Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was very fortunate to grow up on a farm deep in the woods of southern Tennessee, "the greenest state in the land of the free," as the song says. Immediately to the side of our house was a huge hallow with a small stream running through the middle of it. Enormous trees created a canopy over the top. Even in the hottest summers the canopy would keep the moss covered hillsides at a comfortable temperature to play from dawn until past dusk. There, at that little stream, is where my love of snakes came from.
There was a small waterfall with a pool below it where I built a lean-to among the trees. Frogs, toads, lizards, salamanders and turtles all came to visit me there. And oh how I relished the days that I found a snake!
We have tiny little sankes that we call, "Love snakes," or, "Ringnecks." They are black on top and white on their belly with a bright yellow ring around their necks. They are all over the woods (and sometimes in your house ); and they are so cute and sweet. They are the perfect first snake encounter for a little girl. They fit in palm of my loving, careful five year old hand. That was heaven.
On a really, really good day I would find a green snake hanging from a tree limb low enough for me to reach!
Oh, I saw plenty of poisonous snakes, too, but I just watched them watching me, and we never bothered each other. If they happened to be in my lean-to, I'd just go for a walk and pray they didn't eat one of my frogs!
I am 23 now, 24 in February, and I still want to hold every snake I see, and so does my daughter!
So what makes all of you love snakes?
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Bel
1:1:1 Green Iguanas
Numerous Great Danes, Cats and Horses
the_elysian_fields_twh@yahoo.com

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should . . ."

That is a very interesting topic. And one that is pretty hard to answer. I guess my love for reptiles started when I was about 10 or so. I had an avid interest in dinosaurs. Well naturally since there isn't any dinosaurs then the next best thing is the reptiles of today. I have always had a passion for the large constrictors and have owned many of them over the last 18 years. I learn new things from them everyday and haven't found anything that gives me as much pleasure(except for my wife and children) then watching my herps. Todd

Great question! I, too, was a dinosaur freak when I was 4 years old....actually, I just loved all kinds of animals. My parents tried the gerbil and guinea pig route but they discovered I was allergic to anything with fur or feathers (which, thankfully, I have outgrown as in addition to the many herps I keep and work with, I also keep raptors and a few oddball mammals). So, they asked my doctor what options they had in terms of a pet for me. They recommended a reptile...and the rest is history! I have been around reptiles all of my life and have many entertaining stories to tell about my many herp escapades (such as when I brought home a young spectacled caiman and told my dad it was an aquatic lizard; until that "lizard" grew to 5' and I had to fess up...the two of us look back and laugh at that one). Through my parents support and encouragement I grew up knowing that I would someday work with reptiles as a profession (and now I do and make an absolutely wonderful living doing it)....I basically ate, slept and breathed reptiles 24/7 (and back then, you only had Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and Roger Conant's and Carl Kauffeld's books to read!...but they were magical to me)....and now, at the ripe YOUNG age of 40, I am still doing it! But, my family (wife and two daughters) are first and foremost in my life and they get to share my passion by helping at my wildlife center, going on field expeditions and assisting me in the field on some of my herp research...kind of like a croc hunter family in Illinois!...minus the feeding demos....well, my daughter did get nipped by our dwarf caiman when I was teaching her the proper method for restraint and during a brief moment in which I was applying some medicine to an infected eye, my daughter inadvertently got her finger caught in the caiman's mouth; it's only approx. 30" but big enough to make you wish you didn't get nipped. Now she thinks she is really cool (oh how I hated to tell my wife about that one!).

Hmm.. My love of reptiles stems from when I was 2 in NC living on a farm. We had a clothesline out back, with slate steps leading to it. The one closest to the house was home to a cornsnake that my mom tells me I would watch every day if it was out. Thru the years, I would occasionally find a ringneck, or a king. Then while in Kindergarten, the Serpentarium in S. Miami brought a huge Burm to school for show and tell... This thing was huge (to a 5 year old) and had 4 people holding it.
Then in Junior high, my dad brought home a corn, that freaked my mom out because she said it looked exactly like the one in NC. That started a trend.
Within a year, every nook and cranny in my room housed a reptile of some kind. Along with one scorpion, and two ferrets. I had a multitude of Corn and rat snakes. One coral snake...(yes, I know, but I didnt want to release it in the city.) A few milks, a ball python, a jeweled rat snake (i think) and my favorite yellow rat snake...(she was EVIL).
Now at 27, I have 5 snakes, 2 snapping turtles, and a Huge RES. As my house gets bigger, so will my collection...
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Coastal Carpet Python 0.1
Albino Burm 0.1
Columbian RedTail 0.1
Kenyan Sand Boa 1.0
Common Snapping Turtle 1.1
RES 1.0

How old were you when you outgrew your fur allergy? I'd like to be able to have some hope of owning a gennet or springhaas or russian wolfhound someday...
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

Hrm...When I was a kid I always had a fascination with all animals, but snakes always stood out. I was always searching for books etc. to read and learn from. The library lady probably thought I was mad! I never actually thought about what got me into snakes in particular until you asked this question...so I guess, when I think about it, my first interesting snake encounter was when I was 5 years old. My much older cousin...in his late teens at the time, had a Kingsnake as a pet. What amazed me most was, that he had, in another tank, over a dozen wild caught garters etc that he had caught around the farm, and kept in the tank as feeders...I thought that was the coolest thing I had ever seen...and it hooked me for life.

Shawn

For as long as I can remember I've always loved animals of every type. Unfortunately, I'm allergic to every kind of animal there is. No, really, you name it - I have an allergy to it. Throughout my childhood I can remember almost always have either a family dog or cat. As much as I loved any of our pets I had to endure the consequences of playing even for just a few minutes with them. Most of my allergic reactions send me into a fit of sneezing, wheezing, and insatiably itching my eyes.

Now, I'm not sure if I actually am allergic to EVERY type of animal, as I've never had an opportunity to 'pet' let's say, an elephant, for example. But I'll bet it would send me away sneezing. Yes, I am allergic to snakes too! I know this from the bites I have received over the years. Fortunately, my snake allergies are only negligible at most. Even my worst bite, from a nine foot green anaconda left little more than slight whitish bumps at the entry/exit point of each tooth (very similar to having big mosquito bites (which also are a form of allergic reaction...)). I could tell you all about that bite sometime if you're interested.

Being that snakes are the closest thing to non-allergenic I've found so far, and of course that they are incredibly sleek, captivating, and rewarding pets - they won me over without contest. Not to mention, I love having pets that only [poop] once a week (and not in my backyard OR my neighbors yards), don't leave fur all over the house, don't bark all night, don't chew up my furniture or my shoes, don't need to be fed everyday, and who seem to cherish their 'personal space' just as much as I do. I can really identify with that.

- Mark

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