Baby Eaters?

[jjnnbns]

Hey all-

Any suggestions on how to assure my GF that someday when we get married that my snakes won't eat our babies? I own two JCP, two BRB, a corn, and hopefully a BCI soon. She wants to 'fumigate' the house if one ever escapes and move out of the house. Any advice or other good websites to show her to get her to ease up?

I don't expect her to fall in love with the hobby, but I would like to find a way to make it easier for her to at least accept it. Thanks for any help.

[Bighead]

Are you dating my girlfriend? I'm having the same problems. She literally refuses to consider marriage until I no longer own any arachnids. Good thing I'm not too attached to them.

[mykee]

They both sound unreasonable to me. Seems that any real relationship is a little give and a little take. Read into that whatever you wish...

[varanus69]

you guys are wipped lol.Reptiles are for life wives are replacable.I'm just lucky mine loves me enough to put up with the snakes and shes starting to like the lizards, she took over the bearded dragon breeding project and left me with the snakes lol. If some girl (in the beginning of the relationship) said its them or me i'd ave top choose the critters.My girls great

[jjnnbns]

She's fine with the corn, even holds it... Just not a fan of anything bigger. She's scared that it could escape and kill a baby.

[sapphire_moon]

Tell her that it won't kill the baby unless she rubs mice/rats/rabbits all over it. Or unless the baby picks it up and starts whipping it around.

Plus come on, common sence are you REALLY going to let a 1 day old (1 month old, anything under how many ever yrs old) hold a 9ft how many ever pound snake?
And are you REALLY going to leave said snake ALONE with the baby.

Ok then. :)


Edit: The baby is more likely to be attacked by a cat, or dog than a snake. Unless of course as mentioned above you rub mice/rats/rabbits all over him/her!

[jathoma]

I've been through two wives.....but I still have my snake!

:D

[daver676]

My g/f loves my bp. We'll actually it's our bp, but I take care of it, and she takes care of the cat. You could probably put your g/f more at ease if you show her how impossible it is for a snake to escape a PROPERLY SECURED enclosure. Another measure I plan on, at least, is putting padlocks on the enclosures. Keeps the kids out, and the snakes in.

[sapphire_moon]

or put pad locks on the door to the ROOM where the snakes are, again, kids out, snakes in.

[Auskan]

You could explain that snakes don't even recognize some things as food items based on smell (try switching a BP from mice to rats lol). I don't know about the bigger boas and all that as I'm more into cornsnakes, but wouldn't they also NOT recognize people as food?

[mykee]

I agree, just tell them to use a little common sense.

[Removed_2815]

I'm surprised no one has discussed the possibility of suffocation, this is how babies have died in the past in the US. I will concur that your concern should not be that the snake would eat the baby (although it is certainly not 100% impossible, humans are mammals and are potentially food - especially little humans). However, I recall reading in one of my reptile books about a baby that suffocated as a result of a large constrictor getting loose and crawling in the crib with the child. Of course, the snake sees the child as a heat source and the baby dies as a result of suffocation. And of course, there are lots of posts on this forum on how to find snakes that have escaped so no one here can contest that snakes escape despite our best efforts.
So, I am not going to tell you not to worry about it; it's unlikely but not impossible that the child's safety is at risk. Therein lies the fear and your girlfriend is justified.
You can take all the precautions you desire but accidents happen.
Just being a realist....
Good luck.
R

[sapphire_moon]

like I said, pad locked door, put a clip board and "sign in and out" so you know who was the last one in there. Have one of those stoppers on the bottom.
That way IF there is an escape it can't get out.

There is always risk, there is also the risk that the cat could suffocate the child, or even a dog that could jump in the crib(and not only suffocate the child, but crush it if the dog is large enough), Or a house fly going down his/her throat.

Just take extreme caution when dealng with larger snakes and children, it is common sense.

[latazyo]

Brent, I'm in a similar situation, if she's fine with the corn, just slowly let her work her way up.

