rainbowsnakes:

OK though serious time now. (ps. the word poisonous was used ironically)

Here are a few points I would like to make. 

•  A snake does not see humans as  a source of food.  There are only 4 species of snake (out of around 3000 species.) That could be considered large enough to even consider eating a human… And even the big boys would much rather avoid humans than eat them. So, putting this into perspective, most snakes you are likely to encounter  have no interest in biting you… because you are not a food source… 

• Snakes are not malicious.  Contrary to popular belief a snake does not crawl around in the grass looking for humans to bite.. What they do want is to find a nice sunny spot to bask, a secure place to hide, maybe find a nice snake mate and a few rodents to eat… Oh what? no humans in that list? No…we humans are actually not  the centre of the universe!  Wild snakes want nothing to do with us and essentially all they want is to survive like every other animal…Unfortunately because humans believe we are indeed the centre of the universe we have built our homes on top of the snakes habitats and created areas where their food sources thrive so snake/human conflicts happen more…. Not the snakes fault. 

• A Snake does not have any arms or legs... Now this may seem like an obvious one. But..I feel like it needs to be stated here. When you come tramping along and tread on them. Or when you corner a snake or try to kill it..shrieking at it about how “terrifying” it is….It has only one defense.  It’s mouth. And of course its going to try to defend itself if it thinks its life is threatened. You know the best way to avoid a snake bite? Don’t interfere with the snake. Give it a wide berth. leave it alone and it will do the same because… if you remember from above.. They really don’t want anything to do with us…  

• It is YOUR duty to educate yourself about any potentially dangerous snakes in your area. Why don’t they teach this stuff to people schools ffs .   If there is a snake in your shed,  garage or home… If you can’t ID it or If you suspect it is venomous. Don’t touch it. Call a professional. If you are 100% sure the snake is non-venomous depending on its size and your confidence you can drop a large towel or sheet over it and scoop it up and remove it or for a less hands on approach you can coax it into a large bin turned on it’s side. The snake will have a hard time crawling up the smooth sides of a plastic when you flip the bin upright so you can safely remove it.

So.. to end that chapter. Snakes are not evil and out to get you. There life is worth just as much as any other animal and in fact snakes are an extremely valuable part of the ecosystem and also valuable to us!

If snakes were eliminated rodent populations would explode to such a level that food security would be a serious issue… Rodents can have a huge impact on crop yield and without snakes there numbers can get out of control. This means farmers have to drives up the cost of food…Lets not forget  rodents also spread disease. 

Speaking of disease… Snakes are helping us cure them! It’s true. There are compounds isolated from black mamba venom that could provide a painkiller more effective that morphine without the side effects [x]. Venom is also a promising canditate for cancer treatments [x] and new antimicrobials,[x] which the world is seriously desperate for…. That is just a few examples. There are loads of ways that snake venom is being used in medicine right now.

So please REBLOG and spread this info… If anyone wants to message me to know more about snakes that’s fine! Me and I’m sure a lot of the reptile community love to talk about our animals and I would love to change a few peoples minds about these misunderstood creatures.  I will not call you an idiot. I will have a civil conversation with you about it.

But not me or any one else in this community will be able to remain civil if you post a picture of a snake you have killed and brag about what a hero you are…..  

There is NO REASON to kill snakes. They are living creatures which are a vital part of the ecosystem, important to agriculture and they are saving lives.

They deserve our respect.