Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My wife and I are going to start trying ot have a kid this year. it's got me very nervous in general (all the standard stuff--will I be a good dad, can we afford it, what about genetic health problems, all that crap). I'm also wondering about the larger pythons. I'm not sure how we're going to rearrange the house yet, but we're going to have to at least somewhat.

I konw some of ya'll got kids; how do you go about introducing them to the snakes? I know it isn't something you do real soon (for god's sakes, my pythons eat rabbits the size of some human neonates). But I want the kid to be comftorable about dad's animals. What age do ya'll start introducing them? How do you do it? Any pitfalls?

in a related note I finally need to buy a gun safe :-/ boo.
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
6.6 African House snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
.1 corn snake
4.2 Florida Kings
1.2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
0.0.1 Argentine boa

I have no children but this is the advice I have. Each cage/rack should be key locked. For racks this is a bit harder than the jewelry slide locks, but can be done with a dowel down the front of the rack and a padlock hole at the top and bottom. I would suggest once your wife gets pregnant, she does not assist in cleaning etc... Also if she is breast feeding she does not help. I suggest children are introduced when they get past the age of putting everything in their mouth. You can show the snakes thru cages, but I suggest hands off until they reach that point.

Beyond that you will need to teach respect and the fact that it is dangerous. I know we have many posters that have children and I do hope they chime in as well.

But best advice, once the child is mobile LOCK EM UP! Hell I dont have kids and all my visions and neos are under lock and key.
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Cindy Steinle
PHFaust
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The cages for the big guys have locks already. We're actually thinking of an outbuilding too (since the cages take up a room that could be the nursery).

The more I think about this the more I'm going "WTH am I getting into." It ain't just the pets; I like field herping and I can't imagine taking a kid field herping here; C. atrox is my most common find!
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
6.6 African House snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
.1 corn snake
4.2 Florida Kings
1.2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
0.0.1 Argentine boa

Well we crossed this bridge a few years ago also. I moved my large retics to the Garage. This way my wife feels good about the door to the garaage being locked as well as the cages themselves being locked. It worked out rather well as there is just more room in the garage and the smell is out of the house. Not to mention the wife feels safe that way. As for my son I never really kept him from the snakes. I would let him look at them thru the cage from day one, At about 2 years of age I would let him touch them and such. They are obviously to big for him to attempt to hold one so that is a non issue. You just have to be smart about it. To be honest my son is now three years old and because he has grown up with snakes he really doesnt care about them. The neighbor kids get more of a kick out of them than my son does. You can tell by the attached picture my wife is still not very confortable around them. This is about as close as she will get..LOL.
At the end of the day your cages need locks and only you know where the key is

I don't own retics, but I do have some pretty big boas & too me having snakes & kids under the same roof has never been a big deal. My cages have locks, & the kids aren't allowed in the snake room unless I'm in there too. My youngest (Daniel), now two & a half LOVES the snakes, & the other reptiles too. I've let him touch snakes since he was about a year old (Hands washed after), & now that he understands he has to be gentle I let him hold baby boas & our ball python as long as I am right there. He asks to hold a snake about every day. To me having him with me in the snake room makes the hobby more fun then it could ever be. Tonight he helped me feed the turtles some worms, fed the fish, helped gave the chorus frogs some fruit flies, & then we handled some gray banded kingsnakes. Keeping cages locked is very important, especially if your snakes aren't in a room kids cant get to, but in my opinion the most important thing is to keep everything clean, I mean anything your kid will possibly touch in the snake room like the floor.

Field herping is easy with a kid too. While he/she is real young just keep it in a chest pack, then when he/she out grows that put it in a child backpack, use leash & harness, or just hold his/her hand, that will prevent your kid from reaching for a venomous snake. I've been teaching Daniel about what snakes are OK to touch with his hands simply by handling some of the harmless ones in the field & letting him touch them, & only touching the rattlesnakes with a hook. He is figuring it out pretty quick.

I think its great you guys are planning on having a kid & I wouldnt let the herps discourage you in any way. Just when you think this stuff cant get any funner it does as soon as you hear a little voice say "daddy can I see a snake" or "daddy can I help you feed snakes".

Daniel has been out herping with us since we took him home from the hospital

An easy trail at a local park

Crashed in the backpack

Keeping the sun & wind off of him with a coat

Enjoying holding a boa with adult supervision

Catching toads is something all kids love

Daniel loves having his own hook

Daniel catching his 1st snake

Poking at a bullsnake

I'll stop now,lol, I could post pics all day of kids & herps. But anyway, kids love this stuff!

Dan Eby

These pictures are way to cool! Good job.

Allen Sheehan

i dont have any retics anymore, but will again at some point. this was such a great thread and the burm forum is so unfriendly and i wanted to share these pics of my son watching "molly" our half dwarf burm shedding. he really seemed to be amazed and will hopefully be a carrier of the reptile gene.

im a huge believer in hands on education, with anything that is socially considered dangerour. i introduce my kids to snakes as soon as they are intrigued. if it becomes second nature to them, they dont have that curiousity factor constantly brewing and feel the need to play with them.

when i was kid, i learned way early on how to handle and shoot guns. my parents never kept them up, or locked up, they were always just sitting in their closet. but i knew not to play with them when they werent there and that if i wanted to shoot them or handle them, all i had to do was ask when they were or got home.

too many parents just say, thats bad dont touch, without fully explaining why or letting them experience those things and getting the curiousity out of their system.

kids are gonna wanna play with and handle what they are told not to, without a reason why and proper hands on education
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retic is king of kings

1.0 Tiger Retic
1.0 Albino Tiger Retic
0.1 Striped Tiger Retic (het albino)
0.1 Salmon Boa
1.0 Albino Boa
0.1 False Water Cobra

NP
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

Great looking family, and the Lamb of God shirt is a good bonus for the pics

My daughter is 16 months old and we have 13 snakes.. only one retic, which at them moment is only 4 ft long, but our biggest boa is 9ft. And she LOOOOVES them all. At first we just let her look, and never touch, babies, and my daughter inperticular has a low immune system, so just think, snakes slither all over they're fecal matter, so sanitation is a MUST, (snakes can transfer salmonella) :| But here recently we have allowed her to touch a few i feel comfortable with after we let them bathe in the tub, and then we still wash our hands and use PLEANTY of sanitizer. But i do 100% agree with everyone else, deff get locks on all your critters, and lock the door then put a hook at the top of the door once they can reach the knob... Children are curious by nature, and its very curtial that you do everything you can to make sure both your child and your animals are never put in harms way. and that best way is to introduce them and educate them... and NEVER take your eyes of them for a split second, because they will get into something they're not supposed to!! best of luck to you, your wife and the baby on the way. i hope you have a healthy little mess maker!