Age of owners?

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

One thing to note: this poll is not respective of reptile owners as a whole, but rather it shows the age group of people on bp.net who are going to vote for a poll regarding their age.

I think it just goes to show that the age group that spends the most time on the internet answering polls on a forum that they like is the mid 20s, and it falls off with older and younger age groups.

However to the OP: whoever told you to "grow up" because you keep reptiles is an idiot.

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Yea, after I polled and posted, I realized my mistake in the future data. Either way, I'm enjoying the responses.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement. I was very frustrated. Thanks

I haven't met a single person that judged me or looked at me differently for owning snakes...people either like snakes or don't like them. I don't think it has much to do with the owners themselves.

I am 22 and have been keeping snakes for 3 years.

I'm an old fart, 42, eh, who cares.

20 year old lady friend. Pretty sure i've had my snake since I was 14?

People will be judgmental of literally anything and everything. I have been judged for owning a pit bull. Well, really, I've been judged for owning such an assortment of animals to begin with. Although, if MY collection is something to "complain about", I can only imagine what some have said to those who own 20+ different species in their homes.

My bottom line is, if you can properly care for the animal, (enclosure, feed, vet, safety precautions) then no one has the right to judge.

people are scared of what they don't understand, it's just the fact that they arn't as educated on reptiles as people who keep reptiles.

People will always judge. I either get good compliments for keeping snakes, or unfair ones. Either way I don't care what people think because I don't want to waste my time being sad or depressed about what some people think. I love snakes and it will always be that way, no matter who likes it or not. I'm 14 and have 9 snakes at the moment, and nothing's going to stop me from getting more in the future. I've also gotten quite a few people to handle my snakes and end up liking snakes when before they were frightened and thought of snakes as gross & scary.

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Originally Posted by FIEND_FO_LYFE

Yeah that's one thing i hate...
i have piercings, long hair, and I'm young.

I look like what people think is "the typical dumb kid with snakes".

it bugs me alot...

but that's what happens when you look like me, and you deal with uneducated ignorant people...

I'm sure it doesn't matter what you look like...
alot of people are just ignorant.

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I'm 20...have long hair, usually am wearing jeans, and a black t-shirt with some sort of band logo (Usually Metallica), and will often wear different leather wrist cuffs. So yeah, I know we're you're coming from to a certain extent. I really hate how some people treat you like you couldn't possibly know anything about animals. Which I suppose, just makes it all the more sweet when I prove I know more than they actually do ;).

Well i gotta admit whenever i heard of some1 having snakes or any sort of reptile i immediately thought they were weird and would have piercings and tatoos ha but know from being on this forum and researching stuff online before i got my bp i don't really think that anymore.

But one thing that really annoys me is when people say that's disgusting i bet it smells terrible and then i try explain snakes are very clean and NOT slimy ha. I mean have you ever smelled a wet dog its actually the most disgusting thing ever ha don't know how people have them.

im 18 =] i've had my snake since i was 14... people do look at me weird when i talk about m snakes cause i don't "look" or "act" like a snake person, and sometimes m friends freak on me when the come to my house unannounced and are greeted by me holding a 7 foot boa =P

Yeah, my Mom thinks it's stupid...and I'm 49.

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Originally Posted by BP-180

Well i gotta admit whenever i heard of some1 having snakes or any sort of reptile i immediately thought they were weird and would have piercings and tatoos ha but know from being on this forum and researching stuff online before i got my bp i don't really think that anymore.

But one thing that really annoys me is when people say that's disgusting i bet it smells terrible and then i try explain snakes are very clean and NOT slimy ha. I mean have you ever smelled a wet dog its actually the most disgusting thing ever ha don't know how people have them.

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I was at a local reptile show about a month and a half ago and I think I saw just about every age and every type of person imaginable there. Some had piercings and tattoos, some looked like they could own a fortune 500 company, and all kinds in between. It actually somehow made me feel a little more normal seeing all those different types of people sharing in my hobby. I'm 34 btw.

