Ophidiophobia: Why Fear the Awesome Snake?

One of the most well-known things about snakes is that a lot of people fear them. They’ve been symbols of danger for a very long time, one can have a legitimate phobia of them, and are generally seen as hostile and/or deadly creatures.

One reason for this might be because snakes seem rather alien. They have no limbs, and what’s more, they evolved that way, since more primitive snakes like boas have been known to have vestigial back legs in their skeletal structure. So snakes were animals that were better equipped to have no limbs; that’s just a freaky idea all on its own. They can also open their jaws far wider than a person, often bu un-hinging them (a process which can't help but sound painful) to swallow prey larger than their heads.

 Another thing is the venom issue, even though the majority of snakes aren’t venomous and in the venomous section even fewer pose threats to people, when people think of “snake” they are mostly likely to think of something venomous, or at least deadly like the large constrictors.

 Now, some snakes deserve this fearsome reputation. Take the Black Mamba: it’s one of the deadliest snakes in the world, its size (10-14 ft avg.) gives it a large striking range, and it’s so aggressive that snake expert Jack Seale calls it “death incarnate”. It’s common for villagers in Africa to kill them on site, but it has been known to take groups to accomplish the act safely.

 Several others, like the Saw-Scaled Viper, are dangerous due to their camouflage since people don’t notice the snake until they’ve stepped on it and likely been bitten. The Eastern Coral Snake, which can be found in my home state of Florida, is the ninth most venomous in the world, and yet they have a low mortality rate, possible due to being more noticeable than hiders like the Saw-Scaled Viper.

 It has been suggested that primates have an in-built fear of snakes. When I was in high school, I read about an experiment where a reticulated python was drugged asleep and various animals were put in a room with it. Birds hopped around close by, with some chickens even climbing on the snake itself. Rodents and other small mammals likewise ignored the snake or inspected it, heedless of its potential danger. Primates were put in the room and became hysterical. 

 So, is it really instinctual to fear snakes? Possibly, as I noted earlier on here, snakes were brought to my pre-school by a group who wanted us to not be over-scared of them, thus trying to deal with the fear when we were children, before it became ingrained. This is in stark contrast to my mother, who has stated that if I ever get a pet snake (despite the fact that I have expressed interest in only small, non-venomous species) then she will never visit me. 

 How logical is it to fear snakes? It really comes down to the species. I don’t need to be afraid of a king snake if I come across it, but I should be wary of a cobra, just like people shouldn’t fear a house-cat but should be careful around a puma. Snakes are more diverse than people give them credit for, and that, perhaps, is the biggest lesson of all about them.

Snakes aren’t a single entity; they have different forms and temperaments, and should be dealt with accordingly. Of course, even if you know it’s a non-aggressive species, the best option with non-pet snakes is still to leave them alone. Snakes my not deserve unconditional fear, but they still deserve our respect.

Snakes in Culture: Proof of Awesomeness

Snakes are all over the board culturally. In America, and most Christian nations, the most pervasive idea of the snake is that it’s evil, since the Devil supposedly took it as the form to tempt Eve into eating the apple. In Hindu, most images of Shiva show him with a snake around his neck. Wicca sees the snake as a symbol of knowledge. In Buddhism, Naga are deities that have taken the form of snakes.  And that’s not even getting into ancient cultures, many of which had snakes as gods.

 Why are opinions on snakes so diverse? Part of the reason is that they’re so diverse as a species. Many countries in Europe can count the (not very aggressive) Common European Adder as their sole venomous snake, so other animals were seen as more of a threat than in parts of Africa or Asia where snakes like the very aggressive Black Mamba are found. Big snakes, like pythons, are usually only found in dense jungles, and vipers, cobras, and small constrictors are so visibly different that they were able to develop different reputations, only for those to all get put under the word “snake”. 

