# Silly or stupid comments and questions that herpers hear..



## MMRR - jif (Nov 20, 2007)

I've been exhibiting at reptile expos and educational events for about 12 years now. Sometimes I'm absolutely amazed and sometimes shocked by what some people believe and say about reptiles. This weekend at the pet expo some of us decided that it would be fun to compile a list of strange, stupid, silly, or just plain moronic things that people have said to us about our animals. Does anyone have some winners to contribute to the list? Here are a couple of examples that we heard this past weekend...

I was holding Gomez, and adult male green iguana that is in full breeding season color. A woman came up to me and asked me if he was painted!

Another woman told one of our members that if a chameleon saw it's reflection in a mirror that it would die.

One of the spectators asked us why lizards don't talk. 

Then there is the ever popular one that we hear a hundred times a day at these events.... "do it bite?"

If you have any silly or stupid things that you have heard from a non-herper and want to share please send it to me via pm. If it's a really good one share it here so we can all have a laugh!


----------



## DaveDragon (Nov 20, 2007)

Just one comes to mind at the moment.

My wife was bringing our female Blue or big male Red to our 8 year old son's baseball practices and games. They would lay next to our dog at the front of the bleachers. After one game we were getting our things together to leave. My wife had the Red Tegu under her arm and swung around. A woman almost fell out of her chair screaming *"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!!!"*


----------



## dorton (Nov 20, 2007)

At a local pet shop the "sales person" was trying to
talk a lady into a green iguana for her classroom pet. She was a teacher, I didnt say anything until she got ready to leave. So I followed her out and explained the uro or beardie they had displayed, though more expesive would by far make a better pet.

I also liked the guy at a local reptile show who had an adult savanah monitor that was "puppy tame". He was explaining this just as it decided to lock down on the guys thumb!!! It would not release, they tried everything, and fianlly used some pliers to loosen its grip.


----------



## Dragon_girl (Nov 20, 2007)

ive had a few people who came over and asked me if ryu was Iguwana (cant spell)


----------



## VARNYARD (Nov 20, 2007)

Here is a good one: Is that thing venomous?  :lol: 

And then the stories start:
I had a snake chase me one time. :roll: 

I seen a snake bite his tail and roll down a hill like a tire. :roll: 

Those orange headed lizards, and blue tailed lizards are scorpions they are both very poisonous. :roll: = (Five lined Skinks and Broad head Skinks).

There are many more, but that is a few of the silly comments.


----------



## Mike (Nov 20, 2007)

"Look kids, it's a snake"! 

-Mother of 3, after seeing 2 Argentine tegus free roaming.

"Wow, look at the iguana, kids!"

-Mother of 2, after seeing an adult sandfire beardie on my shoulder.

Of course there's many more, these are the most recent.


----------



## PuffDragon (Nov 20, 2007)

I always seem to hear:

"Is it alive?"

lol no he's just sitting on my lap for nothing.


----------



## Epona142 (Nov 20, 2007)

Oh oh, my favorite!

"I saw those in a movie, they are POISONOUS and can kill you!" :roll:


----------



## crimsonsmommy (Nov 20, 2007)

omg i thought i was the only one who heard the bite the tail and roll like a tire story. who knew lol, 

the 8 foot rattlers that are only visible to non-herpers in west central ohio are a favorite of mine. they are so damn elusive, they must be able to smell my knowledge so the hide or something.


----------



## MMRR - jif (Nov 20, 2007)

Thanks folks, keep them coming if you have more. 

I forgot to post my reply to the woman who asked why the lizards don't talk. I said, with the straightest face I could muster, "What? You can't hear them? You must not be listening close enough."


----------



## Dragon_girl (Nov 20, 2007)

haha thats good


----------



## Guest (Nov 21, 2007)

Danny Bonaduce from the Partridge family is on the Adam Carolla show. I was asking questions about cage building and Danny said that not only is my tegu gonna be 8 feet long, but it's gonna way 80 to 100 pounds. I was cracking up.


----------



## dorton (Nov 21, 2007)

I had a guy from work tell me about an 11ft black snake he saw here locally just the other day.


----------



## Mike (Nov 21, 2007)

MMRR - jif said:


> Thanks folks, keep them coming if you have more.
> 
> I forgot to post my reply to the woman who asked why the lizards don't talk. I said, with the straightest face I could muster, "What? You can't hear them? You must not be listening close enough."



