For you snake lovers!

[pushylady]

I love the way snakes feel! Such cool creatures.
The problem with Florida could be addressed if they introduced laws banning ownership of exotic animals. People in general are simply not responsible enough to own them - hence they get released and now there are all these animals living in the wild and causing havoc with the local ecosystem.
I see tons of snakes when I'm walking our local trails, and a couple of weeks ago the dogs found this really long skin. I saved it from them and brought it home to my cats, who were interested for about 5 seconds.

 

[trouts mom]

Ewww, the skin gives me the willies.

 

[nekomania]

I don't think exotic ownership should ever be banned. Some of these animals need people who love them and wish to advocate for the continuation of a species.

I do however believe that the regulations and stipulations surrounding ownership of an exotic needs to be tightend down a lot. It's ridiculous how you can be just about anyone anywhere and have access to any type of animal without some sort of screening.

Take a local pet shop I used to frequent for instance... One day they harbored a baby monkey. I don't know the exact species...all I know is that they told me that if I had 3000 dollars, I could take her home.

I never went back there.

 

[snake_lady]

Originally Posted by mrblanche

I saw this at work, just outside the dispatch office, by the sidewalk.

Looks like a sizable one

Hopefully the "owner" is far gone from the area

 

[mbjerkness]

 

[calico2222]

I personally am very squeamish and hate most bugs, but snake I don't have a problem with as long as they stay outside. Now, rattlesnakes (which we DO have around here...I thought they were only in the southwest) or copperheads I WILL kill if I see them around the house due to the kids (niece and nephews), cats and dogs around here, but black snakes, green snakes, they are fine.

That skin would freak me out too! Hopefully Mr. Snake is long gone and growing a new one!

 

[goonie]

we used to live in a condo a couple blocks over and there's an avocado orchard right next to it and i used to go for walks. i was walking in the middle of the dirt road that runs through it and heard this weird noise. i stopped, turned around and there was a rattler about 3 feet away. i just started moving real slow away from it and after about 10ft i took off running. it scared the heck out of me but i'm glad it warned me. it was amazing how perfectly it camouflaged with the dirt road and a few weeds. what scared me was that i could see my condo from where the snake was in the road. just a little too close.

 

[whisky'sdad]

I worked around snakes and reptiles the 2 summers I worked at summer camp.

Respect the snakes and they will (mostly) respect you. Yeah, I got bit a few times, but it was mostly my fault. The 3 times I got bit, only 1 was out of territorial issues, the others were during feeding.

We also had a tame Salvadorian Water Monitor. Now, those are cool! We had a harness and leash for it to walk it around by the kids. Although he was tame, you still have to wear THICK leather gloves, because if they freak out, their claws will rip you to shreds.

...look at me off on a tangent...

 

[baloneysmom]

I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t mind snakes as long as I have someone close by to give them back to LOL. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve held snakes that were longer then my height.

One thing I noticed about snakes is they LOVE my hair. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know if this is a usual thing but I have really long, thick hair and they usually ended up crawling in it, and twisting themselves in it (I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t quite explain what they do, sort of like that).

I personally like lizards, but I can handle snakes, as long as they are pets and the owner is with me. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know about them enough to play with wild ones.