A university student in Tainan turned heads and incited screams from female students when he brought his 18 pet snakes on campus yesterday.
Cho Chia-yi (卓佳逸), a senior in Chang Jung Christian University’s Department of Business Administration, said he began keeping snakes as pets when he was in the fifth grade and has since spent NT$200,000 on 60 snakes, with the most expensive one costing him NT$15,000.
Cho, 23, said snakes are actually very charming and that he would like to “clear snakes’ names” because many people have stereotypes about the animals.
PHOTO: WU CHUN-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES
Cho said his father, who is a Christian minister, chose to tolerate his “hobby,” while his landlord at first refused to sign a lease with him because of the snakes.
His friends, on the other hand, know exactly what to get him as a present, he said.
“A friend working at the fire department once caught a snake and gave it to me as a present,” Cho said.
The girl he liked, however, did not find it amusing. Cho said he has remained single after his “hobby” scared his girlfriend away a few years ago.
In addition to the snakes, Cho said he also keeps about 4,000 cockroaches and 200 guinea pigs as food for the snakes, and 11 geckos and seven tarantulas as pets.
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