Why do snakes get so much hate? (mice, spiders, wildlife)
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Why do so many despise snakes? It is ignorance (lack of real knowledge), and the fact that there are a lot of scary myths involving snakes. Plus many people cannot understand on any level how they move, and it freaks them out.
They are truly beautiful animals, a part of nature. But that does not mean that they should not be respected, since the poisonous ones are not at all user friendly.
Bingo. Yes, it's ignorance. We go through the same thing with our hooded rats. The impression is snakes (and rats) are icky but once you get to know them, they're cool. I do stop guys on the street or in a pet store to pet and hold their snakes (out of my irrational fear) and I may keep doing it until I die . I thought they'd be slimy but they're not.
Snakes have bad PR. They are usually type cast as the villain in the story so people believe that they are bad. I think they have an undeserved rep. They don't bother me.
Another snake lover chiming in.
Before you ask, Yes I have been bitten numerous times but only 4 times by venemous ones and every time it was my own fault, showing off in my younger years. The venomous snakes were all copperheads and I got careless with them as they were very docile however I was trying to milk them and because they were easy to handle I became careless.
Typically snakes are too easy to avoid to consider them a major danger. Just watch what you are doing any you are not very likely to ever git bit by one. Very few if any snake bites occur, unless the peron has actually touched the snake first.
They really are beautiful creatures. I do not rccommend them as pets, because they are much more interesting in their natural habitat
Did you ever work at the Black Hills Reptile Institute?
It's likely rooted in fatality rates which in primative societies were often tropical in nature and people went shoe-less etc.
Even in the modern era snakebite is a major cause of death in countries like Sri-lanka and parts of Africa.
Here in the US we've relatively eradicated the vast majority.
I remember reading a wagon train journal from around Kansas City around 1850ish. they had two guys walking out front with bullwhips to kill rattlesnakes so that they didn't cripple any of the horses etc. Guy noted that they were killing one about every 1/2 mile or so.
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I like snakes. A former co-worker had a pet Indian Rock Python (12'). We went to his house almost daily for lunch to watch the soaps and he would let the snake out. It almost always crawled up on my lap and stayed there until we had to go back to work. Sometimes the snake would be loose in the house when we arrived and I would invariably find him in the bathroom when I went in to use the facilities. Now that would sometimes freak me out if I heard rustling behind the shower curtain and find Hajai hanging from the shower head.
My late husband and I used to go on short driving trips to visit farm stands for fresh fruit and veggies. At one place there was a teen girl showing off her pet snakes and I asked if I could hold the 6' boa. That was fun. It just draped itself around my neck and allowed me to pet it.
They are stealthy, and that scares a lot of people. They can be sitting right next to (or sidle up to) you and you may not notice until they have struck.
They can and have killed a lot of people. This triggers the primordial directive of flight or fight.
Most people don't encounter enough of them to be able to tell the difference between species.
Most people don't see enough of them to know anything except what they see in movies or the news and NONE of that is ever good news.
So, what you don't know, may not see, can't tell the differences of, have heard bad about, and may kill you (as many people believe), is something to be avoided, respected, and to an extent feared.
Did you ever work at the Black Hills Reptile Institute?
It's been on my bucket list for a while now.
No I was living in Louisiana at the time. I used to catch snakes for Ross Allen who was in Coral Springs Florida. With the copper heards and Rattlesnakes I would just milk them and send him the venom. It was a way to make a few dollars during my college years. Actually paid pretty good used to get $85 dollars an ounce for Rattlesnake venom, to put it in perspective gold was going for about $35 an ounce at the time.
Being a lover of snakes, I just cant see why people have so much hatred towards these amazing animals. Is it ignorance? I find snakes to be one of the most forgiving animals in the entire animal kingdom. By that I mean they usually flee, and give ample warning that theyre upset, well before they bite. And even then their bites are mild, and even venomous snakes hesitate to inject venom (aka a "dry bite").
If you despise snakes, can I ask why it is that you do? I often find that those who educate themselves about snakes usually end up developing a soft spot for snakes. I would encourage you to do the same.
I don't much understand the maligning of snakes either. If someone is a fleabag., sneaky, dishonest chump, he gets labeled a snake. It ain't right. There is nothing sneaky or dishonest about a snake. Yon ALWAYS know exactly where you stand and what his intentions are. I prefer comparing low crawling people to . verminous rodents. And..who do yon need to get rid of such creatures? Hep! A snake. Preferably a non venomous one.
I don't try to be chummy with rattlers like I am with bulls and racers. But, those last two I invite over for supper whenever they feel like coming. Mouse, rat, gopher and mole, all they can eat.
I like snakes. I frequently see them in the hills when I am riding my bike, and I have educated myself about what kinds live in my area.
A couple of weeks ago I saw a Pacific rattler, a gopher snake, and a ringneck snake all on the same ride. Never saw three different kinds in the same day before; I enjoyed that!
Most people I talk to are afraid only because they view all snakes as potentially poisonous. I try to educate them when I can. The only poisonous snakes around here are rattlers, and they are easy to identify, but of course I also tell them it's better not to touch any snake if you're not 100% sure what it is.
My husband and I were hiking in Idaho and encountered a rubber boa. We had never seen one before, so we just observed it. When we got back and looked it up and read more about rubber boas, we really wished we had picked it up!
Some people just seem to have an irrational snake phobia. There's not much to be done about that. I think it has to do with their having no legs, because these people usually have no problem with lizards. It is pretty irrational. The same people also tend not to like insects or spiders. I guess two legs are okay, four legs are okay, but any number more or less than that is terrifying or disgusting. (You should see how people flinch and scream when I pick up a tarantula and move it off the trail).
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. I thought they'd be slimy but they're not.
