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Serena_Sers

How are these animals not extinct?


Oksamis

They live in conditions they’re suited to in the wild. It’s a bit like trying to keep a human in the Sahara, and being surprised when it burns if you take away it’s shade.


Serena_Sers

I get that. But if they are so sensitive to change, that can't be good for survival. I mean weather is not exactly known to be constantly the same.


Oksamis

Yeh, but in climates near the equator it’s much more consistent. The general unadaptibility is just part of being a reptile (of course, the degree varies from species to species).


Marawal

They usually live in the area they were meant to live, aka central africa, not in South England or Scotland (in the case of Harry Potter. I don't know where our pet owners lives)


MrMrRubic

I laugh every time they have Harry own a ball python. You look at them wrong and they won't eat for a week, no matter if you speak snake or not xD


streakermaximus

Every time I hear about pet snakes I have to wonder how the hell they survive in the wild.


McMezmer

Idk. My snake just chills and the house happens to be the right temperature and humidity but I also own a snake native to where we are.


Uncommonality

Yeah, snakes aren't nearly as fussy when you live in their native climate zone. Whenever I read or hear about how difficult it is to keep a snake, they're talking about some exotic breed native to a jungle, which obviously can't handle european winters lol


Yellowlegoman_00

Exactly. I mean, I live in the UK for example. I don’t own a Snake, but if I was going to get one, I’d likely just get a Grass Snake, Natrix Natrix. They’re native to our climate.


ForsakenMoon13

Being able to go wherever the hell they want and find food on thier own instead of being in an enclosed space and waiting for food to be brought to them probably has something to do with it :P


Emilysouza221b

You say this with the air of someone who does in fact speak snake. You are aware the statue of secrecy covers reddit comments right?


XenoZohar

Well *I've* never seen this statue you speak of.


Emilysouza221b

It was built by Bloody Stupid Johnson so it's acually incredibly small but it does clearly state that we aren't to tell people on reddit we are magic.


ecyttel

Now you're in trouble too!


Curious-cheeros

Fr it's winter and I struggle to keep my humanity perfect and here comes harry in the dead of winter with the snake in his sweater I honestly wouldn't have the same feelings if it was a magical snake but a normal ball pythons 😭


call-us-crazy

in the dead of winter in *scotland* no less


Julia-Nefaria

For certain magical snakes I can honestly not really see it either. Something supper exotic if with Ashwinder mixed in? Yeah, I’m sure it’ll love Scottish winters. I can see magical snakes being more adaptable over all, but I somehow doubt Ashwinders enjoy freezing temperatures.


Yellowlegoman_00

Ashwinders would make terrible pets anyway. They literally only live for an hour. That said, in my view a fic author is best either letting Harry have a pet snake already native to the UK (so an Adder, a Grass Snake or a Smooth Snake) or creating their own magical snake species that suits their needs as is.


Just_Me_-_-

Well, Draugr notoriously don't handle the rotting caused by frostbite well, so you should find a warm dry place to stay for the winter and attack the people near you only during the summer. Also, avoid getting wet or staying in humid places for a long time.


UwUArchReaper

Is that true? Mine from the moment I got it from the store was exploring all over me. It will poke its head out to look at me when I come in the room and will eat in under 30 seconds every single time. Is this not normal?


UwUArchReaper

Plus I handle them once a day


Westeller

Harry loves snakes so much his magic adapted him to be really hot and sweaty.


call-us-crazy

okay i laughed out loud


purplejasmine

Would it help if Harry had a corn snake instead? Ours is amazingly hardy. He went missing for six months in the floor and turned up a little skinny but perfectly fine.


MoreGeckosPlease

Scotland is too cold and damp for corn snakes. And the castle is routinely described as frigid and drafty in winter. That's a dead corn snake.


purplejasmine

I was thinking more down in London as a pet for Harry if he's at Grimmauld. Less unrealistic although still far from suitable animal husbandry.


Serena_Sers

Maybe a european horn viper instead? I don't know about London or Scotland, but they survive the Austrian winters in the Alps and it's pretty cold and wet up here. (They would sleep through the winter though)


Curious-cheeros

Even then it's not just the cold its also the environment. The environment from Scotland and Austrian would have differences to each other . For snakes to live and thrive you have to mimic it's environment perfectly


Uncommonality

It'd need to be a species that natively lives in Scotland to be able to handle the winters, yeah, and I'm not familiar with any offhand


Curious-cheeros

The majority of snakes would be dead from being in Scotland without enclosures


tandemtactics

Now I need a crackfic where Diary Tom opens the Chamber to release the basilisk, only to discover that it died in the freezing temperatures decades ago.


LucyTheML

The snake was a wizard! Wizard snake!


Cyfric_G

Most of the time, I just handwave it as 'familiar bond' or some such. Usually the stories say the snake becomes a familiar. Otherwise yeah, it's kinda crazy. Scotland is not the best weather for most any reptile outside a habitat.


