Is it just the Grinch in me?

MDT · 12-24-15, 11:58 AM

But am I the only one who thinks the Santa hats on snakes are ridiculous? I mean, here we have a totally bad-*** predator humiliated by being dressed up? I'm sorry...man, I just don't get it. Btw, I feel the same way about dog sweaters.

serpentgirl123 · 12-24-15, 12:06 PM

I feel the same way MDT. I know people think it looks "cute," but to me I can't stand it. Even worse is watching the dogs or cats trying to shake and roll around trying to get the sweaters, hats, little booties, socks etc off of them and people laughing about how adorable it is.

**EL Ziggy** · 12-24-15, 12:25 PM

I think snake hats are cute and funny.

prairiepanda · 12-24-15, 12:31 PM

My cat actually likes wearing sweaters for some reason. I rarely dress her up because I prefer her to be naked, but she actually gets excited and comes running when I pull out her favourite hoodie. I think she likes it because it draws attention to her, honestly.

Don't really get the whole hats on snakes thing, though. Looks weird to me. But to be fair, people just do it for a few seconds to get a picture. It's not like with dogs and cats which are stuck wearing their sweaters until someone takes them off; the hat just sits on top of the snake and will fall off pretty much as soon as the snake moves.

MDT · 12-24-15, 12:34 PM

Eh...I'm probably just being grumpy. Oh...get off my lawn!!

Jim Smith · 12-24-15, 12:35 PM

This must be contagious, as I have felt this for years. I keep snakes because I find them interesting, fascinating, and enjoyable, but I don't really think of them as my "pets". They are not snuggly, nor do they "enjoy" our company or being held or petted. I think that dressing them up in “cute” costumes probably stresses them out a bit and in some ways denigrates them from what they are; extremely successful predators that have evolved very specialized attributes and traits to survive in their hostile environments. Sorry for the rant, but I have to go now so I can put a Santa suit on my pet goldfish

**Minkness** · 12-24-15, 12:56 PM

I find the whole hat thing rediculus on snakes personally. Some are kind of cool, but mostly...no...just...no....

As far as Christmas goes...MDT, I am the designated Grinch in my little world. So, uou aren't the only one out there. =)

On a side note, even though I'm in an apartment, I haaaate people on my little square of grass out front! I will be terrible when I have a house with an actual lawn! Lol. Though, I totally plan on putting up a legit white picket fence to keep people and their animals as out of my yard as I can. XD

reptiledude987 · 12-24-15, 01:16 PM

It bothers me too. I actually just saw a pic on fb of a sulcata with a santa hat and beard. It just about pushed me right over the edge. I already have enough things that erk me with this holiday that pushed it too far IMO.

bigsnakegirl785 · 12-24-15, 02:06 PM

I don't really see snakes as "bad-a predators," they are highly specialized and awesome predators, but keeping them in captivity takes away that context since they can't hunt 100% naturally. They're awesome to keep and watch, and the big ones/venomous ones require a lot of respect, but overall they're just another goofy animal to take care of. As condensed and watered-down as that statement is.

I don't personally find dressing up any animal to be amusing or worthwhile, but I don't really feel like raining on others' parades if they do it in a stress-free way. Most hats on snakes just fall off, there's no reason to get all bent out of shape about it imo. It's when people stick a hat to the back of a cat's neck and laugh as it desperately tries to get it off that it irks me, the animal is clearly in distress and it isn't funny. (Sorry saw a video the other day of said cat and I'm just dumbfounded as to the kind of things people find funny.)

**Tsubaki** · 12-24-15, 02:11 PM

Don't really care for the hats on snakes things, i once snickered at a pic of a hognose wearing a tophat but i do not see the appeal in ' dressing up' my snakes.

The start also had a thing about dog clothing.. I would never dress my dog up for 'fashion' i hate that, but my dog has a sweater / rain-coat / hiking boots. My dog has No undercoat, a very thin overcoat (Bare belly), meaning she gets cold fast when we stop moving. She gets soaked to the skin in minutes of rain, at home she can walk herself warm and we dry her off, neither always an option when you're out camping. Never leaving on unknown hikes without her boots in my bag again. ( Had to carry her down after she cut her paw on sharp glacier snow/gravel, the wax had come off ) Hate on fashion clothing, not on functional clothing. That's all i wanted to say, i do sadly get some hate sometimes

or 'the laugh' when they see her boots.

She is wearing a coat, laying on a chair so she's off the floor, and has 2 blankets wrapped around her on this picture.. Coldest night we ever had while camping in the swiss alps in late may. When she is cold she will try to crawl inside your coat given the chance.. The night the pic below was taken, she was cold and couldn't sleep so she ended up sleeping in the foot-end of my sleeping-bag, it was -6C and we woke up to a snow covered tent, very awesome trip though!

**Minkness** · 12-24-15, 02:43 PM

I almost couldn't see your dog in that pic lol

IW17 · 12-24-15, 02:52 PM

I don't do it but I also don't let it bother me when people do. It's not like it's glued or tied on. As for stressing the snake out, if you have a chill snake I doubt it matters. I would think it's no more stressful than being handled in general.

trailblazer295 · 12-24-15, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MDT

Eh...I'm probably just being grumpy. Oh...get off my lawn!!

New rocking chair for Christmas?

Snake Plissken · 12-24-15, 03:27 PM

Humbug I say!!!

Tiny Boidae · 12-24-15, 03:29 PM

What I have a problem with is putting an animal in a stressful situation, for instance the dog fashion thing. I don't really have a problem if a snake has a little hat on, as I don't really think that they register that they have a tiny flap of cotton on their head. What's more stressful is probably the fact that their out in the open, in which case we can throw handling animals into this mix.

Painting a dog's nails, dressing a cat up for Halloween, or putting a Santa hat on a snake is really our attempt at anthropomorphising our animals, which I know really grinds some people's gears.

I know this is derailing the topic a little, but there are some instances where people send me pictures or videos of an animal that is clearly in distress. For example, those pictures with the water dragons stretched out on a lounge chair on their back. It's common knowledge that you shouldn't put these animals on their backs, not because they can't breathe but because it's extremely stressful for an animal to expose their soft bellies, and induces what's theorized to be a state of Tonic Immobility (like when you see divers flip reef sharks onto their backs and the shark becomes completely unresponsive until it's righted again). I have a problem with it because it's obviously stressful, and I get people send me these pictures just because I own these animals all the time. I don't really have a problem with putting a hat on a snake, as it's sort of a "no harm no foul" kind of rule.

My logic is if it doesn't harm the animal, don't sweat it. Sure it might be disrespecting the animal's predator status, but they don't understand what respect is. So it's really more about the viewer and their opinions and less about the animal. I kinda beat my opinion into the ground here, but I hope my thought process on this makes sense.