How do you get them to let you get one?

[kbrakes4snakes]

How do you convince whoever you're living with into allowing you (or being okay with) getting one?

Mom and I are both chronically ill, so we live together and take care of each other. I've had (2) bettas, taken care of and trained dogs, and raised them into adulthood, so I know she knows I'm responsible.

I even had a baby snake when I was little. After 2-3 days we released it back into the woods after it wouldn't eat.

My mom is not a pet/animal person. I have talked to her about getting a snake, but not in detail yet and not a corn. I have asked for a tarantula and she wasn't for that. I think the concerns would be similar, and I want to be prepared for them ahead of time.

I think these would be my moms' concerns. Some she's already voiced.

-That some days I won't be able to care for it.:awcrap:
-Escape.:sidestep:
-Biting. Either me, her or someone else and cause an allergic reaction in me. (I'm allergic to mosquito and spider bites.):duck:
-Salmonella infection from the snake's viv, handling, or from a snake bite. (Remember the small turtle Salmonella scare years/decades ago? I think that's what she's thinking.)
-A 5-6 feet long snake. (Maybe she doesn't realize that they're not wide like pythons?:idea
-15-20 years of care.

She's not afraid of snakes, but I don't know...Does she think an Anaconda swimming in the Congo and the "Jaws" song in the backround is the definition of "pet snake"?:eats02: lol

Any suggestions or advice would be great!:sobstory:

 

[ShenziSixaxis]

- Snakes need a weekly maintenance and that's about it except for water, and handling if you want to.

- Don't let it escape! It you're gonna use a 20gal tank, it's easy to keep that from happening.

- Bites happen with EVERY pet. Corns aren't venomous, so just clean it up if you have to (at least run some water on it) and keep it that way.

- Salmonella can happen, but it usually doesn't from my knowledge. Let someone else chime in about this.

- Corns get about 3-5, and 5 feet is a bit up there, and 6 is REALLY up there. There are some that get that big, but most won't. And while MOST (not all) will be able to eat mice their whole life, the biggest any corn should ever need is a weanling/pup rat. Try finding some pictures of adult corns being handled.

- No different than a small dog.



Also try explaining to her that you can feed it frozen dead mice.

 

[Tavia]

If she is worried about escapes, maybe show her & extol the virtues of the Zilla Critter tanks. They have sliding locking lids that also have the ability to be padlocked & are some of the most escape proof vivs out there. Though they are a bit pricey, it's only a bit more than a regular fish tank with an added lid would cost.

Really, snakes are in some ways even easier to care for than a fish tank. If you have to, they can go a week or so without you doing anything for them. I've gone on week long vacations & just given them an extra water bowl in case they tip or foul one of them & they fine with that.
Corns don't get real big & usually don't bite. But if you aren't set on a corn snake, I'd also recommend a male Desert Rosy boa. Males don't usually get more than 2' & they are even more mellow & less likely to bite than a corn.
While there is a chance of getting Salmonella from your snake, if you have good hygiene practices, it is actually less likely than getting it from your salad or peanut butter.

 

[LeoEyes]

With salmonella as long as you maintain good hygiene it shouldnt be much of a problem. Aka wash hands after handling the snake or working in cage, dont eat after handling and not washing and dont kiss your reptile (lol have seen people do this)

Salmonella infection ussually happens with raw or undercooked chicken, of if food was contaminated. Its true turtles are more likely to give a person salmonella and from my understand the baby turtle salmonella scare was because kids are not excactly good woith hand washing and not sticking fingers in mouth.... or in the case of a young kid the turtle in mouth.

But all reptiles can be (as many as 90%) carriers of it as long as your careful with washing after you should be fine.

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/SalmonellaFrogTurtle/

 

[Stormy]

Also if she is worried about you not being able to take care of it someday, maybe ask another friend or family member if they would take it in should something happen.

As for illness, wash hands before and after handling the snake,cleaning its viv etc and you should be fine.

 

[Floof]

Looks like most everything has been covered.

I have a small amount of experience with this. We (meaning my family and pets, including a corn snake and three bearded dragons) recently moved in with some family friends. Though their kids are fine with the reptiles, both parents are terrified of them... The wife won't even touch my bearded dragons because they creep her out too much.

Some things that helped them "get over" the idea of snakes in the house (and even be okay with my little Gopher snake impulse buy last weekend)...

