Me: where'd my egg go?

Snake: i dunno

They love to live on your porch and deal with pests and be really chill and then sneak in when you least expect it. They’re trying so hard to be domesticated. Sorry bud, you’re so shiny and dark and beautiful but you’re an outside friend.

ratsnake perfec t for domestication put rat snake in House good friend to human very Companion and Friend have good time with ratsnake in house. Put Ratsnake In House. No problems ever ratsnake in house because ratsnake perfect size give Help and Support to human. A ratsnake perfect pet for human can trust ratsnake to be good companion to Human. friend ratsnake.

very compelling argument

oh my god thank you for this subreddit rec. and, though these are wild, there are pet rat snakes on it too!

They love to live on your porch and deal with pests and be really chill and then sneak in when you least expect it. They’re trying so hard to be domesticated. Sorry bud, you’re so shiny and dark and beautiful but you’re an outside friend.

ratsnake perfec t for domestication put rat snake in House good friend to human very Companion and Friend have good time with ratsnake in house. Put Ratsnake In House. No problems ever ratsnake in house because ratsnake perfect size give Help and Support to human. A ratsnake perfect pet for human can trust ratsnake to be good companion to Human. friend ratsnake.

very compelling argument

Are there health or safety reasons why ratsnakes shouldn't be allowed in houses?

Like it wouldn't work in my house due to cats, but if there were no cats in the house couldn't we just... have... a benevolent snake fellow?

No, not really. All rat snake species in the Americas are nonvenomous though some Old World species have a weak venom that poses no danger to humans. Like all reptiles, they can be carriers of salmonella and potentially harbor diseases that could be infectious in humans, though the risk is very slight. I don’t advocate bringing wild animals home as they have a job to do and rat snakes are very important in controlling rodent populations (that could potentially cause disease spread and crop damage) and some species are currently endangered. Also, many rat snakes get 6+ feet long so they’re a larger snake species and it can be difficult and cost prohibitive to provide proper enclosures.

TL;DR: The rat snake poses no real health and safety concern to you but they don’t belong in the house, please gently relocate them back outside. If you would like one as a pet, some species are captive bred in the pet trade and it would be better to purchase one of them than potentially endanger native populations and/or break the law.

They love to live on your porch and deal with pests and be really chill and then sneak in when you least expect it. They’re trying so hard to be domesticated. Sorry bud, you’re so shiny and dark and beautiful but you’re an outside friend.

ratsnake perfec t for domestication put rat snake in House good friend to human very Companion and Friend have good time with ratsnake in house. Put Ratsnake In House. No problems ever ratsnake in house because ratsnake perfect size give Help and Support to human. A ratsnake perfect pet for human can trust ratsnake to be good companion to Human. friend ratsnake.

very compelling argument

Maybe we should domesticate then.......

“attractive and docile pets” did a rat snake write this wikipedia article

They love to live on your porch and deal with pests and be really chill and then sneak in when you least expect it. They’re trying so hard to be domesticated. Sorry bud, you’re so shiny and dark and beautiful but you’re an outside friend.

ratsnake perfec t for domestication put rat snake in House good friend to human very Companion and Friend have good time with ratsnake in house. Put Ratsnake In House. No problems ever ratsnake in house because ratsnake perfect size give Help and Support to human. A ratsnake perfect pet for human can trust ratsnake to be good companion to Human. friend ratsnake.

very compelling argument

oh my god thank you for this subreddit rec. and, though these are wild, there are pet rat snakes on it too!

They love to live on your porch and deal with pests and be really chill and then sneak in when you least expect it. They’re trying so hard to be domesticated. Sorry bud, you’re so shiny and dark and beautiful but you’re an outside friend.

ratsnake perfec t for domestication put rat snake in House good friend to human very Companion and Friend have good time with ratsnake in house. Put Ratsnake In House. No problems ever ratsnake in house because ratsnake perfect size give Help and Support to human. A ratsnake perfect pet for human can trust ratsnake to be good companion to Human. friend ratsnake.

very compelling argument

I don’t understand Mormon theology but if the rest of it is kind of like prosperity doctrine, I would think these extremely dangerous activities feel like tests of faith to them and part of them believes only the unworthy would die in these situations. I think it might be that deep. Genuinely.

@greywarensoul Sure! Serpent handling is a religious rite performed in a few Holiness and Pentecostal churches, mostly in rural Appalachia. It hit its zenith in the mid 20th century and it’s a much more obscure practice now. It was a common feature of tent revivals and a trick traveling preachers would do to attract audiences before it became a set rite performed in churches, usually snakes are only handled by the preacher but sometimes the congregation joins in.

Quoting from Wikipedia on the scriptural justification, as I was not raised Christian.

Pictures of people taking up serpents as a test of faith:

It’s often done along with speaking in tongues, a practice Pentecostal/Holiness churches share with Mormonism. That was why I thought there may be a parallel, Mormonism held on to a lot of the folk Christian mysticism elements of the early 19th century, it shares features with some of these isolated sects.

Mesmerizingly beautiful.

I feel how this guy looks