Beginner just bought a Burm

[melissafred]

I just bought my 12 y/o a 5 month-old albino Burm. Although we've had other pets, this is our first snake. He was purchased from a reputable family-owned pet store that we have bought other animals and supplies from for well over a year. When we asked about a good snake for a beginnerr, we were told by one of their employees, who raised this Burm and many of their other snakes, that the Burm would be a good one to start with. Since I've always had an outstanding relationship with this shop, (I even volunteer there periodically), I trusted the employee's recommendation of the Burm as a good beginner snake. However, everything that I'm reading on the internet says that Burms AREN'T good beginner snakes. We were told that he would get to be around 12', which I think we can handle. We were also told that if he got to be too big, we could always sell him or give him to a zoo. Again, based on my reading, I'm finding out that this is NOT the case.

Have we just bitten off more than we can chew? At this point, I'd rather disappoint my son and possibly strain an otherwise wonderful relationship with the shop than be forced to deal with a snake that we aren't yet experienced enough to handle.

Please help!
Melissa

[normballpython2]

yeah i have to say that you have. i would give it back. unless you feel you are completely ready to feed a humungous burm 8lb rabbits (by the way they have killer feeding responses) and remove a humungous snake that could possibly be in a bad move to clean it's enclosure. or risk the chance that one day you might make a mistake and have the slightest smell of rat on you and get tottaly nailed by a 12-14'(sometimes bigger) snake. personally as babies they are anything but hard to keep. but as adults they take precaution,expeirience, and a ton of time. so long story short unless you are completely ready for things like that give it back. oh and by the way they grow extremely fast. Rex332's burm has grown in girth and length in the month that he has had his. good luck with your decison

Brian

[tigerlily]

Take it back....definitely take it back. Burms are not ideal beginner snakes, and can reach lengths of 15-18 feet. I don't know what those people were thinking to sell you that! :eek: If you don't think you can handle a snake that big, which is definitely a huge responsibilty, don't think you can raise it temporarily and then give it away later. Find something you can be comfortable for the life of the snake. Ball pythons and corn are ideal beginner snakes. Try researching online, there is a wealth of information available.

[frankykeno]

Melissa, I'm in no way a snake expert having recently gotten into the hobby with 2 ball pythons, however, I am a mom. Quite honestly as much as I love albino burmese I wouldn't consider them a good starter snake especially for a 12 year old and a family w/o snake experience. From all I've read and seen on this forum they are a major committment as they grow quite large and quite fast as well they tend to be pretty nippy babies.

It's of course completely up to you, but you shouldn't feel bad if you wish to return the snake and ask for a switch to another one. After all this is a years/decades long committment and you should have a snake that fits your family best. If the pet store can't understand that so be it.....they seem to have given you some pretty misleading information. Zoos will generally NOT take pet snakes, most larger zoos get many many calls. Lots of larger snakes end up in rescues because people didn't know just how big and how much work an adult burmese or reticulated python is.

There are many many other choices. Perhaps you and your son can do some research online, get the advice of some really experienced folks here about appropriate first snakes for young people and sort out your caging options, that way your son might not be so disappointed if you feel you need to rethink the burm purchase.

One idea might be a corn snake. They come in an amazing variety of colors and patterns and are very easy to care for (other than they like to try to escape). Ball pythons with some good research first about heat and humidity can be excellent first snakes if your son would prefer a bit larger snake that is more heavy bodied but they do have more specific requirements so good research and questions in the forum help a lot (that goes for all snakes really).

Best of luck on your decision. I know it's hard, I have 4 kids of my own but for our family anyway the ball python is just perfect and both of ours are calm enough that all the kids, even the 4 year old can handle them with appropriate supervision. The older ones even do weekly feeding.


~~Joanna~~

[drdingo21]

As everyone said, take it back.

And a good beginner snake is a ball python or a corn snake.

[rex322]

i hate to say it, especially since iu have a burm, but if its your first snake, you shouldnt keep it. take it back i hate to tell you, but your friends at the petshop told you complete BS just so they could sell the snake. 12' is if you got a male. you got a female, your lookn at a potentially 20ft+ snake eating huge pigs or goats.

still think its a good beginner snake?

[melissafred]

Thanks so much for the advice. I'm broken hearted right now, but not as upset as I'd be in a year with a monster snake on my hands. If it was any other shop, I'd be hopping mad and spread the word that their employees are full of b.s. As it is, I'll break the news to my son in the morning, with a promise of getting him an appropriate first snake. First thing Monday, I'll go to the shop and talk to the owner, possibly with a copy of this thread in hand. They have a pretty strict return policy on live animals. However, I'm hoping that given our relationship, she'll take it back or give us an appropriate first snake in exchange. I'm pretty sure she will and there will be no harm done to our relationship. OTOH, I've lost a lot of respect for this particular employee, to the point of being furious with him. If he'll feed me a line of b.s., then God knows what he's saying to Joe Shmo off the street. Needless to say, I'm not taking his word on anything other than guppies from hence forth.
Melissa

In tears but eternally greatful for your help.

Edited to add: The Burm is a male. My son just came downstairs and I showed him this thread. He still wants a snake but agreed that taking this one back was the smart thing to do. Time to shop for a truly appropriate first snake.

[Python-77]

You have made the right choice a burm is not a good first, 2nd or even 3rd snake, heck I woould never recommend one to anyone, I also own one but you have to be prepaired for what is comming.

[frankykeno]

Melissa, I think you made a very wise decision tho a hard one. I'm very sure there's a lovely snake out there for your son and family to care for. I would suggest that maybe before choosing another one you look at the options, ask some questions here and make, with your son, a really informed decision.

It was also suggested to us once we decided to go with a specific snake to set up it's home a few days early to get everything sorted out as far as temps & humidity, hides, water dish, etc. Then once we got our snake to let it settle in and not handle it or bother it at all other than to remove feces/urates and refresh it's water for at least one week. That's hard to do but pays off big time when it comes time to offer it's first food after that settling in period.

We followed all the advice of this forum and Melissa it's paid off wonderfully! We are thrilled with both our snakes and they fit our family like a glove (but not a snakeskin one! LOL)

Best of luck with the talk with your son and try not to feel bad, you really were given terrible advice by that pet store employee.


~~Jo~~

[mlededee]

i am so sorry that you got bad advice about the burm. on the other hand i am VERY happy that you were able to find the correct information and save yourself from all kinds of surprise and trouble later on. you have made the absolute right choice in deciding to return the burm. i hope that your son will not be too heartbroken, but there are SO many other snakes that make good pets that he will be able to handle and interact with for longer than just the few short months while it is a baby. as mentioned ball pythons and corn snakes are two of the very best choices. let us know how it all turns out on monday, and if you decide to get something else to replace the burm. i hope to see you posting pics of a new and much more manageable beginner snake soon.