Ssssssssssssnakes!

[Anne]

Guess what I nearly stepped on last night? A venomous viper!

I was walking over to my in-laws' house (next door) and met my brother-in-law at their door. Then we both heard this hissing sound...ssssssss, we turned on the light and saw a beautiful large viper snake! I was standing too close to him so that's why he was hissing!

I love all animals (cockroaches excepted - yucky things!), so I thought he was a beautiful thing. My in-laws thought I went mad - they're very anti-snake people

- and wanted to go ahead and kill it (very carefully). Then who comes out from the bushes if not our curious cat Gezer? Now I was scared! Gezer came over to the snake and scared him away into a shed filled with stuff (boxes and junk).

Well, I insisted on calling a professional snake catcher which cost about 120$ but found the snake and captured it. He released it somewhere far away in the fields so at least the snake is safe.

That was all very exciting! Do you have any snake experiences to share? Do you have lethal reptiles where you live?

 

[hissy]

Snakes are very worthwhile critters to have on this planet, even the poisonous ones. Thank you for interceding for this reptile, and I am glad your cat wasn't injured in the challenge.

I have no snake stories, unless you count the garter snakes the cats catch in the summertime. Usually, the worst that happens to the snakes are they loose their tails in the fight.

 

[mr. cat]

I second Hissy's sentiment: Thank you for interceding on behalf of the snake! That was a very caring thing to do.

What's with these anti-snake people, anyway? Back during the 1980s, I was a team leader for a group of people who volunteered at the Washington Park Zoo (now called the Oregon Zoo) to take various animals on visits to convalescent, nursing and retirement homes. Our line-up of animal therapists included silky chickens, Muscovy ducks, domestic ferrets, guinea pigs, opossums and snakes.

However, the zoo's administration encouraged prevalent anti-snake feelings by requiring us to ask permission in advance before brining snakes. (The snakes were non-venomous, of course.) Well, most facilities for the elderly told us not to bring any snakes! What's interesting is that the inmates of facilities which did allow snakes were very receptive to the reptiles.

Although I wouldn't want to find a snake in my bed, neither would I wish to discover an armadillo or an octopus there. Can anybody explain to me the snake-fear thing?

=^..^=

 

[blue]

i for one do not like snakes. i dont dislike them either,
but i dont want one anywhere near me (well, only the
poisonous ones actually.) i love all creatures as
well, but the venomous ones, like certain snakes, and
scorpions, spiders, and such - i have a tremendous fear that
i dont think i'll overcome. i fear all wild, potentially
life threatening animals - bears, wild boars, above
mentioned, cougars and so on.

such has always been the case. i cant go out in the woods,
walking, or hiking, or camping, the fear is just too big.

but i am with Hissy and Mr.Cat, i am relieved that you
didnt let anyone kill that snake, and made sure to get
it far from people. i wouldnt kill any animal, unless it
was trying to kill me, of course.

- but Mr.Cat, i think fear cant be rationalized, it's just
there... i dont think i have had any bad experiences with
wild animals, but still i fear them, and have had nightmares
about them - mostly spiders, bears, snakes & scorpions.

i'm also terrified of deep water, if i cant see the bottom,
i wont go in.

now, why is that? i dont know. it's just the way i am,
unfortunately, and i know i will always have those fears.

snakes i can handle as long as i know they are not life-
threatening types

i have had snakes in my hands many
times - as a child, and even as an adult with this fear,
because i think they are beautiful, and am fascinated by
them - but if i knew they could kill me, or destroy a limb,
i would probaly be paralyed with fear.

like black widow spiders, i constantly have to check my bed
before i go to sleep, check my slippers, and shoes, all this,
because i think it's possible that there may be one lurking there
somewhere - all the while knowing it's highly
unlikely. i always think i will get bitten in my sleep, or
swallow one, or what have you, and at times it will keep me
up nights.

i am also afraid of fire, or fire hazards. the possibility
of a fire. i have to do "checks" every single night to make
sure everything is as it should be. if i am in too much pain
my roomate will do it for me

and he doesnt tease me,
thankfully, he understands my neurosis, or at least tries.

i am just realizing that i went off on a tangent,
i suppose i wanted to show that fear is most of the time,
irrational. and also in a lot of cases born out of ignorance, which hopefully isnt the case with me

and of course, it's born out of bad personal experiences.

then again, all you asked was about the "snake-fear" thing,
not fear in general - isnt it funny how we can lose track
of what we were aiming for, so easily - i do that constantly

but you get the idea

 

[airprincess]

Blue, you hit it on the head.

fear is an irrational thing, and sometimes even when you understand it, you aren't able to take away it's power.

i don't like snakes at all. i don't know why. i've never been bitten or attacked by one. i wouldn't condone killing it, but i'll stay as far away from it as possible, in fact chances are i would run if i came across one. it's like having a fear of heights or something along those lines.

 

[Anne]

This is an interesting thread about love of animals and fear of animals. We had a good laugh last night - after the snake man captured the snake and put it in a special tank we were all in awe of his courage (still are! I wouldn't dare go snake hunting and definitely not in a dark shed). Then he came over our house and as we opened the door, both dogs (our Bambi and stray Dovik) happily jumped out. The snake man went pale all of a sudden and asked us to restrain them there and then. Turns out he's terrified of all dogs!

