DS wants a snake

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I am not sure about this. I'm not anti the idea but I need a bit more information. Does anyone know of any books about having snakes as pets? I am not giving this idea consideration until I have done
considerably more research.

If you get this moved to the pets section you might find a few people in the know when it comes to reptiles.

dS 14 got a snake last September. So far, so good - despite one escape episode 🙄.

How old is DS and would you object to helping him with it?

Snakes are wonderful pets, my son had snakes for years. Do some research and make your decision. My son always had moderate sized snakes like corn snakes, rat snakes, etc, no enormous pythons or anything ridiculous like that.

If you’ve got the setup correct they are very easy pets: not a lot of interaction, they just need fed watered and cleaned at regular intervals. He also helps it to shed. Everything he learned was online - YouTube vids and various websites.

I looked in the pets section but couldn't see anything about reptiles.

To answer a few questions: DS is 7 and will be 8 in April. I would be happy to help him but I am not sure he is really old enough for a pet of his own yet. Thank you for the advice about moderate size snakes.

We also already have a cat which makes me wary.

7/8 is probably quite young. He will definitely need an adult to buy all the gear, set up the tank and get all the heat / light / humidity right, and to check the installation. DS has a corn snake. She needs clean water daily, defrosted dead baby mice 1-2 times a week, poop collected after each feed, substrate and tank cleaned out every 4-6 weeks. He handles her 3-4 times a week, just to keep her used to it. The equipment / stuff we have is:

Vivarium / tank with mesh lid, 2 inches or so of substrate plus various branches, two hides, a water bowl.
Heat pad under the tank (warmed end)
Heat lamp above the tank, on a timer
Temperature sensor
Humidity sensor
Substrate
Water bowl
Hide x 2
Branches
Reptisafe water drops
Long feeding tongs
Pinkies (frozen baby mice )
Water spray
Plastic tub for when she sheds

I think that’s about it!

We had one escape: nightmare. The lid of the vivarium has small sliding buttons, she pushed one until it opened enough for her to slither out (she was very tiny- probably about 8-9mm diam at that time). Cue lots of shouting and searching - we live in an old house with millions of nooks and crannies. I had visions of her getting behind the skirting boards and surviving in there for years on mice!! But we found her curled up in a drawer and learned our lesson.

We have 2 snakes, a corn snake and a royal python. The Corn is a perfect snake - sheds without issue, eats every week, never gives us any hassle. The royal is a very fussy eater and never sheds without help.

I would recommend visiting a local reptile centre (I am near Southampton and we are quite lucky with a few reputable ones locally) and they will help get you set up. It may be worth getting an older snake (our corn was rehomed to us from our local shop at around 2 years old) as babies are very thin and very fast!!! Less than ideal for a child to handle safely.

That’s very young. I would worry he would lose interest. Plus they do need a proper specialist set up.

Awww, I love snakes. So cute.

I imagine they’re like other fish and reptiles - care varies wildly depending on the breed.

Maybe decide what kind of snake you want and research from there. You won’t get much if you just look for ‘snake care’.

Reptiles are specialist animals and the reality is that the majority of people who own them fail to keep them properly.

The questions you need to ask yourself are:

Are you prepared to do all the work? Because snakes aren’t really that interesting or interactive, and it’s likely that DS will lose interest within a week or 2.

Are you prepared to handle it yourself?

And are you prepared to have packs of dead baby mice in the freezer next to the frozen peas???

My personal benchmark for any animal is that I wouldn’t allow one I personally wasn’t prepared to handle, on the basis that the care of it might fall to me. So quite apart from the specialist angle, reptiles, insects, and arachnids were a definite “no!!!!”

Too young imo.

They are quite ‘boring’ as a pet in the fact that they don’t move much and only want so much handling. And you have to be confident handling them as they are very fast.
Lots of initial set up, then the ongoing costs are just the heating and food.

They can live for up to 20 years. Is he really going to take it to uni with him? Be bothered with the snake once he starts going out with his mates, holidays?

I would really advise you to do your research. There’s a lot of really outdated advice in reptile keeping. Join some Advancing Husbandry groups on Facebook - basically modern keeping involves overhead heat, loose substrate, UV light for all species, and feeding to activity levels rather than on a schedule. A corn snake would be ideal for a first snake, but agree you’ll have to do most of if not all of the work

I wouldn’t for a kid that young tbh. If a 15 year old asked me I’d be more willing to humour it.

It took DD two years to convince me and she fell in love with snakes about your DS's age. She watched a lot of www.snakediscovery.com/ and loved it. She does all the care now; feeding, cleaning, handling, and buys the mice from her pocket money. I do very very little. We had one escape (there is always one escape).

However as PP said, I was prepared to do all the care if she didn't. And well-cared for snakes live a very long time so it's a huge commitment.

Thanks everyone. I agree that he is too young. I thought he probably was but that it couldn't hurt to ask.

I have two snakes - a garter and a royal python. They're definitely for teenagers + I wouldn't recommend for a child as their environment needs monitoring and adjusting and feeding can be tricky.

A bearded dragon would be more interactive, but they need a particular environment, heat etc. and they can live quite a few years. They also need a particular diet and supplements to keep them healthy.

Ds is 8 and has been desperately wanting a snake for the last 3 years. Always been fascinated by reptiles and dinosaurs. He finally got a corn snake on his birthday last month.

He did lots of research beforehand. A generic snake keeping book, a corn snake book and lots of you tube videos. We have a local pet shop that specialises in reptiles we visited regularly and based on ds questions and discussions with the knowledgeable staff members (plus my own research plus assurances from pet shop staff they were there for support) we went ahead and bought a baby corn snake.

Cost about £230 for set up plus snake. 4 weeks in she is pretty straightforward. Feeding well and getting easier to handle. Ds is fascinated by her as well.

Have you looked at stick/leaf insects? You can get some really cool looking ones, the giant spiny stick insects are popular.

Ime any family pet is ultimately the dps responsibility.. If you are happy to help then go for it!! Younger ds got one when he was 2. Older ds had 2 bugger snakes. Ours is 11 now. I have taken snakes into nursery and schools with the dc. Well received!! Once you get the set up right and get used to mice in the freezer it's easy!!
Here is ours..
Over 5 foot now but not very 'fat'.. Older ds's was huge.
Ds was sure it wanted a toy tractor!

We have a corn snake, my daughter begged and begged and did a lot a research before I agreed. She is just 8 but had the snake 6 months ago. The snake is the easiest pet I've ever had and I actually love handling her and haven't been squeamish about feeding her either. Be prepared they live a long time though and the equipment is expensive! They don't need a lot their first year the starter tank and heat mat etc are cheap but a full vivarium and heat lamp is not cheap!

He has not been consistent with his desire for a snake and I wanted to point out the work it would entail. Thank you everyone. If he does ask consistently, we will revisit in a few years when he is older.

Again, thank you all for your help 🐍

I had corn snakes for 20 years. Be aware of snakes lifespan before committing. It varies by species, but are likely to be more than 10 years and way more for some of the bigger snakes.