The Weird, Wonderful World That is “Snakes of Instagram”

by Hannah Harkness

[Cover Image Credit: @alternativecritterscreatures, Model: @a_man_duh10]

While cat and dog pictures are the rulers of Instagram pet content/memes, every kind of pet has their own subculture and their own internet baby talk...

Just like the internet turned cat to kitteh and dog to doggo, bird also became birb and rabbit became bunneh. All have their own tropes and their own inside joke memes about what it’s like to own them, but this article is focusing on the corner of the internet that belongs to the “snek.”

@kufuffel.reptiles

I get mixed reactions when I tell people I own a snake, which I try not to get super defensive about. I get it – the general picture pop culture paints isn’t great. The first three examples I pulled out of my head writing this were a snake planted to assassinate someone in Kill Bill, a giant speeding horde of racer snakes killing recently hatched Iguanas in Planet Earth 2, and of course, every snake-related Indiana Jones nervous breakdown. 

This is all very bad press for my 8-year-old Ball Python. Everyone, meet Isis.

Probably didn’t help her bad press with that name…

Everyone seems concerned when I tell them I have a snake that she’s going to kill me, but the worst she has ever done is things like knock ash trays over, which is any given Tuesday for a cat. I’d be mad if I wasn’t impressed she can do so much with no arms or legs… and it’s also not possible to enforce a code of conduct with a snake. I’m on her turf, not the other way around. 

In an effort to give non-snake owners a window into the weird world that is snake subculture/memes, here’s some images from one of my favorite surprisingly adorable corners of the internet… the one ruled by “noodles.”

@thepirateunicorn – #Kaos doesn’t make a particularly good #studybuddy

@kufuffel.reptiles – ”Oh.. you’re home early”

@lilly_of.the_valley – So it seemed to me that the overwhelming majority of yall wanted to see a showcase of all my pets, and me! So I’ll just go around my reptile room and introduce them all! This is Zero, she is my 3 year old spinner blast ball python. A breeders gave her to me because her neurological disorder prevented her from feeding properly and she had to be assist fed…fortunately she grew out of that in a few months and is now an excellent eater. She still has a terrible wobble, but such comes with morphed snakes…

@ouroborosgirl – horrible original content

Then, of course, there’s the many snek memes!

Much love from me and my murder noodle. If you’re interested in learning more about snake conservation, check out https://savethesnakes.org/ for some sssuper cool info on their environmental/ecological impact and ways we can safely co exist!