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my sweet little girl wants a scary snake! YAY!

F

firesnake13

New member
I'm so proud! Anyways. I had a bp in HS but a mean landlord made me give him away (to an awesome home, he's spoiled) so it's been awhile. Princess (my daughter) has been begging for a snake for nearly a year so I said OK, for her bday in DEC. that gives us time for research and set-up and testing the set-up.
I've researched the threads and gotten great Ideas. We are acquiring some books and Hanging at the local (great) herp store and she has herp buddies at the zoo. We are slowly acquiring what is needed (half the fun) and will be set when the snake picks her. but...
I can't find info on kids and corns. (what up w/ that?)
Princess is mellow and great w/ animals. her friends aren't allowed to touch it but what about the noise factor? We want the snake in her room but she has friends over sometimes.
Also, we have a dog (not allowed in room due to bedwetting) and 2 Siamese that make the ones on lady and the tramp look like idiots. :grin01: they stared 2 fish to death (no more aquariums for us) so do I need to worry about the snake? :shrugs: he will smell kitties and dog, no matter where he is. is that OK? and what if they tank watch? will he get stressed? and about escape - is that just from the cage or do they run from their people? i took my bp to school and he hung out in my shirt, and liked long drives - are corns like that? or was he just really sweet? and are plastic plants OK if you file down rough edges? and how do you sterilize outside rocks, branches, etc.? i heard bleach was bad. and is there such a thing as too big a cage? (we're looking @20 gal. ) if there are lots of hidey spots?
also, when is snakey ready to go to show and tell? or should we stick to pics and sheds? she really wants to freak out her teacher. she thinks snakes are so cute and thinks its hilarious that people are afraid and wants to help them not be. (we have a future Jeff Corwin here) :cheers:
i think that's all the questions I can't find answers to.
how old to breed? she's hoping for that too eventually.
and are there any strains that are more docile than others? she loves the orange ones.
thanks! and this is a wonderful site. I've successfully avoided a weeks worth of homework here (I'm a teaching student) :wavey:
 
On the other animal and kids question. I have a 4yr old boy, 7yr old girl, a Jack Russell Terrier, a 15lb Long hair calico cat, a male and female cockateil, a turtle, and one fish.

My corns never seem stressed do to the other companions in the house. As you can guess things stay very active around here. The birds land on there tanks, the cat will sometimes climb on top. The dog i dont think has realized we even have snakes. The turtle and fish never seemed bothered. The tanks are in my room away from the main part of the house but so is the computer, TV, Radio, and it seems to be the most enertaining place in the house to my kids. Even with the TV going and all the noise it dosent seem to bother any of my corns.

You can find alot of answers to your other questions on the FAQ thread down towards the center of the page on the welcome screen.
 
Yeah it start out "it's for the kid" but you'll be into more. That how I started Ha! Ha! And love it.
When/ if you get a hatchling I think you should keep a check on noise level for a month or so until it gets settle in. When they are young they will get more stress out. Every snake is different . Cars ride and hanging out with you outside......... it's a judgement call .
Bleaching. I use wood that I pick up in the woods walking my dog, I looking for oak or a type of hardwood. Branches with bends in them and cut them down to size, notch them and screw them together ( without any screw tips hanging out) then clean then with little bleach and water. Rinse well and dry out first. Some folks also bake them, not sure on time and temps. A20 is the min for a adult but big for a hatchling . If use for a hatchling just add more hides. And plastic plants I think are just fine. Clean them first.
Please read up more here great info, use the search section for basic care, and order Kathy love new book, It's somewhere on this site, More folks will chime in So you'll be fine.
Welcome and good luck. :cheers:
 
you might want to start out with an adult or at least a yearling instead of a hatchling. the older snake will be more used to the routine, so that mistakes by a new owner (which will happen no matter how much homework you do beforehand) are just taken as they come, and it's not necessarily going to cause any harm. That's how I did it - I started out with a 2 year old, and I'm really glad I did.
 
I want to recommend this site for you and your daughter to look at together.

http://www.cornykids.com/

Its very cute and shows that kids like snakes too.

