Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How can I convince my overreactive parents to let me get some snake (s), and possibly mice because I love mice?

i would sugest books and lots of them and read them infront of them alot, get as much info on them as you can and share it with your parents, most of the time i have found peopls fear is not from experiences they had but from someone they knew, if it is a responsibility issue you have your work cut out but show intrest in the info and share it with them, no promisise but it has worked for some good luck and let us know, themntl1

I'd learn all you can about snakes and keeping snakes - particulary about the kind you want. You can share this with them and it will let them know how serious you are. Realize it can be a long term commitment - many snakes can live 15 years. Wanting to keep live feeders may be a turn off to them so consider frozen thawed. This may make them feel better. Find someone, a petstore or even a zoo that has some snakes out for the public to hold/touch. I volunteer at our zoo and so many people are afraid of snakes until we give them the chance to touch them and ask questions about them.
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1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer "Kira"

well my step dad didnt care but my mom did. so.... i told her the truth "i am really intrested in reptiles and that what i want my career to be, but the problem is that you have to be 18 to work at the zoos near me... so... in order for me to gain experence (which looks good on a college resume) i have to get some snakes" believe it or not it worked sometimes the truth and a little bit of conning works. good luck hope they let ya.

RV

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0.0.1 03'Amel (1st)
0.0.1 03'Normal (2nd)
to be add in january (pos.)

what ever kind a corn catches my eye at the show

so did you already have snakes and wanted more?

you might check into volunteering at your zoo. Our zoo has an adult volunteer program and a teen volunteer program (for age 14-18). Even if you don't get hands on experience (or even if you can't get in the area with reptiles) any experience will be of great help. Plus you get to network and meet people who can help you out later (give you recommendations, help you move up, etc).
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1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer "Kira"

The common thread to the good responses you have gotten so far is........Education. Show your folks that you can and will be responsible. If there are things that you are supposed to be doing around the house, make sure that you are showing plenty of initiative and responsibility in those areas, too.
Finally, get one or both of your folks to attend a reptile show with you if there is one near you. The amount of education (on their part) that can happen in one hour at a show is amazing) ... You may just wind up coming home with a new snake.
Good luck. Duffy

A few months ago, I found a half dead baby squirrel and nursed it back to health. But squirrels aren't good pets so I had to release her back into the wild. She lives in my backyard now, sometimes she sits on the porch and looks at us through the window, but she doesn't let me pet her any more. My parents felt sorry for me so they let me buy a snake, even though my mom thinks snakes are “creepy” and my dad doesn’t think having pets is worth the effort. He likes animals, but he would be just as happy without them. That strategy isn’t going to work for everyone though...

I don't think irrational fear can easily be overcome with knowledge alone. Some people are born terrified of dogs, but everyone knows that dogs are reputed to be friendly. If you have other pets I would just saying that corn snakes are like other animals except they only eat once a week and they won't bark at the neighbors. You might get your parents to question why they like certain animals and dislike snakes, and once they start to question that they should stop being so intolerant of them. My mom likes cats, and she seemed to be more comfortable with my snake when I reminded her that cats kill mice too.

Here are some of the complaints I have heard from parents not wanting their children to get snakes.

1.They smell.
---which is not true if you keep them and their enclosure clean

2.They are aggressive and bite.
---They can be but if you get the right kind and handle it regularly there is a very good chance it will not be aggressive.

3.They get to big.
---Again, they can but not if you get the right kind. You can keep a corn snake in a 20gal aquarium for its entire life.

4.They are not interesting.
---If you like snakes they are interesting, I personally find them fascinating.

5.They are ugly.
---There are some gorgeous snakes out there with almost any color or pattern variation that you could want and there are always more being bred.

6.It will coast too much and take too much time to take care of them.
---I personally have never had a pet that was so easy to care for, that is including my goldfish, and if you have a place to get mice for a decent price it is really cheap to feed them. If you use shavings in their cage you can spot clean it and not replace the entire bedding for extended periods. 1 big bag of aspen shavings will last for a very long time with only one or two snakes. Also a snake will have no problem being left at home for a month while you are on vacation, just make sure its warm and has water and it wont even be bad for it, its better than trying to find someone to take care of a dog.

-Some things I would not mention to your parents include that you might have to keep frozen mice or rats in your freezer. I know a lot of people that really don’t like the idea of this.
-And you may have heard that snakes are addictive, I didn’t believe it when I got my first boa but I just got two more snakes the other day.
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0.0.1 Common Columbian Boa (Damian)
0.0.1 Amel Cornsnake (Kernal)
0.0.1 Okeetee Cornsnake (Guido)
1.1.0 Lhasa Apso's (Monkey, Tiffany)
1.0.0 Rat Terrier (Ricky)
1.3.0 Mice (nameless)
0.0.4 Goldfish (nameless)
0.1.0 Beta Fish (nameless)
0.0.1 Snail

Also Canibal the Musical is just about the the most funny movie ever!!!