Ok kriminaal, now it's my turn!

I wanted to comment on this yesterday, but the "flu" got the best of me ... so here goes. First off I think that snakes are very misunderstood creatures. There are no two species of snakes that feel the same. Some are smooth, others rough, some feel like leather. As others have said their are many different types of markings (as with Ball's) and colors (as with Corn). They are easy to handle especially with kids. They are VERY curious as they move around and kids get the biggest kick when they come up and smell my nose. They eat ALL of their food! And some have live birth!

But the best thing about snakes ... especially Ball Pythons is that they give GREAT neck massages! Now I want to see an Iguana do that! I definatley have a bigger love for the snakes!

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Smile and the world will think that you are up to something!

Steve

The great neck massages? You better stick to snakes under 4 ft. LOL

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

SOOOOOOOOOO TRUE Steve!!! (Although I could only recommend Ball Pythons for that service... others can get a little to tight for me!)
I hope you feel better soon!

Well, I have no reptile yet, but it looks like the first that will be entirely under my care will be a snake, so...
It is the way they wrap around your fingers...
when there is a snake wrapped around your hand, the world is at peace, life is good and you don't want to do anything but sit there and admire this reptile.

That said I prefer lizards overall...
...but not by much.

....Oh, and I'm a dog person.

I like that answer it's almost poetic.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Not to start another comparison but there isjust way to many snakes in the world to experiance them all, so I am going to break it down further and explain why I love boids(no offense to the colubrids or Hots) just my area of experience, boids have that certain mystique to them, weather they are moving sleekly across the terrain in the wild or just laying still in there cage or display soaking up heat, and depending on the lighting of the day or the lamp they are under, some have a certain iridescents to there scales that can rival even a perfect sunset in paradise, and for some reason no matter how many herps are in the reptile portion at the zoo there is always a bigger crowed around the huge burm or anaconda display.

Over time a keeper can come to understand his boid, learn his movements, his positions, and eventually his moods so to say. weather its him/her in her striking pose saying "now is not the best time to bond with me", or just laying there as if to say "alright you win, take me out and lets get some good pics in while i'm out", you can even sense a change in there disposition when they are hook trained, and you cancel that feed response, they just kind of snap out of feed mode its almost scary. and to your friends who dont know about boids, they will always be a cooler pet than their dog or cat.

I believe that over time they can even reconize there owner to some extent and feel comfortable with them and can become tolerable to petting on the head and belly, and for those of us who have a skin drawer, you can see the difference in size from year to year by comparing skins side by side(a little difficult for a lizard) a ten foot burm or retic will always be more managable then a ten foot lizard, which I think only a komodo dragon gets that big(and not to many people own one of those) and even fewer have the guts to handle one. and there is a certain amount of respect that is held for large boids because of the fact that they are so powerful, muscular, and are able to overpower a crocodillian, yet they can be as gentle and caring as a declawed kitten when they are curled around their eggs.

The versitility that they have, to adapt to their surroundings in the wild weather they are large and hunt on the ground or thin tree dwellers able to support over 50% of there body while reaching for the next branch they have mastered all there surroundings. Not to say that lizards have not mastered theirs, but like Will Smith in Men In Black, they make it look good, and with no legs even(with the exeption to the legless glass lizard) with all of there muscles working together so precisely when they move is plane and simply poetry in motion.

I would sit for hours just watching my ball python move around and climb till I feel asleep. now I have had lizards, turtles, dogs, cats, birds, rats, fish(which I also enjoy watching) but I find that the slow moving boids are just more relaxing to have around me. It is almost as if time just stops when you are with them. The multiple morphs, colors, patterns, breeds, sizes, the fact that they eat once a week, if that, those are all just the perks of keeping them, that goes for all snakes. for me it is the overall way they make you feel, whenever I am around them I am never in a bad mood, even when cleaning the cage, lol. if that doesnt prove it I don't know what will. not to mention I just spent a half hour writting this reply.

-Bryan G

That's a pretty in depth reply. I'd say that you are in tune with your Boids. Maybe even a little too much.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa