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Terrified Texan

B

bosquecountyboy

New member
Not gonna lie. Snakes terrify me. I am a 6'2 300 lb guy who turns into a quivering child when I see them, but I am trying to conquer that fear. I grew up in small town Texas where copperheads and rattlers are abundant. I had very bad experiences with both of those as well as a cottonmouth. I'm not a kill every snake kinda guy, nor am I a kill every venomous snake kinda guy. Just had some bad experiences.

Once when I was 7 I was sitting in a chair and my mom told me not to move. Two copperheads had crawled underneath me trying to get warm by the fire we had built I guess. I stayed still and managed to not get bit as they crawled inches from me, but it was traumatizing.

A few years later my dad took me hunting and we ran across a rattler that never rattled. It struck and hit my dad in the pants leg. It didn't get him but was enough of a scare he dropped his gun, which nearly killed me.

Same year a cottonmouth tried to take over the rock I was fishing from. (not a harmless water snake, this cottonmouth showed me why it got it's name.)

Then came the worst experience. My dad was a cruel man, who is not longer in my life btw. He decided it would be funny to kill a rattler he came across and put it in a woodpile he wanted me to unload from the truck. I stuck my hand in grabbed the snake who still had some nerves left in it active I guess and twitched in my hand. Scared the living crap out of me and pretty much sealed the deal of me being terrified.

However, through my terror I have always been fascinated. I read about them anytime I see articles, I actively search for and watch videos on YouTube and of course I love the reptile houses at the zoo. I want to not be afraid and so I have started a journey to unlearn my fear. After a lot of research I have decided to start with corn snakes. I am not buying one right now, my first step is to find a private owner near me or a pet store that will let me handle one first. I have never handled a snake with my bare hands. I removed a rat snake and a king snake from my garage last year with a garden rake (did NOT harm them at all) but have never handled one.

So I am here to learn and one day I hope to be showing off my own baby corn to y'all. Forgive me if I ask a thousand questions but I want to make sure I do this right and that I don't jump into something I can't handle. I am experienced with other reptiles, I bred beardies and cresties for a few years, but snakes are entirely new to me.
 
wild snakes are wild snakes and pets snakes are pets. There's a world of difference.

A wild dog (Dingo, Coyote, Wolf, Hyena etc..) will bite whereas a pet dog usually doesn't.

A wild cat (Lion, Tiger, Panther, Bobcat etc...) will attack and bite whereas a pet house cat will curl up on your feet, purr and go to sleep.

I have had 5 snakes over the past 41 years. 2 Boa Constrictors (1 was 11 feet long), a California King Snake, a Ball (Royal) Python, and currently a Corn snake. None of my snakes ever bit me or anyone else. None!

That's not to say they won't, I've heard stories of people with pet snakes that bite all the time. Maybe they are lousy owners, or I'm just a lucky owner.

I've been bitten numerous times by snakes. Too many to count. All of them were wild snakes that I caught. When I was a kid, me and my buddies would go out snake hunting. I've been bitten by water snakes, rat snakes, green snakes, king snakes, fortunately nothing venomous. But then I know how to tell the difference and I'm not going to mess with anything dangerous.

A corn snake may bite you, although most of them are very friendly. Even the wild ones don't bite too often, but any snake "Can" bite you at any time.

It doesn't hurt, the small snakes feel like velcro rubbing against your skin, the bigger snakes are like tiny pins or cat scratches.

Snakes for the most part "Fear You" just as much as you fear them. That's why they bite in the first place.

But hopefully, you're not going to go catch a wild snake and try to tame it. And if you start out with an already tame snake, then you'll probably have nothing to worry about.

All of my snakes over the years have been like any other pet. I've also had a Parrot, 2 dogs and 2 cats. I enjoy the company of my snakes just as I did the other pets, and I believe my snakes enjoyed being with me too. You can tell.
 
Karl_Mcknight said:
wild snakes are wild snakes and pets snakes are pets. There's a world of difference.

A wild dog (Dingo, Coyote, Wolf, Hyena etc..) will bite whereas a pet dog usually doesn't.

A wild cat (Lion, Tiger, Panther, Bobcat etc...) will attack and bite whereas a pet house cat will curl up on your feet, purr and go to sleep.

I have had 5 snakes over the past 41 years. 2 Boa Constrictors (1 was 11 feet long), a California King Snake, a Ball (Royal) Python, and currently a Corn snake. None of my snakes ever bit me or anyone else. None!

That's not to say they won't, I've heard stories of people with pet snakes that bite all the time. Maybe they are lousy owners, or I'm just a lucky owner.

I've been bitten numerous times by snakes. Too many to count. All of them were wild snakes that I caught. When I was a kid, me and my buddies would go out snake hunting. I've been bitten by water snakes, rat snakes, green snakes, king snakes, fortunately nothing venomous. But then I know how to tell the difference and I'm not going to mess with anything dangerous.

