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  • 08-22-2015, 04:10 PM
    Tash
    Help me talk him out of it
    I have a dilemma. My roommate loves snakes, which is great. It has allowed me to slowly get back into keeping them. Then he brought a rather terrifying question the other day about how he would go about getting himself a, female green anaconda, specifically. He went on and on about how he's always wanted one since he was a kid. I have nothing against owning larger snakes but I have never had a drive to obtain one, especially an anaconda. Boas have always been the largest I have personally been comfortable with and I leave the retics and berms for my uncle.

    This is where my dilemma comes from. My roommate likes snakes but I can't even get him to hold my 2 foot baby royal. I mean granted he's a little on the nippy side but he's a baby. My roommate is still terrified of touching him and being bit. If he somehow finds a way to get his hands on an anaconda, guess who's getting herself an anaconda? Because I guarantee he won't touch it. I'll be the one to take care of it, etc.

    I've tried so hard to talk him out of it but he shuts down and doesn't want to hear it. He sees people on the Internet with nice calm greens on the camera, so he for some reason assumes that's the way it will always be. I've been researching husbandry and keeping anacondas so I can try to combat him with facts and that he may be getting in over his head with this and hoping to all that is holy that he doesn't somehow get his hands on one. I'm hoping he gets himself a corn or something instead. Or that he'll get over a baby snake bite and start handling the one he already lives with. Baby steps. I don't thing anyone should jump head first to an anaconda but he believes he will have time to learn as it grows. Even so... how to I talk him out of this? I've been nice I've been harsh I've been logical. He can barely take care of his dog. I'd hate to place an anaconda in his hands. I'm not big on rehoming pets if I can help it but if he ends up with one and I'm the one to care for it alone I am worried that I won't be able to handle her when she's grown. Not a smart move and I will rehome her myself if I must. I'd like to skip that step altogether. Help. How do you talk people out of this when their mind is set?
  • 08-22-2015, 04:19 PM
    dylanjwicklund
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    You never know I wouldn't touch snakes unless some one else did first and was always scared of them biting but hanging around with my friends reticulated python and burm j got really used to them and now have about 20 snakes

    Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
  • 08-22-2015, 04:30 PM
    Tash
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    Very true. I mean I feel terrible about it. My whole life people have tried to talk me out of snakes. When I kept RTBs, before I got them people always tried to talk me out of it. Mostly non snake people about how they're not real pets and not a proper pet for a lady etc. I just want to see him make the effort. I feel so uneasy about him getting one because whenever I have my royal out and he's not being a cantankerous butt I offer him to my roommate to hold all the time but he shys away from it. He thinks the snake needs to warm up to him first. I tell him the snake can't do that if he can't smell you and you don't hold him. I can only see him buying an anaconda thinking it's cool and then ignoring it, not feeding it, cleaning up its environment. Too afraid to touch it. I take care of his late wife's dog for the very same reasons. He's emotional distraught and the king of bad decisions. I feel an anaconda right now would be one of them.
  • 08-22-2015, 04:34 PM
    distaff
    Hmmm...

    Take the dog, (and your Royal) and move!
    This doesn't sound like it will end well.
  • 08-22-2015, 05:07 PM
    KMG
    So he wants to go from no snakes to a anaconda? :ohmygod:

    Maybe find an adult, a big one, and get him around it. Seeing it in person can be eye opening. That would also let him see the size of cage that will be needed which is going to be another issue.

    It wont be a baby long and if he cant hold a nippy BP he has no business with a anaconda.

    Also check your local restrictions. That may put an end to it as well.
  • 08-22-2015, 05:29 PM
    Tash
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    That's actually a very good idea. If a tiny baby royal can scare him off maybe seeing a grown anaconda would cure him... or make him want one more. He has seen a large berm before and thought she was amazing (mostly because she was) but you better believe he ran when her enclosure was opened up. YouTube videos are just not the same. I've brought up the possible restrictions in Oregon but I haven't checked them officially. Someone recently had a female green on Craigslist they were trying to rehome. I believe that if he truly wanted one he would find a way to get one. And I do plan on moving eventually. I'm a freelancer in various feilds and I want to move closer to the Seattle area. I'm just hoping I won't be rehoming/smuggling an anaconda with me when that time comes.
  • 08-22-2015, 05:30 PM
    wolfy-hound
    Check your local ordinances first. The easiest way to shut him down would be "It's illegal".

