Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I own one juvi grey rat snake that I have been taking care of for over 4 years now, and I would love to add another rat or corn snake to my small pet collection. The only problem is - I still live at home(I am 16) and my mom isn't too keen on me getting another snake. I'm sure many of you may or may not have gone through this - my mother is not afraid of snakes, she just said, "Do you really need another one?" Is that a question? Hahaha. Does anyone have any ideas I could use to help persuade her?

Thanks!
- Maggie

Well, at four years of age, I doubt your juvi grey rat is a juvie anymore!!! If it is still juvi sized then you may need to feed it more. Sorry to sound like a parent LOL!!

I am quite a bit older than you and now have kids of my own. They do not get every animal they want unless they show they are responsible taking care of it. But I remember the days living at home and keeping herps. Back then I caught most of what I kept, so "secretly" added to the collection when something new was captured. My mom thought it was crazy to actually pay good money for a snake LOL!!

If you are truly taking good care of your snake, then your mom shouldnt have a problem with you adding another. If you know the sex of your snake, you could possibly get your mom to let you get a mate and try breeding. It is a cool experience and educational. It shows you can accomplish something pretty cool.

i definately know what your talking about! im 16 as well, and its usually pretty hard to convince them to let me get another one...they say "no more" everytime...but now im up to 4 snakes, a tegu, a gecko, and a toad...lol...

its just a matter of proving yourself and being persistant..

i pay for everything though...my 16th bday present was my parents allowing me to get a $500 albino colombian boa...haha...i had to pay for it...

i buy their food, bedding, accessories, etc...

good luck!
jessica

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0.1.0 Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Albino Columbian Boa
0.0.1 Red Albino Cornsnake
0.0.1 Aberrant California Kingsnake
1.0.0 Greek Tortoise
1.0.0 Normal Leopard Gecko
0.1.0 Argentine Black & White Tegu
1.0.0 Leopard Toad
0.1.0 Wolf Spider
1.2.0 Dogs
1.2.0 Cats
2.0.0 Rats
1.0.0 Rabbit
1.0.0 Gerbil
0.0.1 Golden Snail

Well, maybe you guys can offer some advice here... I currently keep 2 garter snakes, a 2.5-3 ft female and a 2 ft male. Originally when we moved out I was told no snakes, I kept a few lizards and not much else in terms of herps. I caught one garter at a friends house and was aloud to keep it outside but it eventually escaped the pail and got away. 3 years ago I managed to persuade them to let me catch a garter using the " You let me keep tons of them as a kid, why not now? " I had the female I currently own and a baby. The baby passed away and earlier this year I convinced them to let me get a friend for my female. I caught the male. I've provided all the care for these snakes, Payed for every thing including building a 200$ cage for the female garter and paying 10$ a week for food for her. I currently also have a 20 gallon tank with a few fish, an aquatic frog in a 10 gallon (african clawed frog) and a betta. I'm interested in keeping an indigo or a bullsnake, but my parents aren't fond of me having another snake, espcially one that is a bit larger then little garters. My mom was raised in a house where she was taught to hate pets and she never had any. My dad's siblings had tons of exotic things but never much himself. So I've cared for my snakes flawlessly and my other pets for years. I've asked and they say " you have garters you don't need more ". Suggestions?

first off, how old are you? you need to consider the future of the animal,snakes can live 20-30years, are you going to be able to care for them their entire life? what happens when you go to college? you may not be able to keep it in your dorm, and it doesnt sound like your parents are willing to care for it when you are away.

second, where is your experience level at? i would suggest a baby cornsnake instead of an indigo, pine, or bull.

its going to be a LOT more expensive caring for snakes other than garters, garters are much more forgiving when it comes to temps and such...are you going to be able to store frozen mice? can you afford them?

if you get an exotic species, you are going to need expensive heat lamps, bulbs, and heat pads. (all, not one or the other)

next, do you have a job? having an income other than allowance is a good idea...(it doesnt really count if your using your allowance money from your parents, afterall, it still is kind of their money.)

you have to show responsibility, and snakes escaping and/or dying isn't really a good start.

i'm not trying to be rude, im just pointing out what im seeing...i know how hard it is to get respect in the herp world, im just trying to help!

you need to do a lot of research before getting a snake, or any animal for that matter. then decide which is best for you... consider price, temperment, size, requirements, etc.

if you have any more questions, ask.

