Posted by:
EricWI
at Fri Sep 25 11:39:24 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by EricWI ]
DELTONA, Fla. -- Snake owners say they love reptiles.
The slithery creatures have made local headlines lately after an 18-foot Burmese python was found in the back yard of an Apopka home.
But why do people make the potentially dangerous creatures as pets?
A group of snake owners in Deltona said they just can't get enough of the reptiles.
They're cold-blooded, sometimes poisonous, and depicted as evil, but Ron Doria, a white-collar medical sales director, can't get enough of his snakes.
"They have such a bad rap of being something so vicious and so violent. It's not like that. It's just, it's false," Doria said.
Doria keeps over 40 snakes in his Deltona home. He shares his passion with a friend, Brian Radenberg, who owns over 100 snakes. Radenberg made the news when the city of Deltona tried unsuccessfully last year to force him to get rid of his venomous snakes.
There's also Scott Quint, a software engineer who owns 35 snakes. Why do these men have such a fascination with the animals?
For Quint, it's the science.
"They're beautiful animals. I think, evolutionally speaking, they're one of the most unique animals," Quint said.
For Radenberg, it's the way they feel.
"They just kind of crawl around on you, and I don't know, they're comfortable," Radenberg said.
And for Doria, who owns rattlesnakes, it's the thrill.
"I like the risk, a little bit, of knowing we have something ... control something that doesn't want to be controlled," Doria said.
The men said because they have the proper caging, proper licenses, and the experience to handle snakes, it mitigates any danger. They get frustrated by the negative stereotypes assigned to snake owners.
"There's still a belief that, if you keep snakes, you're somehow different. You're weird or you're not like everybody else, and admittedly, there are plenty of people who can give that appearance, but there also are plenty who do not," Quint said.
While snake owners may love their snakes, do their snakes love them back?
"They won't show affection, of course, like a dog or a cat. They don't have a brain large enough to do that, and everything is basically instinct for a snake," Chaz Hanna said.
Hanna sells snakes. He believes they're popular pets simply because they're fascinating to watch and easy to care for.
For many people, a learned fear of snakes makes the thought of owning one repulsive.
To help ensure the safety of others, both Radenberg and Doria have posted warnings on the entrances to their homes stating that venomous snakes live inside.
That way, if emergency personnel such as firefighters or police ever have to enter, they'll be forewarned.
http://www.wesh.com/green-pages/21059138/detail.html
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 Why Do People Make Snakes Pets? - EricWI, Fri Sep 25 11:39:24 2009
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