    IF it's legal, show him what size enclosure it would need. Make CERTAIN you make it clear that if he gets it, HE has to handle it and clean it and feed it because you WILL NOT. Not waffling about how you'll "have to". He has to. Tell him if he can't handle and clean your BP for a month, he obviously has no business getting a anaconda now.

    He might eventually make a good giant keeper, but right now, he sounds a lot like he's letting you be his enabler and as long as you're there and willing to take care of the pets, why should he bother? He can buy them or keep them and you'll do the work because you want to see the pets get proper care.

    If he says he's getting one anyway, I'd find somewhere else to live and MOVE. Sooner or later, he's going to cause a serious issue if he ends up with a giant and no ability to handle it. It will only take one instnace of not latching a cage door and then you'll have serious issues because neighborhoods do not easily forgive loose giant snakes. Poor press all around.
  • 08-22-2015, 05:46 PM
    Tash
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    First order of buisness then. I'll look it up and see what it says. I am fairly certain he couldn't afford it right now which is another saving grace. And you're totally right. I've told him that I will NOT be taking care of it but I think he knows that I will break down. I can't help it, and he's known me for too long.
  • 08-22-2015, 06:36 PM
    distaff
    HOA?
    Do you rent?
    Even if ok with a dog and other pets, you might be able to get the landlord to put his/her foot down on the idea - "Dangerous" animal, and all that.

    It has been a long time since I checked a home insurance policy, but there might be some applicable restrictions there.
  • 08-22-2015, 06:48 PM
    Iridium
    Perhaps show him the bites from an adult anaconda or a similarly sized snake, such as a retic (here's a nice example-- 25 stitches and $17,641 in medical bills from a 17-footer)? It's silly for him to think he'd be immune from the anaconda's bites. If he's inexperienced to begin with, that probably jacks up the likelihood far more, even if the possibility is always present no matter how calm the snake. Maybe tell him that to even consider it he should build up from the basics-- even the smallest of which have teeth, and if he can't handle that, there's no room for a snake in his life!
  • 08-22-2015, 11:54 PM
    Tash
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    Thanks for the ammunition guys. I don't want to scare him off the idea of ever owning snakes I just think he needs to be more realistic about it. I spoke with him again and used the link above and a few other photos to demonstrate my concern. Talked about his dog too... she is very old and he made the comment of not wanting another pet until she has passed on and that he still wants an anaconda just later down the road when he can afford one. I went ahead and did the numbers on how much it would cost to keep one when it has gotten to a good size. And what kind of cleanup he gets to look forward to. He was under the assumption that this was a "low maintenance" pet... I may have won this battle. Hopefully he can break this barrier he has with the little snakes and work his way up, actually learn what's involved with keeping snakes. Like I just don't get to dangle a rat every week or two and call it good. There's a bit more too it lol.
  • 08-23-2015, 12:33 AM
    aLittleLessButter
    Help me talk him out of it
    Id avoid what was said before about notifying your HOA or Landlord. If you push to get them to ban a large "dangerous" snake then what will happen if he/they decided that they don't want your little Python around either? My neighbors are very nice friendly people but I will not allow anyone to know of my collection if I can help it. The majority of people tend to get squirrelly when they find out the person next door owns "dangerous baby eaters"
  • 08-23-2015, 12:45 AM
    FluppleWott
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    I'd never get a pet that I wasn't comfortable handling on my own. So I totally agree with the who RTB or smaller thing. But an anaconda I'd a huge--and I mean HUGE--step! No one with a decent amount of reptile experience would recommend a female green anaconda as a first herp

    I'd say let him get an anaconda hognose and work his way up from there lol!

