Kids and Herps... and a picture

[Colin Vestrand]

Wheres his game face????

that's reserved for certain things!




thanks for the comments everyone... i always like discussing questions with no concrete answers.

[Nuzum1978]

My six year old stepson, while normally a wild child, is very slow and gentle w/ our snake. (As opposed to his poor hamster we caught him teaching gymnastics to.) He handles her in a smooth manner fitting of royalty.

I love how a lot less kids are afraid of snakes than adults.

Great pic! Looks like little man knows his business.

[Rakk101]

My three year old daughter helps me do everything with our snakes, she helps me clean the tubs/cages, gets water/bedding, I feed them but she loves to watch.

We bought a female DHsunglow boa the other week and she named it Princess as soon as she helped open the box.

My 6 year old son is interested for maybe about 30 minutes and then wants to do something else but he does help me with the Clydesdales when we have to get them ready for parades and such

[littleindiangirl]

Colin that is an awesome picture!! Your kid is adorable and looks like a seasoned pro.

The closest thing I have to a child are my younger brothers and sisters, and they are just as crazy as me about animals, they have no fear!

(Your wooden rocking horse there, my old old pediatrician's office had those, I loved them when I was a kid! lol )

[icygirl]

Great picture, cute kid, and beautiful carpet

What do you think the best way to introduce young kids to herps? Does anyone ever get afraid that the kid will squeeze too hard, or grab it by the head, etc...? I guess it's hard for me to know cause I don't have kids haha.

[SarahMB]

What a great pic, your son is adorable.

My 8 yr old has had 2 snakes of his own for a couple of years.

[gothkenny]

>_> I wish my brother would do that. He doesn't understand animals... At all. I would never trust him with any of my pets. Its bad enough how he terrorizes my kitten!
When we first found my kitten outside, he had thrown it when it wouldn't leave him alone. I stopped letting him pet my reptiles after that.

D:
(He's almost four btw)

[Colin Vestrand]

Great picture, cute kid, and beautiful carpet

What do you think the best way to introduce young kids to herps? Does anyone ever get afraid that the kid will squeeze too hard, or grab it by the head, etc...? I guess it's hard for me to know cause I don't have kids haha.

i started Levi by having him touch the snakes with the back of his hand. this way he couldn't grab them - that's actually a reflex that infants and small children have. now that he's a little older he has more motor control and can even catch frogs in the back yard, or hold the geckos without squishing them. it's just a gradual thing i guess...


thanks again everyone, i think he's a pretty cute kid too. i mean, his genes are half mine.

[Colin Vestrand]

i just had to resurrect this post with a new picture... this gecko now resides in his room so i don't have to hear him constantly ask me to take him down to the herp room to see the gecko. as big as he's smiling here, i'm pretty sure i'm smiling bigger.

[RoyalGuardian]

I'm not a mommy yet but I think that its a great idea to do it while they are young! I also think its fine if the child is properly taught and its a docile snake.