Keeping snakes as pets.

Today is going to be the day.... I guess.... Mo is on his way home from a weekend with his grandma and has already called both me and Mr. B to make sure there aren't going to be any hang ups with getting the snake today.

I drew up this little contract. I think I covered every basic that I've learned so far but I'd love to know if I've missed any glaring detail:

Quote:

Handling:

The snake must be handled on a regular basis.

The snake must be securely locked in it's habitat when not being handled.

I must supervise all snake handling by friends.

I am the only one allowed to remove snake from tank or to take the snake from the house for any reason.

The snake is not allowed to roam in the house at any time.

All other pets must be kept away from the snake.

Every person must was their hands after handling the snake.

I will respect that some people are afraid of snakes and I will never attempt to scare or startle them with the snake.

Feeding:

The snake will be fed every 7-10 days as necessary.

The snake will only be fed pre-killed, frozen food.

I am responsible for maintaining inventory of food, defrosting food, and feeding the snake.

Feeding will always be done in a seperate tank from the habitat.

My friends are not allowed to feed the snake.

Water must be changed daily.

Cleaning:

I understand that I must check the habitat daily and spot clean as necessary.

A full tank cleaning must be done every other month, at minimum.

I understand that the snake is a living creature whose health, safety and comfort are my responsibility.

I promise to follow the rules outlined in this agreement and any rules that may be imposed in the future.

Signed: _________________________________________ Date: ______________________________

1 Reply

@boomerang,

shouldn't the contract indicate what happens if the contract is maintained/if the contract is not maintained

most contracts I've seen cover both sides of the agreement

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

Excellent point!

I'll add:

Failure to abide by this contract will result in the necessity of finding a new home for the snake, either privately or through a rescue organization. I understand that I am responsible for any fees that might result in rehoming the snake.

3 Replies

@boomerang,

Have fun with your new house buddy, they look like good rules, especially the regular handling and the cage cleaning. They tend to get really nippy if they aren't handled regularly or are forced to live in a dirty area.

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@boomerang,

I think the contract is great! I do admire you for doing this. I am afraid there is no way I could do it. You are much braver than I!

Gos? What do you mean by "nippy"?

1 Reply

@boomerang,

Excellent!

(call it re-housing to make it sound more legal-like eh)

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@Arella Mae,

They bite, they're snakes. No one is going to own a snake and never get snapped at. The secret, is not to jerk when you get bit. With back fanged snakes it can hurt you more, with fangless snakes it can hurt the snake. Fangless snake bites don't hurt anyway.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs145.snc1/5373_109459555779_588245779_2653153_4724236_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs125.snc1/5373_109459560779_588245779_2653154_8232891_n.jpg

This is me and Alger Hiss a few days after we moved. The move pissed him off, took a couple months for him to settle back into being handled

1 Reply

@GoshisDead,

Did that hurt? Okay, I am gaining more and more admiration for Boomerrang here.

So, if you own a snake it's pretty much guaranteed you will get "nipped"? YIKES!

1 Reply

@Arella Mae,

No it didn't hurt, and yes pretty much.

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Mo has selected a Florida kingsnake which he has named Miami (the grandpa he just spent the weekend with is a huge Dolphins fan Miami it is).

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-guide/images/lam_getula01.jpg

We were lucky that it was feeding time so we got a great demo on how to feed it but now it has to rest for a bit -- 24 to 36 hours. Mo is going to have a hard time keeping his hands off of it but I'm glad we have this imposed quiet time after looking at Gosh's photos!

We went through the contract line by line and he was soooooo serious. about it all. We made him pay $50 towards the snake and the set up so he's quite invested in this.

1 Reply

@boomerang,

The picture isn't showing up for me boomerang. I just see that red x. Kingsnake? That is totally different than a python? I mean it doesn't squish animals, right?

1 Reply

@Arella Mae,

Here's a different photo:

http://www.reptilesweb.com/images/stories/Snake/florida-kingsnake.jpg

Yes, it is a constrictor but we're not going to be feeding it live food. The rule about keep the other pets away is to protect the snake, not the pets. (I have a dinky little cat that kills things as big as she is -- rats, birds, mice, whatever she can find -- so she would kill the snake if given the chance.) They max out at about 5 feet and stay pretty skinny.

I did so much research that I got over my heebie-jeebies about snakes. They'll never be my favorite animal but they're pretty interesting. I think it will be a good pet for Mo.

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@boomerang,

He is rather pretty, but a picture of a snake is as close as I want to get to one.

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@boomerang,

I once had a bull snake snap at me. He (I guess) was trapped on a concrete patio and seemed to be having trouble getting to safety over a stone wall. Well, Mr. Snake, you strike at me and you are on your own.

He was too quick to see if he had teeth.

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They had a bull snake in there that was so pretty. Mo fell in love with it but it was more than $100 and Mo had earned $50 by stacking firewood so his budget was $50. Plus, I don't know anything about bull snakes.

He certainly didn't buy the prettiest snake in his price range (I tried to get him to buy a granite cornsnake but he vetoed that idea).

When he chose the snake Ms. Snake Lady asked him why he'd picked it and he said it was the most "snakey" looking snake -- I think it's pattern looked more like a wild snake than a fancy snake.

He's quite smitten. Like I predicted, he's having a very hard time keeping his hands off it while it digests. I'm glad he had football practice. He'll come home tired.

1 Reply

@boomerang,

Bull snakes are King snake cousins but grow about a foot longer and 3 inches thicker circumference. Like king snakes they are constrictors with tiny teeth but no fangs and like king snakes they eat other snakes. In some areas of the U.S. they are called blow snakes or gopher snakes.

1 Reply

@GoshisDead,

Well now I learned something new today!

Thank you, GoshisDead, for all of your help and advice. I really do appreciate it.

I'm sure I'll be chronicling our snake adventure and I hope that you'll read along!

1 Reply

@boomerang,

So, how is it going with the snake?

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@Arella Mae,

Great! He's carred Miami around all day today. If he isn't sitting at the table eating a meal he has it in his hand. He had to show it to the mailman, the neighbor, the person walking their dog. He had to call all of his friends, then he had to have friends over to see.

Interestingly, it seems to have a real calming effect on him.

The only bummer part is that everyone he talks to has a snake story and they're all pythons or boas, two snakes I wouldn't let him have because they will only eat live prey. Somehow they've become quite glamourous in his mind and he got a little pissy that I wouldn't let him have one.

I told him that every idiot off the street can walk into petco and buy a python or a boa because that's all they sell. Only the real snake lovers go to the real snake store and buy a real snake, not some boring, everybody has one python or boa.

We'll see how it shakes down.

I have a feeling that when his snake gets bigger it will seem quite glamouous to his friends.

2 Replies

@boomerang,

You are such a good and smart mom. Only real snake lovers.............I love it. I really like the named he picked. Animals have a very calming effect on people and that's why some nursing homes allow cats and dogs to visit.

I am glad he is enjoying Miami.

0 Replies

Keeping snakes as pets.

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