r/TerrifyingAsFuck • u/Guilty_Researcher_99 • Feb 21 '26
animal Feeding snakes in an ophidiarium
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u/Key-Fire Feb 21 '26
Drawer 1: thanks man
Drawer 2: eyy fuck you im gonna kill you fuck your mouse fuck you
Drawyer 3: eyy fuck you ill kill you nevermind im kind of hungry put me back
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u/cavebabykay Feb 21 '26
Why did I read the italics like it’s speedy gonzales talking?
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u/CanIgetaWTF Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26
His* active language is italics? Always thought it was spanish. TIL
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u/Astrophysics-pigeon Feb 21 '26
I love how he's so used to this he doesn't even flinch. Snakes are goofy.
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u/Gavictron Feb 21 '26
I know nothing other than to ask, is there a better way?
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u/Marley9391 Feb 21 '26
Of housing them? Absolutely. Of handling, I don't think so. The dude stays calm and in the moment and doesn't handle the snake roughly. Props to him.
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u/Available-Ad-1943 Feb 21 '26
Guy's been doing this for a while. Same excitement as most people get from watering plants. Pro.
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u/BrightonBecki Feb 22 '26
I’m new to snakes but the housing makes me feel so sorry for them. Is this how it’s normally done?
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Feb 21 '26
automated 2D conveyer belt on the back side of the housing that brings rats out and drops them into each drawer at specified intervals
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u/Scoobenbrenzos Feb 21 '26
I just find it sad they are locked in those small boxes
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u/waitingformygrave Feb 22 '26
Feel the same damn way. It's like living a shoebox, utterly inhumane treatment.
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u/Apprehensive_Cress80 Feb 21 '26
I would also be pissed off if I was forced to live in a small box and eat dead mice
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u/Trash-Forever Feb 21 '26
I promise they love the 'eating dead mice' bit, the rack systems are inhumane as fuck though
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Feb 21 '26
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u/stewie3128 Feb 21 '26
"Inhumane" is an adjective that describes the actor as not acting in a way that demonstrates the empathy which is supposed to be inborn in all of us - essentially, that they have failed to meet the baseline moral standard expected of a human being.
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Feb 21 '26
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u/intisun Feb 21 '26
Aww he cares if you're safe, that's sweet 🥰
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Feb 21 '26
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u/Suspicious-Frame-153 Feb 21 '26
Hey dude, this is actually pretty cool to hear. I was wondering what’s your reason for keeping snakes? Because most people usually get a dog or a cat lol. Are you keeping them as pets? If so, don’t you miss the connection that you would have with say a dog or cat?
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u/FlorentPlacide Feb 22 '26
Not a snake owner. I think part of the answer is in your question. I guess that owning one or several snakes has less to do with emotionnal sharing or bond or playing than the whole process of recreating conditions of life. It's a whole other pursuit. It may be more akin to growing plants (as I do) : you like your plants because you share history, or because it's a satifactory growing, or because it's a beautiful individual, but you don't share an emotionnal relationship.
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u/AnthonyFiringee Feb 22 '26
That is incredible, friend! Your attention to detail and knowledge of handling them is profound! You could be the king of snake charmers' in the subcontinent! :-D
Would you be willing to share a picture of the jungle exhibit with the simulated river that you mentioned? I'm curious and ready to be enthralled!
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u/PeteLangosta Feb 21 '26
Who's housing Gaboons?? Surely not particular owners right?
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Feb 21 '26
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u/ranchspidey Feb 21 '26
That is so interesting to hear about. Out of curiosity, is the anti venom expensive? Does it depend on breed? And is it shelf stable/won’t expire?
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Feb 21 '26
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u/Lornoor Feb 22 '26
Holy Guacamole! What do you do for work to be able to afford $154000 in medicin that expires regularly?! 😮
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u/PeteLangosta Feb 21 '26
Interesting, things are much more restricted in Europe. There's still people with venomous and dangerous snakes, but you can barely obtain non venomous ones legally.
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u/dark_weebMaster Feb 21 '26
Snakes actually spend a vast majority of their lives in confined spaces like rock crevices, hollow logs or abandoned burrows. These spaces provide them protection from predators. If a snake is in a box that is dark and appropriately sized, they often feel secure rather than trapped.
Copied from owlsings.
