Ugh parents...

[Carlene16]

My mom is afraid of my snakes too.. when i first got my red tail boa she told me she was afraid of him getting loose and "chewing" on stuff! I just don't think she believes there are such things as nice snakes. I'm responsible with my snakes too but i doubt my parents will ever understand why i could love a creepy scaly creature (even though i think they are beautiful and call them my babies... hah ) I just know when I have my own house someday I'll have a snake room! I don't think my parents will ever come visit me =P

[Jay_Bunny]

Well, lets see. Since I'm as old if not older than your mom, no I don't have any issues with my mom and my hobbies.

Are you showing here that you are responsible and tkae care of your reptiles? Does she have to deal with the smell of snake poo and urates? Are you doing the other things she's asking you to to (chores)?

I'm not taking sides but many times a parent is just looking for you to be responsible. All around, not just in one aspect of your life. But in all areas.

I hope you can work these issues out. Herping can be addicting and becomes a lifetime habit. Not having, at the very least, a tolerent parent can be a BIG issue.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

I don't think that is what the OP means. I think this is more talking about the parent's idea that the hobby is useless and immature. Its a 'stupid' interest. Not so much that the OP's parent thinks he/she can't take care of an animal. It is just that the idea of keeping something as "stupid" as a reptile is childish.

My family doesn't like the fact I keep reptiles and I can honestly say that my family doesn't come over for dinner much. They prefer I come see them. They don't like the reptiles or that I keep them. I told them I want to breed them and they said it is a stupid idea and I should invest my time and money into something like reptiles. I should go to school and "do something with my life." My mom is also trying to convince me that I should not have reptiles when I have kids because "reptiles carry disease that could be passed to my child." (even though I have a strict handling rule of washing my hands before and after handling) Ugh...anyway...I feel your pain. All you can do is take a deep breath, realize that this is not something she is interested in or may never be interested in.

[chris4554]

And I think parents sometimes just don't understand the animal so that leads them to not like them like so many other people do. My mom watches the news to much so I'm sure she sees snake related stuff sometimes. The first time I said anything about getting a python she heard python and flipped thinking it was get loose and strangle everyone during the night. I did educate her on snakes some and she warmed up a little but a lot of people are just scared because of things they hear and not really knowing the truth. Stupid television!

[Carlene16]

I just hope that my parents don't come in the way of me keeping reptiles. I love them and if they ever told me the snakes had to go I would cry My dad told me if I plan on having kids he won't let me have my boa constrictor because he'd be scared that it would be a danger to my kids...Well I keep many locks on my snakes cages and there is no way my boa could get out... I just kinda wish that my parents could at least respect the fact that I have a really different interest than the rest of my sports-loving family. I completely understand if they don't like snakes, but I feel like they should at least love me even though I love snakes! My mom told me today she'd be embarrassed to have to tell people I'm busy at a reptile expo

[rabernet]

I just hope that my parents don't come in the way of me keeping reptiles. I love them and if they ever told me the snakes had to go I would cry My dad told me if I plan on having kids he won't let me have my boa constrictor because he'd be scared that it would be a danger to my kids...Well I keep many locks on my snakes cages and there is no way my boa could get out... I just kinda wish that my parents could at least respect the fact that I have a really different interest than the rest of my sports-loving family. I completely understand if they don't like snakes, but I feel like they should at least love me even though I love snakes! My mom told me today she'd be embarrassed to have to tell people I'm busy at a reptile expo

There's nothing that you posted that suggests that your parents don't love you. Just because they don't understand or like snakes doesn't mean that they don't love you.

Remind your mother that she doesn't HAVE to tell people that you're busy at a reptile expo.

[Carlene16]

Hahah your right, I know my parents love me! I just know they don't like some of things I choose to like =] And that's what I told her! There's no reason to tell people I'm going to a reptile expo.. though I'm rather proud to be going to my first one

[Bpmike1208]

I know how you feel i have a growing collection right now just 4 bps. im 18 live at home and im going to start breeding them , my parents think its a joke that its pointless and theres nothing to get back from them. people fear and look down on what they dont understand. i have a few friends that have family members in to snakes as well and would love to buy some babies off me once i breed my spider to my pastel and offered me 800 bucks for a bumble bee , and my parents find it very hard to believe that anyone drops more then 100 on a snake , ive tried explaining it to them but they wont ever understand . i mean think about it i cant see the point in dropping 100s of dollars on a coin but coin collectors do. well all in all im going to just prove them wrong, now dont get me wrong i love these animals but im going to sell some to friends and once i have that 800 in my hands from a bumble bee maybe they wont look at it as so much of a joke any more

[Bpmike1208]

And I think parents sometimes just don't understand the animal so that leads them to not like them like so many other people do. My mom watches the news to much so I'm sure she sees snake related stuff sometimes. The first time I said anything about getting a python she heard python and flipped thinking it was get loose and strangle everyone during the night. I did educate her on snakes some and she warmed up a little but a lot of people are just scared because of things they hear and not really knowing the truth. Stupid television!

Also i agree the media is ridiculous they make these animals look very bad , and feed off this crap. u never see on the tv head lines "bunny rabbit gives 7 year old rabies" but i bet it happens just nobody thinks of a bunny rabbit as a blood thirsty killer so it doenst make the head lines

[BCSkinz]

My parents didn't like snakes when I first got into the hobby. That slowly changed over time. My mom warmed up to them pretty quickly and she even helps take care of my natal rats now. My dad took a bit more time to get used to the snakes. He's a business man, so he became more interested when I showed him that these animals can be good investments. Funny how certain parts of the hobby appeal to outsiders. He's always excited for me to make my next big sale, haha.

[Carlene16]

Hahah I actually want to produce a couple bumblebees too now that I'm getting my super pastel male I want a spider female! If I even told my parents I planned on breeding my snakes they would yell at me just because there would be more snakes But I will breed him someday The media makes snakes sound soooo bad.. Recently there was the show on animal planet called like alien invaders or something and it talked about how the burmese and rock python are taking over in parts of florida.. and it just made snakes sound like blood thirsty killers and I got pretty iritated watching that show. It is a problem but no need to makes responsible pet owners sound bad by bashing large snake owners.