Got my first snake for my 14th birthday(to this day she is still the best gift I've ever recieved). I'm 20 now.

I just got mine this past summer, they kind of creeped me out. I got one to overcome my fear, and now I love the hobby. Actually I was working at a Reptile Show selling my bugs in lucite and I traded for a female normal (with very nice patterns). For my next snake I'm thinking about a boyfriend for her, maybe a Mojave. I'm almost 48 (feel 30)

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Originally Posted by MitsuMike

Snake owners are thought as the hippies with long hair (look like chewy from SnakeBites)

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Hey!!! As a long haired hippie I represent that statement!;) I, too, wanted a snake throughout my teen years, but my mom wouldn't allow it.

Ignore the person making the comment. If they know that they are such a jerk then whatever they say shouldn't matter to you.

I'm 24, and this is my second snake. I would have owned snakes at a younger age, but my dad was simply terrified of snakes. Which, I'm okay with. But he never said that was the reason. He kept making excuses, so for years I was upset.

I probably got into snakes because my mom and I used to go for walks, and when she'd see a garter snake or a corn snake (we lived in Kansas and Missouri, mostly), she'd either point it out or pick it up.

Over the course of my life, I've had snakes, dogs, cats, rats, mice, gerbils, ferrets, guinea pigs, fish, frogs, toads, turtles, tortoises, birds, spiders (mostly just caught around the house and kept for a week to six months), and a dung beetle. I feel like I've missed something, but meh.

Cats, dogs, and snakes are probably my favorite animals to have as pets. With rats fairly high up their. (I really don't like mice, much.)

Well I guess I break the mold then...I'm a 27 y/o mom to 3 kiddos. I don't have any tattoos and I only have peircings in my ears. I guess by all counts I SHOULDN'T have snakes...but I do and I love it! I don't even listen to rock music...

I agree with many of you. The bottom line is everyone is different and everyone has different hobbies. Just the fact that she told you to "grow up" for liking snakes really means that she needs to grow up. She is obviously an ignorant stuck up person who will never bust through her shell. It's kind of sad though, because people like that person who told you to grow up will never get to enjoy what we enjoy by having our reptiles and other animals.

I have a dog, and as much as I love my dog - it's nowhere close to as exciting as having a reptile of any kind. Owning reptiles and watching them do what they do is the most exciting thing to me. It's a way to see nature act how it acts in it's environment, only in your very own home.

You should have just asked her "so I need to grow up because I don't judge people like you do?" and waited to see her response.

Don't worry about these idiots though. Keep on doing what makes you happy. Like Paul Rudd said in the move Role Models "If you wanna wear a cape, wear a cape." :salute:

The snake is my 10 year old sons...... I'm his mom and will let him have a pet snake, but won't let him post/talk on the internet :)

why do i have to be in the last category!!!!! haha:D

I turn 33 next month.

51, and if growing up means gitting rid of my snakes i dont want to grow up:rolleye2

The categories stop at age 40 like that's the end of the road :rofl:

I'm currently 19, and just about to get started in this hobby. I'm currently in the 'research the hell out of everything to do with ball pythons' stage. However, it could be another 5 years until I can own a bp (I hope not!). Blah.

The only reason I have not gotten a BP or any other reptile is that my parents are not cool with it. Their house, their rules. Oh well. If not, I probably would've started much younger.

I'm a 16 year old girl who looks far from what people think "typical snake owners" look like. The funny thing is, when most people (adults) find out I keep snakes and other reptiles, it's almost like they're impressed because a 16 year old girl who wears dresses and ribbons in her hair can feed rats to her snake and better yet, hold the snake...and their afraid to even get near one. Thats the reaction I get from people usually. Granted there are people (my neighbor) who always tells me how disgusting I am for even keeping a BEARDIE. Which I would consider the "puppy" of the reptile world. IMO. I just try not to let people bother me anymore. You kind of learn to be that way when even the people in your household (family) are grossed out in your decision for a pet. Even though they don't like them, I gotta thank them for lettin' me keep um :D

21 .. I've had almost every common pet so far and snakes are the most "unique" pets I own .. in my opinion

I never thought it was possible to have a snake as a pet when i was younger because all i watched was shows on tv portraying them as exotic and something that is too dangerous to own.

