Baby Snakes and Children

[Mandi0284]

So my step-kids were wanting to keep that big female plains garter that was caught and released. According to my oldest, suddenly they all want snakes. And newborns at that. He wanted to know if mine would mate and create hybrids.

I am not too sure about breeding snakes yet as I am still getting to know garters and their behavior and how to care for them. I also know that I dont have the experience to care for a new litter. Even though I do have a soft spot for young animals :)

Aside from that, I am not sure about having my kids care for snakes on their own. I just dont feel that they would be able to handle feeding a baby snake and caring for it. They wouldnt want to take the time to thaw silverside or pinkies and would probably feed them goldfish.

My oldest has a Bearded Dragon that he has had since it was a baby. Now it is almost half grown. So I feel that he could handle a young snake. He would be ok with feeding and cleaning.

My step-daughter (15) might do ok, but she is a little too rough with animals. She was holding the radix and was being a little too rough and Zeus regurgitated his fish all over her leg. It was actually funny to see the look on her face.

And then there is the 10 yr old son. He is scared of snakes, having been struck at by a little one a few years ago. He will touch them if I hold them, but he isn't comfortable. I dont know why he wants a baby snake, but I would not let him have an adult one. He would be too afraid to interact with it, let alone feed it.

I just though I would get opinions and stuff from you all, as I have always gotten great advise here.

[guidofatherof5]

I would say that baby snakes and children(young) is a bad idea. Most are unable to control the amount of pressure they put on the snake when they are holding it and the snake can be injured. If the child is startled by a thrashing snake they can be dropped and injured or lost.

As far as the hybrid thing goes, I would say NO!
Hybrids ruin the bloodline of both species and are terrible for the garter snake hobby. The babies born are mutts and usually look like a watered down version of the parents or simply look plain.
The individual variety within the Thamnophis genus is boundless and should not be messed with.
Just my strong opinion.

[Mandi0284]

I dont think i would want hybrids.

The kids are smart, They could probably learn how to handle a snake. They want a snake cause i have two.

[Steveo]

You could get a snake that's "their snake" but you help them with it. If you get a good eater, feeding isn't hard. My biggest concern is uncoordinated hands trying to handle a tiny snake - one wrong move and it's over. As a coordinated adult I still have trouble moving my youngin's around gently. I even lost one because it lept from my hands and I was afraid I'd kill it by snatching it off the floor.

[d_virginiana]

I would really recommend against getting them a baby garter, especially if being too rough is an issue with adults. I don't even really handle my babies, just put my hand in the tank and let them crawl on it, until they get older.
Would they be okay with yearlings? They are still about half the size of an adult, so they'd still get to raise them and watch them grow up, but they're large enough to handle. Also, they can be fed once or twice a week as opposed to every day/every other day like a newborn. They're calmer too... Very young ones tend to be pretty jumpy. I'd worry about them getting away from someone without much experience with snakes since you can't just reach and grab them when they crawl away.

[Invisible Snake]

Baby snakes + children = bad idea

[chris-uk]

I'll add to the "baby snakes + children = bad idea". The baby snakes I've had are too difficult to trust in the hands of children. When my baby Cuitzeo has a good head or steam on I find him difficult to handle.
Last year we got some checkered babies from Pinjohn, one of them was destined for our friends' girls (10 and 8) but we kept hold of it until it was 6 months old. During that time they came round and touched it while their dad was holding her, once they had her they were gradually allowed to handle her more but always supervised. Now Lightning is a few days short of a year old, and she's a big checkered girl, the girls are both able to hold her without any trouble.
I think yearling is probably the right sort of size to be robust enough for kiddy hands, but still careful supervision until you know the kids can deal with the animal.

[Invisible Snake]

Also keep in mind that this might just be a phase they are going through, I know when I was a young teen I went from wanting and owning hamsters to lizards then to snakes all in a couple of years.

[Mandi0284]

I think that is what they are going through.

[chris-uk]

Also keep in mind that this might just be a phase they are going through, I know when I was a young teen I went from wanting and owning hamsters to lizards then to snakes all in a couple of years.

Another good point. When it comes to children don't take on a snake that you don't have time to look after yourself if the child looses interest. :)

[guidofatherof5]

Another good point. When it comes to children don't take on a snake that you don't have time to look after yourself if the child looses interest. :)

Very good point to bring up.

