On the Scene: Reptophilia

TWENTY years ago, I had a patient who kept a boa constrictor as a pet in his London apartment. My patient often went abroad, but as large snakes require feeding only once a month, his absence caused the snake no hardship. However, after the snake had grown to more than twenty feet, my patient became so terrified of it that he refused one day to return to his apartment.

“I suppose you’ve got what one might call a phoboa,” I said, with the callow humor of youth.

About the Author

Anthony Daniels

Mr. Daniels, a retired doctor who worked in several parts of the world, is the author of Mass Listeria, a book about health scares.

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TWENTY years ago, I had a patient who kept a boa constrictor as a pet in his London apartment. My patient often went abroad, but as large snakes require feeding only once a month, his absence caused the snake no hardship. However, after the snake had grown to more than twenty feet, my patient became so terrified of it that he refused one day to return to his apartment.

“I suppose you’ve got what one might call a phoboa,” I said, with the callow humor of youth.