A corn snake may bite you, although most of them are very friendly. Even the wild ones don't bite too often, but any snake "Can" bite you at any time.

It doesn't hurt, the small snakes feel like velcro rubbing against your skin, the bigger snakes are like tiny pins or cat scratches.

Snakes for the most part "Fear You" just as much as you fear them. That's why they bite in the first place.

But hopefully, you're not going to go catch a wild snake and try to tame it. And if you start out with an already tame snake, then you'll probably have nothing to worry about.

All of my snakes over the years have been like any other pet. I've also had a Parrot, 2 dogs and 2 cats. I enjoy the company of my snakes just as I did the other pets, and I believe my snakes enjoyed being with me too. You can tell.
Click to expand...

Definitely not going the WC route. I intend to buy from a reputable breeder when I take that step. Wild animals are wild animals to me and I try never to remove them from their habitat unless they are injured or I am harvesting them for food purposes.

I have accepted that at some point I may end up bitten, which I'm not thrilled about but I accept it as part of owning an animal with predatory instincts. I've been bitten plenty of times before by other animals (dogs, cats, donkeys, rats, hamsters, etc...) but never a snake.

I had one rather large female beardie with a serious attitude problem. She actively hunted my fingers for the first year of her life and consistently drew blood. She would latch on and shake like a pit bull. If I was reaching into her cage for any reason she was charging me. Then one day a switch flipped and she became a huge cuddler lol Seriously the sweetest dragon I ever owned. It was weird. All my other dragons may have nipped as babies but never again.

I'm looking at corns because all my research says they are pretty tame snakes overall and I have two, soon to be three, children in the house as well aged 5 yrs, 18 months and of course unborn. The cage will be locked at all times and just like with the dragons the only person holding them will be me for now to protect the animal. However, I don't want to pass my fear on to my kids because the 5 year old LOVES nature. I want him to be cautious but unafraid.

It's funny. On the family ranch I've faced down 2000 pound bulls with nothing but a hotshot and a prayer, but show me a 3 foot long nope rope and I'm terrified lol Gotta get that fixed.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate all the input I can get.
 
Haha, Karl, I don't think it's quite fair to compare captive bred snakes to domesticated species. If my lava blood were a dog (especially any bull breed), she would most certainly be put down...or perhaps trained in hog hunting.

Fortunately the rest are exceedingly docile. Hand in face? I'll just go around the side. Picked up? I'm in a tree! Head restrained then released? Oops, I got stuck! Zero defensive behavior. 100% chill.
 
First of all, welcome! Kudos to you for taking this step, despite your fears about snakes!!

I have to agree with Laura, I don't agree with the analogy of comparisons listed in Karl's post, for a few reasons (one being he clearly hasn't met any Belgian Malinois), plus I have met a number of cats who bite just because they are jerks! LOL
Most wild animals, snakes included, want nothing to do with humans, and would rather avoid people than interact in any way.

But back on topic, anything with teeth can bite. Speaking from experience, Cornsnake bites are no where near as painful as any of the animals you listed as having been bitten by. For most people, it is a mental thing. The idea of being bitten by a snake can be scary. In reality, their teeth are so small, they usually do not draw very much blood, and you will usually see a "U" shaped set of pin prick sized holes from the bite, sometimes two, if they get you with upper and lower jaws. With baby Cornsnakes, many of us refer to their bites as "angry Velcro". LOL

Snakes bite for two reasons: #1 is defensive. They see you as a threat and are defending themselves. (Babies usually grow out of this as they get bigger). #2 is food, if you have handled prey, or are trying to feed them, sometimes, they might get your hand.

Cornsnakes are a great species for a first time snake! They are very easy to care for, are typically pretty docile (I say typically, because some morphs are known for feistier temperaments, but most are docile).

They also come in a huge variety of morphs (colors and patterns).

There is a plethora of information on this forum, you can find answers to most questions by putting key words in the search section in the tool bar.
Feel free to ask questions is you need something clarified, or if you do not find the answer you're looking for.

Be sure to post photos when you do find your new snake!!
 
Thank y'all for the replies. I'll definitely be posting up pics. I didn't talk to my wife about it until last night and found out she has a pretty big fear herself I was unaware of. She just never worried about us having one because she knew I was so terrified, so now we have two people who need to get over their fears lol I'm excited to work through this. I even started a series on my YouTube channel about it haha
 
Fear is a good thing, and I'm glad that you are confronting that fear, and attempting to overcome it. So few people in life even attempt what you are doing. I'm from Texas as well, and I grew up in the country, so I understand where you are coming from. The fear of snakes in ingrained in us, and it would seem your father did not help!

I have never been afraid of snakes, just curious. My father, on the other hand, was terrified of snakes! I brought a toy snake with me to his house one them, and he flipped the hell out! My fear was darkness. It took a series of lucid dreams in my late twenties to cure my fear of the dark. These days I fear nothing.

Best of luck conquering your fear! I hope to see photos of your new snake soon!
 
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