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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to take my snake to sunbathe in the local park?

159 replies

cakeorwine · 17/06/2023 18:09

You can take dogs in the park.
So why not a pet snake!

Is it OK to let your snakes sunbathe in the park? - BBC News

(I don't have a snake and am not sure what I would think if I saw a snake in the park)

snake in Barshaw Park

Is it OK to let your snakes sunbathe in the park?

A man who takes his snakes to his local public park sparks a debate about what animals are acceptable in public spaces.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65931360

OP posts:
Original poster
cakeorwine · 17/06/2023 19:09

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 17/06/2023 19:06

Why not?

People around here walk cats, goats, ferrets, llamas and pigs on leads Grin

I've seen people walking ferrets here.

OP posts:
Pancakefam · 17/06/2023 19:11

I think someone might harm it. So many people are terrified.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 17/06/2023 19:13

cakeorwine · 17/06/2023 19:09

I've seen people walking ferrets here.

Show quote history

My neighbour over the road walks her ferret - it also escapes fairly regularly and gets found under people's sheds Grin

ShakeYourFeathers · 17/06/2023 19:13

Misses point of thread but I'm now picturing a snake on a collar and lead and figuring out how it wouldn't slip out of it !

Frequency · 17/06/2023 19:13

We always have ferrets advertised on our local missing/found dogs Facebook group but I've never actually one seen on a walk. I always assumed they were all escaping from their cages.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 17/06/2023 19:13

My friend has been known to go for a walk with her python round her neck.

TheLightSideOfTheMoon · 17/06/2023 19:14

I would much rather snakes being taken out for a walk (?) than yapok, jumpy dogs.

There was a video on TT yesterday of a dog attacking a police horse and the owner just didn’t care.

Snakes are generally harmless and have silly grins.

batmansbike · 17/06/2023 19:15

I saw a man with a snake round his neck on Skegness beach Envy

cannaecookrisotto · 17/06/2023 19:15

I was on holiday recently and saw someone trotting about with a massive Iguana like it was a normal activity 😆.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 17/06/2023 19:16

batmansbike · 17/06/2023 19:15

I saw a man with a snake round his neck on Skegness beach Envy

We have people around here who fly their birds of prey out on walks. It's pretty awesome to see.

Newnamenewname109870 · 17/06/2023 19:17

Personally I think it’s terrifying. There is absolutely no way a snake can be domesticated unlike a dog or a cat. If it escaped that would be horrific.

SquashPenguin · 17/06/2023 19:20

Don’t see any problem with it. It’s unlikely any responsible owner is going to take a 16ft Burm to the park because it weighs a tonne for a start, but a 5ft Ball Python? They don’t just run (slither!) off!

Elliania · 17/06/2023 19:23

Newnamenewname109870 · 17/06/2023 19:17

Personally I think it’s terrifying. There is absolutely no way a snake can be domesticated unlike a dog or a cat. If it escaped that would be horrific.

Why would it be horrific? A snake would have to get to an enormous size to bother anything much bigger than a mouse or a rat. And I'd like to think snake owners aren't stupid enough to bring a venomous snake out in public.

CastleTurrets · 17/06/2023 19:27

I'd be genuinely terrified if I came across a snake in the park - I have a severe phobia. I can't get look at a photograph of one or touch toy ones (those horrible rubber toys you get in places like gift shops at the zoo).

I did once see a man walking his snake (with collar and leash) in Sydney. That terrified me never mind the snake being loose!

crazyBadger · 17/06/2023 19:28

DC sometimes takes the beadie for a stroll in the park in sunny weather(he has a little harness and just rides on her shoulder).

All the kids love him :)

Snakes might be a step too far

MrsTerryPratchett · 17/06/2023 19:29

Newnamenewname109870 · 17/06/2023 19:17

Personally I think it’s terrifying. There is absolutely no way a snake can be domesticated unlike a dog or a cat. If it escaped that would be horrific.

No they can't. They also don't routinely kill people in the UK like dogs so [meh]

areyouhavinglaugh · 17/06/2023 19:32

We have a local that takes his parrots to the park... it's by a river and he always looks like a pirate 🏴‍☠️

Tygertiger · 17/06/2023 19:32

Roselilly36 · 17/06/2023 18:20

😂that looks like an adder, they are in the wild, DH’s golf club always had adders basking on the fairways in summer. But yes a pet snake in a public space could well cause a panic, can’t put it on a lead can you!

That looks categorically nothing like an adder!

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 17/06/2023 19:33

Newnamenewname109870 · 17/06/2023 19:17

Personally I think it’s terrifying. There is absolutely no way a snake can be domesticated unlike a dog or a cat. If it escaped that would be horrific.

Why is a loose snake anymore dangerous than a loose dog?

We have wild snakes in the UK already.

CastleTurrets · 17/06/2023 19:33

While there are people who are terrified of dogs, these people know it's reasonable to expect to see them in parks and can act accordingly (e.g. chose to go to a park where dogs are not permitted for example).

However, it's fair to assume that people like myself with snake phobias would NOT assume and be prepared to encounter them in their local park (at least in the UK anyways).

RagingWoke · 17/06/2023 19:33

I can get behind most pets being out and about- dogs, cats, ferrets, birds, lizards, donkeys, goats all lovely.

Snakes? Nope, not at all. My one and only true phobia and I'd never go back to the place it was in. Completely accept I'm BU here and sound like a dog hating MNer calling for the filthy beasts to be banned immediately 😂 but give me a slobbery, sandwich stealing, muddy pawed dog any day just keep the danger noodles in secure boxes.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 17/06/2023 19:35

CastleTurrets · 17/06/2023 19:33

While there are people who are terrified of dogs, these people know it's reasonable to expect to see them in parks and can act accordingly (e.g. chose to go to a park where dogs are not permitted for example).

However, it's fair to assume that people like myself with snake phobias would NOT assume and be prepared to encounter them in their local park (at least in the UK anyways).

We have wild snakes in the UK (adders, grass snakes).

At least pet snakes/dogs/rats/guinea pigs would be under control.

Elliania · 17/06/2023 19:36

Also the kind of person who keeps snakes and wants to take them out to a public place is most likely going to be the sort of person who cares about their pet. So chances are they'd be taking all sorts of precautions to make sure the snake didn't escape or did anything to put the snake in harm's way.

GalileoHumpkins · 17/06/2023 19:36

I would quite literally shit my pants if I saw a snake just casually going down the slide or spinning merrily on the roundabout.

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