I think the most important thing really is education.

People are always passing judgment. Dont sweat it. Im 37 and I have been a herper since I before I knew there was such a word. I can personally atest to the fact that our little addiction here is by far a better thing to be hooked on than some things I have seen alot of other folks going through.

When someone tells me to grow up, my simple reply is "no";).

If someone owned a hamster I would tell them to group up and get a real pet :rofl: Sorry hamster lovers, but they are one of the dumbest pets, get a rat for heavens sake.

I'm in the majority :banana:

The results are pretty much what I expected. Most people aren't allowed to get snakes till they are out of mommy's house.

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

If someone owned a hamster I would tell them to group up and get a real pet :rofl: Sorry hamster lovers, but they are one of the dumbest pets, get a rat for heavens sake.

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I say the same thing. Ferrets and rats, those are real pets. Both are smart, both can be good companions, and you can interact with both.

Personally I want a Fox. But a Genet would also be an awesome pet. I like intelligent animals and predators (which are, by default, intelligent).

Also, there need to be more 18-27 year old female BP.neters around Pittsburgh.

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I wouldn't say it's an age thing. But ppl now think of me as that guy who has snakes. Snake owners are thought as the hippies with long hair (look like chewy from SnakeBites) and are all around weird b/c we don't follow the crowd and get a dog, cat or fish. What most don't know is that most snake owners are most likely an all around animal lover and normally have another pet of some sort.
But that is just the feelings ppl I know have.

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I must second this.

I keep snakes and a whole lot of other critters. I have a small herd of cats...two that live with me now (a Persian and a British Shorthair) and one that will be moving in with me once we are settled in the new house next month (a little mixed-breed shorthair) and if my dad insists on it, an ancient Maine Coon might come live with me as well.

I also have a dog, and a betta lives on my desk. :)

I have plans to set up a live-plant-intensive vivarium after we move, which will house a small colony of D. Leucomelas (bumblebee dart frogs) and I have plans to buy/aquire a LOT more snakes in the next few months.

Someday I plan to have a decent parcel of land (at least ten acres) zoned for livestock so I can have horses again, and I'd like to try my hand with a small group of sheep.

In other words, I'm a snake person for sure, but more than that I'm an ANIMAL person. I like critters more than I like most people. Nothing wrong with that. :)

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Of course we're judged. The people trying to pass all these stupid laws prove that.

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And I second this. Though I see a major flaw in their logic...more of us are voters than I think they realize. And oh how we are alienated by their preposterous claims.

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I got my first snake on my 31st birthday, when it occurred to me that I -am- a grown-up, and I can decide what pets I have. I live on the other side of the country from my Mom, so it doesn't matter if reptiles freak her out, and I can jolly well have a snake if I want one. Or two. Or, um, ten.

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Haha, likewise. :) One day I realized, oh my god I'm an adult, living in my own home, and I can do whatever I bloody well please.

That day, I began shopping for my first BP in years after eating a giant slice of chocolate cake for breakfast. I spent the afternoon after work playing video games.

I am 29, btw. Next May, I turn the big three-oh.

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Yeah that's one thing i hate...
i have piercings, long hair, and I'm young.

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Though the "young" part is debatable, I am all those as well. People still occasionally mistake me for a teenager when they find out I'm gauging up my ears (my goal is to get to 02 gauge in each lobe) and that I have no intentions of changing my hair (I have a pretty high-up undercut. It's all but a limp mohawk at this point! The undercut is shaved right to the skin, and the long stuff is about shoulder length when left down.). I inform them that many things are not limited by age, thus they cannot be "grown out of." If anything, I'm more into and enthusiastic about body modification and piercings than I was as a teenager!

