Some people are very afraid of snakes. From seeing a large python on TV or at the zoo to getting startled by a small garden snake when you are outside, snakes make some people go nuts. But snakes are an important part of the environment. They keep the population of things like rats down, they provide food for other types of animals (like a honey badger ; )

Once when I was little I had a bunch of plastic snakes that I left in the middle of the floor. Later that night my mom went to pick them up and put them in my toy box. Well, one of them moved. It was a REAL snake that found it’s way into our house and laid down to take a nap with all his snake “kin. My mom said that she moved real fast to the other side of the house, yelling instructions to my dad to “get rid of it, but don’t kill it.”

My dad is not really afraid of snakes. My mom is afraid of them but she can handle seeing or touching real tame snakes — as long as someone else is there to hold them.

The hog-nosed snake pictured here is from the Nature Center. They use live animals when they are teaching people about conservation and other stuff. This snake was one of the “helpers.” Unfortunately she passed away of natural causes a few months ago. She will be missed. Remember, hog-nosed snakes should not be pets. They should live free in the wild. The Nature Center only uses wild animals for educational things.