My mother, bless her heart, was so terrified of snakes in general. Whenever I got my baby, Squiggles, I had let my mom hold her. Of course the snake was all over the place, but my mom thought she was simply adorable. Now she's not afraid of snakes at all! Lol. I can see why she would be afraid, but the snake you would be getting I'm assuming is just as harmless as my baby is.
Like others have said, just kind of warm her up to them slowly.
The expo is a fantastic place to start! I hope it works out for you!