Who else thinks spiders and snakes are actually quite-fascinating creatures?

Many folks I know are afraid of them, but who would touch, or even hold, a non-poisonous one of either?  I've touched a garter-snake, and held a Daddy Long-Legs; they're not frightening at all to me, yet some people are categorically afraid of all serpents and arachnids.  Which type of individal are you: do you like the non-venomous ones, are you afraid of all of them, of are you brave and perhaps manage a venomous insect or reptile as a pet?

This is a picture of my arm, with a tarantula on it.



It was taken in an off-road market in Cambodia where the local kids plonk one on your arm then charge you a dollar to take it off. The kid that placed this one disappeared for a while so I had it on my arm for quite some time. In this market I also ate fried tarantula, rat, crispy rat tail, baby frog and a few other fried bugs and critters. The only one I didn't like was this scorpion. Too chewy and difficult to swallow.



Edit: This all sounds very bizarre and disgusting but this was the food that many Cambodians were reduced to eating during the Pol Pot years. At least they can make money out of it now from tourists like me.

I hear you talking about snakes and spiders knowing they are growing in popularity as house pets, I see photos of people playing with them or killing them or eating them or getting killed and eaten by them and I've read that in the coming decade we're going to switch to insects and larvae as the main source of protein and earthworm juice as the main source of nutrition. 

It brings great relief, therefore, that I know I can keep to my old lifestyle 

johnr wrote:Edit: This all sounds very bizarre and disgusting but this was the food that many Cambodians were reduced to eating during the Pol Pot years. At least they can make money out of it now from tourists like me.

Are you kidding?  I love bizaare and disgusting stuff: I'd play horror-games if my eyes could actually see what was going on in their dark environments; those titles are hilarious!

Jarek wrote:I hear you talking about snakes and spiders knowing they are growing in popularity as house pets, I see photos of people playing with them or killing them or eating them or getting killed and eaten by them and I've read that in the coming decade we're going to switch to insects and larvae as the main source of protein and earthworm juice as the main source of nutrition. 

It brings great relief, therefore, that I know I can keep to my old lifestyle 

I mean hey, most bugs aren't as gross as they seem; but if there's only one insect-species of which I could get rid, please!  Make them nats!  I can't stand those gosh-darned thangs!  You can just be walkin' down the street, 'n' 'en, buzz—THOOK!—buzzzzzzzzzz... One just hits you in the ear!  Ookh, it's always so gross, especially since those critters love hanging out around waste-material!

If you don't like gnats, I wonder what you'd make of these.

Back in the 90s, I went on a week's fishing holiday with some buddies to the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland.

Scotland, and particularly the Isle of Skye, is famous for it's natural beauty, and its midges. Trillions of them, and they bite.

We rented a caravan (static mobile home?) on the island during midge season, although I didn't know this beforehand. Getting from our car to the the caravan each evening was like a scene from Hitchcock's 'The Birds' with arms and coats flailing to try and ward off the little...insects. One day we stupidly left a window open and on our return that evening the caravan was swarming with them. We had to use the hose on a vacuum cleaner to suck them all up.

(Not my hand I'm happy to say).

(Definitely not my legs either!)

This gives an idea of the type of swarm you can find yourself in the middle of, but at ground level.

johnr wrote:If you don't like gnats, I wonder what you'd make of these.

Yeah, those kind-of remind me of flying fire-ants in their gathering and biting.  Yeesh!  I'd dislike those even MORE than nats!