FRUSTERATED!!

My Mom said, Yes to getting a BP. Now shes like nah I dont want one. I asked her why and she said she doesnt like them. She still doesnt get the fact that im taking care of it and she doesnt have to touch or even look at it. I dont know why that she all of a sudden changed her mind. What would be really great is, if someone were to type a short or long paragraph for my mom to read. That way she can see that they arnt so bad. Is anybody in here in there "older ages". lol . that the best way I could say it. I seem to figure out that when "older people" talk it tends to help out a little more.


Mike

My dad is the same way, mymom is kinda getting into the whole snake thing but my dad doesnt see why i want to get another snake or need one, as long as im paying for everything that has to do with the snake he is down with it but somtimes its hard, hopefully your mom will come around soon, BP's are AWESOME !! and can teach you and your mom ALOT i know mine has.

I'm 19...guess that's not too old, but I'm definitely old enough to know right from wrong, and know my limits to what I can handle, and believe me, a ball python is not too hard to handle. I'll see what I can put together with my ramblings and you can let your mom read it if you wish...

They're small snakes really. Usually getting no bigger than 4 feet(5 feet is considered big and rare for a ball python) but most males max out at around 3 feet. They're not too thick, and therefore not a problem to handle. They aren't snakes that you have to worry about when you wrap one around your neck. If they squeeze too tight, you can just unwrap them with no problems. They're also quite simple to care for. As long as they have an appropriately sized tank to live in, with temps ranging from 80-85 cool side and 90-95 warm side, and humidity in the 50-60's, everythings good. Then you just have to spot clean here and there, and change water regularly. Of course, once a week they'll need a mouse to eat, but that's not expensive at all really. Maybe a dollar a week. And if you're worried about a ball python hurting you or anything, all I can say is a pet dog could do more damage to you than a ball python can. The most they can do is bite you, and they're nothing bad to be bitten by. You could compare it to a bee sting I guess.
If you have a phobia of snakes, ball pythons are perfect to help you get over the fear. They're very docile and laid back, so they're easy to handle. But as your son said, they're easy enough to care for and maintain, that if you really don't want to see or touch it, you won't have to. But I'm sure that after you've seen him handling the little cutie, you'll start to see how harmless and beautiful they are and maybe start handling it yourself. My mom is deathly afraid of snakes. She was traumatized when a kid in gradeschool shoved a garden snake down her back. But after she realised I'm serious about owning a snake and after I started talking about them enough, she realised it'd be fine to have one in the house. Since then she's even asked me questions about them often and learned some stuff about them herself. She's even said she'll probably pet little Pelota when I get her this month. Anyway, all I can say is you should seriously reconsider letting your son own one of these beautiful creatures. They're a great learning experience, and you can really start to appreciate and admire different types of animals instead of the usual pet cats and dogs. If you or Mike have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. There are plenty of people on this site that know what they're talking about and can help you out. I may not be the most knowlegable with ball pythons, but I know enough to know it's a great pet to have, and I know if I had a son or daughter, I wouldn't break their heart and tell them they can't have one. ;)

wow, if that doesnt convince your mom i dont know what will !! :) :) very good stuff cody

thanks so much, I just printed it off and put it onto my moms bed. so hopfully she'll see it when she goes in there. She probably read it in the next hour. Thaks a bunch!!


Mike

Whoa, I feel so special to be so involved in this matter. 8) Keep us posted as to how she reacts to it. :)

ok. she said she'll read it tomorrow because she cant find her reading glasses.

Good luck on getting one! My mum wasn't too thrilled either when I got my first baby (who has now lived with us for two-and-a-half years..) but now she's in love with them. Hopefully your situation turns out just as happily.

I've been afraid of snakes most of my life. When ever I saw one in the wild I would stay very clear of it (for good reason, they might be poisonous). However, I did handle a python for a little while when I was about 12, and quickly grew to like that type of snake.

Having a snake is unlike any other pet I have had. They take a good deal of responsibility, and husbandry. They command respect from me, because of my laytent fear. But, I enjoy handling the snake on nearly a daily basis. I have found him to be very cute now, and nearly all the fear is gone.

A lot of people don't know why I got a snake. I find them to be very interesting creatures. I wanted to learn more about them, and learn how to care for one. I like challenges. This has been a great challenge for me, that I have grown to really care for.

I hope that the post author will be able to get a snake, learn from them what I and others have learned from our reptile friends, and share it with others. Snakes are very misunderstood creatures, and I hope more people learn to respect them, and tolerate them more.

I am a teacher and hopefully sometime I can work out something with the biology teacher at my school, and bring Jubs in for a little show and tell. That will be a while down the road, as I still have a lot to learn from my snake.

I'm not ready for the old age home yet, but I will say that our 7 week old kitten causes a lot more pain than all my ball pythons put together and is more expensive to feed than any single ball. She's also much messier and louder and may cause allergic reactions.