im not just some teenager trying to act like i know what im doing. i do a lot of research, i do educational shows, and i have fought long & hard to spread the word of reptiles & their benefits. i have a long way to go, but im doing my best.
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0.1.0 Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Albino Columbian Boa
0.0.1 Red Albino Cornsnake
0.0.1 Aberrant California Kingsnake
1.0.0 Greek Tortoise
1.0.0 Normal Leopard Gecko
0.1.0 Argentine Black & White Tegu
1.0.0 Leopard Toad
0.1.0 Wolf Spider
1.2.0 Dogs
1.2.0 Cats
2.0.0 Rats
1.0.0 Rabbit
1.0.0 Gerbil
0.0.1 Golden Snail

16.5 right now, I'll be attending a college closeby so I'll be living at home. One thing though, I hate corns and balls. Every snake newb in the world has them. I've done extensive research on snakes since I was old enough to read and listen to animal planet. I was keeping snakes at 5-6 years old. Of course I research any animal throughly before I get it to ensure I can properly care for it. I love bulls and indigos, whereast most large snakes generally don't interest me (other than burms/RTB but I'm not planning to keep them until I have the space for that size snake). Funny thing about frozen mice, I just got my package from rodent pro of 200 pinkies to feed to my 2 garters and my african clawed frog, I was originally going to have to buy and install a freezer to keep it away from the food, but persuasion worked out after all and they are in the freezer. Currently no job, I was going to get one this year but by the time I applied for it I would work 2 months then quit, not really worth it as I can't keep it through school (too many advanced classes and other responsibilities) to be able to dedicate 30 weekly hours to a job. I do however fix and resell motorcycles and flip a nice profit, only got 1 done this year and I made 400$, I have a dirt bike I had given to me up right now and I should be getting 300 from it so I can afford it yes, the most expensive cost - buying an indigo, bulls are free locally from parks...

My snakes have never escaped since I've captured this last pair. The one that escaped before was like 6 years ago, basically it was in a 5 gallon bucket away from the house, this is where I had to keep it. A storm rolled in and the bucket blew over and it got loose, I was pretty young and trying to make it work but unlucky we had a bad storm (uncommon).

I've researched temperment I know if I can tame down some super aggressive garters I can probably tame down a wild bull, which I've read and heard are pretty easy to tame down, Indigo would be gotten young and I would handle it frequently enough to tame it. Size of cage isn't a real problem. My garter cage is 60" X 24" X 28", its a nice cage and works really well. Housing a large snake isn't much of a problem.

i know what you mean about corns & balls, but sometimes its good to have a starting place. my corn snake is the sweetest snake ever, and they come in so many color morphs now...

and besides that, if you ask someone what kind of snake it is, they arent going to know...ive been asked if its a boa or venomous.

to most people snakes are snakes, plain & simple.

but it sounds like you have things pretty well together...but you'll definately have to buy something bigger than pinks for an indigo or bull... pinkys arent a good source of nutrition, fuzzys are much better (more calcium & such)...but it will depend on the size of the animal.

besides that, its a good idea to take a job even if you are only going to work a few months...theres nothing wrong with having some extra money! (what happens if your animal needs to go to the vet for an RI, mites, or some other condition?)

its always a good idea to have a stash of "just in case" money...

convincing your parents is another story... i think it would be much easier convincing them to let you get a corn, they dont get very big, they max out at 4-6ft, and stay slender. they are docile, and dont take a whole lot of care.

bull snakes can reach 7-9ft, and indigos have a higher metabolism than most snakes, so you will do a lot more cleaning! (snake poo is NOT a pleasent smell in the least)they reach 6-9 ft...

if you think you can handle, your next step is convincing your parents.

my parents are animal lovers, so they dont mind when i add an animal to the collection...although sometimes i get the lecture of "having too many"...

good luck
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0.1.0 Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Albino Columbian Boa
1.0.0 Carpet Python
0.0.1 Red Albino Cornsnake
0.0.1 Aberrant California Kingsnake
1.0.0 Greek Tortoise
1.0.0 Normal Leopard Gecko
1.0.0 Leopard Toad
2.2.0 Dogs
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Rabbit
1.0.0 Gerbil
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Shed Your Fears!
http://www.freewebs.com/ShedYourFears

My starting place is garters, I've kept them from since I was like 5-6 years old. Some people start with corns or balls I did with garters. While yea corns are docile, who says an indigo or a bull is unable to be docile?
I know pinkies aren't the best, they where for the garters, I was just saying that to let you know that having and storing rodents isn't a big deal for me, if anything I can buy a small freezer for 100$ and set it up in the garage.
I was originally getting a job, but at this point I have too much to juggle and I can't manage to spend all the time at the job, I always have a good amount of money around for IF I need to treat. My garters have never seen a vet and never will, nor would a bullsnake unless I got a high quality color morph from online. An indigo would of course get a vet its not native.
Corns are slender, docile don't need much. I don't think that bulls require much care either and aren't all that big when you think about it. I think most of them stay around 6ft, but they can get 10ft I've seen pictures of a 10 ft bull. They also tame easily from what I've read/heard... Indigos are just cool, I know they are big but thats not an issue. I have space for the enclosure (and space for an outdoor if I got a bull), I know how to build them, everything...
I got a big lecture on their limits and being content last night haha. -_-;; Probably wont win this one.

