While most young girls choose to play with Barbie dolls, one nine-year-old from Armavir in Russia's Krasnodar region prefers playing with her collection of snakes.
Kseniia Kholmanskikh cheerfully sits on her bed surrounded by huge cuddly toys as her reptile friends slither and slide all around her.
She said: "If I had to choose between dolls and snakes, I would choose snakes, because I can turn them as I wish. Also I can put them somewhere, to make them swing."
Kseniia's love for creepy crawlies came from her dad Evgeny who first discovered his unusual hobby ten years ago and has now amassed a collection of 30 reptiles.
I suppose I have the biggest snake of this species in Russia as it is 75 centimetres long. It is not widely known in Russia. Everybody is afraid as it is poisonous in Russia. I tested it myself not once. [I had] no reaction at all, as if [I was bitten by] a wood snake. It has teeth of course, big ones, but they are deep [in the mouth.] They are meant to pierce frogs, as they eat them naturally.Evgeny Kholmanskikh, Father
(With inputs from Ruptly)
Video Editor: Vishal Kumar
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