New snake, maybe

[SnakeKid88]

I have had my 2 ball pythons for over a year now and my parents said that I can get another snake. The pet store near me has a cute little albino green burmese python. The problem is that he bites. How hard would it be for me to tame him? They are worried about the biting.

[BurmBaroness]

Ball pythons are great, and I'm not sure about your age, but if 88 is your birth year, and you have only had BP's, I would suggest you leave the green burmese right where it is. I don't know what you know about burms, but they are VERY expensive to feed and house, especially as they get older. And once over 6 ft, especially if you are a teenager, should not be handled alone. They can grow to be 8 ft in the first yr and a half. Their life expectancy is 20+yrs, and can top out at 18-23ft, and weigh anywhere from 250lbs+. Are your parents aware that you are looking at a snake with this size potential?? I doubt it. Are they prepared to help you handle this snake? Are they prepared to take care of it when you are out of HS, when you go to college, or maybe the military? Can't have pets in college dorms, and hard to find an off-campus apt. that will let you have a 12ft+ snake, also. Now for the morphs.............Burms in general have a hard time with RI's. It takes a long time to get over then, and once they have one, the chances for recurrence multiply. RI(Respiratory infections) can be expensive to treat, as well as hard on the snake. The morphs for some reason seem to be more prone to RI's than normal phase burms. They are LARGE boids, that require LOTS of food, time, space, etc. You do not have enough experience to own a large burm. there are too many burms in rescues now because inexperienced people buy them, then when they get too big, or the parents realize that Johnny's snake got way bigger than he told them it would, the burm gets dumped out, put down, or turned over to a rescue. Please don't add to this problem. Wait a few yrs, get yourself established in life and get yourself alot more experience, and then think about a burm again. Don't just jump the gun cause it's cute, or pretty.

[Burm_Crazy]

In my opinion, you have your hands full with the two ball pythons at this time. I woiuld advise not geting another snake of any type, especially a Burmese python

[Matt]

i agree....maybe a burm isnt the best chioce for your next snake.
Maybe something smaller and more manageable would be better?

Anyways, good luck with your choice!

[Aaron_S]

If you like the large constrictors I would go with a BCI ( boa constrictor imperator) also known as the common boa or colombian boa. A female will get about 7 or 8 feet and it is possible for it to get bigger. A male will get 6 or 7 feet. They are quite tame even as babies from my experience.

Burmbaroness,You say Snakekid88 doesn't have enough experience to own a burm? I am a teen myself and own one aswell. I only had ball pythons before i got mine and I did my research just like Snakekid is doing and my burm is doing just fine. Do you think I am not experienced to own this snake?

I do not remember who said it here on the forum or was it in chat?Anyhoo they had said that you can only gain experience by actually owning the species and to me this is true but I also believe they had said that you should do your research and what not before you buy the snake aswell.

[Aaron_S]

Forgot to add that I do agree with you that Snakekid should make sure her parents know how big the burm gets and how much it is to feed them and house them.I suggested the boa since they stay smaller and can be housed easier.

[BurmBaroness]

I am not attacking teens specifically, but you should wait to own a large boid until you have established yourself in life. Too many kids(teens) Will buy a burm, hten when it gets to a certain size, the parents freak and demand that the snake goes. Or, they go to High School, meet a girl, go to college, the military, etc. There are too many life changes at that age to make a lifelong commitment to an animal that requires so much money, time, and work. Lots of these animals end up in rescue. Again, this is not a personal slam on you, just my opinion. I wish you luck and hope your snake never sees a rescue or an untimely death

[ballpython5000]

i think teens can definitly handle burms, but it totally depends on size. a little 5'5" kid should not own a burm. that thing could easily take him with no problem. if your big and strong and know you can handle it, i dont see why not.
but 14 is pretty young for a burm......heck im still trying to figure out if im ready. i wonder......if i go to school to be a herpetoligist if they allow reptiles. thats pretty confusing huh? well anyway have you done your research yet? and if it bites.....thats even worse. well thats just my opinion.

[stormyva]

I agree with Burmbaroness.... a teen should not have a Burm. Most teens dont know what they are going to be doing a week down the road, much less a year or five years down the road. Experience aside a person that is going to commit to keeping a large boid of any type needs to have a stable living and financial arrangement!

[BurmBaroness]

No one can "handle" a burm that is in a bad mood. Not if you're 8ft tall and the strongest man alive. If a 10 or 12 ft burm, or even an 8ft one, decides to rough you up a bit, you are in serious trouble. And no offense, but there are grown men who could not get a 10ft burm off them when it decided not to play nice. Wisdom comes with age, and experience. Yes, I own burms, yes, I know they can be dangerous animals, and even though I am careful, and don't handle them when no one is around to help, even with help, if my snakes for whatever reason decided to put the squeeze on me, I would be in trouble. It's easy when you are a kid to think you can hadnle a burm............the size of this animal is way bigger than your wildest imagination, and the strength is most impressive. Not to mention the fact that you are young, you don't know where you'll be in 2 yrs, or what your situation will be. I know that's true for everyone, but it's especially true when you are younger and just getting started. Again, I am not slamming teen herpers, I know some who are GREAT herpers, but they are not necessarily ready for a giant boid.

[BWSmith]

a little 5'5" kid should not own a burm
He he. I am 25 and only 5'6" :D I know that i cannot handle large constrictors by meself every time. I have had several occasions where one or two people had to jump in and give me a hand with an angry Rock or Conda. I always make sure that there is at LEAST one other person around that has experience.

they had said that you can only gain experience by actually owning the species
This is a half truth. The ONLY way to get the fulle xperience you need is to own something. But experience in handling can be gained with other people's animals, etc. This is an excellent way to gain practical experience in handling, restraining, medicating, etc. No need to reinvent the wheel. Learn the tried and true methods.

Personally, I wish that Burms were MUCH more expensive snakes simply to weed out many "first timers" who are not ready.

[XxRachxX]

"a little 5'5" kid should not own a burm"
hey!what do you have against small people!! lol
but i have to admit bieng small myself, handling large snakes is a little intimidating! or im just a bit of a wimp!:) i probably wont ever have a burm, even if i love them! ill just have to wait until i have a nice LARGE snake loving man living with me;)
sorry for the above sentence im having a girly day today:) :zi:

[The_Snake_King]

Look folks, the point everyone is trying to make is Burms and even some Boas get BIG, fast. It is not easy to handle a snake over, let's say 7 feet, by oneself. There are numberous new reports about snakes killing their owners. One was in my area just last year. A 12 foot burm killed its owner by constricing him. This guy was over 6' tall and weighed in over 250 lbs. Not a small man!

I think it is irresponsible for anyone under 18 to get a snake that will outgrow him/her with in two years. It is also irresponsible for the parents of these "kids" to allow them to get one. Most parents have no idea how big they get and how fast they can get that big.

So for everyone wanting to get a Burmese Python, please think along a smaller scale and go with a Ball Python or a Blood Python. Heck even a Children's Python would be good. AS for Boas, try a Rosy or Rubber Boa.

[RachelS.]

Ballpython5000:
I don't want to attack you on this subject or anything. But I am 14 myself and 5'2", and on top of that I'm a girl. I have a 6 1/2 foot female burmese python. She is well taken care of and healthy as a burm gets. I don't over feed or under feed her in any way. She gets the best possible care... even better than a lot of burms I've seen, myself.
Who cares about age? What matter does that have? I go with experience and maturity. And before anyone starts saying I shouldn't keep a burm, they should know all the facts about me first. Like how I have 3 older brothers that can help me lift her when she gets huge (they are 15, 22, and 24 and each well over 165 lbs and over 5'11", plus they all work out). It just goes to show that I thought about all the exceptions, and thought into the future before getting this snake. I also know about college and where I'm living, and how I'll be able to take care of all my reptiles. Like I said, it all depends on experience and maturity.
Thanks for reading.

[ReptiZone]

these are all gerat posts but I need to side with the snakekid88 because i too wanted a burm at that age quickly ralised not to but I was always had a facination with larg boids.

I new I neede experiance with snakes in general but where to start.

I got a rat snake it died then I got my money back and got a free ball python then a few years later a boa after that THINKING I was seteld down I got my first burm it was great I had my drem snake and I was on top of the world.

