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Snake Lovers .. . What got y'all started ?

Spurticus

Spurticus

New member
Just curious. What was is that got you all into snakes originally ?

For me, it was when I was a youngun (guessing 8-9 years old). I had an
uncle that had a small farm that sat on A LOT of land. Mostly woods, with
a creek and a large pond located on the back side of his land. I used to
love going there and spending time with my cousins and wanted to spend
the weekends with them as much as I could.

My uncle was a real outdoors type guy, and tried to teach us as much
about life on the farm as he could (me growing up in a more urban type
neighborhood). He was playing outside with me and my cousin one day, and
I noticed this really large black snake crawling near a large shed he had
in back of his house, and my natural reaction was to run like hell (away).
I pointed at it, and my uncle walked over to it real calm like, picked it up
and held it up for us to see. He said "no need to be affraid of this one" !
He held it for a few minutes then tossed it inside his shed. There was
something about him being calm around them that just showed my they were
not Evil or vicious creatures. . . . He told me to never kill a snake you find
on your property. He said as long as there are snakes around, you won't
have many mice. He said Rats and Mice are what people should be affraid of.

As we grew up, (still visiting my uncle's farm), he eventually got us to go
out with him and target shoot .22s and BB guns and that kind of stuff, and
over the years we ran across a lot of snakes around his property. He made
sure to tell us that "if you don't know if it's poisionous or not, treat it like
it is, and leave it alone" ! . . Never saw him kill one or get scared around one
and I really think that's why I grew up with a fascination for snakes and
lizards. Started catching and keeping Green Snakes, Garters and Black
Snakes for a day or so until my parents made me get rid of them, so I'd set
them back out where I found them.

Saw my first Corn Snake when I was 14 years old, and LOVED the way it
looked. It was at a State Park and a youth group I was with was going
hiking that day. They had some snakes in aquariums in the ranger station
and I asked the ranger there if it was venomous. She said no, and that
those were very commonly kept as pets, and could be bought in pet stores.
As soon as I got home that evening, I asked my mom if I could get one. .
of course the answer (expletives implied here) was HELL NO !!
About 5 years into my first marriage, my Ex wife and I were in a pet store
looking at puppies to buy for our oldest son for christmas. They had a Corn
Snake in there, and I spent more time looking at it than I did dogs. My ex
asked if I was thinking about getting it, and I told her I was. She very
quietly said "OK, I'll go pack up, take Shawn and we'll leave until the snake
dies. Once it's gone, you can call us and we'll be back" . . . Hindsight being
20/20, I should have bought the snake, but I opted not to that day.

Figured it wasn't in the cards for me to have one so I gave up hope. . . WELL
I was really destined to get a Cornsnake after all. Three years ago, my wife
and are are vacationing in Edisto SC, and we made our usual trip to the
Serpentarium down there, and while I'm taking pictures of this really beautiful
Corn Snake in the outside Exhibit, my wife comes over and says "see anything
you like" ? . . I show her the Corn snake and basically half hearted say
" That's the snake I've always wanted" . . I told her about the past attempts
at getting one, and she says "Well why don't you just go buy one"? !!!!!!!!!!!

She was serious and I know now it was supposed to happen this way. We
get back home that Monday, and I'm looking up Corn Snakes and serious
about getting one soon. That Friday, a guy I work with asked me to come
out to the warehouse area. He said they have a snake cornered and think
it's a copperhead but wanted you to take a look at it (they know how much
I like snakes). I go out there, and there's this young adult Corn, backed into
the corner and I yell "DON'T KILL IT" ! , It's Harmless" !!! I got it in a box
and took it home, and set up the aquarium and over the next three years, I've
she and I have gotten to be very good friends. It was my first of three
Corn Snakes I've gotten over the last three years. I was 53 years old but
I finally got my Corn Snake !!
 
I was deathly affraid of snakes until I took a herpetology class in college. Within 2 months of the class ending, I had my first corn. Now, 2 and a half years later, I have 12 snakes and am breeding for the first time. Who'da thunk it?
 