 So, there are tons of places you’ll see snakes today. One of the most obvious is on the crest for Slytherin House, the house of ambition and cunning in the popular Harry Potter books. Another is on the Rod of Asclepius, used by several doctor’s offices and a few insurance agencies as a symbol of healing. One of the more famous portraits of Queen Elizabeth the First, The Rainbow Portrait, has a snake on her sleeve as a sign of wisdom. The movies can’t get enough of them, from the Anaconda series to Snakes on a Plane, usually as symbols of danger or, by enlarging them, as the movie’s monster. 

 Interestingly enough, a lot of modern media productions try to find reasons for their snakes to be aggressive. Snakes on a Plane justified the unusual aggression with pheromones the snakes were overdosed with, and Anacondas 2 made the excuse of mating season. It seems even movie-makers are trying to improve the snakes image slightly, at least to where people won’t think they pose more of a threat than they do. 

 That’ll be the next topic, actually: Ophidiophobia: Why Fear the Awesome Snake?

 

 The Rainbow Portrait                     Slytherin Crest             Snakes on a Plane poster

Pet Snakes Part 2---Keeping Your Awesome Pet Snake

So, if you’ve made your mind about having a pet snake, and you know what breed you want, here’s the next step: preparing your home and giving the snake somewhere to live and be happy.

Food:

Lots of people will tell you to feed your snakes live prey. This is a bad idea for several reasons.

1.     The prey can fight back, and may harm the snake (especially if it’s prey with claws or teeth)

2.     The snake is in an enclosed area, so if they prey starts to overpower it there’s nowhere for it to hide

3.     Live prey is hard to keep, whereas freeze-dried prey can be kept in a freezer and simply be reheated

So, whenever you can, go for pre-killed prey at the very least, frozen if you want to buy in bulk. Ask pet store employees for advice!

 Habitats:

 Snakes have several needs in their habitats. The average pet snake will require all of the following:

• A terrarium of appropriate size made thoroughly escape-proof
• Controlled temperatures, usually via a basking lamp and checked with a thermometer
• A mister if the snake requires humidity
• A water dish, cleaned daily
• Somewhere to hide

That last one my strike you as odd since you want to see your snake, but remember, snakes are solitary creatures, and they need their privacy or else they’ll get very stressed. Also, if for some reason you are keeping a very large snake (do not do so without experience/permits), it may eventually need a room to itself that is also escape-proof

Healthcare

Your snake needs it health looked after like any pet. According to PetSmart, here are the key things to check:

Signs of a Healthy Snake

• Consistent behavior
• Clear, alert eyes (except during shedding)
• Good body condition
• Regular shedding during growth
• Eating and drinking with regular frequency
• Well-formed stool 2-3 days after feeding

Things to Watch For

• Runny stool or red streaks in the stool
• Sudden changes in behavior
• Eating or drinking less; weight loss
• Discharge from the nose or mouth
• Difficulty shedding; discolored skin or patches of skin or eye caps remaining after shed

If you notice problems, go to a vet.

Next week: Popular Culture Acknowledges the Awesome Snake

Pet Snakes Part 1—So You Want an Awesome Pet Snake

 So, like many snake enthusiasts, I want a snake as a pet. I’ve wanted one since I was in third grade (I settled for a puppy). I have since then done a lot of research into snake ownership.

 Why snakes? Well, as PetSmart’s page on snakes will tell you: 

           ·         They're fascinating to learn about

             ·         They tend to be quite docile

             ·         They're easy to care for

             ·         They come in a beautiful and vast array of striking colors and patterns 

             ·         Snakes are associated with minimal odor

The first thing to consider about owning a snake is that snakes are classed as exotic animals. They are not domesticated and many require a license to own. Before choosing a snake at all, you need to make sure that you are qualified to own one and that it’s okay to have one in your living arrangement. For example, my mother has stated I will not own a snake under her roof and if I ever get one she will hesitate to visit me.

 After considering if having a snake is a possibility, one must see if it is probable that they can take care of it. Snakes can live over twenty years, will require food (frozen and pre-killed is best, but that means donated freezer space for your pet), and must be kept securely in a large enough space. For most snakes that means a terrarium, but for the larger ones it can mean they may eventually need their own room.