6monts later I was given a job offer to go work in a reptile zoo in order to that I needed to sell all my animals and I dont know where my burm is today and it haunts me to this day just gos to show that life is never solid enuf until you are in your own house or aprt. with the land lords permision.

so the next best snake to get your experiance pionts up would be a boa it can reach 10 feet and buy the time it dose you will be abel to see how life treated you and you will know just how strong a 10 foot snake realy is and you will know that a burm can ad will doubel that size.

As far as are you big enuf to handel it no one is these things take down jags and impla as adults and still have energy to go the distence to find a good hiding place to digest. so all newbies should get that thaught out of there head. the truth hurts but it is the harsh truth.

take care and have fun :cool:
chondro python

[Aaron_S]

Well first thing you said wisdom comes with age and experience. Yes wisdom comes with experience but I don't think it comes with age. You can be 50 years old and just cause your that age doesn't mean your wise.

Yes I know burms get big and should have someone around you that can help you out. I do have someone aroudn when it does get big enough to hurt me.She will never be taken out of her enclosure unless other people are aroudn that can help me.

My burm also will never see a reptile rescue well cause she was a rescue actually.I wanted a burm for a long time but wasn't going to go out and get one knowing about them but when one needed a home instead of being sold to a jerk I got it. I had done my research and all and even had experience handling large burms and other large constrictors.

I didn't give my burm to another person for a rescue cause i didn't want to see her hurt and i don't want her to be bred since they have lots aroudn anyways.

[Ritus_Reptile]

I got a baby berm when i was 14 ,he was around 1 1/2 feet. Im 18 now he is 14 feet long. Never had a single problem with him. I did all the research i could, and raised and exceptionally healthy snake.There are many cases of ignorant people, who dont know what they got into and made no commitment. But there are just as many if not more cases of responsable people who know what they have and made a commitment to that certain animal, like i did. You just never hear about them. It just seems like there is alot of bias towards "kids". There are just as many "adults" who do the same thing as "kids" and make the life of thier animal miserable. So I guess I would be considered a "kid" because im 18, although I have been handleing snakes since I was 9 years old and more "qualified" to own a snake than a person 10 years older. Anyone who doesnt gather the knowlege is a "kid" in my opinion.

[Zoe]

My opinion on this topic is split.

When it comes to myself, I have snakes that will outgrow me soon (boas) but I am prepared for their size and I know they will be healthy and well cared for. I wouldn't get a burm myself, because this is a 2bdr apt and I don't have an extra room to give to it when it gets big.
However, I don't think age has too much to do with it. Of course, you wouldn't want a 12 year old owning a 20ft burm or a cottonmouth, but then again some 40 year olds aren't responsible enough either.
I think it depends on the person... If a 14 year old reads up on burms, is aware of and prepared for the size it will attain, and frequents ssnakess often enough to ask any questions he may have, then I say go for it. On the other hand, this 14 year old needs to know what they are doing with their life. Abandoning a huge snake when you go off to college or to live with a snake-hating person is NOT cool and very cruel.

I guess, SnakeKid, I would advise you to wait. NOT because you are 14, but because your life could take many paths when you get to be 18 or 19, and you don't want a burm hindering you and you don't want to have to abandon this burm that you have kept and cared for for years. Stick with some smaller, more manageable species for now like spotted pythons or smaller carpet pythons, and reconsider burms when you are well settled in a place that allows burms.

Also, I think it is unfair to say that a 5'5 person shouldn't own a big snake. It's like saying that a short person isn't smart or responsable enough to keep a bigger snake.

Good luck SnakeKid!
Zoe

[Zoe]

Oh, and in regards to your actual question that I believe no one answered... most tames are easy to tame with frequent and gentle handling. Baby burms are reputed to be very nippy, and as they age will calm and become easier to handle. Should you decide to get a nippy snake (regardless of type) take it out daily with gloves and a hook if necessary, and just hold it gently for a while. As it calms and becomes used to handling, you can take it out for a longer period of time, and walk around with it etc.

At any rate, if you're going to get a giant, make SURE it's totally tame!!

