Yeah, unfortunately if you are off of your own property, you can get into a world of trouble by walking around with your snake. Not so much that someone will arrest you for having it out, but there are lots of people who have great fear of snakes. My aunt, for example, informed me that she will NEVER visit my house again because she knows I have them. Regardless of where I put them or lock them up, she won't step foot in the house.

Yes, the same is true with dogs, some people have fear of dogs, but fluffy mammals tend to get a lot more leniency...

If you were out walking and encountered someone who was scared of the snake, they could possibly try to sue you or pursue some other legal action due to their "trauma" (yes, I quoted it, heck, I'm scared of spiders but I just avoid them and wouldn't care if someone took a tarantula for a walk as long as they didn't try to make me hold it). Also, should your snake lash out at anyone (say if a kid runs up to the snake and tries to pat it on the head), that's another headache.

I personally want to take my snakes out as much as I can, there are so many more reptile enthusiasts out there than you would imagine. But anywhere people are, there is fear and misunderstanding, and so the general rule of thumb is that you should not have a reptile in a public place where the general public would "not expect to encounter an exotic reptile" - so bringing one to a reptile show would be ok, but not other places. I try to bring a snake to work once a week and have a travel cage set up in my cubicle - you'd be surprised at the number of people who come up to me asking questions and asking to see & hold them, but I also do not walk around the office with the snake on my arm, so that those with fears will always know the snake is in my cube and nowhere else.

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