when I lived in guam my condo was smack dab in the middle of the jungle, our house was full of little geckos. i had to hermetically seal the house and get a cat (which strangely had no interest in geckos) it only kills the northern short tailed shrew (one of the only venomous mammals in he world). we almost divorced over those darm geckos, seriously. but t least the cat kept her company when i worked nights. luckily my tour was cut short due to a hurricane (cyclone) whatever they call 'em in the pacific, blowing most of my base into the ocean. so that gives you an idea of the fear my wife has of reptiles. for my birthday this year i went for broke and asked for a ball python, we went to the store and i showed her one. she was still nervous, but agreed under some very strict terms. i.e.. a reptile sliding top cage with a lock, (and she kept the key) lol.

well after a couple of weeks, the snake became "cute" and she refers to it as "snakie" she still wont touch it but the minimum distance between her and the snake has decreased from 10 feet to about 2 feet. and when the snake is in the cage she will go right up to it. she will even, without a second thought, clan and disinfect the eating tub, rotten mouse tails and all. a job even i can barely do. so to make a long story short. Time , education and exposure will generally do a lot to ease the unreasonable fears some ppl have of snakes. and unless you are using gerbil scented baby lotion on your kid the snake will probably want nothing to do with it. another example, our neighbors are recent chinese immigrants (legally) they own a restaurant, and my wife babysits for them. besides the money we get great free chinese food. the mother and eldest daughter visited on feeding day and i got to show them my ball chowing down on a mouse. normally most ppl would be put off by this, but they thought it was pretty cool, especially the teenage daughter. so one by one a little education and and exposure goes a long way.

hope you can get your snake. and if you cant then a corn or milksnake are also good starter snakes imho.

good luck

mike

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