What a great story! I can't remember a time when I was not obsessed with, or without the ability to capture, snakes. I grew up in central Minnesota, catching every garter snake that crossed my path. One of the best days ever was when I found my first red belly, the second species I'd ever seen in the wild! I never kept them as pets as a kid, though, it was always catch, show mom and dad, release. I kept an endless stream of turtles, lizards, salamanders, frogs, and toads but never a snake except for a snake I kept over the summer for school. So I got my first pet snake when I was 46.
 
Like Nanci, as a kid I was always hunting and keeping(for a few days or a month) toads and turtles. I didn't live in an area that snakes were found, but I always thought of them as fascinating.
Fast forward 25 years. My husband(at the time) and I would take our kids on camping trips up to the UP of Michigan each summer. There my kids would always be finding garter snakes, which we would keep over nite then release the next day. We also found a red bellied snake which we brought home not knowing what it was. We had it for about a week, when I looked in the aquarium and saw these itty bitty little wiggling things in there. Yep, she gave birth to 9 babies. My husband was heading back up north the following week and I had him return the mother and babies to where we found her.
Then about 6 years ago, for christmas I got my daughters a corn snake . That was the beginning of our love of the corns and I don't think we will ever be without atleast one again.
 
So hard to say. I remember watching some of the first episodes of the Crocodile Hunter with Steve Irwin, and that jump-started my fascination, but even before that I was a snake lover by heart. Ever since I remember I loved going for walks in the woods or by cricks and catching garter snakes and water snakes. I would get bit and not flinch and people would be like "OMG!" lol! I actually met my first girlfriend this way, she loved snakes too. She was the coolest girl ever, and the only girl I knew that would grab wild snakes like me and not flinch...

If I had to pinpoint it, I'd say it was a mix of loving reptiles as a kid, and eventually snakes specifically. I'd always bring back reptiles and dinosaur books from the library, and next to mythology, they were my favorite things to read. Everyone said I'd outgrow the fascination, but it has proved to be the only fascination I've not outgrown.
 
when I was a kid I thought snakes were cool, but never really saw any. My aunt got a place with a small stream on it. I was messin around in it during some family thing and found a ring neck. I went to poke it and it 'bit' me. After realizing that a bite from a small snake isnt anything, I picked it up and carried it around with me in my pocket until it was time to go home, then I put it back. After many years of his, I finally got a tank setup before I went over there and brought home three. Had them for about a year, before my parents left the lid cracked open when feeding them while I was out of town.

Years later, I decided I wanted a travel buddy while driving across the country all the time for work, so I got Orichimaru, my butter motley. He never had any issues, even while driving for days at a time in the back seat. He would eat normally, never seemed stressed. From there it continued until now... 3 corns, 24 corn eggs, 1 ball python, plans for a boa next year.

I've recently considered going back to my 'roots' and heading up my aunts place for a couple ring necks. Who knows...
 
My 8th grade science teacher had two snakes. A normal/classic and a reverse okeetee. I had semester testing in her room, and she let me hold one of the snakes, and thats when I fell in love. :rolleyes: Got my first snake the same year, and I will get more. No one will stop me :crazy02: .
 
It was summer in 1978 when I found a creek with small
water lizards in it.(Salamanders,I was seven)
I thought I was in heaven.
From there it escaladed to Snakes and lizards.
I've had a couple kings and such,but my new corn
is by far the coolest snake I've owned.
 
This forum is to blame! :rofl:

My first snake wasn't really supposed to be "mine". The snake at work went on discount because he sat there for so long, so I called up my significant other and asked him if he wanted a snake. I said that he had to be responsible for him, because I have my hands full with all the other animals. I was directed here by one of the girls at work to find the Munson feeding plan. At the time, I did a little bit of reading, but mostly just grabbed the plan and that was it.