I think its great that she likes snakes and it would be great if you could encourage her little friends to like them too. Just make sure that you work with the snake together and don't make her responsible for it or anything. I think some of the others are right in saying that you should probably get a yearling because hatchlings can be a bit delicate and yearlings will already be established which means they are eating well and hopefully will already be used to being handled. Good luck with both of them.
 
thank you, everyone

i've cruised faq's regarding cage needs, thermostats, feeding,ect. Our shop has a great expert that is working with us. kelly(the expert) is more about her animals than sales (so refreshing) and handles all of the animals she gets in every day. she has the bearded dragons so tame they hop into your hand. they don't allow hatchlings to be sold unles they have had three successful feedings and they are handled daily (except after they've been fed) does that make a difference? i'm having a hard time finding sub-adults in corns. also, kelly told us to start w/ a 10 gallon since there have been problems with hatchlings finding thier water and heat in a 20 gal. she also recomended a semi-enclosed cave(or tupperware) w/ damp moss for shedding time. she said that helps prevent shedding problems, so we'll incorporate that too.
as for sharing the responsibility, I don't believe in that. princess is way too young to have any actual responsibility for her pets beyond her own behavior. this is why her friends can't handle the snake. it will be too small and they break things. they can look and pet it only if I hold it. that's the rule, but they will get to enjoy it.
Princess is used to fragile pets. we foster kittens and she was great with our boys(cats) when they were babies.
i've decided the first cage spot to try is in princesses bedroom. it's low traffic and not drafty and she can watch her snake.
i do have iguanna and ball python experience, so I know the basics, it's mostly adding a kid and other pets in the mix and a different snake. and no car rides for this one. booga (my BP) was a living bracelet, I think that's rare. :rolleyes: he currently is the big mellow snake that goes to schools and herp fairs in central ny w/ the friend i gave him to.
thanks for the reassurances and i will still look for a yearling, i just don't want to ship it, and i prefer this shop.
is there anything else i'm not getting or threads to look at?
thanks all! :)
also, getting the cage in 4 weeks! i'll post pics for criticism. we've decided on a jungle theme.
 
cute site. I'll show princess tomorrow. she'll like it. right now, most people are surprised that such a "girly-girl" likes snakes so much. i think that site w/ the other girls will be good for her. thanks!
 
TrpnBils said:
you might want to start out with an adult or at least a yearling instead of a hatchling.
Click to expand...
..especially if you're planning on taking the snake into show and tell sometime soon. I wouldn't take a hatchling to a school, that'd probably be very stressful.
 
First off... how old is your daughter?

I have two snakes, one that's a year old next month, and one who's approx. two and a half (I think). Anyway, I work in a preschool with 3 and 4 year olds. My 11 month old only rarely gets held by anyone but me because she's so skiddish, but that's her personality. I had a 6 month old who loved to be handled and I let a 3 year old hold him, and he was fine. I bring my big girl into school occasionally, but I'm the only one allowed to take her out. When she's in her travel case she sits on the window sill where the kids are not allowed to touch the case, only look at it to watch her.... leading to the show and tell. Once again, it depends how old the kids are. And most importantly, you have to check with the teacher. Even if your daughter wants to freak her teacher out, you have to be sure that the teacher is willing to handle the snake if something should go wrong, also that your daughter is allowed to bring in a live animal for show and tell, some schools will not allowe this. If you believe children your daughters age are not capable of handling a young snake then the snake should probably not go into school in the first place.

If you do intend to have the snake be socialized more often than not I recommend getting an older snake, they are less skittish, easier to handle, and more resiliant to stress, as others have said.
 
show and tell

don't worry. if (a big if) snakey goes to show and tell, i will take it and it will be looked at only, and only if the snake has that personality. i don't think it will happen though. we've thought about it and we'll stick to pictures and sheds for show and tell. :rolleyes: princess will be 6 when she gets the snake, but she really knows how to handle animals. in my experience, most kids her age don't have the practice with or understanding of animals that she does.
and she will always be supervised and the cage comes with a lock. just in case. we've also discussed the probability of bites and what she needs to do when that happens.
Kelly(herp lady) has said that she will probably hold an appropriate orange one for DEC. she doesn't let them go unless they eat really well every time. if there's any question she holds them.
also, princess has decided to name it "booga" after my bp.
we are getting the cage and basics in a few weeks so we can figure out the best location before booga gets here.
thanks for all the advice! :crazy02:
 
My daughter too

In fact I was extremely apprehensive about snakes. But my daughter (11) has wanted one since she was apx 4. I finally gave in and now I am in LOVE! I have a 9 yr pit bull and 2 cats. I love them dearly but this will be the snake house from here on out! :sidestep:
 
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