QUESTIONS FOR THE FEMALE SNAKE-OWNERS

Well, I was going to make a poll out of this, but there are too many questions that I'm interested in asking to make one poll...
Not to be sexist, but I am curious as to how many snake-owning females we have (more than you think, I bet!), & a little bit about what & why.
Indulge my curiosity, if you will, by copy/paste answering the following questions:

1. What type of snake(s) do you own?

2. What sparked your interest in the particular snake(s) you own?

3. Do you have help with your snake(s)?
(This is NOT a married/single question! Some of us have snakes & husbands/boyfriends that want nothing to do with them!)

4. How tall are you?

5. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your size/age?

6. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your security/safety factor?

7. What is your age group?
15-25
26-40
41-50
Older than that, but none of your business!
None of you're business, no matter how old I am!

If you feel so inclined, add questions of your own that you'd like answers to, from your fellow female snake-lovers!

1. What type of snake(s) do you own?
Ball pythons (and 5 boas that I am thinking about selling)

2. What sparked your interest in the particular snake(s) you own?
The pet shop I frequented only had boas & I wanted a snake so bad, so I got him. Much later, I stumbled across the wonderful world of balls & have been hooked ever since.

3. Do you have help with your snake(s)? NO...
(This is NOT a married/single question! Some of us have snakes & husbands/boyfriends that want nothing to do with them!)

4. How tall are you?
5' 4"

5. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your size/age?
Yes; I find that the older I get, the more comfortable I feel with the smaller pythons--especially since I am the only reptile-lover in the house.

6. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your security/safety factor?
Yes, especially after one particular incident with a rather feisty boa constrictor and being home alone. It's one thing to be worried about something happening with a ball, but quite another if the snake is twice your size & no one else is around.

What is your age group?
15-25
26-40
41-50
Older than that, but none of your business!
None of you're business, no matter how old I am!

1. What type of snake(s) do you own?
Ball pythons, boas, bloods

2. What sparked your interest in the particular snake(s) you own?
The ball pythons were easy. I've always had one or two around and loved them and when I quit working it hit me, "hey, I have the time to breed these guys!". Boas have some really nice localities and impressive morphs, and the bloods are just for fun. Sometimes you just want something with a bit more spice than a shy ball python.

3. Do you have help with your snake(s)?
Nope, just me.

4. How tall are you?
5'11"

5. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your size/age?
No, not yet anyways.

6. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your security/safety factor?
Yes. I'm sticking to snakes that I can handle on my own. I'd love to have burms or retics but with no help I have to consider the safety issue.

7. What is your age group?
15-25
26-40
41-50
Older than that, but none of your business!
None of you're business, no matter how old I am!

1. What type of snake(s) do you own?
A female hog island boa and an albino male boa. I started out with a ball python. But with him still being so small at 12 years old I had to eventually move on to something bigger. But I did choose a dwarf species of boa like the hog island for my female choice specifically because I don't think I could handle a full sized 10-12' 35+ lbs snake on my own.

2. What sparked your interest in the particular snake(s) you own?
Ball pythons caught my interest because of their bulk compared to the smaller corns or kingsnakes, which is what made it my first choice at 10 years old. The particular boas because of body style and coloration.

3. Do you have help with your snake(s)?
No

4. How tall are you?
5'4"

5. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your size/age?
Yeah, mostly size. I don't think I'd want anything bigger than the size my boas will end up being when full grown because then I wouldn't be able to easily handle and cuddle with them without help, and that just takes all of the fun out of it.

6. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your security/safety factor?
Partially. If one of them at full size did decide to do more than just strike then I definitely wouldn't want one that was so big that I would have to kill it just to remove it from myself.

7. What is your age group?
15-25

1. What type of snake(s) do you own?

Adult female ball python, baby male Borneo STP, (soon) adult female BRB

2. What sparked your interest in the particular snake(s) you own?

They are very pretty, fun to hang out with, and fun to watch

3. Do you have help with your snake(s)?

No. Aside from a few friends, I'm the only one I know who has the guts to hold either of them. ( I don't get it. Cu is the sweetest thing ever to walk the earth and Sangre is too small to cause any real damage.)

4. How tall are you?

Not sure, lol. Over 5'5".

5. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your size/age?

No. It has to do with personal preference and my experiance with other snakes.

6. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your security/safety factor?

A little bit. I do not feel experianced enough with snakes to own a retic, burm, conda, african rock, or any venomous snakes, but I imagine I would feel the same way if I was of the male gender.

1. What type of snake(s) do you own?

I started with corns~ but now only have Ball pythons

2. What sparked your interest in the particular snake(s) you own?
The size and feel of a big boid~ with the smaller more easily handled size appropriate to my situation

3. Do you have help with your snake(s)?

No~ I have a husband and two teenage sons. They have NO interest in the snakes and offer NO help of any kind. Snakes apparently are NOT cool if MOMMY is into them. Any of them will help IF I ask~ but it's obviously just a favor to me and not something they have any interest in or desire to assist with~ and I HATE to ask for help.......so I pretty much do everything physically possible all by myself.

4. How tall are you?
5'3"

5. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your size/age?

