I don't have kids, but I *was* a kid who had reptiles. I think I got my first all-my-own reptile when I was twelve. It was what the pet store termed a water dog, but was a baby newt. So that was cool, I got to watch it change and all.

Personally, I have no objection to kids having reptiles - as long as the parents have done the proper research and are willing to foot the expenses and step up to take care of it if the child loses interest. Of course, I'd wait to let my children handle a reptile until they were at an age where they understood not to put their hand in their mouth after holding the reptile and not to kiss it, but I'd always have reptiles around that they could look at until they did get old enough. I think it's an excellent learning experience for a kid, and I think it helps to take away the prejudices that so many people are raised with towards cold blooded animals.

__________________
"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

I couldnt agree more... I was never allowed pets when I was young.... We had our cat... and it hated me... Id catch tadpoles and frogs and snakes in our swamp, and Id get a swat for picking up such vile critters... So when I got older, I wasnt afraid of them, but thought lowly of them... Till I met my friends ball python and herd they had a corn snake up for adoption... and thats when my boyfriend and I turned our house into a zoo, and a backyard rescue... and now I just dont think life would be good with out a few cold blooded critters... and it makes me feel good to take in unwanted critters and find them good and new homes!

I get patted down now when I go to my mothers, and she wont come more than 3 feet into my house (and thats where most of my non furries are kept! LOL)

__________________
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France

lol. Yeah, I couldnt even imagine what life would be like if we didnt have all of our animals. I love them all. I do have it good because I can pretty much get whatever animal I want but I still have to pay for most of it. But in the long run it is worth it. I also plan to have tons more when I have my own house and I will have to find a girlfriend/wife who can deal with it. lol.
(or better yet, one who likes to add to the collection!)


All I know is that, My kids will ALWAYS have a pet.
Weather it be a tortoise, a racoon(yes I want one), a dozen snakes, or a few scorpians, or even a few Rats.
They will always be around animals and hopefully they will one day share my passion for them.

My son is 4months old, so obviously he doesn't "own" any snakes of his own. I think when he gets older, and if he wants a snake then I will buy him a corn to start off. I will take care of the feeding though till he gets much older, just because I dont want him to get bitten and become terrified of snakes or any other animals for that matter. Right now we have a kingsnake, a ball python, some mice (my wifes pets), and a kitten. I always wanted my son to be raised around more exotic animals, not just the ordinary dog and cat pets. I know that I always wanted to have a snake when I was younger, but my mom and dad both were terrified of snakes, so I could never have any. So when we actually got a snake, i was kinda scared at first myself. But now its just like having a dog or cat to me, and thats how I want my son to see it. I dont want him to get the idea that snakes are these vicious creatures that movies and people make them out to be.

__________________
I tried to get rich, but I just ended up with more pets.

1.0.0 Boxer Mix Canine (Admiral)
1.0.0 Ball Python (Bam Bam)
0.0.1 Cali King Snake (Beatlejuice)
0.1.0 Tabby Feline (Nina)
0.1.0 Feeder Mouse (Lucky)

Jer

I have 3 kids...ages 10, 8, & 5 yrs old. My two oldest kids have both snakes and lizards. My 10yr old has 2 morph Corn Snakes and a Female Leopard Gecko. My 8yr old daughter has a male Leopard Gecko, a male Green Anole, and a Male Ball Python that I rescued. I'd honestly have to say that my daighter is more responsible with her animals, and is definately a better care-taker for sure. I think that having small animals teaches kids how to handle responsibilities well.

This year at our fair there were more kids with reptiles than they'd ever had before. They showed the furry's (rats, hamsters, gerbils, etc....) at the same time and in the same area as the scaley's (mostly tiny new cornsnakes, anoles, leopard geckos, then my daughters with the 8 foot boa and 2 1/2 foot Tegu). It was a little dicey at points, as we showed in the chicken and rabbit barn! My boa was in love!!! Luckily he had just been fed really well, so it was just entertaining! All the little kids that came by handled the anmals, their parents stood back a ways and watched, then once the kids didn't get eaten (haha), the parents would try to touch if they could bring theirselves to do it. Several of the kids wanted to go get reptiles afterwards! So we explained the necessary care, and involvement of parents for smaller children.

__________________
Kat

im almost 16 and I have 6 - almost 7 snakes.
i would have more if my parents let me... i personally think that if a kid has an intrest in reptiles that parents should let them expirence pet ownership, it helps build responsabilaty...
i find my snakes easyer to care for than any other animal I have had in the past... and most of the time they are more rewarding aswell

I got my first snake because of my mother! I was 20 and she got to handle a boa at a friends house. She bugged me for weeks to get one! She said she was too old to get one. I bought 2 corns, which 11 years later I still have! My daughter has grown up wth them! Now she is into horses now however she has a great love for all animals and being outdoors herping I think kids need to own at least one pet.
By the way my mom now owns a few herself

im a kid and I have a snake. my mom and dad arnt really snake people so I take care of my corn. they help out when I need it but its mostley mine.

Youngsters are the best ones to show a reptile to. Most of them that have not been exposed usually don't have a preconcieved opinion on them. I find curiosity and fascination is usually a childs first response to a reptile.
My kids are grown now and were always around them, supervised of coarse. We had a Common Nile Monitor for years that had a room that we would go into. They would watch me hand feed her. The kids loved it.