Family Helpers

So today I woke up to my grandma in my room using our temp gun to check on our bps. :p I find this utterly hilarious at how much she's come to love my babies.

So I was wondering, do any of your family have a big hand in helping you with your snakes?

Grandma will come when I'm cleaning tubs and hold them until their home is clean :p she also makes sure they have water and even checks on them when I'm at work.

Here's my herper grandma
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/11/judaryde.jpg

I got the wife and kiddo. They are always a big help to me. I let my daughter hold my ball when I am doing something with the cage. Mind you my ball is about 115g of love. But with the boa that's a wife thing because she weighs 380g and she can be mean according to the last owner.


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Haha, sometimes I'll walk into the bedroom to see my boyfriend kneeling eye level with my retic, just watching him. Mind you, this is a guy who really doesn't like snakes...but something about pajamas really intrigues him. I'm glad he's finally sort of understanding why I like herps so much <3 No one really helps with my snakes, though. Not that I expect them to, they're MY sole responsibility, like the cat is. ^-^

My mom has helped with my beardie before (before grandkids she had a pic of him on her cubicle wall lol) but since the collection has grown not so much. I did convert my husband and with our crazy schedules he is super helpful, he will hold the snakes if i'm the one taking them out and ensuring they are good to go, but he will do water changes and cage cleaning when i'm not home. I have him do bonding sessions with my tegu too.

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Yup!

Everyone helps out when they can.

- My Mother will stop by and help out with feeding, spot checking, water changes etc. when I'm travelling. This was a learning curve for her, loves the snakes now though!

- My Father enjoys the hobby and will even throw in money to buy the occasional morph. He is great for moral support, travelling to shows, picking up supplies etc.

- My wife handles all the reptile paperwork, ie bills, internet, phone, web. And she is the caretaker for all our Leos.

- Me, I do the rest. =)

My almost 4 year old daughter is learning to help...too wiggly to hold them still, but she comes in from preschool and instantly checks all the animals. I get a report on where in the tank each is resting, if water needs changed or added and if the substrate is getting low. (granted I usually already know but still...)

I am actually still working on my fears of snakes, even though my big heart took these two in (one is temp though) so my best friend is still helping with feeding them.

Aside from that, most of my family is fearful of snakes, so it's just us working with them right now.

I'm the only person who takes care of my snake, but my mom has fallen in love with him. When I clean his tub, he sits in smaller plastic tub on my mom's lap and she talks to him pretty much non-stop. Everyone in my family seems to like him, even my grandmother who doesn't like snakes that much.

My fiance and I share the responsibilities. But my mom thinks they are beautiful and always wants to see them when she comes over.

My son helps out a lot. He likes to "hold the snakes" while I clean (AKA put them on the linoleum floor and laugh while they try to slither away but don't get anywhere lol). My mom also has fallen in love with my critters. She really likes the ball pythons (NOT a fan of the boas, they scare her lol). If I go on vacation she'll come over and care for them, and she'll send me pictures of her holding them lol. It's always nice when you have family that supports you.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

My son helps out a lot. He likes to "hold the snakes" while I clean (AKA put them on the linoleum floor and laugh while they try to slither away but don't get anywhere lol). My mom also has fallen in love with my critters. She really likes the ball pythons (NOT a fan of the boas, they scare her lol). If I go on vacation she'll come over and care for them, and she'll send me pictures of her holding them lol. It's always nice when you have family that supports you.

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Dont forget that sweet outdoor enclosure your stepdad(?) built for your tortoise!!! :)

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Dont forget that sweet outdoor enclosure your stepdad(?) built for your tortoise!!! :)

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LOL yes! And they also agreed to care for her while I'm away with the military too (indoors of course...it's already getting chilly outside!). That's about the extent of HIS love for reptiles though. He's the guy that chases snakes with the lawnmower sadly :rolleyes: He never gets them....don't worry. My brother has also told me that if any of my tarantulas get within arms length of him that he'll squish them without hesitation. I'll take what I can get though, my mom is probably the most tolerant lol.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

LOL yes! And they also agreed to care for her while I'm away with the military too (indoors of course...it's already getting chilly outside!). That's about the extent of HIS love for reptiles though. He's the guy that chases snakes with the lawnmower sadly :rolleyes: He never gets them....don't worry. My brother has also told me that if any of my tarantulas get within arms length of him that he'll squish them without hesitation. I'll take what I can get though, my mom is probably the most tolerant lol.

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Yea!

Uhhh. Im SLOWLY warming up to the creepy crawlers. Theres a wolf spider that lives in one of the windows at work and if i catch a fly ill rip off one of its wings and open the window just enough to drop it into her web. Shes getting big and fat lol.

My kids want to help but since they are 1 and 2 they don't get to do much more than watch. They love to touch them, and my oldest knows which snakes are albinos. I'm trying to teach her a few more simple morphs. My husband will hold "his" snake, but gets too antsy with my other snakes. He pays for feeders when I have to buy them. Also food for the rats I have but thats it. He won't help clean anyone out or feed them. I'm ok with that though. If we ever go on vacation My sister is comfortable enough with my snakes to keep watch over them for me. I don't think she would be ok with feeding them though. Not sure about taking care of the rats yet though.
On the other end of things are my mom and grandmother. Neither one gets why I like reptiles especially snakes. My grandmother is so scared of snakes that she can't even watch them on TV. I respect her feelings towards them and make sure they never cross paths. When I hosted thanksgiving one year I hid my snake where she wouldn't go and covered it's tank just for good measure. My mom makes it clear that she thinks they aren't safe to be around my kids. She still gives me crap about keeping snakes, and has made it clear that if for any reason we have to stay with her long term they are not welcome. I make it a point that if she starts asking questions she gets calm honest answers, but getting her to realize she has stepped over the line with careless comments is still a big issue.

My mom helps with shedding issues on the rare occasion that I get a trouble baby, and she likes to take pics of my babies when I am at work and send them to me, she was very fascinated and helpful while my babies were hatching this year.

My youngest sister takes care of my snakes when I am on vacation, and will do pictures and help with hatchlings (and tries to hijack one once in a while), her 1 1/2 year old son love to "pet" any of the snakes, and rodents.

My husband will water his 2 snakes, and today he spot cleaned his boa's cage for the first time! Progress! (His snakes but I feed and clean cages for some reason.... just add it to the 21 other snakeys till I find homes for 8 of the normal babies from this year.)

Sadly my middle sister who got us all started on snakes when she was 13 with her ball python developed a fear of them and is afraid they will get out and strangle her kids when they spend the night at my house, not that that has stopped her from sending them over. Its sad, her kids both really want a snake, 7 and 4, so a parents support is required.

My son loves my snake and will "babysit" for me during tub cleaning and such. In other words, he makes sure Jax doesn't slither into trouble while I'm cleaning right by them. Still teaching him the proper way to handle a snake though. His 4 year old brain is just too excited most of the time. My boyfriend is my enabler. :D He gets excited about feeding time like it's a sports event and begs me not to switch to F/T cause "It won't be exciting anymore." He handles Jax when I have him out and basically whenever I need him to. Annnnnnd, teases me when I drop hints of more snakes but has made it clear that I'm pretty sure my stocking will be trying to slither away this year at Christmas lol. His moto is the more the merrier. :gj: Other fam is cool with it minus my dad. Poor guy is deathly afraid and even with his macho man act, his screams like a little girl when he sees one. He's okay with me owning them though as long as I keep them in their homes when he's over.