I LIKED the big boids~ but it was important that I keep snakes that I could handle all by myself without having to ask for help every week. Thats why I chose the BPs~ they have the look and feel of the big boids to me with the smaller size that can be handled individually.

6. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your security/safety factor?

Yes~ I want to be able to control any and all situations as the occur without depending on someone to "help" me. I hate having to ask for help~ and would most likely allow myself to get into a dangerous situation rather than ask for help if I kept an animal too large for me to control by myself on a regular basis.

7. What is your age group?
26-40

1. What type of snake(s) do you own?

ball pythons and boa constrictors (bci)

2. What sparked your interest in the particular snake(s) you own?

not sure. always liked them.. then helped out with the "science class" boa when I was a youngin.. just loved them since.

3. Do you have help with your snake(s)?
(This is NOT a married/single question! Some of us have snakes & husbands/boyfriends that want nothing to do with them!)

Only if I ask the hubby to help.. which is rare.. usually he helps by buying some f/t rats or something

4. How tall are you?

5' 3" ... *we wish to welcome you to munchkin laaaaand*

5. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your size/age?

nope. I just like the personalities on both.. and I personally won't own something I can't alone handle.. and even an 8 foot tall person would have an issue holding a full grown anaconda by themselves.. lol

6. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your security/safety factor?

nope.. just likes them is all

7. What is your age group?

I will be 28 this coming Tuesday GO GEMINI!!

If you feel so inclined, add questions of your own that you'd like answers to, from your fellow female snake-lovers!



8. How many of you have had your love of the scaley ones ruin a relationship ?? Friend? Lover?? IN LAW??

9. Do you have an "if I die" list, of who gets, or what to do with the "collection" once you pass

that one I ask, because I do.. Since hubby has NO clue about the reptiles and such, he asked me to write a "who gets them" list..

Great additions, Brandi! I'd thought about adding your number 8, but 9 didn't come up when I was thinking...

8. How many of you have had your love of the scaley ones ruin a relationship ?? Friend? Lover?? IN LAW??
Almost ruined a marriage when I was in GA on business & the hubby called to tell me that my 8 ft boa & 7 ft burm were loose in the house...and worse, the burm was back behind our waterbed! He'd never handled snakes, so I called a guy I worked with who went over & corralled them. They were out again the next day, but not wanting to feel 'emasculated' (again), he buckled down & took care of business. He was not happy when I got home...

9. Do you have an "if I die" list, of who gets, or what to do with the "collection" once you pass
I have actually thought about this, but apparently I'm the only freak in my family...I do have to give it some more thought!

8. How many of you have had your love of the scaley ones ruin a relationship ?? Friend? Lover?? IN LAW??
Luckily haven't had them ruin any relationships, actually ended up getting to break the fear of snakes with some of my boyfriends in the past.

9. Do you have an "if I die" list, of who gets, or what to do with the "collection" once you pass
That is one thing that I still need to come up with when it comes to all of my animals. I know I couldn't rely on any of my family to properly care for any of them and I don't have anyone else I'm close to that I could just have them go to, so I'm still hoping to find someone I can trust to list as beneficiary of all of my babies, just in case.

So far I'm seeing that most female owners responding either are solo or have uninterested partners. That's interesting (wonder if it's the same for the guys?)

My stats:

1. What type of snake(s) do you own?
Now one only, Fiji Boas Candoia bibroni bibroni (as I'm in Fiji). In the past (in the UK) Ball pythons, Corn and Rat snakes, Boa Constrictor

2. What sparked your interest in the particular snake(s) you own?
In Fiji they are all that's available! (but they are a lovely species, and now I know them I'd have them again in a different country...)
In the UK I started with rubber toy snakes (as a 10 year old I hasten to add...) and progressed up through garter snakes to constrictors that wouldn't get bigger than 6 feet long.

3. Do you have help with your snake(s)?
(This is NOT a married/single question! Some of us have snakes & husbands/boyfriends that want nothing to do with them!)
My partner is appreciative but wouldn't have done this on his own, and only handles them when prompted, so essentially No.
(This has been true of 2 long term relationships so far, so maybe it's a pattern...)

4. How tall are you?
5' 6"

5. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your size/age?
Yes, want to be able to pick them up unaided and handle them without having to concentrate 100% of the time. i.e., I like to sit and watch TV with them.....(not that they have any choice in programme selection)

6. Does your choice of snake have anything to do with your security/safety factor?
Sort of, although some of it is security for the snake. Wanted something I can take my eyes off and still know where it is (ie not too small and light), but also something I know I can get off my neck if I need to.

7. What is your age group?
15-25
26-40
41-50
Older than that, but none of your business!
None of you're business, no matter how old I am!
Older than that and I don't care who knows it... 51

8. How many of you have had your love of the scaley ones ruin a relationship ?? Friend? Lover?? IN LAW??
None. Everyone thought I was strange anyway.

9. Do you have an "if I die" list, of who gets, or what to do with the "collection" once you pass
Easy for me here: we release them into their natural environment. But I do think this is a responsible question more people should be asking themselves.

Cheers for this, it's a fun thread.