SailorMom Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I love snakes (corn snakes are gorgeous!!!!), and we have had a pet snake (rescued garter snake) and truly enjoyed it.... But - I'd hesitate on the Ball python. They grow to be 5 feet long (at the extreme, 6) - average is 4.5 I think... Anyway - they get BIG. I can't imagine that large of a snake as a pet unless you really have a great set up for it. I mean - they need their space, ya know? If the space can be provided and you don't have any small cats or tiny dogs for pets (large cats should be ok....) then maybe. But it will be a very different pet, in my opinion, than the corn snake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 Balls really aren't all that big by snake standards, despite the "python" in their name. They're pretty happy in a 30 gal tank for their entire lives, because they tend to stay curled up (so do the bigger pythons). Corns are about as long (Wadjet, at age 6, is about 5 feet long now), and want more space because they need to cruise and move (in the wild, they have a much larger hunting territory, while pythons tend to be ambush predators) And small constrictors (yes, 5 feet long is small for a constrictor) don't see humans as prey, but as predator. There is 0% chance that a ball python would try to eat DD. It's fairly easy to uncurl a constrictor that's not in feeding mode-they will hold you, but they're not trying to cut off the blood flow in a mouse, they're holding the way they would a tree branch). I'm not worried about safety at all. It's not like the pygmy rattlesnake (that's also on her Christmas list). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 No for me. It seems like every week we hear about another "perfectly safe" exotic pet that got out of its get-out-proof cage and hurt or killed its owner/kid/neighbor. I know I'm sometimes glass half full, but supposed it lives to your DD having her own kids - no, I'm not for a python living with an infant in the home. No deadly animals for me, thankyouverynuch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I live in south Florida where the large. Burmese pythons who used to be people's pets are now destroying the ecosystem. I am not a fan of anyone keeping pets not indigenous to the local environment. While she may love snakes now, she may have another interest in 10 years. She also may not be able to afford this snake during her early adult years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 No for me. It seems like every week we hear about another "perfectly safe" exotic pet that got out of its get-out-proof cage and hurt or killed its owner/kid/neighbor. I know I'm sometimes glass half full, but supposed it lives to your DD having her own kids - no, I'm not for a python living with an infant in the home. No deadly animals for me, thankyouverynuch. Ball pythons aren't deadly pets. Well, unless you're a rodent. It's not like keeping a tiger or a bear or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I live in south Florida where the large. Burmese pythons who used to be people's pets are now destroying the ecosystem. I am not a fan of anyone keeping pets not indigenous to the local environment. While she may love snakes now, she may have another interest in 10 years. She also may not be able to afford this snake during her early adult years. You must really dislike dogs then, huh? If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go call for my pet moose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I wouldn't bring one home unless I wanted to be the caregiver of it for the life. (Although, I find it hard to image a snake as a pet; I grew up in rattlesnake country and I prefer our leg-less friends in the their natural environment.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I had to choose option number 2 because you didn't have "Oh, Hell No!!! Not in this life or the next!" as one of your options. Sorry, things that slither are simply not allowed in my house. I intellectually acknowledge that snakes have a place in the ecosystem. That does not mean I want that portion of the ecosystem in my house. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 Update on the python-he's about 3 1/2 feet long, eats small (defrosted) rats, and is at least 16 years old. He's never been aggressive or bitten anyone (and, according to the mom, often acts scared of his food). Her son carried him around most of the time for years, and he spent a lot of time on her son's lap-or math book. Her son also would regularly take the snake swimming in the bathtub. I have to say, discovering the snake is a senior citizen (by snake standards) makes me feel better about bringing him home ;). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 The kids had me watching this show about snakes in FL today........ Pets who have gotten loose and are taking over the Eco-system, etc. I kept thinking of this thread. You are a brave woman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Balls really aren't all that big by snake standards, despite the "python" in their name. They're pretty happy in a 30 gal tank for their entire lives, because they tend to stay curled up (so do the bigger pythons). Corns are about as long (Wadjet, at age 6, is about 5 feet long now), and want more space because they need to cruise and move (in the wild, they have a much larger hunting territory, while pythons tend to be ambush predators) And small constrictors (yes, 5 feet long is small for a constrictor) don't see humans as prey, but as predator. There is 0% chance that a ball python would try to eat DD. It's fairly easy to uncurl a constrictor that's not in feeding mode-they will hold you, but they're not trying to cut off the blood flow in a mouse, they're holding the way they would a tree branch). I'm not worried about safety at all. It's not like the pygmy rattlesnake (that's also on her Christmas list). Well, that's a relief! If given the choice of pygmy rattler and ball python, I suppose I would gladly go for the python. