Q: Are you unkind to your snakes by taking them out on events?

A: Sue has quite a number of snakes in her care, to exercise and socialise this amount of snakes, alone, is a daunting task, without help; the snakes seem to enjoy their outings, escaping from the confines of their vivariums to meet and socialise with people is better than being totally confined.

Q: Does smoke, bright lights and many people effect them?

A: All snakes have their own personalities, they all handle different situations their own way. When they are used to certain situations nothing bothers them so long as they know and feel secure that their handler/friend is around. Sue has personally found that the only smoke they do not like is Dried Ice.

Q: Have you had their fangs taken away?

A: No, all of Sue's snakes have their own teeth for eating with, none are venomous.

Q: Why isn’t it strangling you (Boa Constrictors)?

A: Snakes, like any captive animal, get to know their keeper. Besides, people are far to big to be prey items. (Sue'd have a job to get her snake home if she was inside it!).

Q: Isn’t it unkind to dance with a snake?

A: Most of her dancing is performed around the basket, she takes the snake out only at the end of the performance and the movements she makes whilst holding the snake are carefully executed so as not to upset him/her.

Q: Shouldn’t the snakes be where they belong; in the wild, in their own country etc?

A: All the snakes in her care were born in the UK. The so called wild is quickly being taken over by human habitation; there are more Boa Constrictors in captivity than in the wild and incidentally, some species of the island Boas are extinct in the wild, but are being kept in captivity, hopefully
until there is, once more, some space for them to live in the wild. The rain forest where Boas live is being logged, without care of what animals are made homeless or killed. She would love to let them go if someone gave me the option and if she knew they would be safe from uncaring humans. In the meantime her most pressing project is to build a sanctuary in East London with areas as comfortable and interesting as possible for them.