Should they be sold to just any one?

NewLineReptile · 04-30-03, 02:12 AM

Hi i was thinking about all of the bigger snakes in the pet trade and wanted to know your opinion do you think that these kind's of snakes should be sold just to any one that want's one

i am talking about snake's that exceed 10 feet +

my opinion is they should only be sold to the one with the knowledge of keeping big snakes

HetForHuman · 04-30-03, 02:38 AM

anyone can walk into a store and buy a snake, but the people that do this without doing any reading or learning a great deal about the snake should not own snakes.or any kind of reptile for that matter. the key is to learn as much about the animal as you can before you buy it. this is beneficial for you and especially the animal. i dont like when people impulse buy and know nothing.because the first thing i dont like to hear from someone is WHAT DID I DO WRONG??
Read Read Read and Read somemore.

NewLineReptile · 04-30-03, 02:49 AM

I know what you mean about not wanting to hear (WHAT DID I DO WRONG). I just was told today about a guy that has a 11' Burm in his small closet because he does not no how to care for it i dont know were or how this guy got this snake but i think it is wrong for people that dont know the first thing about careing for a big reptile to have one because it is the reptile that suffers not the owner.

P,S the person that told me about this Burm in the closet also told me that it is like 3 x3 square and not even set up for a snake
i feel so bad for it

Emily-Fisher · 04-30-03, 04:19 AM

Of course not! I mean, out of all non-venemous snakes, burmese pythons are NOT one to buy just because they are "cool" and get to a "cool" size. I mean, I want one more than I want to be the first person to build a house on the moon and anyone who knows me really well knows how badly I want to live on the moon but I can't buy one because of their requirements and their big size! OK, i don't mean to brag here but if someone who knows a lot about reptiles(for my age) and who IS ready to own a burmese but still doesn't think that I would be able to can't own one, then someone who doesnt have a clue about them REALLY shouldn't be able to own them!

Christina · 04-30-03, 06:10 AM

Burms are a hardy species which makes them good for novice owners. But the size and their escape abilities makes them more difficult. There deffinately is a dilema there.
Some pet stores are good and try and deter people from purchasing such huge snakes as a first time experience but unfortunately not all. That is where we get all of the lovely horror stories.
We got our first burm 8 years ago. Unfortunate story. When we went to pick it up we found it laying in a corner in a barn! The previous owner was keeping it in the barn in a bath tub covered with a grate. Back then we were novice snake owners as well but we definately did not keep it in a bath tub lol.
I was pregnant at the time and after watching her eat a rabbit I started to have night mares that it was going to get out and eat our baby. ( Not a very nice dream btw ). We traded it for an Iguana with some people that we knew was going to take good care of it. Now looking back even though we did give the burm a better home than a bath tub in a barn we still did not give the animal a proper home.
This happens to everybody in the beginning and starting out. Heck we still make mistakes.
So whether or not it is a novice owner or an experienced owner I think we are back to the same diagnosis the solution to the issue is KNOWELDGE. It is up to the people who know what they are doing to make sure that the people who are just starting out LEARN what they are doing and what they are in for.
Christina

Emily-Fisher · 04-30-03, 06:33 AM

I agree. Well put, Christina!

Matt · 04-30-03, 06:40 AM

personally, i think giant snakes should be sold and regulated with just as much care as venomous snakes!

dm101081 · 04-30-03, 07:31 AM

According to the Toronto by-law, and snake that has the potential to grow more than 3 metres is just as illegal as hots. It just doesn't seem to be enforced nearly as much.

marisa · 04-30-03, 08:04 AM

Yeah but even if that is the case in Toronto, does anyone have a link to the last snake "attack" or problem in Toronto?

?

Marisa

stevesemerko · 04-30-03, 12:48 PM

Before I purchase any snake I spend a lot of time looking through my books and checking out web sites and talking to people who have experience keeping the snake until I feel I understand every aspect of keeping and caring for the snake the best possible way. I think that anybody who is going to purchase any animal should do a lot of research so that the animal will be properly kept, especially in the case of large constrictors. If you have any doubt in your ability to keep the animal don't purchase it.

Matt · 04-30-03, 01:25 PM

anyone remeember the incident a couple years back in T.O., where someones <i>Echis</i> got loose inside an apartment building?
not a good day for the hobby!

**Andy_G** · 04-30-03, 02:10 PM

Most pet stores are just out to make money. Not all of them, but most of them do not care about the well being of the animals they sell or the people they sell them to. Always keep that in mind.

**Andy_G** · 04-30-03, 02:15 PM

About incidents, both my mother(hates snakes) and my father(doesn't mind them at all) told me about someone being killed by a Boa Constrictor in Brampton(which is very close to Toronto) in the 80's. I am not sure about what kind of boa it was or even if it is true or not, but I don't think my dad would lie to me about something like that. Apparently this guy owned a strip club and the snake would be an article of entertainment, going on with the women.
I feel that if this is true, it was the owner's fault, as usual, becausein my mind would be very stressful to a snake, all the lights and people, it would be horrible for it to go through, and it would probably be very edgy and defensive about everything.

NewLineReptile · 04-30-03, 03:44 PM

100% AGREE WITH YOU VIC their should be some kind of cooling off period and have to take a course because that way the person understands the GIANT snake and understands what is involved for careing for the snake I am not trying to put the new big snake owners down at all it is the snakes that i am thinking of

I was told onec from a friend of the family that had big snakes
(that any body can own a reptile it is how you care for it that makes the difference)

ReptiZone · 04-30-03, 11:40 PM

I belive that there should be and age restrictment and a test to prouve your compentancie towards these animals and a lincences granted if we had this thing would be a ''littel bit better'' cause we need permits for guns but we can still get them on the black market if we try harsd enough.