Do you have snake phobia?

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I like snakes and would keep them as pets if I didn't have to feed them rodents.

My profoundly autistic daughter LOVES snakes. When we were at the county fair looking at the snakes, she wanted to pick up a huge boa constrictor. I pulled her away from the snakes because I was worried that she'd be too rough with them. My daughter cried a little because she wanted the snakes so bad.

The guy at the snake booth misinterpreted my daughter's objections and thought that she was crying out of fear and told us to come over so he could show my daughter how nice snakes were.

All snakes are carnivorous, but not all species eat mammals. Some must be fed other snakes, or lizards, or frogs, or fish. However, most of these species are not considered appropriate for novice snake keepers.

Some, like kingsnakes, can eat just about any animal of the right size. In the wild, they eat venomous snakes. They are resistant to the toxicity. Kingsnakes are good beginner snakes, and you could keep one on a diet of snakes and lizards. However, mice and rats are a lot cheaper and more widely available than feeder reptiles (anoles and small snakes). This is why most snake keepers feed rodents to any snake that will accept them.

There are also legless lizards, which resemble snakes superficially (with the exception of details like the presence of eyelids). Most of the species that are common in the pet trade are carnivorous insectivores. I feed my European legless lizard crickets and beetle larvae. I also give him mice, but this is not mandatory. This species is easy to care for and can eat just about any animal of a manageable size. They also eat eggs, and can even be given cat food as a treat.



Aw. Well, a county fair isn't the best place to interact with reptiles anyway. Fairs and pet stores and notorious for selling sick, parasite-infested animals. They don't always look out for the safety of the animals and the people who take interest in them. The safest way to purchase a reptile is through a breeder with a good reputation among hobbyists. There are also reptile keepers who enjoy using their animals to educate people (by doing presentations at schools, for example). Someone like that might be happy to let your daughter interact with their animals in a controlled, safe manner, so you wouldn't have to worry about her getting hurt or hurting a snake.

I live in NZ and here there are no land snakes.

I went to Australia once and had several encounters with wild snakes there...and ever since then i've had a fascination with them. I'm not afraid of them but would never keep them as pets as I don't believe they should be kept in captivity.

She's adorable!

No; I held one of these



and also one of these, so definitely no. I used to have an obsession about snakes, especially anacondas, so that really rules this phobia out.

That's pretty much what I was thinking when I saw this thread.

Snakes are cool. Back when I was a freshman, I was the only one in my biology class that would voluntarily clean out the class boa's cage. (That and I got extra credit and got out of taking notes. )

And also in adults, chimps..or any mammal really, and with good reason!

Trying to make auties look like non-survivors rdos?

Those snake pictures are beautiful!!