Question on setup

[tiny_tiger60978]

Okay okay. Enough with all the lectures...jeeze. While it will most likely turn out bad (aka their parental units will FREAK), keep in mind the origional question. Nothing yall say will prob make them change their mind about getting a snake...

So moving on to the origional question...
Yeah, looks good. I went to WalMart to get my tubs too. I did the Rubbermade "Roughneck" or whatever brand because it's more for outdoor storage, so you can rest assured it won't melt/warp from the heat coming from the UTH(s) under the tub. I really like the locking lids too. I do use a bungee cord around the middle when transporting the cages and to make sure they can't escape. Be sure to burn lots of tiny air holes all around them though (as I'm sure you already planned).

Well...good luck with your snake and with you parents! Hope I helped

[Bones]

Okay okay. Enough with all the lectures...jeeze. While it will most likely turn out bad (aka their parental units will FREAK), keep in mind the origional question. Nothing yall say will prob make them change their mind about getting a snake...

I have a little brother and he has the same mindset as this kid does, so I know that nothing is going to make this kid change his mind. I don't think that asking pertinent questions is considered "lecturing". He has the right to ask for help, so we have the right to make sure that this kid is going to do right by the snake.

I did answer his question at the end. I can only hope that even though he is too impatient to wait to get another snake and is going against his parent's rules, that he can afford to and will give the snakes the care they deserve.

[Kyle@theHeathertoft]

"Ima do what ima do?" Seriously? My inner former-English-major just died a little.

We are mentioning what could possibly happen to the snake itself because we are worried about the future welfare of the snake. I am going to wait for the day when you make a thread on here that is something along the lines of this "HELPPPPPP! My snake has a (insert problem here) and I don't know what to do!" Like Kyle said, what are you going to do if something happens to this snake and it requires a pricy vet bill? Could you afford it? Do you have a way to get the animal there? If you were worried about making mistakes, you would take the time to COMPLETELY think this out instead of just getting what you want. What you want isn't always what you need.

...THIS. This right here. Quoted because it needs saying over and over again.

Snakes are cool as heck. They're awesome. Total freaking potato-chips...can't have just one! Look at me, sweating to death since I'm heating my bedroom for the comfort of my snakes. I drove two hours out and two hours back to pick up my new little Retic last night. My snake count is high enough that people at work ask "hay Kyle, how many you got now" and I have to actually stop and count. Having snakes is awesome, I love them and reccomend them as pets to a lot of people.

HOWEVER.

They are living beings. Their WHOLE DANG LIVES are dependent upon us. We decide, for good or ill, their quality of life. Our choices affect them and choosing badly or unwisely can be disastrous for that innocent little legless animal. Choosing to get a snake because "ima do what ima do" doesn't sound like this person has the snake's well-being in mind. Wanting a snake is fine...wanting a snake at the potential cost of that snake's well-being is not cool.

Id love to wait till i move out, buuut that could be a long time and i really dont want to have to wait for possibly years seeing my town has the highest unnemployment ratings in the state....

Yah, no sympathies here. When I lived with my parents, I had a conservative haircut, no tats or piercings, and the most exotic pet I owned was a large irate black cat. I wanted a snake in the worst way.

And I waited for it. FOR YEARS. I was maybe four or five when I asked for a pet snake for the first time, when my dad started letting me follow him on trips into the swamps and bogs up north. He'd catch me little river snakes and garter snakes...and I could keep them for a week but then he always made me let them go. I wanted to keep a snake as a pet forever in the WORST WAY.

Know how old I was when I bought my first pet snake? TWENTY ONE. So that's...what. Maybe fifteen years or more?

Patience is a virtue, dude.

Thats the reason i came here, to get as much info as i can so i dont have to worry about making mistakes and all the things u guys listead that could happen with the snake itself.

So you do have a contingency plan for if the snake gets sick? Or if your folks find it when you aren't there and potentially chop it into pieces?

See...what I want comes second to what the animal(s) needs. Always has and always will. Hence my worry when I see someone who is possibly putting their wants before those needs.

My parents for instance would look at the costs, a $30 dollar python requiring a $200 vet bill would be a new python for me.

Heh, my dad kindof still has that sort of mentality. Should have heard the ruckus he made when I put myself into debt to save my puppy. Adoption fee for little Cricket was like $60. Two broken front legs and about two thousand dollars later...

And I must say my little mutt is worth every penny.

Okay okay. Enough with all the lectures...jeeze. While it will most likely turn out bad (aka their parental units will FREAK), keep in mind the origional question. Nothing yall say will prob make them change their mind about getting a snake...

Bolded emphasis mine.

I'm certain this kid is gonna do what he's gonna do, hence the "ima do what ima do" part (I seriously had to sit back and re-read that a few times) but when the nasty brown gunk hits the fan, I'd like the moral high ground to say "yeah we told you so."

For the sake of his hypothetical Ball Python (whom I sincerely pity) I cannot keep from voicing my concerns over his incredibly dishonest, irresponsible plans.