Question about snakes with kids

I have a 2 year old niece that wants to hold blmy BPs. She cries when i dont let her. Im just not sure on how to approach the situation. How should i do it? Is she even old enough to handle a snake?

Ask the parents and make sure you are there when she holds them. My nieces and nephews hold mine and so does my daughter. She was around 4 when she did. I would take out the best one you have as far as temperament goes. Make sure she washes her hands afterwards really good.

If you don't want her holding the snake, let her think she is holding it. You can support most of the body weight, and allow her to hold a section. Kind of like when they have a team of people holding a burm during a reptile show. Obviously never leave her alone with one. I have horror stories for you. None about the snake harming the child, either.

At that age I wouldn't let the child hold the snake, they still like to grab things too much. I would hold the child on my lap and the child could pet my (most tolerant never bitten anyone in its life) snake while I held onto it.

Thanks for the responses. My brother is 100% ok with his daughter handling snakes. We just didnt know how to do it where both my niece and the snake have a positive expirience.

I work for a company that lets kids handle snakes. As young as they come, whoever wants to hold. Just as long as you keep the snakes head away it should be fine. Especially for BPs they never get TOO tight that you can't just pry them with your hands.
Also make sure they are sitting down, so they will be less shakey and the snake will be more calm.

Im going to try it the next time she comes over. She seems so curious and happy to see them. I want her to be able to enjoy snakes as much as i do. My brother wants to pretty much introduce her to all sorts of animals at a young age so she wont be fearful of them.

Introducing kids to reptiles should always come with a healthy dose of good hygiene practices - my nieces and nephews wash their hands aplenty when they visit. With younger children I usually use smaller snakes and, depending on their comfort level, may have them sit on the ground. I'm always close and ready to intervene to save either snake or child.

An example of giving the kid the correct end of a snake - these tails are mostly harmless:
http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z..._156164624.jpg

Make it fun, make it positive:
http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/100_0564.jpg

http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/100_0565.jpg

http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/100_0567.jpg

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Originally Posted by catzeye21138

If you don't want her holding the snake, let her think she is holding it. You can support most of the body weight, and allow her to hold a section. Kind of like when they have a team of people holding a burm during a reptile show. Obviously never leave her alone with one. I have horror stories for you. None about the snake harming the child, either.

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Exactly what I would say.

My kids have grown up around snakes and I would trust my 6 or 8 year old with them much more than the average adult. I'm still usually in the room, but they hold them as I clean tubs all the time. Our 4 year old daughter holds them, but with me or an older brother in arms reach. Our 2 year old son pets them and holds a part of them like described above. They love it and at that age can be taught the right way to handle them.

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Originally Posted by John1982

Introducing kids to reptiles should always come with a healthy dose of good hygiene practices - my nieces and nephews wash their hands aplenty when they visit.

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Yep, a huge dispenser of hand sanitizer is a must!

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.