thats exactly how i feel. common sense. I have big stuff but they're in my detached garage. I love herps and wanted them to be my passion. i have kids, wether kids are your passion or not, you have to be safe. I have one big snake in the house. he's 11 ft. the only reason hes in the house right now is we're still trying to figure out the best way to house more in the garage. we need our space to work on the drag car so we can't exactly send that outside and turn the entire garage into a herp house but we have designated areas for cars and herps. we've got the garage set up for 3 big iguanas or 2 iggys and 2 smaller things (the 3rd cage can be divided if needed). its kept very clean and there is a border we put around the car in the winter b/c if we happen to have a large sulcata or what not, she will free roam through the garage. theres nothing she can get into. its got a window unit and heater. anyway- my kids are very young. not old enough to 'be into' anything yet. all the cages in the house have locks of some kind mostly so our kids cant open cages when we arent looking. it also makes it a lot harder to steal the snakes if someone breaks in. i cant wait until my son is old enough to help with the rescue and have a herp of his very own in his room. (im thinking corn snake or ball- still locked of course). I dont know how many times i've heard on animal planet - these animals are dangerous to EVERYONE and should never be in someones home. they arent good pets blah blah blah. i love animal planet but dang. i swear if they werent saying half the things they say about little tiny corn snakes being dangerous there wouldnt be as many people freaking out about them. there was an episode today. someone had a baby burm and a ball python. dangerous- they can eat small dogs and children. i was like.... uhhhh... its 3 ft long... it eats MICE. show me a kid the size of a mouse- please. and what really irked me was that they were using one of the methods i use to keep a red tail in a 120 gal. i made a lid from plywood and it has sides that fit down all the way around the cage and theres a 1500 lb. tow strap all the way around the tank. theres no way a red tail will get out of that. it took the officers forever to get the strap off and the snakes out. the snakes were gentle as can be until they got dropped into a pillowcase and the guy dropped the case and they hit the ground. the snake hissed (duh, drop me from 3 feet in the air and see what i say) and he said see theyre dangerous hes going to bite me and could easily kill a 5 year old. it makes me sick that people dont know about these animals. yes a 20 ft burm could kill someone easily, common sense tells you to NOT let that happen- dont do stupid stuff. i also do b-day parties and things like that. i do take my 11 foot burm out there but only if all the cirumstances are right. if hes about to shed-no if he just ate- no if he needs to eat- no if he seems to be having a bad day when we go to get him out of his cage- no. if he at any time shows signs of being upset like hissing- he doesnt come out around the kids and if he does, my husband holds him and the kids just look. i take a red tail or 2 and usually a corn and a few lizards to a bday party. the kids do love it and its great for education. they ask all kinds of questions. what do they eat when do they sleep what cage are they in are they always nice, how much do they cost, and i've had quite a few adoptions through bday parties. the parents will call and say they want to adopt an iguana or snake for thier kid and its great. anyway... im just glad other people see this the way i do. common sense is great,
Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

[ Hide Replies ]

• I have to ask - okreptilerescue, Mon Jun 5 21:59:26 2006
• RE: I have to ask - reptileroundup, Tue Jun 6 00:19:38 2006
• Kids and herps - duffy, Tue Jun 6 18:19:19 2006
• RE: Kids and herps - okreptilerescue, Tue Jun 6 19:56:39 2006
• RE: Kids and herps - kingsnaken, Thu Jun 8 11:00:27 2006
• RE: I have to ask - althea, Wed Jun 7 23:47:43 2006
• RE: I have to ask - yoyoing, Thu Jun 8 13:21:57 2006
• RE: I have to ask - riddick13, Thu Jun 8 21:29:32 2006
• RE: I have to ask - FloridaHogs, Sun Jun 11 21:33:22 2006