Snakes are Misunderstood Animals

Snakes are just trying to survive. Student Leo Arakelyan states “I honestly feel like snakes are snakes, and they follow nature, just as we do” When snakes feel endangered or threatened, they have a flight or fight response; the same way humans, and most animals do. Some situations they tend to do this are, when someone is poking a stick at them, getting too close to them, and cornering them/not letting them escape. You can simply avoid these situations where you might be bitten by going around a snake, leaving it be, or asking a professional to help if you are looking to capture it. Snake Haus states “If you do happen to get bitten, learn what YOU did to cause the snake to attack you, and change your behavior for the next time you come across a snake.” 

Snakes make mistakes too. They often mistake human hands for food, especially during a domestic feeding time. They don’t have very good sight, so they rely on their other senses to find food. They might smell something on your hands that smells exactly like food. Some people think they just get really hungry and eat the first thing they see, but this proves otherwise. Plus snake bites are nowhere near as common as a car crash or dog attack. Venomous snakebites cause around 5 deaths annually, whereas dog attacks cause approximately 30–50 deaths annually, and car crashes cause over 33,000–40,000 deaths annually. So the probability of a snake attacking you is very rare. 

Snakes are also super cool pets too! Maelee Manson states “YES they would be very good pets!” They only eat once a week, they don’t need to be played with, and they don’t need to be let out to do their business. Although some people say snakes are super high maintenance, they are actually really easy to take care of as long as you do it right. Their enclosure needs to have a warm side and cold side, ranging from 88–92°F on the warm side,  75–82°F and for the cool side. Depending on the snake size, or what size it will grow up to be, the size needed for the enclosure varies from snake to snake. And sometimes it may need help shedding their skin. Younger snakes tend to shed more often than an adult, about every 3-4 weeks. While fullgrown ones shed every 1-3 months. And the shedding process can take from 5-7 days. National Geographic states “They rub against a tree branch or other object, then slither out of their skin head first, leaving it discarded inside-out.”