Shelliebear,

First off, I understand from your former posts that the majority of people that surround you or that you are aware of are on some type of "state assistance". This should NOT be an expectation or desirable outcome for ANY person. If I was in your living situation, I would be studying my butt of trying to get out of there and to NOT live on the state's dime (aka TAXPAYERS). To put this in perspective, go to the store. Every person working there is paying for every person on the "state's dime". People who are on welfare are living off of the hard work of someone else. Government has NO income and PRODUCES NOTHING. Every dime that the Government gives out in a program or "invests" in a project is money taken from a person in the United States. You seem like a person who does not enjoy living off of charity do why do you talk of these "state funded programs" and how kids are easy to pay for? Do you want to live off of someone elses hard work for the rest of your life? If the answer is no (which I suspect it is) then get a high school diploma/GED and find a career and work your way up.

Contrary to what people say, a college education is basically worthless. It does not prove how smart you are, or represent your work ethic. All it is is a piece of paper that says you paid X amount of dollars and did busy work. It is NOT necessary to make a good living.

B) As for the snake, Do what you can afford. If you find that you cannot afford the vet care then surrender it. I've heard people on this forum say that they've given up food, etc for their snakes vet bills. I'm sorry but that is ridiculous. YOUR health and welfare comes before the snakes. And before I get jumped on for being a 'poor owner who doesn't deserve animals" I should point out that my family and I have owned animals for decades and we have loved them and given them great homes but we DO NOT spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on vet care. Putting more money in an animal than it is worth is not a smart decision.

For example, when my Dad's beloved Jack Russel, Rascal, was ran over and had a broken hip and leg, we took him to the vet. The vet wanted to do surgery that would cost $5,000+. My dad said "no thanks" bought painkillers and wouldn't leave rascals side for weeks. Said dog is now 8 yeas old, happy as a lark and running around perfectly fine. While he could have died, it would not have been a smart decision to spend thousands on him when said money could be spent on our family.

I understand if some, or most, of the people on this forum disagree. Thats fine. It's your money and your life but please don't go off on the few/many people who don't agree with your point of view. As shellie pointed out, there is no insurance for pets. Everything comes out of pocket and vet bills can easily add up to tens of thousands of dollars. Thats enough to bankrupt the average American family.

Shellie, do what you think is best and what you can afford.