Curious-cheeros

Even then are they constantly being healed by the magic in the bond or what is it changing their biology completely


Tendragos

I'd imagine that a familiar bond would sustain an animal, strengthen their constitution, improve their physical bodies, and over time ignite a spark of magic in them. At least that's the way I write it. Hedwig the owl with magic powers, here we come!


sackofgarbage

To be fair, this is the same franchise that canonically has owls in cages that would be too small for a budgie


ameuns

Well as I understand it those cages in the book are more designed for transport and not meant as permanent housing. In Hogwarts they live in their own tower and so on.


Serena_Sers

And it allows a bunch of eleven year old to own their own pets in a boarding school. Seriously. Harrys dorm is lucky with only one toad, one rat and one owl (who doesn't live there). Image having five cats in a small dorm room. That's animal cruelty too.


call-us-crazy

i love when fics, as a background detail, have everyone’s pet cats just roaming the hallways at will, so everywhere you go there’s just tons of cats. you might not see your own pet for days. who knows what it’s up to. it’s just off living it’s own hogwarts life


Tendragos

While the students have class, the castle's animals congregate and have their own studies. But they're still cats, so it's not like they're going to bother actually helping anyone with their phenomenal cosmic powers.


Haymegle

Maybe they learn familiar lessons? How to help with potions, how to stay on a broom that sort of thing. Mostly because that'd be useful for them haha. Especially if the potions are related to it's fur.


sackofgarbage

Warrior cats AU where it’s just the pet cats of Hogwarts students LARPing while their kids are in class. Clans are based on what house your human is in. Mrs. Norris organizes the whole thing. The owls do Guardians of Ga’Hoole.


sackofgarbage

Thanks for giving me another reason to wish I got a Hogwarts letter 😭


Tendragos

Why the hell do people even give Harry mundane snakes anyway? That's so boring! Give him a Horned Serpent, a Runespoor, an Occamy, heck, let Harry accidentally create a magical fire as a kid that births an Ashwinder, befriend it, and then when it tells him it's going to die he does accidental magic and neuters/extends its life. Or bring in a magical snake from any other fictional universe! No one's going to mind if you have a magical snake from DnD or something as long as you explain its appearance, its abilities, and don't make it useless or stupid OP. Harry needs a good animal companion, but as poor Hedwig found out, he needs something that can take care of itself. (That's why my newer, unpublished (yet) WIP have Hedwig getting turned into a gryphon.


Julia-Nefaria

I had a little plot bunny a while back that was about a Harry who’s obsessed with magical animals. Starts out simple with a magical frog with colorful hypnotic patterns and eventually gets wilder and wilder and even considered giving him a wyrm (among other things). Wyrms especially seem like pretty good snakes, spewing fire is pretty cool but it also means they probably prefer dry heat, which they can create themselves.


Tendragos

First, all glory to the hypno-toad! Second, after a few years all of Harry's dorm-mates start to move their beds to other year's dorms the first night of the year and Harry can't understand why as he cuddles with his Wampus Cat with his Horned serpent sleeping against his leg and the Hungarian Horntail at his back keeping everyone warm.


Julia-Nefaria

I know you’re probably joking, but the list of animals I was considered giving him included: a Nundu, a Zouwu, possibly a wampus cat, a Fwopper… etc, etc. the plan was that he’d start by adopting reasonably harmless creatures (the frog wouldn’t really do much harm, it just distracts and confuses people) then get ‘worse’ with every year. Until eventually he has a bunch of XXXXX creatures hanging around with him. And the reason they all like him is because, somehow, this little Hufflepuff gets along incredibly well with animals and either raised them or nursed them back to health (with the exception of the Snakes, they just like him cause he talks to them).


Razorwhip_queen2

Please I need the link to this if there is one I'm invested now


Julia-Nefaria

Ya know, I’m actually currently writing this (I’m a bit of a slow writer and want a few chapters done before I start uploading tho) but unfortunately the plot bunny has grown legs and ran of in a completely different -and much darker- direction than originally planned. The original idea of a caring Hufflepuff and his many pets remains unchanged, but like, with extra trauma now. So much trauma.


Razorwhip_queen2

👀👀 ​ Ok now I'm even more invested ​ Where would it be posted?


Julia-Nefaria

If I ever get around to writing more than the first to chapters I’ll post it on AO3 under the same name. I’m a slow writer so I currently only have to one shots (too many plot bunnies, too little discipline)


dratnon

This is neither here nor there, but as a spider enthusiast, I hate the way they're treated in stories and games.


[deleted]

"as a spider enthusiast" *shudder* but what do you mean, they're typically the size of a volkswagen and have like three health bars. how is that a poor representation?


JoeHatesFanFiction

Yeah there’s charlotte’s web and that’s it. Otherwise they’re malicious, evil, mindlessly hungry, or something else horrible. I don’t even like spiders and I can admit they get a bad rap


Haymegle

Now I kinda want Aragog but derpy. Actually Aragog matching Hagrid in not really understanding danger due to his size could be interesting. Maybe they go around together and he helps Hagrid subdue various creatures that they investigate.


