Want To By a Snake...

[Potemkin]

5. I read all your replies, and I know what the deal is. If I get a snake and I am going to Colledge, Its just ONE snake... I will tell my parents how to feed it, they are smart they can do it.

Why not just take it with you? I'm from Texas and I go to school in NY, but I still can take care of a snake.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I'm not trying to tell him what to do

It was a joke.

 

[Masurai]

It was a joke.

oh ok, now that i re-read it I can see that. Sorry about that man, it's late. you go on the good guy list.

 

[Dark]

<Edited personal attack -MrI>

Hey! Theres kids around, Watch your salty language!

[*]Absolutely NO flaming, deliberate personal attacks, or excessively antagonizing posts! Any violations of this rule will earn either a stern warning and post deletion, or a 2-week or 1-month ban, at the moderators' discretion. Obviously, harsher infractions will require harsher punishment, so please think twice.

Read the Rules ;P

 

[Sequin]

I only returned the Ferrets because they Destroyed my House

Ohh, they destroyed your house? Oh, okay. That changes everything.



How is that an excuse? YOU made the commitment to them. Ferrets are very intelligent and quickly form emotional bonds with their owners. Mine shifts into depression if he's taken out any less the a few hours a day for playtime. He's ruined two VERY expensive couches, dug holes into them. Which is MY fault for not supervising him. The little weasel drives me crazy, but being a responsible owner, I would NEVER sell him.

What about the other animals that "get under your skin." You already mentioned you gave your snake away because it bored you.

Maybe people are treating you like a child because you have the maturity of one? You sell pets once the novelty of owning one wears off, and you plan on leaving YOUR responsibilty for "mom and dad" to take care of.

 

[Mister Internet]

Read the Rules ;P

Advice you would do well to heed yourself.

If you notice any post(s) in violation of the rules that the mods have not yet gotten to, please make use of the "Report this post to a moderator" link in the lower right corner of every post. Vigilante justice is NOT appreciated... <img src="images/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" alt=""> Thank you, and enjoy your Arachnopets experience!

 

[Lorgakor]

I can't believe the way you all are treating this kid who came here asking honest questions. I have read this whole darned thread and I am apalled. None of you have gotten a pet only to realize it just wasn't right for you? Is it better to keep a pet that you are not happy with than to pass it on to someone who will love it more? I have passed on tarantulas that just weren't doing it for me, are you all going to flame me now? My sister decided she wanted ducks when she was younger, and yes she did her research, but then they became too much, so she passed them off to a petting zoo for children to enjoy, horrible of her wasn't it. Hmm, I had pigeons, they were horrible, gave them away, guinea pigs, those were my sisters, they went too. Hamsters, rats, a couple of dogs who didn't fit with our family, many, many, many fish.

What you all are failing to realize is that a 16 year old is responisble enough to care for an animal, but may not want to keep it forever. But I'm guessing none of you were ever 16, am I right? Instead of picking apart a teenagers webspeak, why not offer the best advice you can, so that he may make an informed decision on which pet to buy. He may not keep it forever, but once he loses interest in it, and he very well may, he can pass it on to someone who will love it forever. It is a growth experience, a learning experience in life, and not something to be degraded for. Shame on many of you in this thread. I do not blame Darkpredator for getting defensive.

 

[Potemkin]

I can't believe the way you all are treating this kid who came here asking honest questions. I have read this whole darned thread and I am apalled. None of you have gotten a pet only to realize it just wasn't right for you? Is it better to keep a pet that you are not happy with than to pass it on to someone who will love it more? I have passed on tarantulas that just weren't doing it for me, are you all going to flame me now? My sister decided she wanted ducks when she was younger, and yes she did her research, but then they became too much, so she passed them off to a petting zoo for children to enjoy, horrible of her wasn't it. Hmm, I had pigeons, they were horrible, gave them away, guinea pigs, those were my sisters, they went too. Hamsters, rats, a couple of dogs who didn't fit with our family, many, many, many fish.

