I use to have arachnophobia. i would wig out if a small spider got close. i realized i was affraid if a small got to me i'd be stuck and unable to defend myself or even to stand up and shake it off.. defenseless
the big spiders never bothered me.
one day a spider dscended right in my face. my instinct was to kill it. i resisted the urge to kill, after all i preach Thou Shall Not Kill life... so i watched it... it was hard, but I did it. i put 100% effort into not panicking. i watched it.
a week later it happened again. this time i had much less panick.
now they don't bother me. i can't say i won't wig out if a black widow gets on me, but i feel good for controlling myself.
last Fall i did a southern No No! i found a recluse spider that managed to get trapped in a sealed jar. how the hell he breathed is beyond me.... i went and turned it loose.
now i respect them very much.
its not a phobia, but one thing that can make me queesy are worms. i have to give my lizards them, though, so oh darn. but they just...... gross me out.
as far as other reptiles or animals
i've held and played with a gator, dozens of lizards, dozens of snakes, frogs, turtles, pet rat that weighed about 2 pounds (huge), gerbil, birds, parrots, couple great parrots.... so on so on
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