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Well i gotta admit whenever i heard of some1 having snakes or any sort of reptile i immediately thought they were weird and would have piercings and tatoos ha but know from being on this forum and researching stuff online before i got my bp i don't really think that anymore.

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Funny story. I was at my dad's house, and somehow he, his GF and I got on the subject of snakes. I mentioned I know a fellow who might be willing to do a partial trade for some tack I own, and that he has some fabulous super-dwarf Retics I rather fancy. My dad sneered and said "Oh, how many tattoos does he have?" He turned to his GF and said "Most people who keep THOSE kinds of pets have tattoos." At that point I jumped in and said "Yeah, I know I sure do!"

Aparently my dad forgot about my ink. The look on his face was PRICELESS. :D

It did lead to a discussion that people from ALL walks of life can enjoy snakes, wether or not they are into tattooing or whatever. Contrary to popular belief they ARE mutually exclusive! ;)

Anyways though...I must agree, the person who said to "grow up" needs to be told off.

I'm 20, about to turn 21 in Aug. My Dad has been encouraging me and my brother to catch garder snakes my whole life. So I figure "no big deal, he's fine with snakes. I'm going to get me a Ball Python". Come to find out my dad is terrified of snakes and would force himself to grab them and hand them to us so we didn't inherit his phobia....

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Originally Posted by boyyoyo

I'm 20, about to turn 21 in Aug. My Dad has been encouraging me and my brother to catch garder snakes my whole life. So I figure "no big deal, he's fine with snakes. I'm going to get me a Ball Python". Come to find out my dad is terrified of snakes and would force himself to grab them and hand them to us so we didn't inherit his phobia....

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I love your dad. Seriously, that's amazing. I hope to one day be as strong as him when it comes to my kids.

i'm already being judged and i dont even have a snake yet. i told a few ppl that im getting a snake and they were like "really? why? ewww."

I'm 25 now, but I was 24 when I got my ball python. My mom was the typical "I hate snakes" person, but a few years after she passed away, I got one. My dad likes snakes and he "doesn't care what I have as long as it isn't big enough to eat him". That would have to be a BIG snake.

Like the majority of you, I get the "ewww, you have a snake" response pretty often. I don't care. Never have, never will. If I spent my life giving a crap what everyone thought, that would be a wasted life.

"Those that mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

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I'm 20, about to turn 21 in Aug. My Dad has been encouraging me and my brother to catch garder snakes my whole life. So I figure "no big deal, he's fine with snakes. I'm going to get me a Ball Python". Come to find out my dad is terrified of snakes and would force himself to grab them and hand them to us so we didn't inherit his phobia...

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Okay, your dad rocks. He is SERIOUSLY awesome. :D

I got my BP when I was 21. I figured i was now 21, not living under my parent's roof and made my own income so I could get whatever pet I wanted. As well as get whatever clothes i wanted, tattoos, movies, anything...part of being an adult of getting and doing what you want and being responsible with it. So, i got a BP...like i had wanted ever since jake the Snake Roberts brought one to the ring when I was 4 years old and was watching wrestling with my daddy. I have always loved reptiles, amphibians, dogs, cats, fish, everything...i love cats so much that i am saving up to buy a sphinx cat because my mom is allergic so i can't have a cat with hair. Of course, then i will be not only the weird girl the the giant flower tattoo and a snake, but then will be the weird girl with the giant flower tattoo, a snake and a bald cat.

to each their own. As Eddie Izzard says "as long as no one gets hurt, its all groovy"

I'm 17, my fiance is 19 and together we are raising 2 snakes. We both fell in love when, on a family vacation, a friend had us hold his snake. Atfer that, we HAD to have one. :)
(or two, or three...) :)

I guess my age group has the highest count..lol...

I'm 25, my father bought me my first snake when I was 7. It was a Columbian RTB, I had that for like 4-5 years. I've had snakes ever since, along with many other reptiles and dogs and cats. My mother has been a vet tech for as long as I can remember, her love for animals has rubbed off on me I guess..lol.