A: Frozen-thawed food! You wouldn't believe how big a "plus" it is for not-so-snake-savvy people that you don't have to bring smelly, dirty, noisy mice into the house to feed your snake, and, for those that find mice "cute," that your snake doesn't have to kill cute furry things. If she's bothered at all by mice in the freezer, find a local pet store that will sell individual frozen rodents that you can buy each week... It still beats live prey for the average person.

B: Escape-proof enclosures. The Zilla tanks have already been mentioned. Though aquariums certainly aren't the most ideal enclosures for any snakes, they DO work, and the Zilla tanks ARE pretty inescapable if you take the right precautions. Just the security of the tank was enough of a relief for the snake-fearing people in the house, but putting a small padlock on the tank (or even just a bent chunk of wire, just something to keep it shut in the event your snake is strong and smart enough to push the lid open otherwise) certainly helped... Plus it helps my own peace of mind, lest one of the teenage sons brings over a friend who wants to see the snakes.

C: A big thing for any person with compassion (animal lover or no), is that the animal is being taken care of. Even if that just means fed, watered, and clean. Fortunately, you've picked the easiest animal for that... Snakes only eat once a week (or once every two weeks for adults), and only poop as often as they eat. So you only have to feed and clean once a week at the most. As for water, while it should be changed once a day for the sake of cleanliness, it doesn't NEED to be changed that often unless the snake poops in the dish (in which case it should be changed immediately)... So if you have an off day where you can't do the water change, that's okay.

D: If she's afraid of snakes, don't push them on her... Keep it in your room, don't have it out when she's around (unless she explicitly says that's okay). Don't move the snake around too quickly if you do take it out, and don't bring it too close to her. These are caveats that I've observed with the snake-phobic wife of the family we're living with. She doesn't want to walk in to unexpectedly see any of the snakes "out and about," so I don't handle them when she's home. However, she's also fascinated by them, so if she walks in the room and wants to see them closer, I handle them... But I still don't get too close unless she asks me to, and I don't move the snake around especially fast. If I do these things, she often gets up and leaves--too frightened to continue trying to get over her fear.

I think those are and were big points when it comes to being able to keep my snake at this point in time. I hope this is helpful to you!

 

[wasuslitherin]

Love how you matched all the sentences wth smilies!! (-:

 

[kbrakes4snakes]

[F]I'll talk to her about it tomorrow or Sunday...She'll probably need time before she decides, but I will use the info you all wrote and see what she says. I was also thinking that Christmas is only 2 months away.:santa:

ShenziSixaxis-I didn't know that weekly is all that's needed. I also didn't know that most corns don't exceed the range of 3-5'. My last Betta was large. His body was around 2"-2.5", with fins he was about 4".:eek1:

Tavia-I'll look up the Zilla Critter tanks tonight. I don't think there's much of a chance of me getting Salmonella (I'm very very hygienic, even when preparing food), but she's just worried about the possibility of it. She saw me go through stomach flus and I got sicker than average with them. I know boas and pythons are totally not an option. That's why I picked out corns.

LeoEyes-Me too. I don't know my microbiology that well, but I know enough about it to feel queasy when I see friends kiss their various pets on the lips (and not even wash afterwards!) and think nothing of it...As it happens I was in daily contact with wild turtles for months, and I didn't have a problem. So I guess that's something I can bring up too.

Stormy-No one in my family likes reptiles, except my Dad, so I guess I could ask him...My sis is terrified of them. None of my friends like them either! *rolls eyes*

Floof (cute name, by the way!)-Sounds like my sister. :grin01:

I will bring up the fact that they would only need frozen mice, I think that'll be a biiig selling point. (She won't want to keep them in the freezers we use, maybe I can buy a little freezer.)

She is a super-compassionate mom, although not a pushover. She hates seeing animals suffer (by that I include not being taken care of on time), even though she's not an animal (or reptile) lover.

Wasuslitherin-thanks!:rofl: I LOVE 'em.:dgrin:

I (obviously) want one badly, but also don't want to nag. oke: I hope we don't end up --> :argue:, although I don't intend to. I know that she will be fair, but I hope she doesn't make a snap decision.

Wish me luck!

Thank you everyone for all the great points! I feel pretty pumped now. haha
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[Jdog3131]

leave the computer on this fourm and let your mom walk past it .It really helps

 

[OkeeteeMom]

Is it possible that since you're both chronically ill, she's concerned about the financial aspect of a new pet and its maintenance?