Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just wanted to let everybody who thinks little kids cant take care of big snakes know that it doesent matter how old you are, what does matter is your dedication tords your animals. when i was 9 years old i had a 6 foot snake and i took good care of my snake. know i am 16 years old and have two burms 10 feet and i take care of them by myself. i dont ask my mom for money i earn my own money. i have over 11 animals and dont get help taking care of them because their my animals. people called me names and said i wouldn't be abeld to take care of all my animals especially the burms, but i proved all of them wrong. with all this said i think you guys should give kids more credit.

that is very true... and i don't disagree that when it is your passion you succeed at it... but not all kids are capable or responsible enuf or have the will power to take care a hamster let alone a snake lol... ever think that maybe your just a one in a million... that you have a tallent that surpases all? could be... i havn't seen people as young as you with animals that size be able to sucessfully handle them... so your doing GREAT!

Hey, thanks for saying all that, i think a few somebuddys on here needed to here that. And are age or how good we are at school has nothing to do with how good of herpers we are. I keep about 20 herps (mostly snakes) and i spend 90% of my time with them. And i love them all to death, the other night i couldent sleep and my 6 foot RTB wanted out so i handled her for at lest a hour, she just sat around my neck while i was reading.
Just my 2 cents

well I think thats just great. It sounds like your doing a good job with your herps. but i dont agree that all kids (minors) or adult should keep this snakes. On and one question for you just to make sure you do have people to help you with handling your burm right. Again I am not wanting to start a fight so please dont take offence just trying to make sure you are safe.
andrew

Even though you seem to have a good head on your shoulders and obviously have done your homework,you and a few other "kids" on here are maybe about 3% of the population of kids your age that actually know what they are doing.The other 97% (including adults) cant even spell their name much less care for a 20 ft snake.

Now even though i do agree with some kids owning reptiles anyone below the age of 18 yrs. of age to me is considered a kid and by no means should own anything bigger than a ball python simply because of the fact that most kids/adults DO NOT do their necessary research before buying these majestic animals and most will wind up dead or looking for new homes from places like Rob Carmichaels,or any other rescue.

If you do the necessary research and know what you will be getting into then by all means have fun but not doing it will eventually hurt us all. Regards Bill McLeod

Bill is 100% correct. I will go even further. I have several very talented teenagers who assist me at my wildlife center who have a passion for reptiles and are a joy to work with. Under my tutelage, they have mastered proper handling and husbandry techniques when working with large constrictors. Should they own a large constrictor with this training? Absolutely NOT!! Most young people, I HOPE, will go on to college. Who is going to care for your large burm when you are away (you can't keep it in a dorm)? As a teenager who doesn't own a home yet or has their own place, is it fair to force the rest of ones household to accept the fact that a large, potentially life threatening animal should live under the same roof? Do most teenagers take the appropriate SAFETY precautions when working with large constrictors? Do most teenagers have the necessary resources and dedicated space to keep a large constrictor responsibly? You see, as Bill stated, perhaps 3% (personally, I think it is probably closer to 1% based on how many burms come our way) know what they are doing but many more (particularly young people) are just not at a stage in their life where they should be taking on this kind of responsibility. It is nothing personal; just stating the facts. I could give you MANY more reasons why young folks shouldn't own large constrictors....I can also give you just as many reasons why adults also shouldn't own large constrictors. But, I am glad to see that you are willing to speak up and I just hope that you are unlike most teenagers in that you will be able to take advice from people like me and many other old timers who are in this field professionally who are willing to share that experience with young people like you.

I've posted earlier to Boaboy about several issues related to his particular situation. In more general terms, I hope you younger herpers do not feel compelled to have to "prove" to us older herpers that you can care for the giant boids. Some of us, including myself, have been critical of some of the posts on this forum, based on spelling and sentence structure (or lack thereof). You need to understand that you only have ONE CHANCE to make a FIRST IMPRESSION. Once you've predisposed yourselves to the inherent stereotypes created by our generational differences, you'll find yourselves in an uphill battle to gain favorable footing on here.

Understand that human nature is to make assumptions. Assumptions possibly that if you were not disciplined enough in school to learn the basic principles of communication, then you quite possibly are not disciplined enough to adequately care for a huge and potentially dangerous animal. Sure, early-on while the novelty is genuine, but 5-years later when your cool snake outweighs you and processes more consumables than many third world countries?

Some of you lads have demonstrated interesting levels of perserverance; Boaboy and some time ago, Jeremy H. come to mind.

If you are committed to the idea of raising these giants, then I'd put the extra effort into positioning yourselves to RECEIVE the valuable information available to you on this (and other) forums. This may start with being a tad more humble, less combative, less affrontery towards the senior herpers who -- quite possibly -- know what they are talking about. Yes, even their warnings and concerns that too many of you take personally. These same warnings and concerns are JUST as valid for me. And I've been herping since Marlin Perkins gave me my first boa when I was in 4th-grade... 35 years ago.

NO ONE wants you younger herpers to fail. We WANT you to be successful. But for some, this may mean sticking to smaller animals a bit longer. Food for thought...