I don't think the comparison to tarantulas is quite valid. Tarantulas tend to appreciate in value, particularly if they're female. If I bought a haplopelma sling and then in six months or so had to find it a caring home it would be relatively easy to do. With snakes, this isn't quite as easy to do- depending upon the species it can be impossible, especially with cheaper beginner species. Adoption places are full of king snakes, ball pythons and corn snakes that got too big or who had owners that got bored of them.

For the other animals, well, I don't think you're a horrible person or anything, but I certainly would have discouraged you from getting any of them if you knew there would be a conflict in your lifestyle. Pets aren't simply there for you, you're also there for them. Compared to dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs and even some fish, snakes have a degree of care that the uninitiate might not have researched. Where it might be easy to find a home for hamsters, gerbils, cats, dogs, etc., snakes present a difficulty becuase you need to find someone who will care about it and educate themselves on their care.

What you all are failing to realize is that a 16 year old is responisble enough to care for an animal, but may not want to keep it forever. But I'm guessing none of you were ever 16, am I right? Instead of picking apart a teenagers webspeak, why not offer the best advice you can, so that he may make an informed decision on which pet to buy. He may not keep it forever, but once he loses interest in it, and he very well may, he can pass it on to someone who will love it forever. It is a growth experience, a learning experience in life, and not something to be degraded for. Shame on many of you in this thread. I do not blame Darkpredator for getting defensive.

There's just as much chance that once he gets bored with the snake he'll give it to a shelter who will have to put it down when no one wants to adopt the 5 ft female ball python. I was sixteen and stupid too (now I'm older and still stupid ), but for the most part the advice here is good advice.

You don't get a pet you can't care for.

You don't get a pet you can't commit to.

If he buys a snake now, he should have it until he has his first couple kids. Snakes live a long, long time. At sixteen you shouldn't be passing on pets to your parents when things get in the way. So why not wait a year or two until he knows where he's going to be and what he'll be doing?

OP if you want a pet that you can handle that's nice, have you thought about rats? They're lower on the food chain admittedly, but they're a lot smarter, will like you a lot more and unfortunately don't live all that long (but it means that you wouldn't have to pass them onto your parents).

 

[Sequin]

What you all are failing to realize is that a 16 year old is responisble enough to care for an animal, but may not want to keep it forever.

What you fail to realize is keeping the animal for the duration of it's life is part of a pet keeper's responsibility.

Age does not exempt an individual from responsibilty. I was a responsible pet owner at 16, as are many young teenagers I know.

 

[Dark]

OP if you want a pet that you can handle that's nice, have you thought about rats? They're lower on the food chain admittedly, but they're a lot smarter, will like you a lot more and unfortunately don't live all that long (but it means that you wouldn't have to pass them onto your parents).

I had rats, Loved them to death, my bro went to the tank one day, took a smell and nearly coughed himself to death, (my bro is allergic to many things) My parents Forced me to get rid of them after a couple of months,

Listen, I am not going to just throw it away when I get bored, and If that even did happen, I know plenty of people who wouldn't mind. I am not a little kid, and you talk as if I am not reading what your saying, I completely Understand what you are talking about.

Btw Ty Lorgakor

 

[rm90]

What you all are failing to realize is that a 16 year old is responisble enough to care for an animal, but may not want to keep it forever. But I'm guessing none of you were ever 16, am I right? Instead of picking apart a teenagers webspeak, why not offer the best advice you can, so that he may make an informed decision on which pet to buy. He may not keep it forever, but once he loses interest in it, and he very well may, he can pass it on to someone who will love it forever. It is a growth experience, a learning experience in life, and not something to be degraded for. Shame on many of you in this thread. I do not blame Darkpredator for getting defensive.

I am 16 years old. I don't think you need to put all 16 year olds in a category with this person. You want to know what a growth experience is? When they know how to take care of the animals and know what they are getting into before they buy them. This is when you know its a GROWTH experience because they are being mature about it and doing their research! Not going out and buying something only to find its too "boring" or "it did this to my house" when if you did your research in the first place you wouldn't be going through bringing the animal back!

Just because hes a 16 year old doesn't mean you need to label all 16 in one category. Some 16 year olds are actually mature about things like this and do their RESEARCH before they buy an animal!

I had rats, Loved them to death, my bro went to the tank one day, took a smell and nearly coughed himself to death, (my bro is allergic to many things) My parents Forced me to get rid of them after a couple of months,

Hmm, but you want a snake that gets large? What are you going to do? Make the snake a vegitarian? I am sure the snake will be eating rats when it becomes "massive". Can't live on mice forever. But wait -- your brother is allergic to them so you can't really bring them home..

Have you thought about this?

 

[Dark]

Lol Ryan, So your telling me you buy a dog and it tears your kids arm off, you won't return it?

Your telling me about responsibility? May I ask what you do for a living?

and for God Sake, can people stop throwing Gasoline on this Fire


oh

and about the my bro being allergic to rats and me feeding rats to my snake, you are seriously making me laugh, I had the rats four months before it took him to smell the cage, If I am feeding rats to my snake, they will only last for 10 minutes, and if the snake refuses them, I have two Options, Humanely kill the Rat and throw it in the freezer till next week, or I can just take it out, and put it in a 20 gallon tank and wait next week, It doesn't eat next week, Leave it in the freezer or Euthanize it then put it in the freezer, (No i am not going to kill it with chemicals, Yes I am aware it would hurt the snake).

*edit* yes I would feed the rat if I was keeping it in the 20 gallon tank

 

[rm90]

Lol Ryan, So your telling me you buy a dog and it tears your kids arm off, you won't return it?

Your telling me about responsibility? May I ask what you do for a living?

and for God Sake, can people stop throwing Gasoline on this Fire

Theres a difference between following the law and not. If a dog tore my kids arm off i'd have it put to sleep. I have a job. I go to school. I pay for all my animals, and necessities. I do research before I buy an animal. And its not throwing Gasoline on the fire. I am just giving you my opinion. Its a discussion, is it not?

DEFINITION: forum
S: (n) forum (a public meeting or assembly for open discussion)

 

[Dark]

Just because hes a 16 year old doesn't mean you need to label all 16 in one category. Some 16 year olds are actually mature about things like this and do their RESEARCH before they buy an animal!

.... Just because you throw a smiley in on your last post doesn't make what you said before help matters at all.

 

[Potemkin]

Lol Ryan, So your telling me you buy a dog and it tears your kids arm off, you won't return it?

Your telling me about responsibility? May I ask what you do for a living?

and for God Sake, can people stop throwing Gasoline on this Fire


oh

and about the my bro being allergic to rats and me feeding rats to my snake, you are seriously making me laugh, I had the rats four months before it took him to smell the cage, If I am feeding rats to my snake, they will only last for 10 minutes, and if the snake refuses them, I have two Options, Humanely kill the Rat and throw it in the freezer till next week, or I can just take it out, and put it in a 20 gallon tank and wait next week, It doesn't eat next week, Leave it in the freezer or Euthanize it then put it in the freezer, (No i am not going to kill it with chemicals, Yes I am aware it would hurt the snake).

*edit* yes I would feed the rat if I was keeping it in the 20 gallon tank

:wall:

You're being pretty immature about this dude. Don't get upset, people have legitimate concerns because you've shown some things that cause us to doubt whether or not you're going to be able to care fora snake responsibly. If you don't want our advice, you don't have to listen to it. We can't make you do anything, but my guess is you'd probably benefit from taking a deep breath and just hearing us out.

Buying a pet with the idea that you can simply get rid of it if it doesn't work out is not responsible. Period, plain and simple.

