Mom won't let me take snake to vet after saying she would

[FollowTheSun]

That is really a difficult situation. I am a mom of two teenagers who have pets. I think it's admirable and shows you really care about your snake to be willing to use your Christmas money for it.

I hate to go up against another mom but you might argue that if the $100 is a gift ,then it should not matter to her how you spend it. Gifts should have no strings attached.

I don't know your age, but is it possible for you to earn some money through odd jobs-- babysitting, leaf-raking, etc? This would be your money to spend as you wish.

Is there a reptile store near you? Maybe you can ask them to take a quick look at the snake and see if they feel it should see a vet or not, or if the hissing/wheezing might be normal or there might be an easy thing to try to fix it, since it seems your snake is still thriving otherwise? When my daughter adopted her BP she didn't know much about them yet, and she was concerned about a dry patch on her head. We asked the reptile store guy to take a look and he assured her it was just a bit of retained shed and told her how to take care of it.

See if you can write this vet a letter and explain the situation. Ask if they might offer a discount exam fee or waive it for you since you don't have funds. Or offer to barter like you can clean their lobby or something in payment. Vets generally care about animals and will work with you, especially if they see a young person who cares so much about their animal.