Well, of course, I ended up doing more of the care of the snake than hubby did. But I think what really started it was when one of the customers asked me if I wanted his corn. This snake was at least 10 years old and I knew he fed it live. Well, I wanted to know just how hard it might be to switch him to f/t, so I came here and asked. Turns out the snake actually belonged to his daughter and she wasn't ready to give it up just yet, even though dad is the one who actually takes care of it. This time, because I was more involved in the care of the snake, I did even more reading around the forum and became more interested.

I think what really did it, though, was the prospect of another snake. When it was not forthcoming, I had to take matters into my own hands, so, I went and got more snakes. :dancer:

I have encountered some wild snakes previous to getting my pets. Supposedly when I was a child, I was bitten by a garter snake I found, so I guess I must have picked it up. More recently, I've had encounters with some large black snakes on my parent's property. One in particular, a family friend was visiting and found one in the grass and grabbed it by the tail and was holding it hanging there. I didn't think he looked too happy, so I grabbed him and held him upright. Well, apparently he wasn't happy with that either, because he struck me several times in rapid succession on the hand and, just for good measure, musked me as well. :awcrap:
 
This forum was a lot of help to me as well.
After I got my first one, and tried for several weeks to learn to feed and
care for it, and I just didn't feel like I was doing things "right". I had gotten
into internet message boards through Gamecock Football years ago, and
moderate one of the boards now. I know how they can be a good source
of information for a particular topic, so I went surfing on the net, and
Googled "Corn Snake Message Boards" . . .This one popped up, so I signed
up and found a well of extremely helpful information, and a lot of really
nice people eager to help out with any questions. I've been a member here
for almost two years. I don't post a lot, but I come here to read the
various threads all the time. A lot of good information on this board that
helped me in raising my snakes. My two captive bred snakes were purchased
at Reptile shows here in Columbia from people I met on this board and spoke
to about the different morphs. Bought my Anery from Lynia and got my
Motley last November from Jeff Mohr. This place has been a Godsend
in helping me get used to raising them all.
 
I've always loved all kinds of creatures (except spiders....*not* a fan)
I would catch garter snakes as a kid. Heck, I was catching them on a wildland fire in Montana, as well as one in my garden last year. I always released them.

I've always been facinated with snakes.

So, when my ferret breeder gave me the link for PNWHS to network for feeder mice for my ferrets, it didn't take long before I got the "bug". I blame her for this...LOL
It was only after I told her about my first 2 corns, that she warned me that snakes were more addictive than ferrets, & she has twice as many snakes, as she does ferrets....I'm doomed! LOL
 
Generally, maligned animals fascinate me. Snakes especially have always held an appeal for me.

Between the ages of 2 and 7 I lived in Nova Scotia on the east coast of Canada. All of the houses we lived in during that time were adjacent forests or ocean. I spent all of my spare time catching bugs and salamanders in the woods or urchins and mussels on the beach, bringing various creatures home to keep for a few days and let go later.

My first snake memory is still vivid to me. I walked to the edge of our property, approaching the woods, when I saw a large green garter snake slithering in the dead leaves. Immediately I lunged for it, but it was gone before I could blink. That snake that got away left me wanting more. Bugs and salamanders were easy to find and catch, but snakes were mysterious and challenging.

My other favourite misunderstood creature is the scorpion, and it was actually scorpions that led me to snakes. I kept an emperor for a few months, but she was already quite old, and when she passed away I wanted to look for a reliable scorpion breeder so as not to repeat the experience of having my pet die so soon. My boyfriend drove me to the local reptile expo to get me a new scorpion, but we both fell absolutely in love with the snakes. Inevitably I returned home with Ariadne, and the obsession began.
 
I always loved them but never had any growing up. Then we got involved with the Snake Avoidance training for dogs and the guy that brought the Rattlesnakes stayed with us. Then my husband saw something on the internet for a reptile show in Pomona and we went to it. We saw some cornsnakes and bought our first one....the rest is history as they say.
 
I was 16 and started working at a zoo out in Oregon in the education department. I started handling a lot of snakes, and fell in love with them. Pretty simple haha
 
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