Yusoft has a great love for snakes.

The 49-year-old snake tamer keeps two snakes in a 3-room apartment in Singapore.

When the Year of the Snake opens on February 10, Yusof’s two snakes named Bean and Charlie will be very busy `running numbers`.

`I will perform for 20 shows during the upcoming Tet holiday, mostly in Malaysia,` Yusof said, on average he performs 3-4 shows a month.

This veteran snake tamer’s stage name is Yusof `Ular`, Ular means snake in Malaysian.

Photo of people `playing with snakes`

Within an hour, Yusof will perform magic moves combined with comedy and let the audience interact with the snakes.

Yusof participated in the Ular Festival, a snake taming competition held in Malaysia 6 years ago, and won third place among 40 contestants from many different countries such as India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand.

The contestants’ proficiency is assessed by the time it takes to tame a wild venomous snake and perform special actions such as kissing the snake.

He earns about 300 USD for each performance.

Profession ‘in the blood’

The art of `enchanting` snakes is deeply ingrained in his blood, because Yusof’s father and grandfather also practiced this profession.

`I started playing with snakes when I was 6 years old and had to undergo 10 years of training from my father before I started performing myself,` Yusof said.

He had to learn how to bathe snakes, tie up snake baskets, and how to catch snakes.

`In the past, snake tamers didn’t have money to buy snakes, they had to hunt and find snakes for themselves,` Yusof said.

Recalling a memory from when he was 17 years old, Yusof said tying up snake baskets is very important.

Yusoft bathes snakes and performs with snakes on stage.

Thanks to taming snakes, he found his wife.

His father-in-law is also a professional.

Bean, an albino snake, and Charlie, a Burmese snake, are about 2.5 meters long and have been with Yusof for 15 years.

Yusof pays great attention to taking care of his two `treasures`.

`During the rainy season, I have to let them warm the house with lamps,` Yusof said.

Although his family has a proud tradition of snake taming, Yusof does not want his only son to follow in his father’s footsteps but supports the boy’s own passions.

`I love snakes, but I want to become a doctor,` said 14-year-old Mohd Khalid.

One interesting thing is that Yusof’s wife is very afraid of snakes, but she completely supports her husband’s work.

Yusof believes that the profession of snake taming is dying in Singapore.

With his snakes, Yusof treasures them not only because they are his source of life but also because he grew up with them.

`I love them so much, they are part of my family,` he said.

Sagittarius (according to The New Paper)