Haha. Nice job. :lol:


----------



## MMRR - jif (Nov 24, 2007)

This is one of my all time favorites! I was at Reptile Fest in Chicago a couple of years ago (well, I'm there every year but this happened a couple of years ago) and I just happened to be at a tortoise breeders display. She had a female Leopard tort in a large bin and next to it were her new baby torts in another bin. A woman came up and just started ripping on both of us about how we were depriving the babies of contact with their mother and that they needed to nurse! I picked up the adult tort, held her up so that her lower plastron was exposed, and asked the woman if she saw any nipples. Now that is a real head-shaker. LOL


----------



## dorton (Nov 24, 2007)

MMRR - jif said:


> This is one of my all time favorites! I was at Reptile Fest in Chicago a couple of years ago (well, I'm there every year but this happened a couple of years ago) and I just happened to be at a tortoise breeders display. She had a female Leopard tort in a large bin and next to it were her new baby torts in another bin. A woman came up and just started ripping on both of us about how we were depriving the babies of contact with their mother and that they needed to nurse! I picked up the adult tort, held her up so that her lower plastron was exposed, and asked the woman if she saw any nipples. Now that is a real head-shaker. LOL



HAHAHAHAHAHA! Thats good!


----------



## Mike (Nov 24, 2007)

dorton said:


> MMRR - jif said:
> 
> 
> > This is one of my all time favorites! I was at Reptile Fest in Chicago a couple of years ago (well, I'm there every year but this happened a couple of years ago) and I just happened to be at a tortoise breeders display. She had a female Leopard tort in a large bin and next to it were her new baby torts in another bin. A woman came up and just started ripping on both of us about how we were depriving the babies of contact with their mother and that they needed to nurse! I picked up the adult tort, held her up so that her lower plastron was exposed, and asked the woman if she saw any nipples. Now that is a real head-shaker. LOL
> ...



I agree. :lol: 

Although if someone was so ignorant as that around me, I would have had a bit of a different response.


----------



## DaveDragon (Sep 16, 2008)

Bumping up for the new members.


----------



## ZEKE (Sep 16, 2008)

people call our bearded dragons and my geckos "iguanas" all the time! and when i tell them its not an iguana they are like "whats the difference" so i give them all the scientific names and the difference and they look at me weird and walk away


----------



## Kharnifex (Sep 16, 2008)

lol, my friends girlfriend asked me if i have to clean up the slime from my tegu walking around my room.

i was like what?!?

she said you know, the slime on their skin.

lol, i grabbed groxy, and brought her over to her, she was acting like i had a red hot branding iron in my hands

lol, she was stunned to silence when she built up the nerve to touch her. she was like "She feels cool!"

how the hell she got it into her head that she was slimy i have no idea.


----------



## mschuld (Sep 16, 2008)

O.k., I know it's not reptile related, but we used to have a pet blonde skunk named Dozer. People would often respond by saying "Oh my god, does it spray you guys?". I would usually respond with "Oh yeah, all the time, you should smell the inside of our house!". Most folks thought I was serious until I broke a grin.


----------



## jor71 (Sep 16, 2008)

I can't believe no one mention the classic; "They only grow as big as their enclosure!!!"

I still hear that from people.


----------



## Kharnifex (Sep 16, 2008)

lol, yea i had a friend wanting a red tail boa, i was asking why they wanted a snake that'll be 10 feet long, and she said she'd just keep it in a small tank so it didn't get that big........


needless to say i illuminated her ignorance.


----------



## leoares27 (Sep 16, 2008)

haha...this thread is too funny!

i take my snakes to the convenience store sometimes...or to the park next to my house...
what i hear is...
" is that snake real/alive?"
or "is it poisonous?"

no, my ball python, or colombian boa is not venomous or dead or fake lol...

then comes all the norm ?
what does it eat, how often...etc...
ppl are funny!


----------



## KoreanDeathKid (Sep 16, 2008)

here's a couple

I usually bring my reptiles around the public on warm days just for my enjoyment and for the reptiles to get some fresh air, i was at school showing off my red tailed boa that i had, and this is what EVERYBODY asks "is the poisonous?" my reply "no, and if a snake was to be poisonous, it would most likely be a venomous, which is far worse than any poison"

i was showing off my tegu in front of my house to some people and kids, and nearly everybody asks "is that a yellow spotted lizard?" my reply "if you are talking about yellow spotted lizards from the movie Holes, no, yellow spotted lizards do not exist and from my understanding, they were bearded dragons, which are very tame and you can get them at any petstore for less than 40 dollars"

i've got tons, but it just drives me insane how stupid and ignorant some people are


----------



## PuffDragon (Sep 16, 2008)

I got this one the other day:

"You need a girlfriend."


