I had a similar thing with my roaches. After my parents finally believed me that dubia roaches won’t infest I said something to them about cockroaches. I don’t remember exactly but my mom was convinced that if they are cockroaches they infest and if they are roaches they might. And then she panicked about dubias infesting since they were cockroaches. I just ended up saying that they were dubia roaches, not cockroaches, but still not agreeing that they were different.
I’m sure there have been plenty of funny things said to me, but I can’t remember them.
Yeah, I know not all BCs get huge, but given that my mom is still struggling with the difference between a sand boa and a boa constrictor, I’m afraid her brain will explode if I try to explain that there are different species, locales, and sizes of boa constrictor.
I plan to get a BC as my next snake…and I’m afraid my mother will have a heart attack when she finds out. I’m considering just calling whatever I get a “dwarf boa” to her, even if it’s not actually a dwarf locale, just to save her sanity.
My mom doesn’t hate snakes or anything, but she doesn’t really understand the appeal of keeping large snakes as pets. She and I will have to agree to disagree on that issue.
Oh yeah, that one works. I always call my ball python a “dwarf python” whenever my grandma who’s terrified of snakes comes to visit. When I first told her I got a python, to her I might as well have told her I got a cobra lol
Remember, a fully grown four foot Male ball python can totally kill an adult human!! I have been assured it will wrap itself around my neck and strangle me as soon as it is big enough.
I don’t tell such people that Finnley is plenty large enough to “wrap himself around my neck” at 4 months old, being easily 50-60cm already. It’s just that I happen to be a gigantic human with slight arm coordination. Only this foils his evil plans!
The criminal mastermind in question here:
“I CLIMBE!”
I always love the, “OMG you have an over five foot snake?! Aren’t you afraid it’s gonna try and eat you?” It’s like asking if a human can fit inside of a garden hose.
So, I will say that some of the fears that people have are ligament, or at least when I talk about having more boas and maybe a female retic. But it is really sad that people are being taught to not use logical reasoning. I have even been asked by adults if snakes have brains, and when I said yes, they were shocked.
Though there are people like this, it makes it all worthwhile when someone actually wants to learn about them. I take Kai out with me sometimes when I am walking around our lake, and there have been a few times when I have been stopped and people really want to meet Kai. Also, I make sure to stay very far away if someone isn’t asking. I think seeing someone else have a positive experience, makes others more willing to give it a shot.
It’s always great when people want to learn. It saddens me though to think about all of the people who are not only ignorant about reptiles, but don’t want to learn at all. I used to have a reptile club back in high school, and most people who would come to the club weren’t coming out of curiosity about the animals or because they loved reptiles, they were coming to make fun of me and the animals, or even to convince me that I should stop keeping reptiles because of their own beliefs. Others treated the club as a novelty. They would come once and hold a ball python and then never return but be bragging to their friends about holding a python.
The question I have been getting lately is how many boas do I own. I tell them I think I have 25 or 30 of them now. I don’t really count them anymore. The look on there face is priceless. They all think they are just running loose in my house.
What actually shocks me more than anything is actually not that NRP think that everything is venomous. If you dont what it is & it possibly could be…well. dont touch it. But what I find more astonishing is the amount of NRP who dont understand ( in my state @ least) its illegal to even have a venomous snake without a permit. I mean local laws in general as informed citizen…I get its not a common thought…but telling people that constantly…they have absolutely no idea ( I do snake removals from residents around area).
Lol get a Kalatoa Retic and call it a “dwarf python” jkjk
I have a male Colombian who is actually smaller than I expected at his age, and want to breed Sonoran Boas because they are beautiful, small as many BPs, and more economical than some of the super small boas like Tarahumara Boas, Crawl Cay and Caulker Cay. Some of the latter are skyrocketing in price, while Sonorans seem to be only more than a few hundred bucks if they are Leopards.
Plus, there is a newer Pure Sonoran T+ out there I have heard about I’d love to work with eventually, but regardless smaller boas are cool. So are big ones, but I feel like the small one people want just as pets too and I think more people should keep boas than realize they aren’t all 8ft+.
I think overfed boas really screwed up their image, and they are so smart. Retics are probably smarter, or at least faster, but I’d love if more people could enjoy boas (and Retics for that matter, but SDs are illegal here and in other places til they are changed to another species)
I actually plan to get a super dwarf retic (probably Kalatoa) after the boa.
I love Sonoran boas! They have such beautiful faces, definitely unique from other localities. And I really love the leopard morph. It’s on my short list of boa morphs I’m considering.
I’d love an SD as well, but they’re illegal here in NY. I’m definitely getting a true red tail boa though. No boa compares to true red tail IMO. I’ll probably be getting one of the smaller locales like a Venezuelan though.
Glad I could make you smile! It’s one of those things that non-reptile folks just don’t seem to grasp. Sure, snakes are long, but the majority are very thin and couldn’t fit a hand in their mouths, let alone a whole person!
That’s a bummer. I can’t imagine they’d pose much risk of becoming invasive in the New York climate, so I’m guessing that’s one of those illogical, reactive laws that came about because retics are perceived as “dangerous.” Nevermind that more people get killed by dogs every year than have ever been killed by retics (or any other constrictor, for that matter).
Here in CA, I can’t have a gerbil, hedgehog, ferret, axolotl, or tiger salamander (I’m sure there are other prohibited pets, but those are all things I’d love to have if I could), but I can have all the large constrictors I want.