Zoe

[ReptiZone]

Yes I recomend you get a good snake hook if you buy a nippy snake.But leave the gloves on the shelf if you chose to buy tha baby burm suck it up and take what it dishes out. Gloves may save your hands when it is a baby but it compramises the snakes health and one day you will have to take the gloves off.
would you like to get biten by a baby with no gloves or a adult through the gloves later on in the future.
Just take your time just cause it is there dosent mean you have to buy it.There is all the time in the world for a dedicated herper to buy a baby burm.trust me you will thank sSnakeSs.com in the future:cool:
Chondro Python

[Bryce Masuk]

I am 17 and I dont think I should have a burm just because I know when i move out I will probley at sometime have roommates and how many people want a 18' snake living with them also i might not have any where to fit the huge cage Maybe later in my life when i own my own home i will buy a burm but most likely not till then but I feel that if you want a burm after you have thought it through and are willing to comit yourself to it FULLY then get a burm

[JasonBrennan]

I would recommend using the gloves with the baby burm that is nippy, but for a different reason. A young burm strikes pretty quick, and it even startles me sometimes (and I am 285lbs, 6ft tall). It is strange, but the little ones will make you jump more than the big ones will, for some reason. Now, while it does not really hurt when a baby burm bites you, if you jump or jerk or what have you, you will injure the snake (drop it, pull teeth out, etc). By using the gloves, most people are calmer about being bit, and now that they are "protected", and therefore usually don't react as strongly. Until you get used to being struck at, I would say use the gloves, not for your protection, but for the snakes!

[Snake Lady]

ya but the snakes teeth can get caught in the fibers and it will still loose its teeth and can lead to mouth roght and other thing of the sort they make hooks for a reason it so we can use them to protect ourselves and our our animals.

[SnowFoxx]

A snake's teeth could get caught in your skin, too. I use gloves for my one nasty girl, and some big-time breeders recommend them. The snake isn't too likely to actually bite you, anyway, so the chance of lost teeth is pretty slim. Bottom line, fliching will make your snake even more nervous about being handled, so if gloves will keep your flinch reflex under control, I say wear gloves.

- Victoria :w

[krrc]

I think for some this is a matter of age and others it's a matter of size. if you are little you gotta relise you cant handle a lage snake by yourself. I dont belive you should really handle a burm without a few people there at least. Period. it's just not safe for you, and just as important large snakes do not need to be in the news for eating/killing you. I have a burm right now that I will be selling to a good reptile shop because I made a dumb mistake a few years ago and bought a burm. I feel bad that I have to sell her because in my five years of keeping snakes she is easly the sweetest and tamest snake I've had. the only reson it doesnt bother me too much is I know the lady really well and she might use the snake in her breeding project.

About the gloves, not that I need them cuz all my reptiles are "well behaved" but does anyone know or have any idea what the best fiber whould be? I guess you would want the finest but maybe a tough leather? I also know you dont want it to thich because the you cant correctly jugde the pressure being used to hold on and could hurt the snake wicth poses a bigger problem.

[Zoe]

krrc, whether you are 5'4 or 6'4, you still won't be able to handle an adult burm. Maybe a 6'4 person will be able to handle the snake by himself a LITTLE while longer than the shorter one, but in the long run, several people will need to be present to handle this snake.

ack, don't let your burm go to a breeding project! The LAST thing the world needs is more captive burms.

About the gloves, they have some specially made for snakes. Last time I checked, they were something like 100$ a pair, but well worth it I should think!

Zoe

[tHeGiNo]

Listen, I am a teenager, and have NO problem saying this. Your not ready for a burm, I don't think any teenager is. Accidents are what cause stupid laws to be made, you don't want an incident to occur and be responsible for the banning of burms. I know you want to have a big burm to show off and all that you have a 15 foot snake, but your not ready man, not with only having balls previously. Take baby steps, don't go from a four foot snake to a fifteen footer. Your not ready yet, if your as knoledgeable as you claim and responsible as you claim, you wouldn't even think of getting a burm yet. And there is my two cents.

[tHeGiNo]

And please note that because you have had a burm while young without problems, doesn't mean this can happen to everyone or that your snake wont escape, possibly bite someone and ruin it for us all.

[krrc]

Zoe: just to clear it up thats why I put:"I dont belive you should really handle a burm without a few people there at least. Period."

thanks for the info on the gloves!