SOCRATIS, his two children Ariana, nine and Maximus, five, and his wife Jane live with almost 200 snakes. Socratis grew up scared of snakes but developed a love of them when he was older. He said: “What first started as a fear of mine actually became a passion." To date, Socratis has spent $300,000 on snakes and $100,000 on the room in which he keeps them. Ariana keeps 18 snakes in her room and was just one-year-old when she held her first snake. What’s her favourite thing about snakes? “Everything”, she said, “they’re so pretty.” There have been a few incidents where Ariana has been bitten but Socratis asserted these were baby snakes and this can happen. He said: “I really don't ensure that it's safe because these are wild animals and yes, they can bite. But I don’t have a snake in here that has the capability of eating my children.” Socratis describes his family as ‘extraordinary’ and said: “Our parenting style is unconventional. We definitely do a lot of things that are not ‘by the book’.” As well as their interest in snakes, the family are very active and practice affirmations daily. Socratis said: “What I hope the future holds for my family is just positivity and us educating not just about snakes, but about living an extraordinary life and living to your fullest potential.”
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NewsTranscript
00:00My kids live with almost 200 snakes.
00:02Our parenting style is unconventional.
00:05Get everyone, put all the snakes on me.
00:06Some of the negative things that people say,
00:09that I should be put in jail,
00:12that I'm not a good father.
00:13I really don't ensure that it's safe
00:15because these are wild animals,
00:16and yes, they can bite.
00:19There been any incidents
00:21with the snakes in your children?
00:24Want some watermelon too?
00:26My name is Maximus.
00:29Where's Ari?
00:30Should we go see her?
00:31All right, let's go.
00:33Hey.
00:34Got some fruit for you.
00:35Oh, thank you.
00:37My name is Socrates Cristoforo,
00:38and I own about 200 snakes.
00:40My wife's name is Jane Cristoforo.
00:42We've been together coming up almost close to 10 years.
00:46I have two kids.
00:47My son's name is Maximus.
00:49He's five years old,
00:50and my daughter's name is Ariana,
00:52and she is nine years old.
00:54If I were to describe our family,
00:56I would say we are extraordinary.
00:59These girls are literally best friends.
01:01I can tell.
01:02This was the second snake that Ari got.
01:04It was a ball python.
01:05Ariana, how many snakes do you have?
01:06So, in my room, I have 18 snakes.
01:10Ariana was one years old
01:11when she first held her first snake,
01:14which was Snowflake the corn snake.
01:16What's your favorite part about the snakes?
01:19Everything.
01:19They're, like, so pretty.
01:20Their faces are cute.
01:21That's what you always say.
01:23I first got into snakes
01:24when I was around six years old,
01:27and I caught my very first snakes.
01:29It was a copperhead.
01:30So, my parents come from Cyprus,
01:33and in Cyprus, there's huge snakes,
01:38and there's venomous snakes,
01:40and they always taught them that snakes can kill you.
01:43My family made me very scared of snakes after that,
01:49and then I fell back in love with snakes when I was-
01:52Because his friend had a snake,
01:55and he was like, whoa, can I hold this?
01:56What first started as a fear of mine
01:58actually became a passion.
02:00Everyone put all the snakes on me,
02:02and then you can take your snakes back.
02:04Our parenting style is unconventional.
02:06We definitely do a lot of things that are not by the book.
02:12I'm actually giving my kids options and choices
02:15instead of me telling my kids what to do.
02:19Kiddos, are you hungry?
02:21No.
02:22Yeah.
02:23Yeah?
02:24No, I don't know.
02:25No, no, no, no, no, no.
02:26This is his girlfriend, Fancy.
02:30His future girlfriend.
02:31So, I'll tell you a little about-
02:34No, let him be!
02:35I'll tell you-
02:36Let him be a bullet!
02:38All right, you're gonna give me, let's go.
02:41Sit up.
02:42Oh, I love Meggie.
02:44He's so sweet.
02:45He's bigger than the size of me.
02:47I know.
02:48How many feet is he now?
02:49I don't know.
02:50He's probably seven and a half.
02:52Is it normal to have the snakes
02:54in your living area like this?
02:56At this point, it is very normal for us
02:58to hang out with the snakes.
02:59Yeah, absolutely.
03:01They're so chill though.
03:02You can literally watch a movie with them with no problem.
03:06People think snakes are slimy and mean, but they're not.
03:10When people come over, most of them freak out,
03:13but when they get to touch them and hang out with them,
03:16they're very comfortable with them.
