As Hong Kong prepares to usher in the Year of the Snake, an increasing number of the reptiles are slithering their way into local households, with sales of the uncuddly pet rocketing.
Keeping snakes has become increasingly popular in the densely populated territory in recent years as animal lovers seek out less space-hungry pets. And with the spotlight firmly on the reptile in the lead-up to the Lunar New Year today, sales have surged.
At Reptile Paradise, a store that first opened its doors in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok neighborhood in 1994, dozens of baby snakes, not more than a few weeks old, frantically try to climb their way out of small plastic boxes. As well as turtles and lizards the shop sells milk snakes, corn snakes, king snakes and ball pythons, plus containers of live white mice to feed them.
Photo: AFP
Its director, Vincent Cheung, said snake sales have been rising steadily for several months prior to the arrival of the New Year.
“The increase for the past month and what I expect for the coming month is about 20 percent to 25 percent, compared with the last year,” Cheung said.
He has sold 100 to 150 snakes in the past three months and remembers a similar spike in 2001, the previous Year of the Snake, with 20- and 30-something Hong Kongers the most eager customers.
“When the Year of the Snake comes, they really want to save their money to buy a snake for it. Keeping snakes is very simple compared to keeping other types of reptiles,” Cheung said, adding that clients often learn how to raise and breed them on the Internet.
With real estate at a premium and rentals sky high, snakes appear to fit with the compact high-rise lifestyle of most of the territory’s residents — popular breeds in Hong Kong like the North American corn snake and milk snake only measure 25cm when they are young, growing to around 119.38cm.
However, while popular pet reptiles such as the turtle represent luck, longevity and fortune, the snake has a mixed reputation in Chinese culture.
Although it can signify intelligence and happiness, it is also associated with tragedy — some believe that if a snake is found in the home it means impending disaster for the family concerned, though others feel that such a discovery brings good luck and peace.
In culinary terms it is held up as a delicacy in southern Chinese cuisine as well as a health booster, with thick soup made from snake meat thought to quicken the blood and ward off illness in winter.
In Hong Kong, practicality and a certain cool factor are fueling sales, as well as moneymaking potential.
“Some people think it’s a good idea to impress the girls with snakes and some people want to keep them to make money through breeding,” said Gourry Chan, a director at Mong Kok’s Turtle Park pet store.
Demand has also spiked in his shop in the lead up to New Year, though he criticized those who simply want to get on the Year of the Snake bandwagon.
“There are a number of people who are genuinely interested in keeping snakes — but lately there have been more people coming in, and if they say they are doing it for the Year of the Snake, we discourage them, he said.
“A snake can live up to 20 years and it takes dedication to keep one. Some are sold online when their owners get bored or they die from neglect,” he said.
Animal protection groups also warn against buying a snake on a whim.
“There are many species of snake and all require unique habitats, including the right temperature and humidity to accomplish various physiological and behavioral processes. There are huge commitments behind keeping snakes and the SPCA [Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] does not recommend it to be a suitable household pet,” the organization’s Fiona Woodhouse said.
Bad diet and poor care often leave pet snakes dehydrated and with bone deformities, while keeping them in small containers leaves them stressed and prone to disease.
The reality may also be more gruesome than buyers realize.
“Many snakes require the feeding of live mice and although some can be trained to eat dead food, many can’t,” the SPCA said, adding that it feared that unwanted snakes would end up abandoned.
Chan says he would make sure his customers know the nitty-gritty before snapping up a snake.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese