Glad to hear about your mom coming over her fears.

My mom loved snakes nearly as much as mine (in fact as a girl she once put 3 garter snakes in her mouth with their heads poking out, when her mom asked her what it was, she spit all three out at her, haha) but didnt want to end up caring for them if I got them, well after I moved out a BP was one of the first things I got. But we cant have moms awesome in all aspects and your mom's fear is a lot better than other problems people can have.