Question about snakes with kids

My neice started holding ours around that age. We started with subadults, and made her sit in someone's lap.



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I agree with what everybody says. Except about the size of the snake. My biggest male is by far my most laid back snake i have. I was kind of thinking of letting her hold that one first.

The only reason we used the subadults was because I thought hatchlings were too delicate, and she didn't want to hold the adults.

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Lots of good advice on this thread! I'd second sitting down next to you with the tail end in your neice's lap and the head in yours. Remember that the child may be more likely to startle than the snake, plus motor skills aren't always great at that age. I'd stick with a boid that's mellow and kind of a couch potato, rather than something like a corn snake that's liable to be more wiggly.

My daughter has been handling snakes for along time, and I trust her completely. But she also knows the rules and was taught how to handle them. We also take them to school, so have had some of our snakes out for the kids. She was in 3rd grade this year, and its the first time we have let them pet or hold, rather than just pet. Make sure you wash her hands before and after. I also would take out your mellowest snake. Make sure she knows to not grab at it, or its head, also no fast movements. At that age I would worry a bit about her grabbing. Maybe first start off with teaching her how to gently pet. With her hand, down the scales gently. Or if you really want her to hold, I would definitely sit down and keep track of the head end. Alot depends on how calm she is and how well she listens for where I would start. Mostly worried about the snakes safety, not hers, lol. But exposing them early is great! So figure out whats going to work for you guys and go for it! :)

Totally agree with the team hold and petting for a 2yr old. We have kids over to our house a lot for playdates and other homeschool activities...as you can imagine, the reptiles are a big draw. To be honest, most of the younger kids (2-3) don't have the attention span anyway and pet the snake or lizard for like 5 seconds and then they are off! ;)

The other part of this that has not been brought up yet is the educational part of not all snakes can be picked up. My boys have always loved snakes including the one that are found outside. One of my sons thought he could catch any snake since he always held mine. Teaching what snakes are ok to handle is very important when introducing them to kids. It takes the fear away from kids and can lead to life changing events if there is no boundaries set for them. I will never forget the day I found my son (4 at the time) trying to grab a 5ft. rat snake that was trying to climb a tree to escape him. BTW he was so mad at me for not letting him catch it he did not talk to me for about 5 hours.

I think this thread is great, honestly. I've been more of a bird person for the past decade or so and we have these exact same discussions on the bird forums I contribute to. I think letting children handle any animals, especially if they aren't cats or dogs, is a very delicate situation, just because it could lead to disaster so easily. But I also believe that if done correctly it can be an extremely rewarding and wonderful experience for the child and pet. When it comes to any animal, I think children should be taught basics about it and how to handle/approach the animal before handling it.