Personally, my phobia is roaches. I can't stand them! I would never kill one myself (too scared to get so close

) but others usually do it for me...

 

[catarina77777]

Hi Everyone,

I do love snakes; but I don't love poisonous snakes; the innate conviction I believe one has (unless properly trained) for the preservation of one's life should be strong enough to understand the difference.

I live in Florida, so we have many snakes here. I also have a home right by the river; which is a great breeding ground for moccassin's (not a very nice snake). We have a variety of snakes, bugs, even plants that aren't such a fancy to me...(especially Palmetto Bugs...for those of you that don't know what these are...picture a cockaroach with wings that you could put a saddle on)....

Well, not to get off this subject that Anne has posted, I have had experiences with bad snakes. One of which my cousin was bit by a rattlesnake and it was the most horrifying thing I've ever seen. If you have no idea what this venoum could do...I'm sure you can find it somewhere on the Internet...I really don't want to give you a visual. We also had a terrible tragedy to my beautiful cousin Philip, as he was swimming across the canal, an alligator attacked and killed him. The whole town was hunting for this gator and actually found him. I was so disgusted at the whole thing and my family hated me for it because I didn't want them to shoot the gators...the gator was only trying to survive, he was not to blame. We have to learn to co-exist with these creatures and understand that what is their habitat is truly theirs; we can share; but we must respect them.

Anne, we're so blessed to have people like you...I think all the members here are so wonderful too...we wouldn't kill an innocent creature.

God Bless All,

 

[mr. cat]

Thank you very much for your post regarding fears. I have them, too! I have a deep-water fear which will suddenly manifest itself out of the blue — sky, that is. I have to will it away; and it goes away. It's odd, because I did lots of skin diving in my youth and was even submerged in a submarine! Never was I in a life-threatening situation. Go figure, eh?

Catarina 77777, I'd forgotten about Palmetto bugs! I lived at Miami from 1956 through 1965, back when there was still Spanish moss in the trees. I've always loved the Everglades and dream about going there again to camp forever! Oh, I almost met a cottonmouth moccassin whilst wading at Lake Sebring in central Florida. Some guy in the water nearby spotted it approaching and we all got the hell out of Lake Sebring!

And, in the woods on Key Biscayne, I nearly bumped into an alligator. You know the cliche about how they're supposed to look like logs when at rest? Well, I thought it was a log until it opened wide and hissed at me! It was a smallish hissing log, but it seemed much larger for a few seconds until I beat a hasty retreat.

:chicken:

=^..^=

 

[debby]

Anne! I'm so glad you didn't get bit!!!! How scary! I don't mind snakes, but I don't like the poisinous ones!

And my phobea is also cockroaches!! And those waterbugs, that look like big roaches, but have wings and fly. UUUUUGGGGG *shivers*

 

[sandie]

I can't say that I fear snakes, but I wouldnt want to run into one that was poisonous. I grew up with a Boa and he was such a wonderful guy. We also had a few gardner snakes growing up. Its a shame that more people don't understand that all of these creatures were here before us. We are the ones who have forced them out of their habitat.
I suppose I only fear animals that are willing to kill me. Of course even mosquitos I could do without seeing as they have radar on me!

 

[deb25]

Can't say I'm a snake fan. Once I found one in the middle of my living room, but he wasn't poisonous.

A couple of years ago there was a poisonous one right outside my classroom door. One of my colleagues, who loves all things nature, moved him away from the school.

My biggest yuk is rats. I hate 'em.

 

[kittykratz]

I'm with you Sandie...mosquitoes have radar on me, too. I swell up like a balloon. I live in FL on a lake, so you can imagine the mosquitoes around here. Now we have a purple martin house up and the martins and bats eat all the mosquitoes!! Animals are so nice to have around.

 

[Anne]

Originally posted by Catarina77777
Palmetto Bugs...for those of you that don't know what these are...picture a cockaroach with wings that you could put a saddle on....

That's it - I'm never coming to Florida

! Bye Bye Disney World!

 

[deb25]

LOL Anne! Don't worry about Palmetto bugs at Disney. They can't afford the price of an admission ticket!

 

[catarina77777]

Deb,
You're so silly!!! LOL

:flash:

:flash:

:flash:

 

[meowman]

What movie? A fav of mine and describes how I feel about snakes. Yuck!

But, this does give me an idea about a thread to start.

 

[kittykratz]

Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of my favorites, too!! I loved the whole trilogy. My favorite movie of all time is "Sliding Doors". How about everyone else?

 

[mr. cat]

My favorite film of all time:

Die Büsche der Pandora, directed by Georg Pabst at Berlin, released in 1929, starring Louise Brooks as Lulu.

=^..^=

 

[catarina77777]

DearKittyKratz...
That was WILD!!! Yes, it was probably the most breathtaking scene in that movie!!!!

Thanks for reminding me!! YIKES


Dear Mr. Cat
I have no idea what that movie is about,

due to the lack of promotion of European films here in America, (what a shame isn't it) however; I just saw this most wonderful movie "Let's Dance" I don't remember the actor/actresses names; however it was all in Japenese and had evey ingredient for an academey award! (Thank the Lord for subtitles)...lol

God Bless

 

[deb25]

Meow Man:

A thread on favorite films, or a movie quotes quiz?

I say bring on the quotes! ( I think we're going to need a bigger boat.) (and, yes, I know I misquoted it.)