03:17Is Maximus comfortable with the snakes
03:21or is he still adjusting?
03:24Maximus, at the beginning,
03:25he wasn't very comfortable with the snakes,
03:27but then he adjusted pretty quickly.
03:29He loves them now.
03:30You never forced it on him.
03:31Which is your favorite snake?
03:35Megatron.
03:36I think it's safe for my kids
03:37to interact with snakes like this.
03:39I trust my husband.
03:40He knows his animals and I think it's totally safe.
03:44How do you ensure it's safe?
03:45So I really don't ensure that it's safe
03:48because these are wild animals
03:50and yes, they can bite,
03:53but I don't have a snake in here
03:55that has a capability of eating my children.
04:00Is there any snake you would never have
04:02or would be very cautious to have?
04:04No, because I really love venomous snakes.
04:06I wouldn't keep those venomous snakes here
04:09because I have kids.
04:10That would be a totally different story if I kept cobras.
04:13And even then, you need licenses.
04:16You have people coming to check that.
04:18You have to have a lock
04:20and you have to have a door with another lock.
04:22There are certain guidelines.
04:24Yeah, it's a totally different story.
04:25If you had venomous snakes,
04:26I mean, I don't think anyone would trust
04:28a kid going in there.
04:29I have a venomous snake, but I have a lock on my door.
04:32I have a sign that says venomous and it's locked.
04:35And they come every year and they check.
04:37Oh, really?
04:38Absolutely, absolutely.
04:40All right, so this is the snake room.
04:44We have the individual enclosures.
04:48Each of them has a plant, helps with humidity,
04:52but also with oxygen.
04:54These up here are Amazon basins.
04:57They have the largest teeth of any non-venomous snake.
05:00So they can get up to two inches.
05:03There been any incidents with the snakes in your children?
05:06Ari's been bit a couple of times by baby snakes,
05:10but it happens, you know?
05:14I've never had a snake escape.
05:16When I was little, I was very nosy.
05:18Baby Amazon basin, that was sick.
05:22And then I opened the cage and I was mimicking it.
05:25And then I just had to go bite my tongue.
05:28And then there was blood all over my tongue.
05:30But babies don't hurt when a baby bites you, though.
05:33And I didn't cry, though.
05:34Just getting bit by a dog, like a pit bull,
05:37or even a little dog, they will cause more damage
05:39than the snakes that I have here.
05:41These are all green tree pythons.
05:43All these are snakes that I've created over the years.
05:47But when we breed, the great thing about green tree pythons
05:50is that they are all, it's almost like a box of chocolate.
05:54You never know what you're gonna get.
05:55So I've probably spent around $300,000 on snakes.
06:01But this room also costs about 100K.
06:04I started sharing my story online
06:05because I just think that these snakes
06:07are absolutely breathtaking.
06:10I've had negative comments.
06:13I personally just don't pay attention to them.
06:15So some of the negative things that people say,
06:18because my wife's telling me,
06:19is that I'm not a good father,
06:22that I should be put in jail,
06:25these people are crazy,
06:28that the snakes are sizing the kids up to eat them.
06:32As you can see, this is not just me keeping a snake
06:35in some little tank.
06:37There's a lot of education, a lot of research,
06:41a lot of years and hard work that has been put into this.
06:44I put my kids' safety first.
06:47I would never put my kids in danger.
06:49Like, it's just, they are my life.
06:52So I don't have a favorite snake.
06:54I like all of them equally.
06:56So things that we enjoy doing together
06:58is obviously hanging out with the snakes.
07:02We are a very active family as well.
07:04Who are you at your best in your energy,
07:07in your work, and in your love?
07:09For my energy, I am an amazing gymnast, cheerleader,
07:13jiu-jitsu person, and cross-fitter.
07:16Okay, beautiful, that's a good energy.
07:18What about you, Maximus?
07:19Energy and boxing.
07:22Yep, and you're a lion, right?
07:23And...
07:25And soccer and jiu-jitsu and cross-fit.
07:28Ready?
07:32Whoa!
07:32I know what type of father I am.
07:35I know how I wanna push my kids.
07:37I want them to be leaders.
07:39What I hope the future holds for my family
07:41is just positivity and us educating,
07:45not just about snakes,
07:46but about living an extraordinary life,
07:49living to your fullest potentials.
07:50Live your life, no one else's.
07:52Do what makes you happy,
07:54not what other people makes you happy, right?
07:56Yeah.