From everything you've told us, a snake is not really what you're looking for. Really think it out, think about the fact that this animal is going to live a good long time and then think about waiting a while, doing some more research and finding out where you are in two years.

Also, here's a photo of why you don't feed snakes live prey.http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/5108/ballpythonliveprey1gr6.jpg

 

[Dark]

Can you not see why I am acting the way I am? I've been labeled as an Immature kid by eight different people, before I even got to post twice, based on what? My grammar and a few bad past experiences. I am Sorry I am not as perfect as everyone else here, how foolish and Immature I am for not knowing everything and not doing everything correctly. I have been trying to end this thread right after I realized that maybe only four of you are actually here to help me, and the other thirteen or so are here to point out my errors, and try to show how I am wrong, and how they are superior to me. You know what? Congratulations! You are 20 or 30 years old and you still pick on kids, you should be ashamed, and if Ryan Maguire even dares and respond and says "well I am 16, and I knew it all" Steam is probably going to shoot out my ears, and I am going to end up punching a hole in the computer, why act so Rash and Uncontrolled? Well I have anger problems Clearly. But Hey, If you want to feel good, why don't you try to beat someone with no legs in a race. I mean I ask a few simple questions and give you guys a brief history and I get "How Dare you ask questions!?" "How Dare you Consider buying an animal!?" I mean really, You can talk calmly and cool behind your computer, but I can see half of you probably tell kids not to curse, but the second you get cut off by another driver on the road, you say every foul thing known to man. Just take a second, and put yourself in my shoes.

If you are going to still respond to this by quoting me and saying that I am an Idiot and I spelled a word here or there wrong, Even though this is a forums and its all about discussion, I really really don't care for your opinion anymore.

The Only thing I want in responses are what snake you recommend and why. Don't tell me I am not mature enough, I know your opinion already, I don't need you to say it over and over again, I heard you the first time.

And for all I know when I go to that Reptile show, I will see some bug that I have to have, and buy it instead. When it comes to Insects and Invertebrates I have had my Rose Hair Tarantulas for a very very long time.

 

[Lorgakor]

I am 16 years old. I don't think you need to put all 16 year olds in a category with this person. You want to know what a growth experience is? When they know how to take care of the animals and know what they are getting into before they buy them. This is when you know its a GROWTH experience because they are being mature about it and doing their research! Not going out and buying something only to find its too "boring" or "it did this to my house" when if you did your research in the first place you wouldn't be going through bringing the animal back!

Just because hes a 16 year old doesn't mean you need to label all 16 in one category. Some 16 year olds are actually mature about things like this and do their RESEARCH before they buy an animal!

Doing research on an animal before you buy it does not mean that it will turn out to be the right animal for you. It happens, you get an animal, even a dog, and it just doesn't fit you. As my example with my sister's ducks, she researched them, and really enjoyed them for a while, but research didn't prepare her for actually having them. Obviously getting rid of an animal because you are bored with it does not fall into what I was trying to say, and I certainly did not mean to lump all 16 year olds into one category. And I never said a thing about 16 year olds not researching before they buy. I was younger than 16 when I got my iguana, and I certainly researched the topic before the purchase. All animals we've ever had were accompanied by many books on the subject. If you think about it, Darkpredator came here asking questions as part of his research. That sounds fairly responsible to me, researching before he buys.

And Potemkin, the use of tarantulas as an example was quite valid, it had nothing to do with their monetary value, but as their worth as a pet. Sure it may be harder to re-home a snake, but it is not impossible.

Perhaps with some advice, he may be able to find the snake that is right for him, and will keep that one forever, if he doesn't keep it forever however, it is certainly not the end of the world. Besides, he never said he planned on getting rid of it anyway.