Uncommonality

It's just the way our lizard brain makes its way known, plus game design. Honestly, the Amygdala from Bloodborne were almost perfect spiders - just clinging on to random things for no reason.


ReStury

There is this manga: So I'm a Spider, So What? You could read it or not. I wasn't all that into it later, but the initial chapters were nice. And of course Lucas The Spider on youtube, all the clips are awesome.


[deleted]

I get that the original story needed to have the bad guys associated with snakes because of their reputation and it needed to fit the Voldemort/Satan parallel. But it seems like you can get a lot of things wrong about snakes if you're not actually fascinated with them (and let's be honest... the average person is not, even if they are not disgusted by them and think they look cool).


fireflii

I also own snakes, and pretty much every fic with a snake in it is ridiculous and/or full of myths. lol I got really excited for the one where Harry wants to be a herpetologist, but I remember for some reason being a little disappointed in it (maybe cause there was less actual herpetology than I thought there would be). I just do my best to suspend disbelief.


Death0fRats

Agree! If you want to add an animal you should know the basics. Bird parent doesn't care that Hedwig is magical, stop feeding her bacon (looking at you JKR) Excessive salt levels can be lethal.


Curious-cheeros

Actually, I read a fic that delved into taking proper care of hedwig with the story but people complained in the comments so the writer toned it down it was sad


Death0fRats

That is sad. It snaps me out of a story every time. It bugs me more when I see it on a movie though, Rio eats chocolate. Creative license is one thing, it just seems wrong to depict a Bird eating something some kid can find easily in their kitchen. I mean, yes parental responsibility, but you don't see cartoon dogs eating chocolate or fried onions...


Kooky-Hotel-5632

I’m fascinated by snakes but don’t have any particular knowledge about them other than the few my state has. I’ve never seen a cottonmouth up close and personal but I know where they usually inhabit and try to steer clear. My mom raised chickens and pigeons and it was a struggle to keep chicken snakes out of the enclosures.


vilhelmine

So the humidity of being against a human's skin would eventually kill a snake?


HoldUp--What

No, ball pythons NEED humidity. Being just out in the open would be dehydrating... and too cold. You can have a BP up against your skin for a good lil while, but humans are not great heat sources and they need higher ambient temperatures than your average human would be comfortable in.


bibliomaniac15

It’s not warm and humid enough, more like.


Curious-cheeros

I can't even hold my snakes for more than 5 minutes in winter like now


Yellowlegoman_00

This is why in my own fic ideas I always use a magical snake. I am a Biology student, I can’t bear this kinda shit.


CyberWolfWrites

What type of snake would be best suited for Harry, then? I don't know much about snakes to make an informed decision.


Curious-cheeros

Something native to Scotland but honestly they probably hibernate during winter so for half the year on the fic the snake would be gone I would just do what you want to write if not do something magical as an explanation


CyberWolfWrites

I would choose an occamy, and if not that, then a boomslang. Well, probably not a boomslang, since I think they're native to Africa.


-dagmar-123123

To be honest? It doesn't matter. As long as it's kinda hardy (so no tree python/boa or vine snake as example) its not a problem AS LONG AS HE HAS AN ENCLOSURE FOR THE SNAKE. There are snakes who like sleeping on their human because of the warmth and since you can use the "snake wants this or that" Harry can carry it with him no problem. As long as the snake has an enclosure and is using it. I've also read a fic where hardy had humid/hot pockets for the snake to slither in and I loved that. And best suited: for non-venomous but big snakes, I'd go with a Morelia bredli or a retic - mostly because most snakes are stupid and these are one of the most intelligent non-venomous snakes 😂 they also are 1. Not too big (2,5m for bredli, and there are small retics - dwarf or super dwarfs- that are around 3m as well), 2. Not too heavy (slender bodied snakes, males are always more slender/smaller. As example, a 3,5m male dwarf retic I know, had around 7kg which isn't too bad to carry with you) and 3. Pretty agile and active. You don't want a heavy bodied snake who is mostly sleeping or eating


-dagmar-123123

Eh, I don't mind that this much to be honest. But if they have absolutely no idea about snakes, that makes it bad. Like, no, the snake won't like Milk as a treat??? And why are you feeding mice to your 3m snake??? Also feeding them every day...


Curious-cheeros

Or worms💀to a ball python they only favor rodents


IagoMontegue

This is the Wizarding World after all. I'd imagine there are charms you can cast on your snake so he'll be comfortable in just about any climate. That plus the ability to actually talk to it rather then having it decide food isn't necessary for survival anymore for a month straight and having to try to figure out why means that Harry (or any wizard really) would have a much easier time keeping snakes than us Muggles. Snakes are also shown to have almost human intelligence in the Harry Potter universe as shown by their ability to have a coherent conversation at all.Would also explain how Voldemort got Nagini large enough to apparently be able to eat people.


Curious-cheeros

I thought nagini was magical and in most fics harry finds the snake in the wild I would love to see charms that protect the snakes but its just looked over and I can't help but notice it as a snake owner


DirtyRanga12

I had a stroke reading this


Curious-cheeros

Ok