There ought to be a law that if you want a dangerous snake for a pet, you need the signatures of every neighboor to agree to this for 1 1/2 miles around, no exceptions.

Dangerous snakes are prohibited by zoning laws in most urban areas. This article isn't advocating the keeping of dangerous snakes, just harmless ones. My immediate neighbors have always known that I keep snakes. Reasonable people don't mind at all. The rest of them just have to deal with it. If you can put your predjudices aside, snakes make beautiful, fascinating pets.

Having owned a large python, and knowing several friends who have owned large snakes, I can say from experience that a "law" is unnecessary. First, I've never known anyone who owned a large snake to have it escape. Second, the two people I know that did, the snake never left the house or yard. People that get all upset about neighbors with large snakes forget the reality that they are cold blooded, and aren't going to go far if they escape. Even in Utah in the summer, a large snake isn't going to go far before it has to seek shade/sunlight to regulate its body tempurature.

Passing a law would be meaningless due to the fact that large snake escapes are extremely rare. When was the last time you heard of some little kid getting injured by a domestic snake? Never.

The exception to this is venomous snakes. People who own venomous snakes of any size are morons.