When we think of a pet, the image that pops into our head is typically a dog or cat, maybe a goldfish we had when we were younger. Many people value their furry friends and consider them a part of the family, but will usually shy away from the idea of getting a more ‘odd’ or ‘exotic’ pet.

However, Madison Mayhall, a senior at FHC, had a different idea in mind for her own first pet. A snake, which has grown into her having nearly 10 altogether. She explains how getting her first snake started a domino effect of growing her snake “collection” and learning to care for them fully. Many hours were spent learning their diet, housing situation, shedding cycle, and other tedious parts of their care people wouldn’t think of.

“I got my first snake when I was 6. My dad was down, but my mother was completely against it. I eventually got my first snake, and my older sister started getting different spiders. After that, our house kinda became full of weird pets. I currently have almost 10 snakes, and that doesn’t include all of the reptiles who have been in my possession overall,” Mayhall said. “It takes a village to take care of them all, because not all of them are small and holdable,” Mayhall said. “My sisters spiders freak some people out, but she finds them fascinating. She has a few tarantulas and black widows.”

When it comes to her scaly friends, she explains how the bond is indeed different than the typical pets her friends have, but she can still engage with them in a different way.

“Snakes are very intelligent and oddly loving. You can play with them in a different way than you play with other animals, my hognose snake for example loves burrowing in blankets that I lay out for them,” Mayhall said. “We also like to build their enclosures to help give them as much enrichment as possible.”

Some of Mayhall’s snakes have different disabilities that require a little extra, but she still loves them and cares for them the same to give them the best quality of life. 

“I have two blind snakes, and it was very hard to gain their trust at first. But now, I can handle them and they’ve become celebrities within my group of friends. My friend and I had rescued some leopard geckos at the beginning of this year, and my family  and I nursed them back to health until they were okay,” Mayhall said. “Not a lot of households around us are able to take in these reptiles who need help quickly enough, so we volunteer our time.”

Madison’s devotion to her slithering animals is one of her many cool traits, and is always a conversation starter for new friends who visit her house. To some, snakes are seen as scary and dangerous creatures, but they’re one of Mayhall’s favorite things.

“Not everyone has to like snakes or think they’re cute, but respect the amazing and cool animals they are.”