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
  • 08-23-2015, 01:09 AM
    Tash
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by aLittleLessButter View Post
    Id avoid what was said before about notifying your HOA or Landlord. If you push to get them to ban a large "dangerous" snake then what will happen if he/they decided that they don't want your little Python around either? My neighbors are very nice friendly people but I will not allow anyone to know of my collection if I can help it. The majority of people tend to get squirrelly when they find out the person next door owns "dangerous baby eaters"

    I've learned from past experience not to mention snakes if it's not necessary to neighbors and such. My current landlord doesn't care but I agree on not bringing up the issue in fear that it would backfire. When I was younger I had a garter snake. Such a tiny baby snake. One of the neighbors heard I had a snake and blamed my childhood pet for the disappearance of her cat. Proceeded to warn the neighbors to watch their small pets and children because I often let it roam loose. Rumors got so bad that authorities were called and our home was inspected in fear of our (the children's) safety. We were a bit confused until they asked to see the large snake. I pulled out my garter seeing as it was the only one that lived in the house... fit in the palm of my hand. They almost immediately left our home and I remember them apologizing and thanking us for our time. I made it a habit of showing people the pocket sized monster that lived in the viv in the corner of my bedroom. At that point though the damage was done. My parents weren't big on snakes to begin with so harassment from the neighbors only made it worse.
  • 08-24-2015, 06:07 PM
    DennisM
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tash View Post
    ...but you better believe he ran when her enclosure was opened up

    well, there's your answer. he is incapable of caring for an anaconda.
  • 08-28-2015, 10:49 PM
    Tash
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    The other day my hedgehogs heater malfunctioned and the thermostat shut it off. It was so cold without it I put her in the snake room/office for the night as a temporary solution. When I moved her back out the next day he asked why and I said that I just didn't feel comfortable with her in there. I'm not sure if hedgehog smells like food or not like a rat would to be honest, and figured it would be best if they were not in the same room. Personal decision.

    He made a comment about how that was stupid because it's been proven that keeping predator and prey on the same room hightens both animals activity and, "makes them more alive." I don't know the science behind that or if it's true or false but all I could think of was, yeah because one smells something delicious and wants to eat it and the other smells that something that wants to eat it and is terrified.

    We had a nice long chat about how idiotic that was because all I could think about was him keeping a nice juicy rabbit in the same room as his anaconda because it, "made it more active and alive." I don't think any incidents following that would truly be called an accident. With enough photos of large snake bites cause by a food response, I think I got through to him... I think.
  • 09-06-2015, 12:11 PM
    mainer12
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    Some people astonish me lol. I was absolutely certain for about a month and a half that I was going to take the plunge and get a retic when I had the money. Needless to say after waiting that month and a half for the money to come around I had thought about it enough and realized I was not, and probably still not, ready for a snake that large. Maybe one day though 😊
  • 09-11-2015, 02:17 PM
    lpaulgib
    I would just really impress on him that purchasing a snake that large, when he has little or no experience keeping large snakes is a stupid idea. Tell him he shouldn't get something that at some point might need multiple people to handle safely. He should get something smaller first, then move up.
  • 09-11-2015, 04:35 PM
    Tash
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    I tell him this but he insists that he'll grow into it. I am just hoping this is another one of his pipe dreams that he says he'll do but never does. Because clearly I have no idea what I am talking about when I talk to him about snakes. I'm moving so whatever he decides to do I will no longer feel responsible. I said my opinions and worry more then once. It's in his hands to be responsible now.
  • 09-11-2015, 06:44 PM
    Kittencaboodles
    Maybe he needs to get an idea of the serious $$$ that would take to even get rolling... IDK his or your situation, but if something costs a couple stacks thats gonna make me put the brakes on it, even if the talk is still kind of 'wishful thinking'
  • 11-09-2015, 02:21 AM
    Artemisace
    Re: Help me talk him out of it
    Not trying to say he has a good idea, but they do grow slow compared to the large pythons. But all that aside, they aren't a good starter snake at all. I have one and I love her to death, but it was only after hundreds of hours of research and owning a tiger retic that I decided to pull the trigger. I'm not sure where you are on the issue with him at the moment, but if he still wants one tell him you WILL NOT take care of it and that it's care is on his hands. They can get to almost 100 pounds at 10 foot in length. They are the heaviest bodied snake in the world and will break 300 pounds eventually.

    snake room
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