Snakes can make excellent pets if the farce stories of eating people, slimy tongues, and the defiance of snakes by movies can be overlooked. Throughout history snakes have been believed to be slimy and hands of evil. These beliefs started as far back as Adam and Eve, where Satan was the serpent who came to Eve and convinced her to eat from the forbidden fuit.
Today these beliefs have caused society to continue their discomfort with the snake species. Most people have never come in contact with a snake, unless it was at the zoo, or a gartnersnake in the backyard. Their theories of snakes unfortuanately, have come from movies and books. Where snakes are portrayed as evil and dangerous. Although it is true that some species possess venom, which can be toxic to humans. This is not true for the common snake. In order to diminish some of the discomforts one might have when around snakes. We must bring forth the reality of these false beliefs.
Snakes are believed to be slimy creatures, who slither around and kill anything. "In Western literature and religious thought, the forked tongue of a serpent has symbolized deceit and cunning" (Discover"-94.2) ." What is not realized of-course is the importance of the forked tongue to the snake species.
"It is a way to find sex or-food-- and the fork, biologist Kurt Schwenk of the University of Connecticut at Stous has found, is what makes the tongue so effective. The tongue acts as a chemoreceptor, picking up chemicals from the environment each time it flicks out and delivering them to a pair of sense organs in the snout called vomeronsal oragans ("Discover"-94.20)."
So the next time you are licked by asnake, or see one constantly flicking its tongue, remember it's just making itself aware of its surrounding enviroment.
Though it is true some snakes are dangerous. Keep in mind many others are harmless. FDA Consumer states that approximately 8,000 people a year are victims of venomous snakebite in the United States, and that roughly none to fifteen of these victims die ("FDA Consumer"-95.1). However one must remember this does not happen in a normal domesticated backyard. These bites occur in wilderness areas, that are homes to theses venomous snakes.
"-Leave snakes alone. Many people are bitten because they try to kill a
snake or get a closer look at it.
-Stay out of tall grass unless you wear thick leather boots, and remain on
hiking paths as much as possible.
-Keep hands and feet out of areas you can't see. Don't pick up rocks or firewood unless you are out of a snake's striking distance. (A snake can strike half its length, Hardy says.)
-Be cautious and alert when climbing rocks (FDA Consumer-95. 1)."
If one remembers these precautions one can make them-self much safer.
It is further believed that Boa Constrictors eat people, and are the worlds largest snakes, however both of these allegations are false. Boa Constrictors do nnot eat people, they are not even of adequate size to do so. Columbian Boa Constrictors actually are said to make the best pets. It is also a misconception to believe Boas are venomous, hence the word constrictor.
These beliefs have been put in the minds of people by movies and literature. It is important that the viewer or reader of this entertainment remember it is all fiction. "Anaconda" is the latest of the fiction movies to portray snakes as man-eaters. However there has been no accurate report to show this is a fact. There is a dispute on whether the anaconda is the world's largest snake. The Encyclopedia of Snakes says that if it were up to weight alone, there would be almost no doubt that the anaconda is in-fact the world's biggest snake (18).
The anaconda's competition comes from the Python family. Python reticulatus , better known as the Reticulating Python, is said to be the longest. "Oliver mentions a specimen of 10m (33 ft) that was killed by locals in Celebes and measured accurately by a civil engineer, but there was no evidence (Encyclopedia of Snakes-20)." Although there is no evidence of this being true. It is widely accepted. The Wichita Zoo uses this measurement to describe the possible length of the evormous snake. They also have one for viewing that is approximately 25 ft. As far as "retics" eating human prey; it has been said that a "retic" once ate a tribesman. Once again there is no underlying proof to this belief. Needless to say anacondas and reticulating pythons do not make good household pets. Unlike that of the slow moving boa family.
The locomotion of the snake species tens to bother those afraid or unaware of the species. They tend to feel the movement of the snake is slimy.
"Locomotion results from the passage of a series of waves that originate at the head and travel backwards. If there is nothing to impede the passage of the waves as, for instance, when asnake is placed on a sheet of plished glass, no progress results; but if there are obstacles, stones, twigs, vegetation or mere irregularities of the ground, the waves in their passage press against them adn this pressure pushes the animal forward (H.W. Parker-12)."
One must understand movement is not induced by slime, but by scales on the underside of the body. These scales have leather like texture to them which causes snakes to be soft creatures for the most part. Snakes are unable to move at fast paces, which most people tend to think they can. Though the strike itself is very quick; the actual movement is very slow.
Snakes are unable to rely on their sense of hearing. " The absence of an ear drum must obviously affect the auditory sense, because this structure has the function of collecting air-borne sound waves and transmitting whtm through a bony rod (the stapes) to the inner ear, where they are translated into nerve impulses that reach the brain via th auditory nerve (H.W.Parker-28)."
Since snakes can only hear very low frequencies and feel vibrations it does not help to scream at them in order to scare them off. Movement is very important when it comes to avoiding snakebite. One must remain calm and still until danger is not apparent. Here agoin domesticated snakes are usually use to movement of any kind; therefore they do not usually get nervous. A snake will not bite except for defense, and for prey. "The chance of being bitten by a venomous snake is less that that of being struck by lightening (Ernst and Barbour-1). " So as you can see, unless you are out hunting for snakes your chance of being bitten is slim to none.
Ernst and Barbour say in their book "Snakes of Eastern North America", that there are 58 species of snakes in eastern North America; Typhlopdae, Colubridae, Elapidae, and the Viperidae. They also say that to most people snakes are all the same. This is not true. Ernst and Barbour say all together there are approximately 2700 species of snakes.
Since the dawn of time snakes have been falsely accused of being evil. Give them a break. Some species such as the boas make excellent pets. I have two myself. They don't make noise, pee on the carpet, or annoy my guests. To me that makes a excellent pet. Don't let movies and fiction books destroy your image of these wonderful creatures. Pick up a book sometime and learn about them. You just might find snakes fascinating. You can also go to your local snake dealer and see for yourself how beautiful these creatures can be. You might even let one kiss you sometime.