[Mandi0284]

Lol very good advise, but the radix that I have now was supposed to be the kids' snake. Their mom and her boyfriend are afraid of snakes and wouldt let them keep him.

So I get to have him :)

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Also tell them they have to pay for all the stuff themselves so you they will commit to the animal and not just want it as a novelty and loose interest.

[Mandi0284]

That might work. I dont mind buying the fish to feed the snake. Since my wandering eats them and I am training the radix to eat fish instead of toads.

The kids's mom might let them have the snake at her house, but it would have to share the same tank as the bearded dragon. And that would not be a good thing. As one would eat the other.

[guidofatherof5]

I think it's a bad idea to send any babies where there is not a dedicated person caring for them and monitoring them.
A lockable enclosure would be mandatory if small children would have access.
Without these thing I feel it is putting them in harms way.
Let the kids visit and see yours. They get satisfied and the babies are safe.

[kibakiba]

It took a few months of letting the twins (monsters) see the snakes before I even let them touch Mama. Even longer to let them hold her. Even then I was scared constantly for the few seconds they did hold her.

[Boston Mindy]

Do they want babies because they want to watch them grow, or because they want the snakes to be small? If its the latter. they will probably lose interest when the snakes get larger. And if that's the case, you could consider adult dekayi instead of garters, or another small breed. That way they stay small and managable, eat mostly earthworms, which are cheaper for the kids to purchase themselves, or just dig up in the yard. Dekayi also seem to be a little more relaxed in more stressful situations. Which will give the youngest a nice very tame small snake to help overcome his fear.

[kibakiba]

Most people have said that dekayi's tend to be more skittish than garters. A male garter stays pretty small. Male northwesterns are only about 1.5 ft.

[EasternGirl]

I have to agree with what the others have been saying...as far as baby snakes and children go...babies are a lot to care for and so tiny that it is difficult handling them for an adult. I have had many occasions of my babies jumping out of my hands and almost getting lost...I rarely handle them now. They are also very easy to smush if you do not handle them very gently. With children and snakes...as with any pet...children often love the idea of having a pet, but then do not want to actually take the time to care for the pet and lose interest quickly. I know this because I am now caring for two guinea pigs and two hermit crabs that my son "just had to have" but never pays attention to. My son also has garters that he calls his own...but he never handles them and I care for them. Best idea would be to have a snake that the kids could call their snake...but you care for it and always supervise if they are handling the snake...and I would definitely say no to babies.

[ProXimuS]

I also agree with what everyone has been saying. Another thing to consider, besides the safety of the snake, is that if you get little young babies, it may be a little less likely for them to survive...Which can be rather upsetting, especially for kids. Once they are around a year or older, it seems like they are more likely to continue to thrive. My biggest thing I can think of is that it is a "phase" of some sort, and after the initial excitement of having a new snake/s, they'll get bored and all work and responsibility will be pawned off on you.

[Mandi0284]

Do they want babies because they want to watch them grow, or because they want the snakes to be small? If its the latter. they will probably lose interest when the snakes get larger. And if that's the case, you could consider adult dekayi instead of garters, or another small breed. That way they stay small and managable, eat mostly earthworms, which are cheaper for the kids to purchase themselves, or just dig up in the yard. Dekayi also seem to be a little more relaxed in more stressful situations. Which will give the youngest a nice very tame small snake to help overcome his fear.

Dalton likes my wandering. She is really calm after a few minutes of holding her. She likes to curl around your fingers and hang out. He just doesnt seem to like the feeling of her crawling.

I think the kids want baby snakes to watch them grow up, but they are gonna want to hold them and take them places. My step-daughter keeps asking to borrow the radix to take him to those petco reptile contests. I tell her that I would have to go to...if she lets go of Zeus, he is gone.

I have brought up the issue of the babies not wanting to eat and dying sometimes. That they are difficult to handle and not something that is a good idea for kids. But they seem to want reptiles that I know they would have no idea how to care for. The kids have mentioned..... a 6' python (that is at a reptile shop, but not for sale), green iguana, ball python, female bearded dragon (sami wants to breed dragons I guess), dwarf caiman, and a few others that I wouldnt even try to manage.

Seems to be a phase that they are all going through. lol.