Why can’t I keep a snake

When we think of pets,we usually think of cute cuddly cats,dogs, rabbits and so on. But many of us would also fancy cold ugly creatures such as lizards or snakes to be our buddies simply because there are many people out there who also are exotic animals lovers.

For Ann, she also loves them just the same. She said that all that she needed to be the friends of such weird animals was to understand them.

Knowing their characters allowed her to accommodate and compromise the seemingly unlovable behaviours of these fellow earthlings.

When I asked her why she wants to keep a snake, why not a cat? Or a dog? Or fish?

“Why cant I keep a snake? Snake can be a good pet too. They are beautiful and not all snakes are poisonous and venomous.

“People usually paint snakes as something dangerous and venomous, when in reality they are lovely and interesting.

“They only attack when they feel threatened. We need to understand them. Of course there are snakes that are dangerous, but a lot are shy and tend to hide from humans,”she said.

Ann, from Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia, said she bought her pet snake, a Corn Snake species from a dealer last Christmas. It was still a baby then. And it can grow up to 2 metres long.

Her daughter and nephew were also excited when she first brought it home.

Ann with her Corn Snake

Ann’s daughter Ashlyn and nephew Cayden.

Both kids were hesitate at first to hold it because of what they learnt in school that snakes are “bad”.

But they eventually realised not all snakes are “bad”.

Ann admitted she always secretly fascinated about keeping snakes since small but she knew her family would protest because of their negative perception to such creature.

She was glad and felt lucky to finally get one on last Christmas.

“It is not easy to find people selling exotic creature. So when i managed to find out about a seller through online advertisement I didnt wan to waste time to get my new ‘baby’,” she said.

She then suddenly stood up and went to get a “pinky” (a baby mouse). It was a feeding time!

“Oh is that pinky going to be eaten alive?!” I asked.

Nodding her head, she said “I know it looks cruel but this is life…living things depend on each other to survive.”

According to her, she usually will have to freeze the rest of the pinkies whenever she buys them from a supplier.

And each time feeding time, she would take out 3 pinkies and thaw them first. Then put them in a tiny plastic bag and soak in warm water for an hour.

“This way I can get back their normal warm temperature and it makes the snake think they are alive and fresh and wants to eat them,”she explains.

Ann said ever since she keeps the Corn Snake she googles alot about snakes to know them better.

And the rule of keeping snake is to take great care of them and to respect them.

So what about you ? Do u love exotic pets? And why?