I remember being 14 and wanting a ball python more than anything. At the time the cost of the snake and the setup was too much for my single mom to afford and as I got older and had my own money, as in money that did not come out of my moms pocket at one point, my mom insisted that getting a snake was not an option. Years went by and one day about a year ago, I was in a pet store and I saw a cute little ball-python. I was 29 years old, living with my girlfriend soon to be wife and I thought "If only I could get a ball-python." Then like a ton of bricks it hit me. I am an adult, I have a job, my own place, money saved up in the bank. I have been able to buy a snake if I want for the past 10 years. If I was that 14 year old kid I would have walked out of the store with that snake. Instead I went home, joined this site, and started reading, two weeks later I was sure that I still wanted a snake and now I have a beautiful 618 gram normal unsexed ball python, in her own plastic, sliding glass door cage, with a lock, 2 reptile basic hides, with 2 larger ones sitting on top for when she gets too big, an under the tank heater on a thermostat and 2 digital thermometers. My girlfriend says when I get her ring I can get my carpet python.

Moral of the story is, you are 14. Before you know it you will be in college. What are you going to do with a snake collection when you go to college? You have some crazy times ahead of you and in the end you may thank your mom for keeping your passion under control. I recently offered to rescue a snake whose owner did not have time for it and whose mother would not care for it. The snake died before I could save it. College will go by like the blink of an eye and then hopefully you will have a good job, your own place, and if snakes are still your passion, get a lot before you have a partner in your life to tell you "No more snakes"