I love snakes more then anything else as far as pets go, I currently have 4 bps and plan to add more. I am always finding myself having to "protect/defend" my snakes and snakes in general, there's alot of close minded people that are afraid or just hate these awsome creatures simply because of the way they are portraied on TV. I have "converted" a few people into liking them simply by providing them with facts and hands on experience....

I am in the process of moving my snakes to my fathers house because my gfs mother is Terrified of anything other then her Precious chichuahua (sp?) lol...So my father said bring them over there and he'll gladly keep them for me untill my gf and I get our own place again...

So yeah, I love these things and have since I can remember catching a garter snake in my back yard, I got bit like 10 times by that thing lol...I plan on breeding for the 1st time this upcoming season, simply to enjoy the satisfaction of producing more of what I like and making new morphs I want to add to my collection of bps...

Sorry for blabbing so much, I'm at work and can only take seeing so much porn..lol..(I'm in the "Adult Industry")...hahaha....

-Wildman

I'm 23 my wife is *censored* (sub 40's). I can't imagine someone trying to tell me I should grow up because I won snakes. I own my own business and am doing well, age has nothing to do with maturity or knowledge to a lesser extent.

Responsibility has little to do with age... I got my first ball python when I was 12. I did all of my research before purchasing her, and she has always been well cared for as long as she's been with me. I have always been and will always be a responsible pet owner, and it has nothing to do with my age.

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Originally Posted by Kyle@theHeathertoft

I must second this.

I keep snakes and a whole lot of other critters. I have a small herd of cats...two that live with me now (a Persian and a British Shorthair) and one that will be moving in with me once we are settled in the new house next month (a little mixed-breed shorthair) and if my dad insists on it, an ancient Maine Coon might come live with me as well.

I also have a dog, and a betta lives on my desk. :)

I have plans to set up a live-plant-intensive vivarium after we move, which will house a small colony of D. Leucomelas (bumblebee dart frogs) and I have plans to buy/aquire a LOT more snakes in the next few months.

Someday I plan to have a decent parcel of land (at least ten acres) zoned for livestock so I can have horses again, and I'd like to try my hand with a small group of sheep.

In other words, I'm a snake person for sure, but more than that I'm an ANIMAL person. I like critters more than I like most people. Nothing wrong with that. :)



And I second this. Though I see a major flaw in their logic...more of us are voters than I think they realize. And oh how we are alienated by their preposterous claims.



Haha, likewise. :) One day I realized, oh my god I'm an adult, living in my own home, and I can do whatever I bloody well please.

That day, I began shopping for my first BP in years after eating a giant slice of chocolate cake for breakfast. I spent the afternoon after work playing video games.

I am 29, btw. Next May, I turn the big three-oh.



Though the "young" part is debatable, I am all those as well. People still occasionally mistake me for a teenager when they find out I'm gauging up my ears (my goal is to get to 02 gauge in each lobe) and that I have no intentions of changing my hair (I have a pretty high-up undercut. It's all but a limp mohawk at this point! The undercut is shaved right to the skin, and the long stuff is about shoulder length when left down.). I inform them that many things are not limited by age, thus they cannot be "grown out of." If anything, I'm more into and enthusiastic about body modification and piercings than I was as a teenager!



Funny story. I was at my dad's house, and somehow he, his GF and I got on the subject of snakes. I mentioned I know a fellow who might be willing to do a partial trade for some tack I own, and that he has some fabulous super-dwarf Retics I rather fancy. My dad sneered and said "Oh, how many tattoos does he have?" He turned to his GF and said "Most people who keep THOSE kinds of pets have tattoos." At that point I jumped in and said "Yeah, I know I sure do!"

Aparently my dad forgot about my ink. The look on his face was PRICELESS. :D

It did lead to a discussion that people from ALL walks of life can enjoy snakes, wether or not they are into tattooing or whatever. Contrary to popular belief they ARE mutually exclusive! ;)

Anyways though...I must agree, the person who said to "grow up" needs to be told off.

