We went to a gathering at my son's work. Everyone got their faces painted while we were there and candy was given out. The party was to attract customers but we were not getting that many until I pulled out Pancho.
Here is the owner's daughter who monopolized most of Pancho's hugs.
She was deathly afraid of snakes when I arrived, but warmed up to Pancho within fifteen minutes. Next was Vinny who is an ace on the wheel, and he took a turn.
You can see both my boys in this picture. They are employed at Eco-Alsina but they work at the garage where they do the repairs.
In the background of this one, we see Martin who owns the store. He never worked up the nerve to get close or touch Pancho. He did have me kind of walking the gathering crowds into the store during the day so that the kids could ask their parents for new scooters.
I only took a couple of pictures, no time when watching over lines of people holding him for the first time. There were over 50 people that held Pancho and many more that only wanted to touch his skin while I held the head well behind me. Aside from asking the snake's name, I got lots of other questions. Continue below to see them.
What does it feel like to hold a snake?
They are dry not slimy. I guess they feel like snake skin boots feel. They are dry, soft, smooth and this one is really nice. She really likes to be held and petted as you will see.
Do they bite?
Pancho has never bitten anyone in the 12 years I have had him. Of course, that comes with a little know how and caution when approaching him. There is a chance that he would bite if my hands smell like prey (rat, hamster, raw meat or raw chicken) but if I wash my hands, and I always do that before picking him up, it decreases the chance of him biting. They use their tongue to sense the smell and temperature of prey. because my hand is warm, I want to make sure that there is no food-like smell on them.
Are they poisonous?
None of my snakes are poisonous, neither in Pythons or Boa Constrictors so there is no danger to me. That is one of the reasons they make such great pets. As with dogs, if you respect them and treat them well, they do not pose a risk to anyone.
Do they have fangs?
Not like the ones you see on adventure shows. They have over 100 teeth which are very sharp like fish bones. They all point toward the back of their mouth and they fold down so you do not see them when they 'yawn' but they do unfold them when they strike prey. It is nearly impossible to escape if you are a rat, but if a human is bitten, they snake can let go by moving forward while opening their mouth. It is impossible to pull a snake off of someone. You must push the head forward to unhook the teeth from the wound.
That's it for this post. I hope you learned something. So many people did as the store we were at was hosting a Halloween party.
