My 5 yr old son is wanting a snake.?

Question

If I even consider this happening what kind of snake would be good for him and how bad does it hurt when he gets bit. Maybe that will be the determining factor for him. I have never been bit by one so I could not tell him. Do you think it is a good idea and if so what kind of snake should I look for? I did see one in the pet store where my wife does her aquirium at called a Albino Python I think was the whole name that kind of looked cool. But they were small how big do they get? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

Answer 1

It's OK to tell your child "no".
Right?

.

Answer 2

A better question is, what type of snake do YOU want, because ultimately this will be your pet.

Most children are simply not mature enough to handle the care of an animal on their own, so you as the parent will have to pick up the slack. Also, kids desires often are so fleeting that next month he may not even care about the snake anymore.

Understand also that these animals EAT other animals. Can your son deal with that? Watching a snake stalk and kill a cute little baby mouse can be upsetting even to the "toughest" adult! Of course you can feed frozen prey (I recommend it), but it is still a cute little baby frozen mouse you're dealing with.

So that said...I would recommend a corn snake or a kingsnake. Both stay at a manageable size.

Pythons and Boas gets extremely large, and even if you get them as a baby and watch them grow gradually, their full grown size can be intimidating. These creatures are incredibly strong and you can't make them do anything that they don't want to.

I have two snakes: a Boa constrictor and a California Kingsnake. I love them both very much, but they have their distinct personalities. I have a friend with kids ages 8 and 5, and I let them hold the kingsnake, but not the boa. She's too big, and could actually hurt them unintentionally.

Answer 3

Okay, let me just say that most of these answers are pretty stupid... Your son wants a snake, should you get one? Well, do you want him to have one? That is the real question. Does he understand that a snake isn't an animal that you get out all the time to run around the house with or let it crawl through the living room (you'll definetly lose it that way)? If he does and he can understand that Mom or Dad have to be there when he holds it and you don't mind being the primary care giver, then why not? One person who answered said dogs and cats are easier to care for then a snake. That is a bunch of marlarky! Sure, you need to get the knowledge on how to care for them, where dogs and cats might be more common sense because most people have been around them; but there is alot less work with a snake then with dogs and cats. Trust me, have had them all (currently two cats, two hampsters, dog was put to sleep recently due to blood disease, and one red-tailed boa) the snake is the easiest to care for and the less mess for me. My boa is still young and only about 36" long so it isn't hard to handle and it has a very docile and sweet personality (yes snakes have a personality). It has never made an aggressive mood toward me. I am still careful, though. I wouldn't reccomend a red tailed boa because by the time your son is 10 the snake would probably be about 10 feet long. Again, unless you want a snake too, I wouldn't go that route; but some of the other snakes listed that only get 3 feet or so wouldn't be bad for your son. Plus, the main danger with snakes is not the bite (unless posioness; however, boas and pythons do have nasty teeth that although the wound is not deep and bad, it may bleed alot), it would be the constricting with the boas and the pythons. One that stays small wouldn't be a danger as long as you were with him when he held it, but if you went with a king snake or a corn snake, you wouldn't have that worry.

My eight year old daughter holds my boa and does extremely well with it. (sitting on the couch, with me having a hand on it) My 13 year old daughter is terrified of it (for no reason) and doesn't do well with anything when it comes to the snake. So a good question would be to think about your son and his personality and that would play a large role in my decision. Maybe take him to a pet store and have him hold a couple (along with the store personel or you) to see how he does? My 8 year old daughter was hurt more when her hampster bit her, it drew blood. So cute and cuddlely is not always the safest way to go.

I sort of knew what I was getting into with my boa; but when I found out some of the feeding stuff with frozen and thawed mice, I thought there was no way I could do it. But once I started, it hasn't been a problem. I just take him out of his cage, put him in a tote, dangel a thawed mouse with a pair of tongs in front of his nose and he has taken it every time within 30 seconds. Sometimes fast and impressive, other times he reaches out and takes it as gentle as a baby.

Snakes can be fasinating and intriguing. They are beautiful to watch and learn about. This could be the perfect pet for you and your son to do together and provide a big learning experience for him. My suggestion would be to start small with the snakes that others are suggesting, IF YOU are wanting to have the pet as well. No snake should be a 5 year olds sole responsibility.

Those lizards are nice that the other people have written about, but they are lizards, not snakes. My advice would be that if you want it to be a learning experience for him (and you) and you want to make it a parent/child bonding thing, go and get the snake. Have him learn about it and have fun. As long as you like it too, if he looses interest in a few weeks you have a nice snake for yourself. Life is too short, keep it safe, and have fun.

Answer 4

i wouldn't suggest any python for a beginner snake, especially for a five year old. even ball pythons, which get only around 5 feet, are heavy bodied, and they tend to go off food, they are a good beginner python, but not the best beginner snake.

i got my nieces corn snakes for Christmas. they're three and four years old. if you get your son a snake that is what i would suggest.

but realize that you will be doing all the work for the next several years, and you should get cage locks, so your son can't get the reptile out on his own. cornsnakes live 12-20 years, so one could grow with your son, if you take good care of them both.

their bite doesn't hurt, it just feels like a tap. there might be blood, depending on how big the snake is, but nothing major.

if you decide to get a snake, DO RESEARCH. understand that snakes grow, so in a year or two you will need a larger enclosure.

my nieces love their snakes, and when they're old enough, they will take over responsibility for their well-being.

please prepare for this new responsibility, and get everything you need before you get the snake.

i have eleven snakes, seven of which are corns, and they are the easiest to maintain, their husbandry requirements are not as intensive as pythons or boas, and they don't musk like kingsnakes...as a rule.

here's a link to south mountain reptiles, they breed and sell over 70 morphs of corn snakes, and there is a pretty good care sheet. this is where i got the two for my nieces, and i'm pretty happy with them...
i never thought i'd pay for a pink or yellow snake, and here, i paid for both at the same time.

good luck, and enjoy your new friend.


