroom now.... They don't have to travel very far to talk to me in the middle of the night </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Ummm...coughTHERAPYcoughcough..... [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Wait a minute... REDTAIL stands for snakes?
I thought this was a yahoo chat room for the risque!!!!!!! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]
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I think Morti hit it about as close as one could here. Just take a child and an adult and place both of them in a room that has a snake in it..caged or not. The child is the one who is most likely going to be the first one [ maybe the only one even lol] that wants to get a closer look at the snake. That is due to the child not having had &quot;the fear&quot; instilled in them in regards to the snake..yet. The adult is going to act upon it's fear that has become embedded in them for a length of time in relation to snakes. I think the funniest site is when a HUGE muscular built guy freaks out when the lil child [ like 6 year old daughter] that he is with wants to get a closer look at the snakes..and he is trying his best to not look like he is not &quot;cool&quot; to his child but IS most definately afraid of snakes. We have come across that oen on multiple occasions where our herps are kept with a guy and his daughter that walk by all the time. We have gotten the guy to the point that he will actually step inside now though. He's getting there..sloowly. hehe. First time they were walking by and his daughter wanted to look at the snakesI thought for sure the guy was gonna go to the ground he had turned soo white/pale lmao.

So basically...ignorance, uneducated, upbringing, and also of course some people have had an incident that was not too great for them that led them to their fears. those are what i have seen / come across in regards to people and their fears of snakes.
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[vetstudent82]

I remember when I was, like, 10 yrs old, I saw my first snake, it was in the pool at my grandparents. It was swimming counter current in one of the drainage things and I remember thinking, &quot;poor thing, it must feel so tired by now&quot; . So I called my grandfather, and while I was wating for him I grabbed this ittybitty snake, must've been 8-10 inches long, and pulled it out by the tail. I wanted to know if it was venemous, but what did he do? smash the poor thing in the head. I think as long as I live I'll never forget that.[img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img]

The first time I toughed a snake was about 4 years ago, my biology teacher in highschool has a boa contrictor. At first I though, I'll touch him and them that's t, but the little evil thing [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_evil.gif[/img] just sucked me right into the world of snakes. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Me thinks is just disinformation, and added to that the fact that some people are not comfortable with changing their ideas. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img] Truly a shame, but oh well, they don't know what they're missing. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[reptilemama]

I have to say that in some instances, it's not a matter of ignorance or beleiving they or evil, or upbringing. My brother is dealthy afraid of snakes. We were never raised to be scared of them, and he knows they're not slimy, &quot;poisonous&quot;, evil, or mean. He even asked to hold one of my babies a few years ago, and it scared the heck out of him. He was frozen the whole time, and after just a few minutes had to ask me to take it back. It bothers him so much that even with all the snakes in the basement, where he can't see them, he has rarely visited my parents since we've been here waiting to move. He was usually here twice a week, but in the 4 months we've been here, he's only visited maybe half a dozen times. I don't pressure him, because I know that will only make it worse. I figure if he wants to get over this fear, he'll ask for help. I really think some people have a true phobia, and for some reason men seem to be the ones that have a hard time getting over it. I know he doesn't *want* to be afraid of them, but it's a part of who he is, and not something he can easily change just by learning about them. So when someone says there's no particular reason they're afraid, they just are, I tend to beleive them. Heck, I know someone who's deathly afraid of cats. He knows they won't hurt him, but he's afraid anyway. It's just a part of some people's psyche that can't easily be changed.

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[NicoSage]

I grew up in the hills of Trabuco Canyon in So Cal, and I always caught wild snakes, and loved them. One time on my way to school, I saw a baby rattler, so I cought it, ran back home, and put it in one of my tanks. Needless to say, my dad was not to happy, lol.

I do get kinda tired of the ignorance assosiated with not liking reptiles. I was talking about my Iguana to a guy in my shop yesterday, and some other guy chimes in, &quot;I dont like lizards, they are to much like snakes, living on their bellies, close to sin and evil.&quot; I COULD NOT BELIEVE MY EARS!! This was a smart weathy buissiness man, and he assosiates lizards and snakes with sin?? I felt like telling him that his corvet (that was in the shop) was to much like a drug dealers or pimps car, and he must be living in sin as well!

That is why I like bringing my Iggy into the public. I have helped change a lot of peoples atitudes about them. I guess I kinda see myself as a reptile &quot;missionary&quot;. lol
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	Iguana Iguana

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[GHzippy]

Religion aside, I would say that it's along the same lines as people being afraid of spiders. Spiders and (especially) centipedes freak me out, even though I know they aren't out to 'get' me. I've tried to understand my thoughts about them and all I can come up with is that I don't identify with them at all. They are just too different from me and I am not familiar with them.
So I figure the same for most snake-despising folks. Just a lack of exposure in general, combined with an inherent lack of understanding. And it probably doesn't help that they have a tendancy to bite [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[roachpunk]

I remember I brought my lizard to skool once and this one girl was freaked out when I walked in with it. Then during 8th period I got sent to the office so left my lizard to chill with my friends. When I came back, the girl was holding my blue tongue skink! i guess it was just shes never really been around or seen a real reptile, but I changed a persons mind. yay for me. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[JonnyB]

i dunno? I have friends who don't like to come in my house because of Jeager. We had a maintence guy come to install a water meter thing-a-ma-jig. and he got the other guy to do it cause I have a snake and a lizard. Both were in tanks with weights on the lid. Some people are frekin ridiculous. I was ROFLMAO when they left [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]

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if it wasn't for idoits the population of this world would be considerable less...

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[Billybob]

I remember last year at school I got a very large emperor scorpion from one of my friends during lunch time, and during the next class a girl saw it, and got frieked out and told the teacher. The teacher didnt know what it was, and after telling me off, he told me to bring the cup to his desk for a closer look. The sight of it sent him flying through the air, letting off a string of colorful words that was probably heard throughout the hall. Ive never seen a 60 year old man jump that high before [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] .
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[Blackwidow_woman]

&gt;&gt;I don't like snakes. They're ugly, mean, icky, and slimy. They're evil spawns of Satan that kill for fun and grow to 100'. Oh yeah, and they're all poisonous.
&gt;&gt;
&gt;&gt;Bry

Very funny Bry, but you know what all the times i went to elementry schools to give lectures and to show reptiles and arachnids to the kids there was a lot of kids that would say those very things and they would also coment on how there parents would teach them these critters are bad..By the time i was done and ready to leave there was so many kids that loved touching the snakes and frogs and holding the T's and they got to learn so much about these wonderful critters.. Im just wondering why parents would teach there kids that these animals are bad.. Was so great to see the smiles on the kids faces and my own kids teaching there friends all about reptiles.. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img] Was good to see a little girl that was so afraid of a snake touch one and hold one.. I can imagin what she went home and told her mommy... hehehehehe!!! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
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