if you keep any animal, it is your responsibility to care for it properly & get it medical attention if its needed.

no matter if it cost you $0.00 or $5k. that is what being an animal lover is all about, giving up luxuries to help the animals you love...

many animals never require medical attention, but what happens if it has a prolapse or some other painful condition? are you going to let it suffer and die? or throw it in the freezer to let its blood painfully freeze into crystals and die a slow death?

if you dont intend on caring for an animal fully and wholely, then you shouldnt have it whatever its needs, animals DEPEND on their owners to care for them, they have no way to help themselves.

.....not to mention indigos are rare, some states require licenses to own them, and most cost upwards of $1000.
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0.1.0 Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Albino Columbian Boa
1.0.0 Carpet Python
0.0.1 Red Albino Cornsnake
0.0.1 Aberrant California Kingsnake
1.0.0 Greek Tortoise
1.0.0 Normal Leopard Gecko
1.0.0 Leopard Toad
2.2.0 Dogs
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Rabbit
1.0.0 Gerbil
....................................

Shed Your Fears!
http://www.freewebs.com/ShedYourFears

Not everyone is made of money like that. I know that I can't give up food for a week to save an animal. It simply isn't ethical to pay thousands of dollars on a wild caught snake, its better to humanely put them down.. We can all only do so much..

if humanely eutahnizing an animal is the best, most humane option, then i dont disagree with it. but it doesnt cost a thousand dollars to take an animal to a vet and have it euthanized. i know, i have had to do it.

but sticking an animal in a freezer to die has been proven to be painful and unethical.

im not suggesting you starve for a week, but then again, i am pretty sure that your parents buy groceries, not you.

if you have a wild caught snake in YOUR care, and it becomes ill and needs treatment, it is YOUR responsibility to do so. you cant just catch animals, deplete their health and then let them loose again to infect the wild population. THAT is the reason why there are so many laws prohibiting true herpers to collect wild caught specimens.

im just trying to point out things to consider when bringing an animal into your care. there are FAR too many animals in rescues because of improper care.

you can be arrested and put in prison for failing to provide medical attention for animals in most states.

im not trying to attack you, i just think it is ignorant to deny a living creature medical attention because of its "value."
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0.1.0 Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Albino Columbian Boa
1.0.0 Carpet Python
0.0.1 Red Albino Cornsnake
0.0.1 Aberrant California Kingsnake
1.0.0 Greek Tortoise
1.0.0 Normal Leopard Gecko
1.0.0 Leopard Toad
2.2.0 Dogs
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Rabbit
1.0.0 Gerbil
....................................

Shed Your Fears!
http://www.freewebs.com/ShedYourFears

Well I wouldn't let it loose, there are other ways of instant death besides a vet.. I'm not made of money and I have other thins that I have to pay for besides just my snakes, if that where the case sure, but I simply cant justify thousands of dollars on a snake.

I just wanted to throw something in here about freezing: I dont know where you got your information from, but freezing reptiles does not amount to a slow painful death. Because they are cold blooded, they would not suffer the way a warm-blooded animal would. Their bodies would simple shut down, they would go to sleep and freeze. I am in no way condoning freezing animals (lol) but was just clarifying that misunderstanding.

Have a good one!

David

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David and Kevin

KDRKreatures.com
Exotic Reptile Breeders - Specializing in Bearded Dragons

Email

Sorry David but it is you who are mistaken. because they are ectothermic, they are able to maintain consciousness to the point of feeling their blood crystalize. it also goes against the AVMA codes of ethics for a humane euthanasia. being a mammal that has undergone severe hypothermia, the mammals have a better time about it. sure you get realy cold but once you get to the pount where the body stops shivering it is not that bad, you almost feel like yo uare warming up. then you are unconscious and dead shortly after.

Ashley

>>I just wanted to throw something in here about freezing: I dont know where you got your information from, but freezing reptiles does not amount to a slow painful death. Because they are cold blooded, they would not suffer the way a warm-blooded animal would. Their bodies would simple shut down, they would go to sleep and freeze. I am in no way condoning freezing animals (lol) but was just clarifying that misunderstanding.
>>
>>Have a good one!
>>
>>David
>>
>>
>>-----
>>David and Kevin
>>
>>KDRKreatures.com
>>Exotic Reptile Breeders - Specializing in Bearded Dragons
>>
>>Email
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