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 There are very, very few areas where I don't seriously consider my childrens' requests and try my darndest to make it work. However...this is one case where the answer would have to be no. It would be the end of me because I would never again have peaceful night's sleep. It would be me or the snake. Your case is totally different though since you already have a snake and don't mind having them in the house. If that were my case, I would seriously consider it but with the understanding that she would need to find homes for them when she leaves. Of course, she might not be able to do that, so in the end I would have to be okay with caring for the snake after she moved out. If I could do that, I would give her the snake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I'd let her get it. Ball pythons make awesome pets, and she's nine, right? College seems like kind of a flimsy reason to say no. I mean, she might not go to college. Or she might to go a college that doesn't have dorms, rent an apartment, and take the snake with her. Or she might make other snake-loving friends before then and one would be happy to take the snake. Or she might sneak it into her dorm room anyway. Who knows? If snakes are her passion, don't use something a decade down the road as an excuse to say no. Sidebar: When I was in college a friend and I were playing with the snake that another friend had snuck into his dorm room. We were leaving and handed the snake back to its owner, but he dozed off and the snake disappeared. The next school year (yes, year) we were back in the same dorm rooms as the previous year when we heard this blood curdling scream down the hall and everyone went running that way. Guess who had decided to reappear, curled up at some guy's feet under his desk? Yeah, it was Monty (the python, of course). And he'd grown. He must have been living in the air ducts or something. Anyway, the three of us knew it was the escapee, but no one said a word because our friend could have gotten kicked out of the dorms. The snake was rescued, but I think that poor guy whose room he reappeared in must have PTSD to this day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 No for me. It seems like every week we hear about another "perfectly safe" exotic pet that got out of its get-out-proof cage and hurt or killed its owner/kid/neighbor. I know I'm sometimes glass half full, but supposed it lives to your DD having her own kids - no, I'm not for a python living with an infant in the home. No deadly animals for me, thankyouverynuch. Ball pythons are the chihuahua of the pythons...it's like calling a yorkie deadly because sometimes rottweilers maul people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Condessa Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I say maybe, hesitantly yes--but only because I've read enough of your other posts to realize that your dd could well decide to go off to college five or six years early. Any other nine-year-old with a normal 8 or 9 years to go until college would get a resounding yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 I'm actually kind of hoping that if she has outlets for the kind of work she wants to do (like the research project she was involved with this fall and the urban snakes habitat project she's designing to lead this Spring (with a lot of help from her mentor), it will keep her at home, or at least willing to go to a local school for a couple of years instead of heading to college at 12-13. I've heard a lot less "I want to go to college so I can study REAL stuff" this year. And. I think I'd consider seriously letting her bring a RATTLESNAKE in if it would keep her happy at home a few more years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Just chuckling and thinking how much she sounds like my dad as a kid. He and his 4 brothers had 21 snakes at one point, several that were venemous I believe. They captured most of them themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 A few things to add. As others have stated, and as the OP obviously know, ball pythons aren't dangerous. For those who know that the Florida ecosystem is being truly damaged by Burmese pythons, it's just not the case in most parts of the U.S. I live in Indiana; exotic species are kept in check by winter, plain and simple. An escaped Burmese Python would be dead in October, maybe November if it were a mild year. dmmetler - if you seriously consider venomous in future years, look into options carefully. Rattlers aren't a bad choice as the antivenins abound. I really wanted an eyelash viper and my DH put his foot down because the antivenins were either nonexistent or extremely rare. You probably already know this kind of stuff :) Before getting to venomous, though, I'd highly recommend some arboreal species. They're more temperamental in general but not so deadly, which is a good intermediate training ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 We went to visit the Kentucky Reptile Zoo (which primarily produces venom for biomedical research and antivenin-they have over 2,000 snakes, almost all venomous), and DD is ready to send in her application for their internship program now. They're doing exactly the work she thinks she wants to do-research and captive breeding of venomous snakes. I'd prefer to never have a hot snake anywhere near me, and I don't want to feed live, but I can support her interests to the point of accepting a few small constrictors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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