Thinking of stepping away from balls.

[MMReptiles]

Feel free to report me. I stand by what I believe 100%, if you think threats of reporting me to a mod on a forum on the internet are going to cause me to worry you're kidding yourself. Your breed specific nonsense is crap. You clearly feel that certain species will cause your kid harm (probably if they get out, as a 2 year old doesn't need to be around a snake PERIOD), but others will not is nonsense. If you don't feel your cage is secure enough for a blood, its not secure enough for a ball. You are endangering your kid and the snake. That is bad parenting and bad animal ownership as you're risking both your kid and the animal.

[RoseyReps]

You're willing to let your kid be around a ball python, but not a blood python. Based around ignorance of species and poor knowledge of animals. I am not indirectly calling you a bad father. I'm DIRECTLY calling you a bad father. A good father if he was concerned about his child, would realize that both snakes are extremely similar, and BOTH could harm his kid. The likelyhood of a ball python escaping and a blood escaping and biting his kid is probably the exact same. It has nothing to do with your kids safety in that regard. Don't kid yourself.

Erm...isn't the title of this thread "Thinking of stepping away from balls."

Seriously though...So let me get this straight...keeping snakes = bad parent. That about sums up your post, correct? I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and 1) Say you don't have kids and 2) You are very passionate (even to the point of being blindly arrogant) about snakes and "breedism".

I guess that means keeping;
dogs = bad parent
horses = bad parent
cats = bad parent

Do you see how asinine this is? I really hope you do. Or at least, one day, maybe when you're a little older, you will see how silly your responses have been. You wonder why people have been jumping on you in this thread, but have you actually read your responses? Imagine saying those things to a persons face. I imagine you yelling and possibly spitting a bit while ranting about how if you don't like certain species you shouldn't have animals, or if you have a kid you shouldn't own a snake....you don't talk to people like that. You don't sit there and tell people they are a bad parent, over something so freaking idiotic as "well if you are afraid of bloods hurting your kid, and have bps, then you're a bad father!"

My gosh...I really wish people would treat others with respect.

Alas...the internet and texting era has produced naught but loud mouth, sniveling, arrogant brats, who don't know how to interact with human beings. (I'm not calling you all those things here mind you, I doubt you're a loud mouth, sniveling brat...but arrogant yes )

Sorry... /end rant

MMR...you're passionate, great. Good job. We get it. Seriously though, chill the freak out. You can't seem to have a civil discussion without going off the deep end.

Chris, Good luck with your corns! Or wherever the passion may take you!

[MMReptiles]

I'm not saying reptiles = bad parent. I fully intend to keep my nile monitor, and my retics when I have children. The difference is, the OP is worried about certain species of snakes harming the kid. The only way the kid should ever be around the snakes, is if the snakes get loose, or if the kid gets into the caging. Either way- that's going to come down to the caging element of the reptiles being kept.

Fact is, he's worried about for example- a blood python, around his child. The only way for that blood python to end up around his child (unless he's stupid enough to let a 2 year old play with a snake, which I'm going to assume he isn't that stupid), is if the snake.

A. Gets out
B. Is let out by the kid.

Seeing as though the requirements for both species are extremely similar- one can assume that being a ball python, or a blood python, they will have nearly identical caging. Leading to the same possibility of getting out or being let out. No difference. Either way, a 2 year old alone with a snake will probably get bit, regardless of species, because 2 year olds don't understand how to interact with it, and will surely injure the snake and it will bite out of fear.

If the owner is worried about the caging not being secure and the snake ending up near the child for a blood python, but not a ball- which will have nearly identical requirements.

That is why I say it's bad parenting.

Lets say the owner was looking at 2 dogs, he was worried that the pitbull could harm his kid if it got out of the kennel it was kept in. He is; however, not worried that a rottie kept in the same enclosure getting out could risk his child- because fact is, the same kennel could be secure or not secure for either dog, if he feels it's not going to keep the pitbull in, it won't keep the rottie in either, and that is the danger to the child, and that is why he shouldn't risk it.

Again, I'm not saying the animal is bad- he feels worried about his child interacting with snakes, it's breedism and that is stupid, and he clearly has expressed he doesn't show full confidence in his caging systems to keep the animals in and secure under all circumstances. I have several very large snakes and lizards- they will all be here with me even when I have a kid- because I'm confident in my enclosures, and the locks keeping the snakes in, and the safety precautions I've taken.

[el8ch]

It's simple. Every animal has the potential to harm a person; child, adult or otherwise. It all comes down to responsible pet ownership.
Everyone will have their own opinions based on personal experience, community input, breed, comfort level etc.

I'm sure whatever route Chris decides to take he will be cautious and responsible, IMO the need to question and/or continue to question his or anyone else's parenting ability is not necessary.

[John1982]

I'm not saying reptiles = bad parent. I fully intend to keep my nile monitor, and my retics when I have children. The difference is, the OP is worried about certain species of snakes harming the kid. The only way the kid should ever be around the snakes, is if the snakes get loose, or if the kid gets into the caging. Either way- that's going to come down to the caging element of the reptiles being kept.

Maybe the OP wishes to share their love and interest in herps with the kiddos, including hands on interaction. The bad reputation for many species comes from lack of captive breeding back in the day, changing such deep seeded notions generally takes time. Go back 20 years and 99% of the retics and bloods in the industry were wild caught, pissed off animals that were hard enough to acclimate - let alone calming to a handleable state. Sure, things are different nowadays and their bad reputations are largely unwarranted but I entirely understand someone wanting to work with "safer" animals for the sake of being prudent in regards to their family's welfare. If you don't get that MMreptiles, maybe it's time to just throw in the towel on this thread.

I'll offer the following pictures for you consideration, MMReptiles. Do you honestly think that one isn't safer than the other - regardless of my experience level and confidence in handling the situation should things turn sour?

It's been a while but I believe my niece was 3 and my nephew 5 in the first picture. The second one may have been a year earlier putting my nephew around 4 years of age.

[JLC]

I think this thread has gone on far long enough. But I'm going to get in the "last word" because I can.

Going on the evidence of words in this thread alone, no one here is a "bad parent" and to make those kinds of assumptions and accusations based on a stupid internet argument is beyond ridiculous. But...it's not "hate speak". Let's get real here. It's just someone acting like a jerk, and their words and accusations of being a "bad parent" are nothing more than hot air that should blow right past your face and be gone as quickly as it came.

If anyone feels compelled to continue this argument ANYwhere on this site, it better be done in the QT room where you start a new thread. If this argument spills into other threads in the public forums, infractions will be handed out.

That is all. This thread is done.