 As noted in About.com’s Exotic Pets section, larger snakes and venomous snakes should not be kept as pets. They are more dangerous and require a lot of experience to be kept safely—and usually a harder-to-obtain license to be kept legally.

 PetSmart’s website has a very helpful tool for choosing reptiles as pets that take into account the owner’s experience with such animals, the size it will grow to, its preferred climate, how long it will likely live, and other such notes. All of these are very important for taking care of your snake.

The best bet for acquiring a snake would be to buy a captive-bred one, instead of one caught in the wild. Snakes that have been bred in captivity, while not domesticated by any means, are usually calmer and less prone to stress.

The three most typical beginner snakes are the Corn Snake (often available in specially bred colors), the Ball Python (also known as a Royal Python and one of the most commonly bred) and King and Milk snakes (non-venomous, tend to stay smaller than other snakes). These breeds are typically the most docile and the most available to the average pet owner. The (About.Com page) has links to the specific care of each species, but tomorrow’s post here will have tips about general snake care and handling.

Next Post: Pet Snakes Part 2—Keeping Your Awesome Pet Snake

How I Came to Discover That Snakes are Awesome

Before we get to my love of snakes, I think I should bring up why I don’t fear them. At my pre-school, the teachers had some exotic animal owners bring in some snakes to get the kids over irrational fears regarding them (there were other fears that we were being taught out of, but that one stuck because of how cool the day was). They brought a huge boa that took seven or eight of us to hold and a small rattler that was a rescue (someone had removed its venom sac) so we could hear what a rattle sounded like. While we were taught not to mess with wild snakes, the class made it clear that normally if you leave a snake alone, it’ll leave you alone.

Now, as to why I love them. Oddly enough, my love of snakes can be entirely blamed on Pokémon, or more accurately Beckett Pokémon Collector magazine, and on my second grade teacher. We were given an assignment to do a 5-step food chain, and mine included a snake. I was having issue drawing one, however. So my friend hand me the magazine, since there was a picture of an actual snake alongside a picture of the Pokémon Arbok along with an article.

 I happened to read the article, which stated that Arbok was based off the King Cobra, the largest venomous snake in the world. I was interested to learn more, because the snake pictured looked next to nothing like Arbok, even ignoring that the Pokémon was colored bright purple.

 The school’s library had exactly four books on snakes. Since I was looking for cobras, I chose two that talked about deadly snakes. I very quickly came to the conclusion that the article was wrong and Arbok looked a lot more like an Indian Cobra, due to them sharing a large, marked hood. I was also fascinated by other facts, such as the legend of the Black Mamba I mentioned last time and exactly how long the longest Reticulated Python on record was (around 29 feet, which at the time I mentally thought of as ‘more than three times the height of my Uncle Steve’). It explained how snakes moved without legs and how different snakes had different styles of moving, from what people generally think as slithering to the very interesting maneuver known as side-winding.

 With all the interesting information on them to explore, I was beyond hooked, and snatched up every snake book I could for years.

 While I consistently dragged my parents to see the snakes, I got an even better opportunity when I was in eighth grade. I got to do Keeper for a Day at our Zoo, where I got to hold the Red Tailed Boa, Elmo, and the Ball Python, Fluffy. Later, when volunteering at ZooCamp, I often ended up holding Fluffy a lot for the kids who were afraid of her.

 I‘d wanted a pet snake for a long time, but it was Elmo who turned the wanting into begging. I still remember how she kept slithering into my hoodie pockets for warmth (it was winter and the show area was outdoors). My parents denied me, for the good reason that our jumpy hunting dog of a Cocker would probably kill the thing on sight, or at least attack its cage. Since I couldn’t bear to subject a snake to that kind of stress, I have accepted that until I have my own place I won’t have a pet snake, and have instead devoted my time to doing research on what breed to get and how best to care for snakes.

Me, at the Zoo-Boo, holding a snake being advertised by Herp-Sellers that were attending

Next Post: Snakes as Pets—Dos and Don’ts