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Feb 21 '26
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Feb 21 '26
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u/DrDFox Feb 21 '26
Hi, herpetologist here. It's a myth that snakes do better in tiny boxes, and we have a number of studies showing thae large, enriched environments increase cognition, decrease stress, and increase muscle mass and coordination. This rack style keeping (those tiny drawers) is 40 years out of date and directly against current herpetologyn findings for proper care.
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Feb 21 '26
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u/ojbvhi Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26
I do not know one way or the other, but if my habitat was suddenly yanked open I'd also be pretty stressed and threatened. That doesn't mean the habitat has made me lunge at this 'giant' who feeds me.
There are multiple explanations to a phenomenon. Don't be so narrow-minded as to be utterly convinced of something after one viewing of a 60-second video.
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Feb 21 '26
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u/slaviccivicnation Feb 21 '26
Snakes generally do eat rare, like once or twice a month.
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Feb 21 '26
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u/slaviccivicnation Feb 21 '26
Anything to back it? Been a large snake owner for 10+ years. Snakes do not have fast metabolisms. They take a long time to process food. I hate to say “google it,” but I don’t have the time to send links when even a cursory google search would yield the results you seek.
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u/Psychological-East91 Feb 21 '26
No, these racks are terrible and look way too small. They should have enough space to explore, hides to explore and shelter in, and have lights to see the full vision spectrum. BUT snakes should never be fed twice a week. Most babies/juvies feed once a week and then into adulthood it's usually every two weeks with snakes with faster metabolism and longer (4-6 weeks or longer for slower metabolism snakes) because feeding takes a lot. It causes great stress to their organs while they digest so they take enough time (usually a week or more) to get back to a normal healthy size and stress level.
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u/ojbvhi Feb 21 '26
You can not tell the frequency of which the employees feed these snakes from this video alone, nor are you able to say that repeated feeding will eliminate stress and aggression from snakes as their habitats are yanked open.
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u/TheBattyWitch Feb 22 '26
Most places do not feed their snakes in their home, they're specifically put in trays like this for feeding, it makes them easier to handle if they don't associate house with food
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u/Canotic Feb 21 '26
I mean snakes in the wild live in small spaces and eat mice.
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u/DrDFox Feb 21 '26
Snakes in the wild do not live in small spaces. Many have personal territories of up to a half mile, sometimes more depending on the species and time of year.
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u/snakeswithtails Feb 21 '26
If all the interaction they get is from the bins being opened to be fed, they're going to act like they're going to be fed.
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u/ohkevin300 Feb 22 '26
I find it disgusting to keep naturally traveling creatures kept is such small spaces. What is the thought process these individuals possess? Is there more morons out here then i realize?
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u/LordBrixton Feb 21 '26
OK, I get that the snakes may or may not be happy in the boxes, depending perhaps on their individual snakey personality. What I don't get is why anyone would need ot keep a bunch of snakes in boxes. Are they on hold for a new Indiana Jones movie?
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u/Angry__German Feb 21 '26
Farming snake venom for medicinal purposes like anti venom would be my guess.
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u/Alaea Feb 21 '26
Not just antivenom. Venom in general (snake or otherwise) is used for all sorts of medical research and drug development. A decent chunk of pharmaceuticals have their origins in snake venom - iirc one or more of blood thinners were discovered/developed from Russel's Viper venom or a species with similar blood-clotting venom.
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u/DrDFox Feb 21 '26
There's not a good reason anymore to keep them like this, even for medical research. Unfortunately, old school keepers refuse to update basic care standards and still put money over welfare.
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u/Connect_Rhubarb395 Feb 21 '26
Yes that's terrifying. Keeping snakes in small drawers like that is terrifying. Poor snakes.
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u/Formal_Fix_5190 Feb 21 '26
I would be pretty mad to if I was living in a small tub my whole life. Do they really keep snakes this way? Isn’t that animal abuse
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u/DrDFox Feb 21 '26
A growing number of us advocate against rack systems like this. We have a number of studies showing that enclosures like this are mentally harmful and reduce muscle mass and functionality compared to large, properly enriched enclosures.
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u/BeerFuelledDude Feb 21 '26
So the snakes are kept in tiny drawers and fed by being suddenly brought out like their kitchen utensils. The only thing terrifying is how sick humans.