That's how it was for me, your brb's are the biggest snake I've seen in person and it took a few days for me to want to hold them too

[Smulkin]

Hehe some of those were hilarious - my wife is a little odd - she's perfectly cool with the pythons (finds the afrock a bit too active), has her own liasis fuscus, is deathly afraid of the caliKing and refuses to hold the Sudanese Plated Lizard (most tractable lizard i've ever encountered) because "It has legs"! :O

[Dani33]

LOL, it's the opposite for me. I'm the wife and my husband won't touch any of my reptiles. I believe it's because he's afraid of them, his manliness won't allow him to admit it though. I am ok with it for the most part, (it would be nice to have someone hold critters while I'm cleaning). I have my own hobbies as he has his. In a way, it would suck if I didn't have something all to myself. He's ok with me having them, although I too have worked him up from a corn snake and leopard gecko.

We always talk about money being spent, so he knows about anything prior to my purchase. We also talk about the animals and their characteristics. Once he's educated, he is usually ok with it. For sure he wouldn't allow me to have any monster snakes, large monitors or anything hot. I do my best to respect his wishes as I like him to respect mine

[Leviathan]

Yay Danni!!! My hubby won't let me have venomous cause they are too dangerous! He says having a loaded gun would be safer! Phfff. Oh well he always has been a reptile lover and does want a hognose. So I told him if he gets a 'poisonous' hognose I can get a pit viper LOL

I would just find a common ground with your gf. Maybe just don't have larger snakes until your kids are bigger. There are plenty of dwarf boas that are amazing snakes that you could have instead of a BCI thay she may be okay with! Just a thought but of course it's up to you.

Alecia

[Samba]

I'm in a similar situation, only I'm a woman! I'm the one with all the freaky pets, but thankful my boyfriend is tolerable (he even bought a nice patternless gecko as a gift for me once!). He's ok with the geckos, but like your girlfriend, he is terrified of my snake, Bandula. Bandula is a 14 foot long Burmese python. My bf always has the chance to leave if he wants because he knows that asking me to choose would mean I'd have to show him the door. Educate you gf, many people lose fear when they gain knowledge... good luck!

[Linds]

Originally posted by RMBolton

So, I am not going to tell you not to worry about it; it's unlikely but not impossible that the child's safety is at risk. Therein lies the fear and your girlfriend is justified.
You can take all the precautions you desire but accidents happen.
Just being a realist....


All risks with babies and snakes are 100% preventable. No snake can escape a properly-secured enclosure. If you look at the venomous forum you don't see threads "my viper escaped", etc., popping up everywhere like you do in the Ball Python forum. I know I have my cat living in the same room my snakes do, and I am 100% secure in that situation. When a baby is involved there is no room for error, it is quite simple... babies don't handle snakes, have access to them, and snakes are securely locked in their escape-proof homes. As long as those common-sense rules are followed, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. It is only as risky as the person responsible creates it to be.

[Removed_2815]

In that sense, Linds, everything's preventable.... right? "What if I had just stayed in the right lane, then I would never have hit that car...." ;)
My point, that you quoted, was that accidents happen, and nothing is 100% fool-proof. We can outline hundreds of what-if scenarios that may not be likely, but may be possible in causing a snake to get loose, again, "despite our best efforts." Supports break and enclosures fall - snake may escape.... etc, etc.
You also touch on common-sense in your post, while I agree that this is all that is required to prevent an accident, with humans, this sense is rarely as common as you'd think (hope).
My point is simply that the one and only 100% way of ensuring a child is not put at risk is to remove the possible risk all together.... right?
This is extreme and is not necessarily my stance, I have serpents and I have kids in the house....
I would never be so arrogant to say that it could never happen, it certainly could but probably won't. The girl-friend likely doesn't want a child's life depending on "probably" when larger constrictors are involved.
But to each his/her own of course.
JMHO,
R

[Removed_2815]

Originally posted by Linds
It is only as risky as the person responsible creates it to be.
I think this says it all.....