Silly or stupid comments and questions that herpers hear..

[MMRR - jif]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[VARNYARD]

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]

"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]

I always seem to hear:

"Is it alive?"

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

 

[Epona142]

Oh oh, my favorite!

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

 

[crimsonsmommy]

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]

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]

haha thats good

 

[Guest]

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]

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

 

[Mike]

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]

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]

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]

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!

I agree. :lol:

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

 

[DaveDragon]

Bumping up for the new members.

 

[ZEKE]

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]

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.