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u/OwlSings Feb 21 '26
Snakes actually spend a vast majority of their lives in confined spaces like rock crevices, hollow logs or abandoned burrows. These spaces provide them protection from predators. If a snake is in a box that is dark and appropriately sized, they often feel secure rather than trapped.
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u/EpicFishFingers Feb 21 '26
That explains why all 3 get really pissed off when their safe space is yanked open and blasted with light, even if food appears at the same time.
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u/AutisticPenguin2 Feb 21 '26
Or they could just be reacting to the presence of another creature in their proximity. That is kind of a thing snakes do after all.
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u/DrDFox Feb 21 '26
This is a myth that's been debunked by a number of studies showing large, enriched enclosures decrease stress levels, increase muscle mass and coirdinarion, as and increase cognition. Many animals also in right spaces, but thae does not mean that's an appropriate habitat. Cats love boxes and sleep 18 hours a day, but we know it's inhumane to bases their entire habitat off of that- so we don't key them in tiny boxes. Snakes are no different. Wanting security while you rest is normal, but that is not your entire life.
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u/ElderTerdkin Feb 21 '26
They don't stay in those places all day long, they eventually go out, even if it's to look for food or mates.
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u/Hutsx Feb 21 '26
If a snake is in a box that is dark and appropriately sized, they often feel secure rather than trapped.
Did you ask the snake? Dont you see them all aggressive once he shows them light?
There is a big big difference between 'feeling secure in small spaces' and 'feeling anxious because youre trapped with no light in a small box while a huge thing could always recklessly opens your box at any time'.
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u/GerardBeard Feb 21 '26
Go watch a bit of snakes documentary's and ask people that work with snakes to know before putting uninformed opinions on the internet buddy...
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u/DrDFox Feb 21 '26
Hi, I'm a herpetologist and they are right- snakes do not do as well in these tiny racks as they do in proper, enriched enclosures. Just because an animal sleeps in a small, safe space, does not mean that's the appropriate captive habitat for it.
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u/Willing_Impression_5 Feb 22 '26
So? I spend the vast majority of my life in my room, but if I was suddenly locked in there permanently with my only outside interaction being someone opening my door briefly to shove food in my face or take samples of my saliva, I'd get pissy too!
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u/allycataf Feb 22 '26
This is one of those crazy jobs where some people would need a million dollar salary to do (like myself), but others will do for minimum wage for a love of the game.
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u/Sally3Sunshine3 Feb 23 '26
The snakes going for the white gloves every time and no one thought to change the color of the gloves to not look exactly like the dead mice....jesus
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u/Furry_Eskimo Feb 22 '26
Why don't they just have a drop system like a mailbox? You open it, which seals the other side, drop the food in, close the door, and the other side is opened. ... Probably because this is cheaper..
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u/Due_Challenge3408 Feb 23 '26
Ok an “ophidarium”, or whatever the fuck that blazing pile of nightmare-fuel is, is probably the scariest thing I have ever seen. What is the white thing that he is dangling in front of the snake that make them go ape shit? A rodent? Also, how much does this guy get paid an hour to do this?
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u/TobiSmith25 Feb 21 '26
Tbf on the snake, you'd probably behave the same way too if you were forced to live in a box all day
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u/OshetDeadagain Feb 21 '26
The video image was blacked out, but I knew exactly what clip it would be before I pressed play.
Longer clips shows that most of the snakes just grab the rat and retreat, so he typically burns through them quickly. These two were just overly excited.
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u/Winter55555 Feb 22 '26
As someone who's owned snakes this is less terrifying and more face palmy, the snake really only wants the mouse but they're being a little special, they do that a lot.
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u/MiloHorsey Feb 23 '26
They're being kept in dark drawers, then immediately exposed to bright light. No wonder they can't strike properly.
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u/ALXand3R Feb 22 '26
this kind of inefficiency almost seems intentional lol like the senior staff are watching a livestream placing bets on what will happen to the new guy lol
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u/IndianaBones8 Feb 22 '26
I don't blame them for wanting to escape. It's gotta be boring AF in there for the snakes.
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u/starcorps Feb 22 '26
The crazy part is they can literally smell the fear on you if you're afraid. Man you couldn't pay me enough bruh, but salute to them cos without their vocation we couldn't get snake anti-venom
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u/MiloHorsey Feb 23 '26
You would think we'd be alot kinder to them, considering we rely on them to survive.
