A few things really got me mad and I just have to vent...

First of all, my sister and her kids found a garter snake in the grass outside their house. Instead of just leaving it be, they decided to "catch" it. They put it in one of those tiny little plastic containers they sell for hermit crabs. The snake was a nice size - about 18" - way too big for this little container. Then they put some grass in it. I came for a visit six days later and they showed me what they "caught." This poor snake had been outside on the porch in this tiny little box for SIX days!!!!! I was so mad. I took it and released it back where they found it. Stupid people!!!

Secondly in my local newspaper was an article about a girl who may lose her arm from being bitten by a Copperhead. Upon further reading, it turns out another stupid person decided to pick up a snake he found in a park. He put it in a shoebox. He brings it to school and it bites the girl on the finger. They don't even know what kind of snake it is and she isn't taken to the hospital until 45 minutes later. And what's worse is the snake is missing... when the girl was bitten, she threw it across the room and the boy who originally found it thought it was dead so he picked it up and threw it outside. Apparantly, it was just stunned so now it's on the school property somewhere.

I just can't believe people are that stupid. And it's the snake that gets the bad rap because it bit someone.

Anyway... I just wanted to share that. Thanks!

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Steph
<t><
I am too blessed to be stressed! The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything!

1.0.0 Husband; 3.1.0 Children; 1.1.0 Corns; 0.1.0 BP; 1.0.0 C/BRB; 0.1.0 Rabbit

Hello,

Unfortunantly, ignorance leads to things like that. Once the school department locates the snake, it will be destroyed because it is "dangerous". Had the kid left the snake alone, no one would have gotten injured and the snake would be safe. Education is the only way to prevent further incidents.

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That's so sad for the snake, and I hope things turn out ok for the girl. Rich is so right...education is the key.

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~Juliane~

Agreed,,,thats why education needs to start early.

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

You're all absolutely right. Education is so important. When I tell people that I have snakes, the comments amaze me - people are so ignorant. I use that opportunity to given them the facts and dispell the myths. There are still so many people out there that think snakes are slimy!!! Every year at my Church, I have a man come in to do a "Reptile Show" for the kids. He's known as "The Reptile Guy." He's a very experienced herp owner and speaker. He brings many different species of reptiles - Blue Tongued Skink, Bearded Dragon, Red Tailed Boa, Ball Python, Rat Snake and the list goes on. He educates the kids (and adults!) about reptiles while tying it into a Bible teaching. He's really good! And the kids get to handle the reptiles. It's awesome to see the kids fall in love with the reptiles!!! What's even more funny is to see all the parents run for cover when the reptiles come out to play!!! LOL

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Steph
<t><
I am too blessed to be stressed! The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything!

1.0.0 Husband; 3.1.0 Children; 1.1.0 Corns; 0.1.0 BP; 1.0.0 C/BRB; 0.1.0 Rabbit

I read that article just a while ago and was dumbfounded at the stupidity of these kids! Hopefully the little girl is ok, but unfortunately the snake is the one who will pay most dearly if they find him. It is too bad that the reps are the ones who suffer most for doing what comes naturally......

I will admit that I used to take innocent snakes out of the wild give them a bad habitat, and the worst part is I would get mad at other people for doing what I was doing. It took me until just recently to figure out that what I was doing is wrong. Now, I think that if everyone read the article you talked about, maybe all of this crulety to snakes will stop.

When I helped with the reptile shows at my fair there was SO many people who thought that snakes were slimy! It's also funny how many people don't know that not every snake is dangerous, they think that all snakes have deadly venom. There is a quote I think of every time things like this happen.

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. "
Albert Einstein

But then there is this logic too.

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."
Albert Einstein

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0.1.0 Brazilian Rainbow boa (Sakura)
1.1.0 Leopard geckos (Tasuki, Sango)
2.0.0 Ball pythons (Tsume, Kenshin)

A lot of people still think frogs and toads give you warts...So some teenagers killed the innocent little creatures at the pond near my house . There are barely any left. The good news is some friends and I convinced them to stop.

Quote = [cough] george w. bush

Every person has done a few really stupid things in life, my brother once brought home a huge octopus from the bay and asked my mom if he could keep it in our pool. LOL

I used to catch garter snakes then let them go, I once found an entire nest of babies that had just hatched....well, there were tons of babies in one area anyways. I just hope herp awareness will grow soon, all animals not just herps are treated wrongly by a lot of people.

Now now, no need to get political.

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0.1.0 Brazilian Rainbow boa (Sakura)
1.1.0 Leopard geckos (Tasuki, Sango)
2.0.0 Ball pythons (Tsume, Kenshin)