CORNSNAKES EAT RODENTS NOT GOLDFISH.

Answer 5

Snake bites aren't too painful - its more the fright than anything. I'd be more worried about your son being too young to understand what has happened and then you're left with a snake that he's too scared to handle incase it does it again. At least when we're older and we can rationalise things and be less afraid. Besides that, though, snakes can be great pets.

Good starter snakes are corn snakes and ball (aka royal) pythons. Both stay relatively small and are rarely aggressive, especially if bought young. I would say these are your best snakes to look at. Corn snakes especially come in a beautiful range of colours. Ball pythons can be stubborn eaters but if you put the work in they are very rewarding snakes.

Caresheets and pics:
http://www.cornsnakes.net/care.php3
http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/snakes/ball-python.php

If you are unsure about snakes why not look at blue tongue skinks as an alternative. They are great lizards, which look very snake like, so may be a good compromise. This was my first lizard and is still my favourite. They are very friendly - mine is always wanting to come out this vivarium. They are diurnal and usually very active during the day (fun for the kid to watch) and also very chunky and easy for a young child to handle.

A great site for blueys is here:
http://www.bluetongueskinks.net/

Hope that helps :)

Answer 6

i wouldn't recommend a snake for a 5 year old. if you were to get him a snake the best snake for a beginner or someone that young is a corn snake which come in different colour morphs and are great pets to have. they can live to 20 years and eat mice like most snakes.most people won't get a snake as most eat mice and that puts most people off having them as pets.if you want more info on corn snakes then you could go on google and type in : "caring for corn snakes" and that should bring some very useful websites up. i wouldn't recommend the albino python or any other big snake for your son as they can be very aggressive(not like corn snakes) and can have quite a nasty bite but corn snakes don't.i would do a lot of research on snakes and find out everything you can and think of the best and ideal snake for your son. i hope my info has helped.

Answer 7

You should get not a snake but a lizard. They barley have any teeth and practically snakes(except for legs)
But if your son prefers a snake and specifically said he wants a snake then get him one! I wouldn't be sure to get an albino python because they can really grow if you put it in a larger cage. You should go to your local mall pet store and you can find small snakes that stay small and for the first 3 weeks didn't let him out of his cage until he is used to his new location.
Hope this information helps!!!

Answer 8

He is five I don't think it's a good idea. Pythons get real big so it will take up a lot of room. They take a lot of care a lot more care than a puppy or kitten would. Seriosly he is 5 he isn't gonna be able to hold it because it's be dangerous. I wouldn't let my daughter have a snake no matter how much she begged. IF he really wants a sanke see if your pet store has a garter snake, they might not have them but I know some friends of ours let their sons have garter snakes because they are not poisoness and they are small you can pick them up and if they should bite you, you'd hardly notice. I've been bittin by one before when I was 8 or 9.

Answer 9

Any kind of python/boa is a bad idea for a 5 year old. Start with something like a corn snake or a green snake. Both are very small in size, very docile and easy to care for.

Answer 10

Our sons started out with corn snakes.. They are now 4.5' long.. Great snakes.. They have King snakes, corn snakes and a milk snake.. Ball Pythons are usually good snakes.. I'd probably stick with the corn snakes.. We've had ours for 8 yrs. Got them when our son was 5. Our corn snake was the size of a # 2 pencil when we got him.. We purchased a female from a store in Berkeley. She was close to 3 yrs. old.. They have produced about 18 cornsnakes.. We don't want anymore so we keep them separated. lol

Answer 11

hi there
i have many ages in the household i have a 3, 5, 8,11,and 12 yr olds all of them love snakes and has held them many times ... albino is not a breed it's a gene ..find out what type of python it is b4 u buy it it could be a grow into a big one ... burmeses ,rock,reticulate pythons and redtail boa's all grow big and huge and not good for first timers... first timer snakes corns, ball pythons, childrens pythons, sand boa's and rainbow boa's just to name a few... they are all dosile and grow under 6 feet ... all snakes are constrictors with the exception of the venimous ones... only venimous ones have fangs... constrictors have small teeth and does minmal damage if bitten... if u follow this... it's rarly u'll get bitten never touch a snake that just been fed for 24 hrs never touch a snake that is in a shed and alway wash ur hands with antibacteria soap or wash.. before and after u handle them...bites are like getting a skined knee when u fall down.. pythons tend to grab and hold on boa's just tag which means they let go and sometimes u dont know what hit ya they are so quick.. until u see the bite.. been bitten by both 7 footer burmese python and 4 footer redtail boa my fault though i was cleaning their enclosure at the same time they where in a shed and didn't know they were in one..
but if u get a snake small (baby) then it will grow with ur child... just remember they are meat eaters and feed on rodents ... try feeding prekilled or frozen thawed (warm to body temp) ... first timers lizards include bearded dragons some geckos, just to name a couple.. good luck and check out our basic care sheets on our websites..