----------



## tupifan (Sep 17, 2008)

one i heared about a year ago: i bought a snake a few weeks ago wat does it eat roaches and cricets?


----------



## mushman (Sep 17, 2008)

I work at a pet store and I had some college students ask me last week if they could feed a baby corn snake a live adult mouse, and if they could keep the snake in a fish bowl.


----------



## hollisterbebe808 (Sep 17, 2008)

OMG THATS HILLARIOUS!!!!

I wanna play the devils advocate and say unless people learn, hear, read, watch discovery or animal planet, research, etc..they just flat out dont know reptiles or whatever it is that theyre talking about..im blessed because i was raised in a family where i always had a reptile or dog and my mom was constantley teaching my brother and i about everything she could. I am such an animal freak!! Ive only lived in cali for 3 years now and i looove my reptiles, i lived in hawaii where we dont have really any reptiles but a couple small lizards so when i moved here, ive been in heaven ever since..But my cousins and a couple adults that have seen the reptiles that ive had asked some of the same questions above and some are just sooo stupid, but some people just flat out dont know because theyre not exposed to it all...I'm lucky i have some knowledge to share with my little cousins. I'm taking them to a reptile expo we have in nor cal and theyre soooo excited!! They love my two tegu's and boa, everytime they come over they hold them and talk to them and are constantly asking my questions..

To end my rambling...for someone to think torts have nipples is really just dumb..lol


----------



## JohnMatthew (Sep 17, 2008)

Be it frog, turtle/tortoise, lizard, snake or any other animal they aren't familiar with the first comment, often spoken with the utmost authority, "that thing is poisonous!!"

Also popular with the kids, "where does it poop at?" and "what happens if it bites you?".


----------



## JohnMatthew (Sep 17, 2008)

And always after you answer the "have you ever been bitten" question(especially if you're showing a small snake), they want to know "where".. Then they say, "i don't see anything" like they're expecting massive scarring where a 12 inch corn snake bit me a few weeks ago  .


----------



## Kharnifex (Sep 18, 2008)

Lol, hi britt!


lol, the other night someone asked me to wake up my tegu at midnight, i know they could have no idea what that would mean, but to me it sounds like a very crazy and dangerous thing to do. my girl is dog tame, but if i wake her up she charges me....and is faster than me.

i had to explane to them that to wake her was to dance with the devil.


----------



## DZLife (Sep 18, 2008)

Oh man, I had someone a few weeks go tell me that I wasn't allowed to keep poisonous lizards where I lived (as I was walking to the pet store for mice with my tegu on my shoulder) XD


----------



## sparky (Oct 3, 2008)

i get people all the time with our hognose, tell em i have a pygmy rattler and once they are all freaked out about it i bring piggy out bare handed for more entertainment.


----------



## Schnab (Oct 4, 2008)

Ah man I can relate to this topic. ALot of people have asked me the most retarded things about reptiles. When we'd take our ball pythons outside and people we're brave enough to come see us they'd ask us if they were poisonous. I'm my head I thought " why yes, they are, yet I'm handeling it with my bear hands..."

Another time was when my boyfriend had a friend over and we were chilling with the snakes and he asked us if they can breath. Then he asked us if they can drink.

One summer we went to a fair and there was a mini reptile expo (Little Ray's Reptiles), so we go over and marvel at what they had brought. There was two gorgeous burmese pythons and they hade one out in the parking lot so people can pet it. There was this one guy who walks up to the keeper, looking as if he had something intellegent to say...... He asked if the snake had teeth..... and asked if it ate meat.

I find it pathetic really. It's like reptiles are totaly alienated in the public eye.


----------



## sparky (Oct 4, 2008)

Schnab said:


> Ah man I can relate to this topic. ALot of people have asked me the most retarded things about reptiles. When we'd take our ball pythons outside and people we're brave enough to come see us they'd ask us if they were poisonous. I'm my head I thought " why yes, they are, yet I'm handeling it with my bear hands..."
> 
> Another time was when my boyfriend had a friend over and we were chilling with the snakes and he asked us if they can breath. Then he asked us if they can drink.
> 
> ...



good stories! 

ok i can't resist, do you find "bear" hands to be a burden? :mrgreen:


----------



## Beasty (Oct 4, 2008)

I once had a crazy redneck neighbor when I lived in this trailer park in Alabama. (Hey, I saved $2500+ in a year AND profit off the sale so..) Anyway, he would frequently ask me when letting my tame 5 foot+ iguana bask in the natural sunlight, "Ye sunnin' yer crocodile?".
Me> "Yes, fool. Go have another beer."

