Every place offers its own unique challenges. And so, when choosing where to live, a person must think through these possible challenges and decide if they can deal with them. 

The woman from today’s story likely didn’t think about the challenges that living in Australia might bring. And so, when she saw a python going under her neighbor’s house, she lost her mind. Then she demanded they get rid of the snake because she couldn’t sleep knowing this creature was living next door.

More info: Mumsnet

How do you react when you learn your neighbors are fostering an animal you’re terrified of?

Image credits: Worldspectrum (not the actual photo)

For years, a family lived unbothered knowing there was a carpet python living under their house

Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)

One day, their neighbor saw the snake sliding under their home and freaked out

Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto (not the actual photo)

She started demanding for it to be removed as soon as possible, while her husband offered to get his cousin to come and do the job

Image credits: MrHissyLives

But the author refused to let this happen, as they didn’t want the snake removed at all, but said that if needed, they would agree for it to be done by wildlife removalists

The OP lives in tropical northern Australia. Interestingly, this region makes up around 45% of Australia’s landmass, but only 5% of the population. 

What’s also interesting is that the author has a carpet python living under their house. These snakes are called this due to their markings resembling a carpet pattern. In the 15 years the original poster had been living in the house, they’d seen it around half a dozen times. Well, it appeared enough times for the OP’s kids to name it Mr Hissy. And the name stuck. 

The reason why neither OP nor their family freaks out about a snake living in their home is that this type of python is typically zen. They also are non-venomous. In fact, many Australians are happy to have one in their house, as it takes care of rats. The OP is one of these Aussies. 

But apparently, their neighbors aren’t. One day, the author heard a dramatic scream from their neighbor. They rushed out to see what was happening and found the woman frozen in fear looking at Mr. Hissy going under the house. Of course, witnessing something like this can be scary. So, the original poster explained to the woman that there was no reason to fear the snake. After all, it had been living there for years and it was harmless. 

But the woman didn’t want to listen to any explanations. Now, she was focused on the fact that there was a snake next door to her. She said she wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing this. The OP tried to fix the situation by saying that there were plenty of other snakes living in tropical gardens nearby and they never caused any harm to the woman. 

Here, this answer on Quora reiterates the original poster’s point. There are snakes living in gardens, trees, and in other Australian places. Yet, they rarely ever hurt a person. Usually, they move off before humans approach them. 

The OP argued that Mr. Hissy was no different. The woman had lived nearby for three years and nothing had happened. It didn’t help. 

The woman’s husband arrived home and explained that she was terrified of snakes. The extreme fear of these reptiles is called ophidiophobia. But it shouldn’t be confused with a mild fear – it is so extreme that it interferes with a person’s life and even their sense of safety. At the same time, this phobia is one of the most common of the specific ones. 

Image credits: Jack Sparrow (not the actual photo)

We don’t know the woman from the story enough to diagnose her with ophidiophobia. Yet, her fear was described by her husband as severe enough that it would require the neighbors to get rid of Mr. Hissy. 

The man even offered to call his cousin to come and remove the python. But the OP refused such a “service.” After all, the snake wasn’t on their property and had never done anything to anyone – why get rid of it? 

Also, they simply didn’t want to let some rando do that. That cousin would probably either end Mr. Hissy’s life or release it somewhere where it wouldn’t be able to survive. 

At the same time, the OP didn’t want to fight with the neighbors over something like a snake. So, they considered offering to pay for an authorized wildlife removalist to come and do the job. These specialists have knowledge about animals, their habitats, and signs and know how to get rid of them without causing too much harm. So, maybe this could be a reasonable compromise. 

Well, people on Mumsnet didn’t really focus on finding a compromise here. Instead, they questioned why on earth a woman who is so afraid of snakes decided to live in Australia. 

Well, in reality, out of 2,500 snake species in the world, only around 110 land and 32 sea snakes live there. So, in comparison, the number isn’t that high. Yet, the country is “famous” for having many snakes because there are more venomous than non-venomous species there. It should be noted that not all snakes that are venomous have venom that is capable of causing harm. 

At the same time, Australia is infamous for having various “crazy” animals and bugs. It’s because the continent is isolated. Being cut off from the mainland lets certain species thrive and others be toppled. 

If you fear certain animals, living in a place that is known to have many of them is an odd choice. So, it’s no surprise that so many people were surprised by this neighbor’s decision. If the fear is so severe that she can’t sleep at night thinking about an animal next door, maybe there’s a need to reconsider her place of living.

People online were less concerned with finding a compromise for the situation and more shocked that a woman who fears snakes so much decided to live in Australia

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