Emotional support snake?

Tina the Fishy · 12-17-19, 09:05 PM

Hey, everyone! I have been considering getting a snake as an emotional therapy animal. I already have a snake, but he is a baby corn snake, and since he is small and not used to handling yet, does not give me the emotional support that I am looking for. The reason why he does not give me that support yet is because I find the slithering and gentle squeezing of a BIG snake calming and theraputic. It will take a while for my baby corn to reach that point, so I'm trying to figure out what kind of snake would be best for this. I would like to get this snake actually certified as a therapy animal. I've been thinking ball python because they are big, yet don't get too long, can be kept in a tub instead of a large tank, and are very popular, so it's not going to be hard to find one that someone wants to rehome.
Here are some of my requirements so you guys can shoot me ideas:
1.) Big, but not too big. The more muscle on the snake, the better. I have found that bigger snakes make me feel better.
2.) beginner snake. I am still new to snake keeping, but so far my baby corn in easier than an aquarium.
3.) somewhat active and curious. The therapy is the slithering motion. The only thing I have against ball pythons for this is that all of the ball pythons that I have held so far do what balls do the best... sit in a ball. I would like a snake that finds it interesting to slither around me.
4.) Doesn't take up a lot of space. I am running out of room here.
5.) Diurnal would be nice, but not necessary.
Thanks everyone!

ClockwerkBonnet · 12-18-19, 12:45 AM

Are you feeling okay? I can't quite figure out what to say at the moment.

Tina the Fishy · 12-18-19, 01:06 AM

I suffer from pretty bad anxiety, but it's not severe or anything. The slithering of a large snake on my body is calming to me. No, this is not a serious situation. I'm just looking for ways to help relieve my anxiety, and this is one of the ways that I have found that helps. A lot of people with anxiety find that gentle pressure on the body can relieve anxiety. This is what weighted blankets do (have one of those), so a snake slithering would do the same. It's also like a hug. It might not be very common to have a snake as an emotional support animal, but people DO have snakes for emotional support. Getting the snake certified would just ensure that if I moved to a place where snakes are not allowed, they could not make me get rid of my snake.

Tina the Fishy · 12-18-19, 01:20 AM

Sorry, In my orrigional post I said "emotional therapy" and later mentioned getting the snake certified as a "therapy animal." I meant emotional support animal. that just means that the certification would allow me to keep my snake if I were to move to an apartment that did not allow snakes.The snake would not be going to hospitals to cheer people up, lol, and it's not a service animal, which is different than emotional support, so it wouldn't be going with me to the store, or school, or work like a service dog. There is a difference, and I did not mention the difference, so sorry if that was confusing to anyone. The snake would stay at home, and when I need help relieving anxiety, I would hold it and let it slither around and let it give me little snake hugs. That's all.

**Tsubaki** · 12-18-19, 01:38 AM

I understand what you want, but you should know snakes are not animals that generally like to be handled, and using them as emotional support animals has some a few other angles you should look at.. I'm not trying to be mean or discourage you from getting a snake at all just want to give you some pointers, since you're new to snake keeping in general.

You're looking for a snake to hold to calm your anxiety, I know another person who has snakes as a hobby for exactly this. Even though her methods are a bit different as she finds cleaning and decorating good looking tanks as calming as holding the animal. Just being with them and tinkering with something for them helps her. Which is good because you can not handle a snake all the time when you need it, no snake is good with being out all the time. Snakes cannot be handled after eating, larger snakes for longer than smaller snakes due to the size of their meal and digestion time. And snakes in shed should also not be handled, you could damage their skin. This is why she has 3 animals she 'uses' for lack of a better word. And she feeds them far enough apart that 2 are usually good to handle (2 in case one of them is in shed, and sometimes she's still out of luck and they're both in shed or even all 3). She also has 6 snakes in total now, since she found the first 2 she had did not do well with the amount of interaction she needed from them. (One of her ballpythons stopped eating, and a boa got very defensive) And one she got later is very anxious itsself while being handled, which doesn't help. Just something to think about, not every snake can deal with being taken out of their comfort zone but some simply don't seem to care. You'd want to start with an animal that is known to be good with handling, and if you're just getting the one animal.. You need to accept there are going to be times you want(/need) to handle it, but for its own sake. You can't at that moment. Just things to think about..