Funny incident while doing same basking activity~ 
This same guy had the loudest yapping little dog ever, that would go out to do it's business EVERY morning at 4AM!! Needless to say, I heard this incessant barking every day through the paper thin walls. Well, one day while out basking same said 5'+ iguana, the little dog was out and came over to investigate. I tried to shoo him off without spooking my lizard but he wouldn't be deterred. He stepped a little too close and SWAT! got it's nose split by the iguana's tail. Oh well, I tried. Oddly enough it seems the barking was less frequent after that.


----------



## Schnab (Oct 6, 2008)

GooD! Little yappy dogs are soo annoying... Some lady from across my house has one of those, she pretty much lets him out to bark at whatever moves. If it wasen't for the fence, I'de whip the dog my self.


----------



## jim_m (Oct 7, 2008)

It strikes me as funny how most people actually think all reptiles are poisonous. I took my baby Argentine B&W ( cholo ) to my sons class to show the kids and parents. Well as soon as i pulled him out all the parents grabbed there children and held them tight. I tried to reassure them that hes fine, but they were adamant that he would bite their child and they would die. 
It wasn't until my son was letting cholo ( my tegu ) crawl up and down his arm and shoulder that they allowed their children to get with in 10 ft of him. 
It strikes me that so many people still think this way. Sad really. Well education is the best way to fight ignorance :grno


----------



## lotsareps (Nov 21, 2008)

i have a little friend who has the wildest imagination possible. you can let him go on and on about how he knew a snake that had its eye clawed out and regrew it, etc etc

i've been asked if lizard arms grow back (i blame the spiderman comics for that one)

my young cousins i'll go easy on. they at least ask questions rather than tell me what they "know"


----------



## Oddball (Nov 21, 2008)

unfortunately this one isnt funny, but its riduculous

MUFFDADDY2, a youtube video maker
this guy thinks that 4 practically grown red tail boas can live in a tank too small for them, even with one of them pregnant, with no hide spots

he also things that savannah monitors are totally omnivorous and actually like dog food

and he's run pet rescue scams and all sorts of other outrageous stuff


----------



## steve (Nov 21, 2008)

i had one guy ask me if my iguana was a komodo dragon and then proceeded to argue with me about a friend of his that used to own a komodo dragon


----------



## ashesc212 (Nov 21, 2008)

Everyone always asks if my beardie is an iguana.


----------



## DaveDragon (Nov 21, 2008)

ashesc212 said:


> Everyone always asks if my beardie is an iguana.


That HAS to be the most common one I hear.


----------



## laurarfl (Nov 21, 2008)

Always get the beardie is an iguana thing.

Kids always want to know where the poop comes out. They are amazed that the poop doesn't come out of the end of the tail. People are often amazed that a Burmese python only eats once or twice a month (mine does anyway). A lot of people think they eat daily.


----------



## DaveDragon (Nov 21, 2008)

laurarfl said:


> Kids always want to know where the poop comes out. They are amazed that the poop doesn't come out of the end of the tail.


I've never heard that one!


laurarfl said:


> People are often amazed that a Burmese python only eats once or twice a month (mine does anyway). A lot of people think they eat daily.


Our Dumeril Boa eats every 3 to 4 weeks. She's due in 2 days.


----------



## DaRealJoker (Nov 21, 2008)

My favourite is does it bite? Well the last time I looked, every living thing bites lol. I then ask if the person bites, and when they say no, I ask how in the world do they eat? I then get the "You idiot" look I love it hahahaha


----------



## lotsareps (Nov 21, 2008)

DaRealJoker said:


> My favourite is does it bite? Well the last time I looked, every living thing bites lol. I then ask if the person bites, and when they say no, I ask how in the world do they eat? I then get the "You idiot" look I love it hahahaha



i usually respond by "only if you upset him"
but i have been known to tell a white lie to slightly educate someone
i'll tell them i have or had (insert reptile here) and when asked do they bite i would go oh yes quite often and tell them i had reconstructive surgery on my hand

hahaha thing is i've been bitten enough for that to be needed yet i never scar


----------

