I felt that I should correct some misconceptions about snakes because I recently got one and I feel that some people may miss out on the joy of having one just because of some untrue rumors.

"Eww! Snakes are slimy!"
No they aren't.... unless it happens to pee on you while you're holding it. A snake's scales are actually extremely smooth except while shedding. If about to shed, a snake's scales may look stretched or ripped, but after shedding, a snake will look better than ever before.

"Are you crazy? They're poisonous!"
My main problem with this is that SOME snakes are VENOMOUS! Poison is something that is ingested while venom is forcefully injected into your blood. As I said before, some are venomous. Not all! Always be sure to check if a snake is venomous or not. Just describe it in google images, find out what it's called and then check any trustworthy site to find out if it's dangerous. Even after you look it up you should still be careful. Some venomous and non-venomous snakes look very similar. The most famous are probably the Coral snake and Milksnake.

"It'll bite me!"
As long a you get a specie that isn't aggressive and you handle it properly, you are more likely to be bitten by a cat or dog. I've had my snake for about a month and it's never tried to bite me. Also, most begginer snakes aren't capable of harming humans as infants and won't even try as adults, because they'll be so accustomed to their routines by then.

"What if it eats my cat?"
Unless you've got a Burmese Python wandering around your house you don't need to worry. None of the most common pet snakes are capable of eating a cat. They may attempt to kill it, but you're cat will probably mistake it for jumbo yarn..... you can imagine what would happen next.

If this got you interested in snakes, I'm thinking about making a general care guide. If 10 or more people ask, I will, if not, there are plenty on other sites anyway.