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Oh yea I also have weird animal Interests. When I get out of the house I will own 15+ acres and get a small herd of Blackbuck antelope. They are quite popular here in Texas. With all the exotic ranches that have them there is a larger population here than their native India. :P

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Oh yea I also have weird animal Interests. When I get out of the house I will own 15+ acres and get a small herd of Blackbuck antelope. They are quite popular here in Texas. With all the exotic ranches that have them there is a larger population here than their native India.

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I'm a Michigander and must admit I like it here just fine, but my ex was a Texan and I visited her once for a pretty extended stay. It was so weird, driving through hill-country outside of San Antonio, gawking at the non-native Axis deer and Blackbuck! It was like there were more Blackbuck than freaking NATIVE HOOFSTOCK. I never saw a SINGLE Muley or Whitetail while I was there, unless you count a steak dinner one night, LOL!

I sometimes toy with the idea of raising deer, likely Elk or Caribou, but then again...a single fencing failure could be disasterous. I think I'll stick to sheep as far as raising 'em goes and leave the deer in the woods where they belong. ;) Besides, part of why I want my own critters is so that I can stop buying meat. I kindof hate the meat industry and would love to stop supporting it...but I have no problems ethically or morally when it comes to eating meat. I just have issue with the level of care and compassion shown to animals for consumption. Ergo no need to fence in some deer, I hunt Whitetail and plan to apply for an Elk license this fall. :)

Wow...I got waaaaaaaaay OT there, sorry.

I'll be turning 17 this December and I've had animals of all kinds of animals since I was born. Let's see, in order...

Cat, 3 anoles, tropical fish, hamster, Texas collared lizard, rough green snake, garter snake, more fish, two leopard geckos, a pit mix, a ball python, and a leuci Texas rat.

If I wasn't responsible or "grown-up" enough to take care of them, do you really think my parents would let me keep getting more animals?

People are jerks sometimes. :/

I got my first BP at 42 years old. My two boys are now 15 and 17. It gives us something in common and to share ideas and thoughts around.

Our first clutch will be on day 50 tomorrow.

Peter Pan and his Lost Boys say " NEVER GROW UP! "

Personally I'm 24 years old. I have a wife and kid. I joined the Marine Corps and I've been to Iraq. (I'm out now) I work a steady full time job, and I have 2 cats and a dog. If someone was to tell me to "grow up" over owning a snake I would have told them .... well I'm going to be mature and not say what i would tell them on this board (there are some younger readers on here but I think you catch my drift)

I am 29 and just got my first snake as an adult, growing up I had many different types of snakes most that are common in Florida (corn snakes, black racers, king snakes and a fox snake, I also had lizards (iguana, monitor's, water dragon) fish (both fresh and salt), dogs, cat, and birds. With the exception of the snakes the other animals were family owned. When I met my husband he was not an animal person at all so it has taken me almost 9 years to build up to the animals that I have now, 1 dog, 1 cat, 1 bearded dragon, and 1 bp. With that being said I am a lover of all animals, I would take in anything if there was a chance I could save it. If people consider that meaning that I need to "GROW UP" than they are barking up the wrong tree. Keep doing what you love and don't let the negative comments bring you down. BTW Congrats on the new baby!

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Originally Posted by marct

So, I thinking my lack of explination is causing some of you to loose interest, and not vote. Basically, someone told me to "grow up" when they heard that I have snakes. I thought is was a very unfair statement because many people own dogs, cats, fish, etc. Do you all feel that people tend to judge us for our interest?

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i agree snakes are just a good of pets as any other animal

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Originally Posted by Maverick67

Personally I'm 24 years old. I have a wife and kid. I joined the Marine Corps and I've been to Iraq. (I'm out now) I work a steady full time job, and I have 2 cats and a dog. If someone was to tell me to "grow up" over owning a snake I would have told them .... well I'm going to be mature and not say what i would tell them on this board (there are some younger readers on here but I think you catch my drift)

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if u were in iraq thank you, for fighting for our country

yes i was and thank for the support