As w/ Marla I ain't ready for the front porch and a rocker but I am let's say, 40-something and have a 14yo son.
Ozzy my bp has got to be one of the sweetest animals I have ever come in contact with. He has never once shown an interest to strike.
They are a good first snake, in terms of being docile. Most only get about 3-4' and once you get the temps and humidity correct they are fairly easy to take care of.
Most of the time you will find them sleeping away in their hides and won't even know they are there. They are fairly inexpensive to feed, about 1.00-2.00 per week or so for a rodent.
A cat or dog is much more effort and can cause way more harm in playing or nipping and more incline to do so. :)
I wasn't a lifelong snake keeper when I got my bp, I had Garter snakes etc when I was like 10-14yo but I have always thought them to be interesting creatures and when my son expressed intersted in a snake I checked it out and found bp's to be friendly easy going snakes and home came Ozzy.
I never thought I would become this attached to him but he is my little guy and impressed me so much we recently adopted a rescue bp and now have two.
I understand some people aren't snake people, I have many friends like that but even the non-snakers always look in or ask about our guys :)
It would be a great learning experience and a wonderful hobby
And 99% of the time you wouldn't even see him as you cruise by the cage as they sleep most of the day.
I would hope you may reconsider as it seems your son has a great interest in them and it's always good for them to have an interest and something to occupy the mind :)

Ball Pythons seem as if they aren't even there! :P
They basically sleep the entire day, and come out to explore when you're sleeping.
The make barely any noise. The can be feed frozen/thawed mice so you don't have to worry about feeding live mice/rats.

Also, Marla ... I'm allergic to those cute kitty cats :(

Blink, me too, but some worse than others. I've had some cats that I'd get welts from any touch by them and others (like Jezebel) that barely give me the sniffles from holding and petting. I'm hoping the new kitten will turn out not to cause too bad a reaction. I just can't seem to go catless, though. ;)

and by the way marla, your new avatar is precious. :aww:

Show your mom this website and get her to sign up if she wants and we will talk to her about it.

P.S. But she is still your mom and what she says goes.

My mom was dead set against me rescuing Alexa at first. Now I can't keep her off Alexa :P Not too mention she let me get Beefy, and is in love with him as well!

AHHHHH!!!!!! She read the letter. Shes like, "I understand how that situation worked in his family, but its diffrent in mine." I dont know why she doesnt want one. ITS NOT EVEN GOING TO BE HERS! Im going out today and buying the equipment for the BP. Getting job applications, to show her that i am a responsible person. I think its the whole fact of her being afraid of them. Hopefully she'll come around.

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and by the way marla, your new avatar is precious.

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lol yes, BIG improvement from your freaky monkey avatar! hehehe, monkeys freak me out...

ok, let me tell you my story. I have one ball pyhton, named Kitty. When I was little I was never allowed to have pets except a fish and a hamster. I have always wanted a dog, a rabbit, or a snake and I was not allowed to have any of them. I never pushed the issue with my mother and father though. When I turned 20 I was introduced to my friends ball python, and was still interested, but I lived in a dorm and wasn't sure if I had the money or space for a snake. Then another one of my friends got one and it lived in her dorm room. I watched her begin to raise this baby and it only took me a couple of weeks to decide that I should get one. I had seen first hand how easy they were to take care of, how big they grow when full sized, and, when kept properly, how much less smelly they are than any dog, cat, rodent, or fish. They also do not take up very much room, and thier food is cheap. They are not aggressive, hamsters bite more and cats scratch much more. They are cleaner as well. All of these were posatives for me getting the snake.
I have many friends who are less than trusting of snakes as well as my parents. I didn't take him for a visit to my parent's until months later. My mother is not crazy about snakes, but I brought extensive literature with me and answered all of thier questions which set them at ease a bit because they knew that I was really serious about keeping him and I knew what I was talking about. They are among the most personable of snakes and really are not difficult to care for once you get started. There is also plenty of information out there. I would suggest that you find out all you can, so as to be able to fully answer your mother's questions and argue your point effectively. Also, see that you have some reading material on hand for her. Let her know that this is going to be your pet, that she will only have to be as involved as she wants to be. This is not one of those pets that she will have to take out for a walk or other responsiblities if you are busy. Come up with a contract agreement pertaining to your responsibilities and the consquences of shirking them. This will be a great learning experience for you. Knowlege is power and also tends to set the mind at ease. Good luck

welcome padiente!

Thanks for the help. I answered all my moms questions when she asked them. I have been reading upon BP's for about 2 months now. So i think that im pretty knowledgable in this catagory. At first she said ok. She was just worried about how expensive its going to be when I feed it. I explained to her how it wont be as expensive as she thought. Shes just afraid of them and I dont know how to help her.

Heres a story that I have. About a couple of years ago I found a snake in the back of my moms office and I kept it. I think it was a rat snake. I kept it in the house for about a week. I decided to let it go because I thought it would be the best thing to do. She didnt care about keeping it in the house. Now all of a sudden shes scared of them. I dont know how she can be scared of them considering she a PEST CONTROL TECH. She deals with these practicly everyday. I dont know, I think that she is just trying to find excuses for me so I dont get one. I want one and im ready for the responsibility. She said maybe in a couple of months but I explainded to her that the rescuer probably wont have her in the next few months. I dont want to rescuer person to have to be resonsible for my snake. I want to take care of it, etc. I dont want to count on the guy to take care of it until she lets me. Its hard to explain, but do you get what im sayin?

yeah, i know what your sayin. Parents are sometimes very hard to convince, it took me almost a month to get permission to buy a hamster !! just keep on tellin her that you will be responsible for the snake and she doesnt have to worry about it

Well, just ask her to come to a reptile or pet store with you. Just to look. She''l probably be okay with that. If she warms to any of the babies (they are pretty cute), then ask to take them out and hold them. That way she can see how docile they are - and might even try holding one herself. It just might convince her.