Quote Originally Posted by akaangela View Post
Ok, I am not looking for a fight, but I do feel strongly about this so here it goes.

You said you would sell this animal to an adult with specific experience with problem feeders, right? So how many animals would an adult have to have with picky eaters to be experienced enough for you to sell it to them? The OP stated

" The day I bought her I was told she was a picky eater, but from dealing with several picky eating snakes before, I was confident enough that I could get her on food. "

Now she didn't say if the picky snakes she had dealt with where old or young, but it wasn't like she had never had one that didn't want to eat. Also she was here on the forum, with many many experienced people, to give her advice and mentor her. I think her age has less very little to do with it.


<sigh> I am not looking for a brawl but clumping all teens into those that write checks that they cant cash is not fair. I know so many "adults" that do the same thing. How many threads have we seen where an adult has lost an animal? Do we automatically assume that it was due to their age or do we assume that it was due to their lack of knowledge or just bad luck (or for that matter just being stupid)?

It just irks me when people say "teens can't be trusted". Teens are human. What in heavens name are parents for if not to make sure that the child knows what they are getting into? Age should have less to do with the ability to care for something than experience.

As I said I wouldn't have sold this snake to anyone, no matter what age, in the general public.

Thank you for this post.
I for one am a teen, and though I do not yet have any ball pythons of my own, I have successfully kept many pets, including reptiles, all of which are alive and thriving. I have kept the most pets out of my whole family and brought a sick dragon back to health with my sister helping as well, because that lizard is both of ours.
I study like crazy before getting a new member of my family, and I feel that age doesn't matter when it comes to maturity or ability to keep animals. I met this young boy at a reptile event at Petco who bred his own snakes and either was or starting to breed Bearded Dragons. He had to have been no older than 13. He had ball pythons, crested geckos, bearded dragons, cornsnakes, king snakes...
I've seen more adults take worse care or be less responsible or capable with their pets than teens.
If I did, however, breed snakes, and happen to have one that would not eat, I would not sell it to /anyone/ unless I was absolutely sure that it would be in good hands. That, or I'd keep it to make sure it ate before selling it.