 

[Potemkin]

Can you not see why I am acting the way I am? I've been labeled as an Immature kid by eight different people, before I even got to post twice, based on what? My grammar and a few bad past experiences. I am Sorry I am not as perfect as everyone else here, how foolish and Immature I am for not knowing everything and not doing everything correctly. I have been trying to end this thread right after I realized that maybe only four of you are actually here to help me, and the other thirteen or so are here to point out my errors, and try to show how I am wrong, and how they are superior to me.

You're being labeled an immature kid because you're acting like one. Come on, what would you tell someone who said "Yeah, I'm buying a new pet, I've had a lot of them already, but they never wind up working out. If this one doesn't, I'll just give it away. Also, I'm going to college in 1/10th of the pet's life and I'm planning on giving it to my parents." Get rid of that persecution complex! The reason people are being hard on you is you're making the same mistake again.

You know what? Congratulations! You are 20 or 30 years old and you still pick on kids, you should be ashamed, and if Ryan Maguire even dares and respond and says "well I am 16, and I knew it all" Steam is probably going to shoot out my ears, and I am going to end up pounching a hole in the computer, why act so Rash and Uncontrolled? Well I have anger problems Clearly. But Hey, If you want to feel good, why don't you try to beat someone with no legs in a race. I mean I ask a few simple questions and give you guys a brief history and I get "How Dare you ask questions!?" "How Dare you Consider buying an animal!?" I mean really, You can talk calmly and cool behind your computer, but I can see half of you probably tell kids not to curse, but the second you get cut off by another driver on the road, you say every foul thing known to man. Just take a second, and put yourself in my shoes.

It's the internet. Why are you getting so upset about words on a screen? Chill dude. You're being unreasonable and saying "I WANT A SNAKE NOW NOW NOW." I'm 22 man, I still curse a storm, but the difference is these folks are trying to help you, not cutting you off in the fast lane and slowing down to a crawl. So far you've told us about getting rid of two ferrets, two snakes and a few rats. There's two common variables in this equation: you and your situation. If neither have really changed, and you've shown us no reason to believe that they have, why would we tell you that it's a good idea to introduce another animal to that?

The Only thing I want in responses are what snake you recommend and why. Don't tell me I am not mature enough, I know your opinion already, I don't need you to say it over and over again, I heard you the first time.

And for all I know when I go to that Reptile show, I will see some bug that I have to have, and buy it instead. When it comes to Insects and Invertebrates I have had my Rose Hair Tarantulas for a very very long time.

You don't get to specify what type of advice we give you, particularly if you predicate your post by saying "I've had two snakes, but I gave them away because they bored me." Also, buying pets impulsively, even tarantulas, is a bad idea.. And they're not insects!

Edit:

And Potemkin, the use of tarantulas as an example was quite valid, it had nothing to do with their monetary value, but as their worth as a pet. Sure it may be harder to re-home a snake, but it is not impossible.

That's true. Still, finding a home for a large snake is very, very, very hard to do.

Perhaps with some advice, he may be able to find the snake that is right for him, and will keep that one forever, if he doesn't keep it forever however, it is certainly not the end of the world. Besides, he never said he planned on getting rid of it anyway.

He did say he planned on dumping the snake on his parents, which is what I think most of us are taking issue with. Not the idea that sometimes things come up and you can't take care of an animal, but purchasing a snake already knowing that he's going to have to give it to someone else for four years or so.

 

[Dark]

lol, I was not seriously going to dump the snake on my parents,

Heres a picture of me holding a Gaboon Viper for Kicks

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/35704mengabby.jpg


Potemkin don't put words in my mouth

oh yea and I never said when I am getting the snake

 

[Potemkin]

lol, I was not seriously going to dump the snake on my parents,

Heres a picture of me holding a Gaboon Viper for Kicks

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/35704mengabby.jpg


Potemkin don't put words in my mouth

5. I read all your replies, and I know what the deal is. If I get a snake and I am going to Colledge, Its just ONE snake... I will tell my parents how to feed it, they are smart they can do it.

sorry if I misunderstood you, but that's what it sounded like.