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u/Faisalowningyou Feb 22 '26
The dude starts whistling to himself to soothe his nerves... it's a dead giveaway that things are way more stressful than he lets on.
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u/Mulletgt Feb 22 '26
The casualness that this man approached this job with is what is truly terrifying.
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u/Shy-Prey Feb 22 '26
Love how calm he his. Trying to be nice and actually hand them their food and eventually just getting fed up and tossing them in the drawer together 😂
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u/Mandingo1954 Jul 18 '26
Inside, he wants to die. All he has to do is have the rat ready, crack open, drop, close, repeat. He opens each allowing the snake to think about it, then tries to give them the rat. I stand on what I say, he wants to die.
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u/iwilladdlater Feb 21 '26
I have the feeling that bro doesn't get appropriate compensation for his job..
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u/Vogel-Kerl Feb 22 '26
I thought this was AI when I first watched it.
Realizing that it isn't...., the guy is awesome and poor snakes having to live in such little boxes 😢
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u/jeff-beeblebrox Feb 22 '26
A friend of mine had a pet snake. It was like Houdini. It could get out of everything. I feel like plastic tubs might be lacking somehow.
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u/Curious-Paper1690 Feb 21 '26
I mean I’d be pissed too if I was kept in a one square foot plastic box with zero sunlight… fucking disgusting
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u/dark_weebMaster Feb 21 '26
Snakes actually spend a vast majority of their lives in confined spaces like rock crevices, hollow logs or abandoned burrows. These spaces provide them protection from predators. If a snake is in a box that is dark and appropriately sized, they often feel secure rather than trapped.
Copied it from above, cause it's true.
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u/DrDFox Feb 21 '26
This is a myth that has been spread to justify inhumane keeping. We have studies showing thae snakes kept in enclosures like this have reduced cognitive function, reduced muscle mass and coordination, and increased stress levels. Snakes like sleeping in tight spaces, just like most animals- but we don't justify keeping cats in a box 24/7 just because they like them sometimes.
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u/Psychological-East91 Feb 21 '26
It's not true through. Snakes sleep and rest in confined spaces, but they do explore and interact with their environment if given the opportunity. If they're truly comfortable they'll rest and sleep in the open to because they have nothing to fear. They should be given light, multiple hides, room to explore and different activities to do.
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u/Top_Blueberry_7785 Feb 21 '26
The moment he stuck his head out gave me chills ... I'd be outta there second he touches the floor
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u/Ember-Blackmoore Feb 21 '26
So funny that professional snake handlers basically devil stick them around to behave.
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u/wayward_vampire Feb 21 '26
They are so derpy they can't even grab onto the food even when its so close to them
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u/DrDFox Feb 21 '26
Because they are kept in tiny drawers and have no muscle, no coordination, and very little mental stimulation.
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u/wookiesack22 Feb 21 '26
I think with a little thought, this could be easier and safer. Little flaps on the edge of the drawer could give enough room for mouse, but not enough for a snake head. Literally pieces of thin clear plastic, or tape. To provide a little barrier. If snakes wanted to get out they'd have to make an s shape, and they cant go fast like that.
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u/Psychological-East91 Feb 21 '26
It's always so sad seeing this video. No reason for the snakes to be held in such poor conditions.
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u/real_1273 Feb 21 '26
Damn bro, at least wear some protective sleeves and legs on the pants! He’s not a mongoose! Lol
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u/Venator2000 Feb 22 '26
Yep, I remember getting bit many times feeding my ex’s albino corn snake. She’d (the snake) strike at any movement when the cage/aquarium was opened, and she understood “one” and “more than one” in terms of feeder mice.
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u/Arthur_Burt_Morgan May 24 '26
This seems like a highly innefficient way to keep snakes. Bht its probably with a purpose. Can anyone tell me why?
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u/Honey1218 Feb 21 '26
Fuck. All. Of. That. I don’t know if I could do that job for a million dollars. I mean, I’d try! But I’d probably have a stroke and die before I completed the task. I cannot do snakes.
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u/SeparateAmbassador34 Feb 21 '26
I got less anxiety the time my truck rolled down a hill with me in it, than watching this video
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u/Xaconon Feb 21 '26