I am a wildlife educator and I present my reptile encounters and science workshops to schools and private functions. I have a variety of lizards, snakes, and inverts, the largest being a 6 1/2 ft BCI. Recently, someone offered their snake collection to me complete with all cages. Some of the biggies include a docile 12ft 7yo albino burm, a well-handled 8ft Rock Python, another BCI, and a 5ft normal phase burm. All of these snakes are very well-cared for and handled on a regular basis. There's no way I'm taking the rock python, I really just want to focus on the burms.

I want to work through this decision, but there's no one I can talk to IRL because none of my friends have herps, much less a giant one. My husband isn't into them as much and I think he's afraid of the large snakes. If you guys can offer some insight, I'd appreciate it. Here's what I'm looking at:

1)Will my husband be able to help me? He will be available to help with cleaning and feeding, but my 13yo and 11yo daughters are my working assistants. Would I have them work a burm with me?

2)How will having a burm affect my business insurance?

3)It would have to live in my garage (I'm in Central FL) because I have no room in my house.

4)I have no experience working with or owning burms, but I always learn my species well.

5)FL is adopting a microchip tracking system for Burms in Jan 08. Do I want to open myself up for further inspection from the state, not to mention the possible city code violation? Technically, I'm sure I'm already in code violation for the number of animals, but no one's picked up on that yet!

The positive side is that I find them to be fascinating and they make a huge impact for children. My goal is to overcome misinformation that leads to fear. Anything that gets kids intrigued and interested in reptiles is a plus in my book. I'm just not sure my entire family is ready for that level of commitment.

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