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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Nov 29 2005 at 3:09pm | IP Logged
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Help! My ds (12 yo) wants a snake for Christmas! I know absolutely nothing about snakes and I don't think my husband does either. What would a snake require? What equipment would it need? Are they hard to keep as pets? Do they smell bad? I am curious about all these things and would appreciate help from anyone that has experience with this sort of thing. Thanks!
Becky
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Sarah
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| Posted: Nov 29 2005 at 3:59pm | IP Logged
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My brother-in-law once had a snake and he had to go to a pet shop at least once a week for live baby mice to feed it. Then when he went off to college my mother-in-law had to do the same. The live mice thing might turn me off. What if one escaped? On the other hand, maybe that's something to occupy him at a tricky age.
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Kelly
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| Posted: Nov 30 2005 at 12:15am | IP Logged
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OK, I had snakes growing up. The live mice thing Sarah mentions is a valid concern. As a Mom, now, I do not go for pets that have to be fed OTHER pets, but maybe that's just me  Still, it is an issue with most snakes. The good news is they don't smell, particularly (unless you let the cage get really, really dirty for a long time), and they are quiet. As for breeds, I would highly recommend AGAINST a python or boa---they grow and grow, and when they bite,and they WILL bite, no matter how much lovin' and affection it gets, it WILL hurt-teeth point inward, not fun. Plus, they graduate from little mice to bigger things, like rats. You CAN buy dead rodents to feed them, but that is gross, too. Let me hasten to say, I've been around a lot of snakes in my time (what a claim to fame!  ), and I'm not squeamish, but these are definitely things to consider.
For a "starter" snake, you might look into a Garter Snake. They eat mostly crickets-but of course, they are not as huge and "sexy" as a boa. Still, they are relatively pleasant snakes, and the crickets are much more doable than the rodents, IMHO. If you're tough, and want to go with a bigger brand of serpent, you might check into breeds indigenous to your area---that way, if you and the snake don't click, you can simply let it go once the weather warms and enjoy the knowledge that Snakey Poo is out there eating wild rodents. Once we had a mouse problem in our garage, so I got two Grey Rat Snakes and released them in the garage. They lived happily out there for some time, tho the mouse population got ahead of them, alas. Anyway, Grey Rat Snakes are native to your area, I believe. Also Bull Snakes, King Snakes, and yes, the humble Garter Snake, are all indigenous to Michigan. King Snakes are nice snakes, too,--- and mind you, you can buy them very small, which solves the mouse problem for a short while, anyway. I've never had a Bull Snake, but I've heard they're pretty good pets, but I can vouch for Kings and Garters.
Failing snakes, might I suggest...tarantulas? I know we sound like the Munster Family or something  , but really, tarantulas make great pets---clean, quiet, unobtrusive, interesting, travel well. Their one failing is they eat crickets... Most boys really go for them, too. At least with my boys, snakes and spiders enjoy reciprocal popularity!
Good luck!
Kelly in FL
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Kelly
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| Posted: Nov 30 2005 at 12:19am | IP Logged
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PS I forgot to mention that for snakes, you basically need an aquarium and a lid, and a non-tipable bowl for water. A sun lamp is nice, too, and depending how cold your house gets, a heating rock---but any pet store can direct you to what you need.
Kelly in FL
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Nov 30 2005 at 5:38am | IP Logged
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Thanks for the info Kelly! The live mouse thing really makes me squeamish but I think my son would find it cool.  My brother had a piranha when we were younger and the funnest part for him was putting the goldfish in the tank so the piranha could eat them!! Must be a boy thing. (He's actually a perfectly respectful well adjusted adult now! )
I'm not sure I would feel any better about a tartantula. They seem so..."spidery"!
Why couldn't he have asked for a goldfish or something? Heck, I'd even say yes to a hamster at this point! Oh well.
On the bright side, my husband told him we would consider a snake IF ds put together a presentation about why it would be good to have a snake. He has to research snakes, the care they require, and present a logical argument for having one. At least we'll get something educational out of the deal!
 Becky
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Nov 30 2005 at 12:55pm | IP Logged
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Kelly wrote:
Once we had a mouse problem in our garage, so I got two Grey Rat Snakes and released them in the garage. They lived happily out there for some time, tho the mouse population got ahead of them, alas.
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I got so excited about this I emailed a friend of mine who just last night was complaining about rat problems. After I was done I realized that 1. She doesn't have time to grow a boa constictor to deal with her current rat problem and 2)She lives in Hawaii. There are no snakes there and you're not allowed to have them.
I'm going to remember this for the future though.
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Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Pet Snake
