What got you into the hobby?

[PsychoSnake]

I live alone in a small duplex that has a strict no cat or dog rule, and I have a job where I am away from home at times for several days. So I decided a snake would be a good pet. I did my research and saw this little girl at the local pet shop. I kept an eye on her for a month. I felt like we had a connection. Then one day I felt I couldn't wait any longer and I took her home. She was just perfect in every way for me. She got me hooked.

[Derek1]

Originally Posted by SSSSnakes

Exactly. They are my escape from the real world. Even though most of my collection could kill me, they bring a calmness to my hectic world.

I'm a beekeeper and I get the same escape mentally checking hives as I do snakes. Hard to put into words, but it just puts you in another world. And all things bad are forgotten.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by PsychoSnake

I live alone in a small duplex that has a strict no cat or dog rule, and I have a job where I am away from home at times for several days. So I decided a snake would be a good pet. I did my research and saw this little girl at the local pet shop. I kept an eye on her for a month. I felt like we had a connection. Then one day I felt I couldn't wait any longer and I took her home. She was just perfect in every way for me. She got me hooked.

Shes such a cute girl I hope she brings you happiness for many years! Give her plenty of love!

[Will0W783]

I have liked snakes for as long as I can remember. My mom, her mom, and most of my relatives on that side of the family, are incredibly phobic. My dad wanted me to not be afraid for no reason, so he would catch garter snakes and racers for me to hold as a kid. He also took me to this reptile zoo near us once a year, and some of my earliest memories are "holding" a big Burmese python. (My dad held it up but let it drape on my shoulders so I could feel like I was holding it). When I finally got to graduate school and had an apartment of my own, I fell in love with a big ball python at a local pet store. I bought Saleen, my first snake. I got a second a year later, and started thinking about breeding. I worked my way through basic pythons and boas, giants, arboreals, and "warm" rear-fanged species, before my fiance brought home a baby eyelash viper 4.5 years ago. The rest is history.....my vipers are my solace and comfort in an otherwise stressful, hectic life. Their behaviors, beautiful colors and patterns, and the amazing biology of each type of venom....just fascinates me. They've become a huge part of what I love, and of who I am. Working with these incredible creatures has given me more confidence, joy, and peace than I could have imagined. My snakes, and the passion they inspired in me, is actually a large part of how I beat the last vestiges of an eating disorder I was struggling with for over a decade; who has money for diet pills when there are so many beautiful snakes to own?

I owe a lot to my animals, and I consider it an honor and a privilege to be able to share my life with them. I cannot imagine being without them.

[kiiarah]

That's awesome to hear and I fully agree that snakes, or any animal for that matter, can help you grow as a person. I always say that my little bp is my calm in the storm. I feel like so few people I meet in day to day life understand me when I say I feel honored to be around the animals in my life. Always nice to encounter someone who feels the same way.

[malgus]

I saw my JCP in a pet shop fell in love and took her home three weeks later. Up till then I had no interest in ever having snakes but now my days are filled with learning more and more about them in between work and gaming.

[FWK]

As a child I was fascinated with all wildlife but living in the city I had virtually no access to the natural outdoors so I sated my thirst by watching the Discovery Channel and what have you (this was when they actually had educational programming on the air, not the "reality" nightmare that is all TV these days). When I was eight we moved into the country and suddenly, to my utter delight, I was surrounded by life. My fascination with snakes in particular began when my dad started raising poultry and we started finding snakes, in huge numbers, in and around the bird enclosures. The whole place just crawled with Cottonmouths and I learned how to handle them when my dad caught one to show me up close which ones to stay away from. After showing me how to recognize the snake he killed it and warned me to never touch one and to get him if I saw any more. Naturally I didn't want him to kill any more so from then on I caught and relocated every one I could find. I was very careful but being just a kid I don't know how I managed to never get bit. I'll never forget the time I walked into one of the big quail enclosures and looked up to see a Cottonmouth directly overhead on top of the enclosure, some seven feet off the ground. I'll also never forget my first Eastern Hognose find, that was the best day ever, or the first Speckled King. I was absolutely taken with that King, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on. Many years later when I finally started keeping one of the first snakes I got was a Speckled King. I agree with ya'll, my snake room is a very peaceful place for me. I get the same feeling when in the field or on the water and it is amazing to have it at home now.

[charlesc84]

I always liked dinosaurs and reptiles as a kid, but perhaps the main thing with me was watching wrestling. I was a huge fan of Jake Roberts. For my 7th birthday I got my first snake, a Garter.

[Georgia]

Jake Roberts was awesome!

[PsychoSnake]

Originally Posted by Georgia

Shes such a cute girl I hope she brings you happiness for many years! Give her plenty of love!

Thank you Georgia! She is very much loved and spoiled.