To be a responsible keeper and practice safe husbandry methods such as always having another person present when handling or cage cleaning. Just being able to "handle" a large snake is not impressive and is the wrong reason to have one. I can easily move my big retics into their clean cage 3 feet away, but I never do it alone. I'd much rather hear how a young person SAFELY cares for their snakes than just what they can handle.
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Mark Kennedy Reptiles

I just wanted to give my two cents. I understand what every body is saying about being to young for a giant snake and not having enough experiance. I just got into snakes about a year ago and I have two corn snakes, two ball pythons, and a burmese that I bought about three months ago. I know every body is going to ask how old I am and that I dont have enough experiance. First off I am twenty and I do work. I have done a lot of research on my burmese and I plan on buying the burmese python manual. I have also held a 14 ft 140LB at a local pet store. One thing I keep in the back on my mind when dealing with my burm who is very friendly, never forget its strength and capability. Also when every handeling her or cleaning her cage I have another person in the room.
Sorry for going on.
Brian

It's not that we are not giving kids enough credit. I know several young herpers that we help out that are quite capable of the maintenance of reptiles. The youth are the next generation of herpers!!! One thing that truly scares me about the large snakes is accidents do happen!!! Mistakes are made and not just by young herpers, I've seen pics of adults who have been bitten by large snakes. My fear is, is who is going to be around if and when you snake decides to have a bad day??? Will they know what to do??? This applies to everyone, but the more experience you have with smaller stuff the more you will know how to avoid these accidents. My son got bit the other day, and do you know why??? He made the mistake of getting too comfy with a snake and walking right in front of it's head. This was a 6ft dumerils that in my wildest imagination would never have bit anyone!!! But he did, he is still a wild animal. The bite wasn't that bad, BUT the fact of the matter was he knew not to do this and did it anyway not thinking. He has been around snakes since he was 5 years old. His knowledge of snakes blows me away, he knows alot more than some adults that keep snakes that I know. But that doesn't mean he has the experience needed to maintain a large animal. Does he have the knowledge, yes he does, but not the experience. He is gaining experience everyday though, he says he is lucky to have us as parents to teach him, but not everyone has this. He is starting to help me with my baby retic (nasty as sin right now) so he is learning, but if this snake was bigger he would not be helping but just observing from a distance as he does when we get the burms out. I WILL NOT put my children in a dangerous situation with a large snake. It's one thing to mess up with a corn, but quite another to mess up with a burm or retic. Kudos to all who do have the experience needed to properly keep retics and burms, but they are not for everyone. It's hard to take in rescues and hear of horror stories about these large wonderful animals that were bought as babies so cute at the pet store for children and then end up dead or dumped somewhere. I personally do not think MOST minors should have large snakes. For the safety of everyone, snake included. I am NOT saying that all shouldn't or can't do the job properly. There are alot of adults that shouldn't either. I think if you are here awhile or visit some other forums such as the general or basic you will find that adults who have little/no experience with snakes and want to get a large one get the same advice and information that minors do here. It's not just you guys, I swear....hehehe. I hope I am making sense here, and have not pushed anyone’s buttons, I am simply stating my opinion. We all care or we wouldn't take the time to respond. And KUDOS to all whom come here for info, it may not be what you want to hear sometimes, but at least you are taking the time to educate yourselves. That is the first step!!
Ok, I'm done now....LOL

Danni
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Jason & Danni
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SMILE SMILE

I dont doubt that some "kids" can care for burmese as many kids care for other livestock what i'm curious about is the way the word "handle" is used.
Just on a physical scale a large adult burmese is extremely heavy to move other than letting it move on its own accord, but what happens when it goes in a direction u dont want it to? My female is 14' and 10stone and it takes all my strength to get her back in after cleaning her out if she decides she doesnt want to (i do have a helper standing by just in case).
My point is that some "kids" will not be physically able to deal with a large python in certain circumstances, not just the issue of whether it will care for it properly.Im not objecting to them keeping them, just for them to realise the realities of it.Happy herping

i have to admit my burms are heavy but when you grow up with them it get easy. what helps too is i am 5'11 and i lift 200 pound weights every other day. i am not your average 16 year old and my burms are only 10 feet there fat but theye dont weigh more than 200 pounds. when i handle my burms there is always sombody next to me becuse you dont know when your burm is having a bad day. my snakes have never tried to bite me. most of the stories i have heard of people getting hurt by their burm could have been avoided.

I had better watch what i say then, lol !!I agree that it is easy if you grow or your burm grows up with you as you do get to know their "personality".

I have been into reptiles my whole life. My son who just turn 16 has 1.1 adult albino labyrinth burms. I currently dont live with him as he lives with his mom. I got him into snakes when he was younger and from then on he has also liked them...He saves up all of his money and has a job to support these snakes. He has over 20 different spieces of snakes also. He breeds the albino labyrinths by himself and incubates the eggs on his own. He then advertises for the babies and sells everyone of them. He did all the reasearch about breeding them and got all the equipment he needed. So 16 year old are fine with large snakes but I do know some of his friends that I would not let get 15 feet from my baby ball pythons...lol...so kids are perfectly fine with snakes...it matters how much they enjoy the beauty of the animals...

ERic

Letting a 16 yr old own a burm, or two is like letting them have a Corvette for their first car, or giving them a .22 hand gun for their birthday....all accidents waiting to happen....

Dave