When I was little we had a talk at school about snakes and reptiles. At the end the person giving the talk gave us a chance to hold a snake. A lot of the girls were scared, they thought they would be slimy and cold. I don’t think I was scared so I put my hand up and got called forward. I ended up with a snake wrapping itself round my arm. The scales were dry and shiny and beautifully patterned. It was so interesting that a few years later I was at a nature display and held a six or eight foot long python across my shoulders. I also went to an open day a few years ago and held this snake (well it wrapped itself round me). I’ve also found that I quite like tarantulas. I would not have either as a pet, but I do think taking a look at things like this isn’t as scary as it looks, as long as they are not venomous!