need some advice please

[fluffy3]

My sons teacher wants me to bring our BP in for a visit she thinks it will be a great learning experience for the kids (4 and 5 yr olds) I am considering it But I also dont want to stress my snake out by taking him out of his "comfort zone" do you think I should risk the stress to the BP or just decline?

[nachash]

have you ever let strangers (to your snake at least) interact with your snake? Have you ever taken her out of the house? If so, and she's been fine, maybe.
But to err on the safe side might be the best bet. A throng of excited children would take even the best eaters off feeding.

[Kinra]

I think it really depends on how comfortable you are with it and how easily he stresses. I know people do educational demos a lot, but without knowing your snake I don't want to tell you what to do. It would be a great oppertunity for the children if you feel comfortable with it, but if you think it's going to stress your snake out too much then you shouldn't do it. I would love to do an educational demo with some of my snakes, but I know there are a few in my collection I wouldn't want to bring because they stress to easily. If your snake seems fine with handling then I don't think the ride there will stress him out too much, just make sure the kids aren't running around crazy like and I would think he will be fine.

[cinderbird]

I have a snake I have basically... socialized into being an educational animal. And I've put her through some tests man.. like a 10 hour lecture with a few breaks. (booth at a presentation show, open all day, just me, talking about ball pythons). And I'd let this snake be handeld by 3-6+year olds before. She's fine with getting her head touched or poked, or getting her mouth looked at, etc.

If youve got a calm animal, i'd say go for it. What I always do is hold the snake's head myself, or just offer the back third for a child to pet or touch. That way, if the snake starts getting antsy or stressed I can tell immediately. I'ts never happened but with kids its always better to be safe than sorry.

Showing kids snakes is a GREAT educational experience.!

[angllady2]

While it can be stressful for your snake. A little planning goes a long way.

Firstly, you really do need to know your snake. If he/she is the real couch potato type who loves to hang out with you and just chill, that is a good candidate. If on the other hand, your snake never wants to sit still during socialization time, I'd pass on the offer.

You don't necessarily have to let the kids handle the snake, even just showing it off and talking about it would be good. If you want the kids to interact with the snake, a good idea would be to allow one child at a time to come to the front to see the snake up close, this way if someone is uncomfortable, you won't upset the child by bringing the snake too close to them. And you are much more in control of the situation than if you are in the middle of a mob of kids.

In the end, you should do what you feel comfortable with.

Gale

[mark and marley]

everybody already gave good advice and kinra touched this subject.the kids you have to get the teacher to control the kids.to reduce stress on the snake get the kids to sit at their desks quietly as you speak and only have one at a time come up to the snake so its a little bit more intimate and you have more control of whats going on around your snake.im new to the snake game but kids i know quite well.if there isnt discipline in that class with the snake their going to be bouncing everywhere and getting grabby.unless the kids are all well mannered lil buggers.read the kids as they approach your precious and as they interact with the snake.my nieces are timid when it comes to handling mine.10yr old and 14yr old.they both wanna hold my bp but once shes in their hands they get scared and want to drop her because shes moving in their hands.i make my nieces sit down when handling and to learn to trust my bp.they are getting better and never dropped because im there reading my nieces body language.its a good thing to expose people to reptiles at a young age so they dont get that snakes are satan mentality.whatever you choose take your time and organize it well.
good luck.

[zues]

I took a couple of snakes to my sons 4-5 preK class. It was a great time. The kids loved it and my son thought he was pretty cool. I took my old normal female that I have had for years and has been held by everybody and their mother. I also took my son's pastel female that we hatched. She has been held by kids since the day she was born. I talked for about 15 mins in front of the class and then we lined up the kids that wanted to touch. At first only about half of the kids wanted to but by the end everyone had touched a snake. It was completely their choice to touch or not. I am a firm believer in not forcing a snake on someone who is scared. A few parents where also there and those kids were given a chance to hold a snake if the parents were Ok with it. Make sure you take hand sanitizer. I made them use it before they touched my snakes to protect my collection. You don't know what kind of animals they have at home. Afterwards we all used hand sanitizer again. It was fun and I wouldn't think twice about doing it again.

[ogdentrece]

Yeah I definitely know what its like to have people getting overly excited and 'grabby' around the snake, there have been a couple of times when my balls have gotten some harsh treatment like that. I had a party at my place once, about 30 people my age, im 17, and theyre all fascinated by my snakes. And tell you, for 5 hours straight it was being passed around - even after i took it from them put it back in the tub someone would come along and pick him up OUTSIDE MY SUPERVISION, everyone literally getting very grabby, bringing them around all getting a turn. and the poor guy was so stressed he was balled up for good couple of hours even after. After that, it was lock and key for every snake whenever I have people over. Luckily it wasnt dropped or injured, but really stressed..

[fluffy3]

Thanks for the great advice!! I am comfortable with the kids they are a good bunch and when the teacher says sit they sit LOL! and IF I do let them touch it will be a "pet" away from the face I was more worried about the travel taking him out of his tank and walking him up there and the trip back Im going to think a little more about it I may do a trial run LOL take him out and in a travel container and back home again and see how he does with handeling after that He has never bit he does get a bit "jumpy" if he is startled but my 4 yr old handles him alot (with me there of course) and he sits so quitley in his hands He is a young snake from Oct 10 I think he will be fine Ill let you know what I do Thanx again!!