I am absolutely terrified of snakes and I have a little toddler boy.  MY only draw back from placing an offer is the neighbor's pet.  They also keep chickens, but that doesn't bother me as much.  Am I crazy for letting the next door neighbor's pets get in the way?

Thanks.

I guess it really depends on the neighbor and how responsible he/she is & what kind of snake it is.  We have a snake.... a corn snake that is no threat to anyone.  You shouldn't be afraid for your son - despite what that World News rag may claim - snakes don't sneak in and out of people's homes eating small children.

But if you are that uncomfortable there you may not make the best neighbor either.

Ophidiophobia vs. Alektorophobia

Truly an off the wall yet interesting topic for our forums.

Janelle Saylor | Real Estate Operations

Janelle - I'm not scared of chickens; they are just icky of habit and body. I had one as a pet when I was 12, and also had a coop of 8 for about a year. Fresh eggs = cool...once you soak all the chicken poop off them, that is. Filthy creatures, truly.  The noise is a bigger factor, plus unless those neighbors have bird netting across their entire yard, the chickens WILL get out and into other people's properties. If you have a dog, that's going to be one dead chicken.

Snakes never bothered me. I would catch garter snakes as a kid (being careful to avoid being shat on) to pet them, then release. My Birthday present when I was 26 was a baby Columbian Red-tail boa constrictor. I had him 17 years until his death in May (internal anaerobic infection we couldn't knock down with antibiotic injections).  Frankly, snakes make pretty dull pets.

I used to be afraid of spiders until I "met" a wild desert tarantula at the Grand Canyon three years ago. I forgot it was a spider, I guess. She was just so pretty and stately-moving, I was on my stomach next to her before I even realized what I was doing. Held my hand out parallel to the ground for her to explore, and never gave it a second thought. She checked me out, touched my hands with her forelegs gently, posed for a group of small kids that I called over to see her, then ambled off the path and on her arachnid way. Have not been scared of spiders since, though I still hold a hefty respect for black widows.