Is it dangerous to have a ball python around a kid?

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Originally Posted by C0LUMB1NE

The biggest problem that I see with a child handling a pet snake even under adult supervision is that it teaches the child not to have a natural fear of snakes
a child unafraid of snakes may attempt to handle a wild and potentially posionus one that it may encounter outside

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Depending on where you live, yes that is a concern. I think though as a parent, it's the same as what I teach about dogs. We have a dog in our home, a 70 lb dog, a dog that could in fact easily harm a child. We "trust" the dog. That doesn't mean we don't teach our children how to properly handle our dog or leave the 6 year totally unsupervised with our dog. Many small children every year are hurt badly by the family dog, far more than the family snake.

Again, using dogs as the model, as much as we love dogs and have one - we teach all our kids dog safety. They do not approach any dog on the street, on or off leash. They don't put their face near a dog no matter how much the lady says "oh Fluffy LOVES kids".

When we do snake shows at our kid's schools we talk about native snakes of the area. We tell the kids that even though we have a lot of snakes, we don't run up to an unknown, wild snake and just grab it. It could be a native species, it could be an escaped captive snake....whatever it is, we don't touch it until we are prepared to handle it and it's safe to do so (for us and for the snake).

With any living thing, it's always about teaching kids to make good decisions and about parents doing proper educating and supervision of their kids.

I think out of all the snakes species, isn't it only like 18% or 20% are venomous? That's for the entire world mind you. I've also heard it said that it's only 10% are venomous. Not quite sure what they qualify as venomous, but it's a pretty low percentage either way.

My little girl handles my male Bobo about twice a month. His temperment is so mild that i don't fear he will ever hurt her on purpose, but it's always supervised. My friend was just visiting us and she has a 5 year old boy that also wanted to hold bobo. While my 4 year old has been handling the snake for about a year now, and i trust her to hold him gentle, I was very very strict on how this boy was allowed to handle him. He had to sit down right beside his mom, who does know how to handle snakes, and he could have bob in his lap. nothing else, he was allowed to pet the snake on his back. I was hawkishly standing right behind him, and with good reason, the first time his mom took her hands off him, he went for bobo's neck justs behind his head. He said he saw it in a movie, the snake tried to bite someone and they grabbed around his neck. Needless to say that ended his time with the snake and prompted his mom to have a long talk with him.

And if anyone is really worried about kids and dangerous snakes, you should watch the anaconda episode of Go Diego Go.... for weeks afterwards my daughter told me all about how friendly anaconda's are and how they give 'great hugs'

Sorry, but there is a HUGE difference between a pet that lives in your home and a wild animal that you find outside. Kids should be taught to never pick up ANY wild animal, not just snakes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by C0LUMB1NE

The biggest problem that I see with a child handling a pet snake even under adult supervision is that it teaches the child not to have a natural fear of snakes
a child unafraid of snakes may attempt to handle a wild and potentially posionus one that it may encounter outside

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Nope. We have ranch in eastern Oregon that has rattle snakes on it. One listen to the rattle piercing the air and you know it is not something to be reckoned with. None of the kids would even think about touching it! Same goes for the cougars, even though we have cats. Same goes for the neighbor's dogs'. Same goes for the badger. The kids are old enough to know that these animals are not pets under our care and so leave them alone. The youngest grandson is not outside and exploring without adult supervision and so with him it is a moot point.
Also, who says a fear of snakes is "natural"? I was never afraid of them and neither were my children or my grandkids......

Is it dangerous to have a ball python around a kid?

Only if the kid bites the snake.... Poor snake...
:(