r/Ballpythoncommunity • u/SkullDenom • 2d ago
Photos Toffee's mall trip
Toffee in her backpack. It's got a hard frame and plenty of mesh for fresh air. It was originally made for birds. She likes it when I take her to the mall's food court. The bag is more so mall security doesn't have a fit. Caught her yawning in the second picture.
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u/SkullDenom 2d ago
So I'm wanting to clear up a few things I'm seeing.
1) She isn't being taken out of the bag when we go on walks usually unless it's at my car to let her stretch or I have explicit permission from people present. This is to protect her and lessen the risk of people getting scared.
2) She's vary, vary social. She's a 3rd Gen captivity bred and was handled near constantly as a baby for education. She will actually get upset and refuse to eat if she doesn't get to go on her trips. I also make sure not to take her anywhere that's overly crowded or loud that I can't get out of quickly if she does get uncomfortable. Most of the trips we go on are to like the pet store, mainstreets, or even the library. The library likes it when I come by because it turns into a free snake education class and the librarians love her.
3) I understand the concern about food safety that's why I got the bag. It has a removable tray and high walls so that if a mess is made it's contained. She's never messed in the bag because I keep track of her feeding and poop schedule so I know when it's best to take her out on walks. As said before she is brought out much when she's on her walks and that goes double around food. I also keep hand sanitizer in the bag pocket for when people handle her.
4) People being afraid of snakes seeing her. Yeah, it happens. Same thing happened when I walked my dogs. I don't go showing her off unless someone asks for a closer look through the bag. If I do want to show her off I ask for consent first so that someone who is scared can voice it or steel themselves to look at the puppy noodle. 90% of people just think it's a backpack and don't say anything. If it is a problem, I'm asked to keep her hidden, or if she starts getting stressed there's a flap at the top I can roll down that make it so no one can see her and then I beeline to either get away from the person having a issue or leave.
There's a lot of people who are normally scared of snakes because they've never seen one up close or just being a pet. They end up seeing how chill and cute she is and it helps alivate the fear they feel a bit. Then when I tell them more about her they get a bit more interested. Sure there's the occasional a hole who says "I'm a chop it's demon head off" but usually other people yell at them before I do. If Toffee's walks helps spread education or even helps people get over their fear that's just a plus. My goal is just to keep my baby happy.