Parents and reptiles.

Ok so my mom loves snakes, not like I do:D, and she has 2 of her own (king and a corn). Though, she never handles them. Ever. I call them my snakes because she never rarely does anything with them. Now, we have a mean King snake who was a nice little innocent snake, and now we're starting to have a Corn with an attitude. I asked her one time, "Mom, why don't you ever hold the snakes?" She replies, "Because I don't want to get bit.." This is what I was thinking: If you never handle your snakes, only rarely, and one day you want to hold one of your snakes (but your snakes aren't used to human contact). You reach in the enclosure to pick up the snake, and as you get closer and closer, the snake bites you on your hand/finger. That's what I told my mom, and she replies, "That's why I won't handle them." So technically, she wants me to handle HER snakes for her just because I have A LOT of extra time after handling and caring for my other 4 snakes. Every time she gets a snake, I automatically know she's going to leave me with caring for it.

After she gets a snake, she may handle it a few times, maybe even put water in the water dish, but that's it. After a week or two she's had it, she's finished with caring for it. That means I have to spot clean, clean out the enclosure, wash out and scrub the water dish, handle the snake, and maybe even feed the snake (which she sometimes does..). I try telling her it's her snakes and SHE is responsible, but she says she "has no time". If you have no time, then why even get the snake in the first place? Well, she got it because she though it "looks cool", not because she loves snakes. I asked her if we could sell the mean King snake or maybe trade it for a nicer one, and she said, "No." I asked, "Well why not? It's mean, doesn't like people, people hater, and he's not ever going to get nice." She replies, "Because it looks cool and matches my room." I would NEVER buy a snake because it matches with my room or looks cool, I buy it because I would love to care for it and give it a good home.

What should I do? Should I try to talk to her (but SHE NEVER LISTENS!! ALL SHE DOES IS YELL AT ME AFTER HEARING ME TALK FOR 3 SECONDS:(:mad: ) about caring for the snakes? Should I try to get her to sell the snake for something nicer and easier to care for? Please someone help me.. I don't really feel like caring for my mom's snakes that she never pays attention to and dedicates any of her time to...

As long as she keeps paying for the feeders and husbandry items, I'd consider it nice that she's buying YOU all of those snakes lol. But if neither of you really want to care for them you could...

-Find someone who will give them the attention they need and rehome them
-Tame them down for her so she will do it herself, which isn't usually all that difficult with kings/corns etc.
-Show her that getting bit isn't that big of a deal, because it's not.

It doesn't really get any easier than a corn or king snake so a trade-in would be pointless in my opinion... but you know your mom better than we do so hopefully you can get it worked out.

Well...seeing as how she's the adult in the home, she gets to make her own choices about what she buys or doesn't buy...and she doesn't have anyone to set rules about responsibility. We've seen lots of people...young and old...come through our "doors" here who buy snakes/animals for any number of reasons but fail to follow through with the responsible keeping that each animal requires.

If it's a kid, a parent can step in and say "no more"...but when it is an independent adult doing so...there's not much you or any of us can do about it. At least the animals your mom has bought will get proper care. The same isn't true for many, many animals in homes with irresponsible adults.

My advice to you: Stop trying to "teach" your mom anything. It isn't your place and doing so will likely only cause walls to go up and resistance to build. Instead, teach BY EXAMPLE. Simply take care of the snakes she has. You said yourself that you love taking care of them for the sake of taking care of them. Just because the king snake isn't tame doesn't mean it doesn't have its own beauty and grace that can be appreciated and loved.

So, instead of resenting her for choosing snakes that you might not have chosen had you been the one buying....just take care of them for the joy of it. Take GOOD care of them. Handle them when you can, if you choose to do so...or just accept the fact that they are meant to live as a display animal. I promise you, the snakes don't mind not being handled on a regular basis.

Don't do anything to encourage her to buy more snakes for herself. Don't point out a particularly pretty specimen that might "match her decor" or anything like that. If she seems inclined to buy something new, see if you can carefully and gently nudge her away from the idea.

You're in a rather enviable position compared to most 13 year olds we have on here who are asking for ways to convince their parents to let them have ONE snake. While it may not seem ideal or "fair" to you to be put in the position of having to be the responsible one for your mom's critters....rather than let it eat at you...just enjoy it. Enjoy the snakes that you love. And be a good example of quiet, responsible maturity.