Quote Originally Posted by Ridinandreptiles View Post
well since this thread has risen and the scary grandmother looking thing is wandering around the graveyard, i may as well chime in. This is me blindly jabbering about me feeling on the whole age and reptile topic. Im going to start with no a 14 year old any teen like myself for that matter should have a copperhead. I think something like a vine snake or mild venom would be cool and acceptable. now lets move on to what irks me. As some or you know i am a teenager, and my biggest life lesson / thing to live by has been dont let people say that you cant do something....having 50 snakes and breeding IMPOSSIBLE many say, but i never thought that; when i look at a fellow keeper i feel that we are at the same level as far as herps go. BUT NO. Let me share a story of when i vended last year at o local expo 2 instances. One guy came over and said that he would never buy a 3000 dollar snake from a kid because we are stupid and impulsive. Another man ridiculed my mother or letting me own the animals and work for word said im a spoiled **** because my mom had to of purchased them for me because kids now days don't know hard work WTH. This may not be the same exact topic as owning hots but its saying what ive been told and what i hate "hey youre a kid, you are not reponsible and your animals will suffer because your an immature CHILD" okay rant thingy ma blab over
I read this thread top to bottom. From what I picked up was that it wasn't soo much about his age, it was his misunderstanding of the protocols that should be taken before owning hots. I'm all for Floridas stand on it, 1000hrs under a certified proffesional. It takes many many years for people to accomplish that, in that time they should have learned the delicate process in which to go about handling hots. I don't own hots, but one day I would love to have a yellow eyelash viper... One day. I would except the risks, but I would make sure I understood them first. I've spent many many years involved in extreme sports. I spent 6 days in critical care when I shattered my orbital bone.... I spent 2 months in a wheelchair when I shattered my tibia and fibula. I have broken more bones than I care to list.... But I knew what I was getting myself into, and I made sure I took every precaution I could. I spent thousands of dollars on the best protective gear I could get. Now that I have matured enough to look back at it all....... Damn what was I thinking...? Lol I'm only 23 and I have arthritis in both knees, knee surgery twice on my left knee. Every morning I wake up is a blessing and a curse. If I had known the prolonged consequences of my actions when I was younger, maybe I would have thought twice before hitting that triple 4th gear tapped while running on fumes.... Maybe I would of let someone else jump that gouge before I launched it....
Maybe the OP should think about the consequences of taking io such a large responsibility at such a young age. Maybe he should of looked into the necessary steps needed to safely own hots. I don't understand why he was asking about a cage for hots? There are plenty of locking cages on the market built specifically for hots. Sliding feed doors to drop the prey in without putting your hand inside. To me it seemed more like an attempt to gain attention. I believe he was looking for positive comments saying how cool it was that he wanted a rattlesnake. I believe his mom is also to blame here. Yes she believes that he was nature enough to take on the responsibility.... But what does she know about the involved responsibilities required. She said his life goal was to work with native hots... My life goal was to fly helicopters... Did my mother argue with expert pilots about how my video game flying skills were suitable training..?? Yes I know they are two totally different examples... But are they really that different? You have to be of a certain age to fly... Same with owning hots. Yes my parents could of bought a heli and license, and allowed me to fly under their license... But is it right, idk.... Now I kind of wish that happened, that would of kicked ass haha.
Ohh crap the zombies are here!!! Time to fly away in my heli