Not every ballpython is the same and just balls up, I currently have a male who is very active and always tries to get in and underneath clothes for whatever reason. Like I said before, get an adult (sexually mature, because they can change a lot influenced by hormones) And I would also go for a female, some males get frustrated in the 'season', not all but some.

Tina the Fishy · 12-18-19, 09:24 PM

Thanks.
I don't get any animal without doing a lot of research first. I understand that snakes tollerate handling more than enjoy it, and I know to give them space when they are in shed. I would not be handling this snake an extreme amount, just for a little while every day or every other day. I do the same with my baby corn, and I leave him alone for a few days after he eats and while he is in shed. Because I am trying to find a snake for emotional suplort, It will absolutely need to be an adult, and I will need to get it from someone who can confirm that it meets the requirements that I'm looking for.

**Tsubaki** · 12-19-19, 01:59 AM

Sounds good, a ballpython does sound like the animal for you. Just need to find an adult that is comfortable with being held. A small boa would be another option, but they generally need more space than most tubs offer (Though I personally don't like tubs for anything but hatchlings)

Tina the Fishy · 12-19-19, 09:39 PM

I don't care much for tubs either, but if I get one before I get shelving, a tub will have to do for a little while. I would actually like to make a custom enclosure for a ball python.

prateek.lko · 12-20-19, 02:18 AM

I don't get any animal without doing a lot of research first. I understand that snakes tollerate handling more than enjoy it, and I know to give them space when they are in shed. I would not be handling this snake an extreme amount, just for a little while every day or every other day. I do the same with my baby corn

**EL Ziggy** · 12-23-19, 04:38 PM

I sometimes have moments of anxiety also and I agree that snakes can have a calming effect. I'm not sure they've been classified them as emotional support animals yet though. In terms of a large/strong constrictor have you considered a boa?

craigafrechette · 12-23-19, 05:19 PM

I also suffer from anxiety. As well as depression and I was recently diagnosed bipolar. So I get where you're coming from and I wish you all the best.

I definitely agree that snakes can be extremely therapeutic. I swear I can almost feel my anxiety leave my body at times when I grab one of my snakes.

I'm glad you mentioned that the animal would be staying home though. Snakes don't travel well, generally speaking. They're much more solitary animals and bringing them shopping or whatever only stresses the animal.

Plus, if I'm being honest, I think the whole "bring your ESA shopping" thing is getting out of hand. I see people in the grocery store, bank, etc...with dogs all the time. It's honestly getting ridiculous. I have some severe mental health issues, but still don't get it.

What about people who are afraid of dogs? Or allergic? Are they supposed to suffer cause Bill or Suzy can't grocery shop without their dog? How were they shopping before????

I can only imagine if I tried walking into a grocery store with one of my snakes...

ClockwerkBonnet · 12-23-19, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigafrechette

I also suffer from anxiety. As well as depression and I was recently diagnosed bipolar. So I get where you're coming from and I wish you all the best.

I definitely agree that snakes can be extremely therapeutic. I swear I can almost feel my anxiety leave my body at times when I grab one of my snakes.

I'm glad you mentioned that the animal would be staying home though. Snakes don't travel well, generally speaking. They're much more solitary animals and bringing them shopping or whatever only stresses the animal.

Plus, if I'm being honest, I think the whole "bring your ESA shopping" thing is getting out of hand. I see people in the grocery store, bank, etc...with dogs all the time. It's honestly getting ridiculous. I have some severe mental health issues, but still don't get it.

What about people who are afraid of dogs? Or allergic? Are they supposed to suffer cause Bill or Suzy can't grocery shop without their dog? How were they shopping before????

I can only imagine if I tried walking into a grocery store with one of my snakes...

Those are service dogs you're describing. People who suffer seizures and anxiety attacks bring them everywhere because they can sense when such incidents are about to occur.

Needless to say, snakes don't possess that ability.

craigafrechette · 12-24-19, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClockwerkBonnet

Those are service dogs you're describing. People who suffer seizures and anxiety attacks bring them everywhere because they can sense when such incidents are about to occur.

Needless to say, snakes don't possess that ability.

I've seen service dogs, they are required to wear their service dog vest as far as I know. I've seen a bunch wearing the vest.
But I see a whole lot with nothing identifying the animal as a service animal.
Which leads me to believe that it's people abusing the system.

If I'm mistaken I sincerely don't want to offend anyone. But from what I've seen in my geographic area it seems like more are abusing the system than not.