How many of you think....?

[RachelS.]

What do you think about teens keeping large retics? Here's a copy of a post I put on ks....

"If a teen keeper had enough experience and education with large boids and pythons I'm sure they would be able to keep a medium sized retic... and by medium sized I mean like a jampea or something that doesn't hit over 16 feet in length. The 18 - 20 footers are what scare me the most, even the 13 footers do. I have respect for such a large constrictor. These snakes can cost you your life!
But I would say, if a teen wanted a retic they should have kept a burm for about 3 - 5 year at the least and should have other experience with boas and other pythons. My parents don't mind the burm, but my mom gets a little freakish about how big it will get. My brothers are always like "whoa, that thing has grown since I last saw it... man, it's gonna get like 20 feet long!!" I just laugh. As long as the parent knows how big it's going to get and the kid has back-up I think it's fine if he knows what he's doing.
I'm going to buy a freezer for all the rabbits and rats, and mice and chicks I need to store up. My parents are thrilled I'm doing that, of course. I'm also saving up for 2 large vision cages... one for my burmese python and the other for my female boa constrictor (since my brother takes care of the male most of the time, I don't need to buy one for him). Now, wouldn't you say that's pretty responsible for a 14 year old?
But I also agree that there are others that just get the snake for it's size and not because they really think it CAN and MIGHT kill them. That's why I think younger keepers should keep the dwarfs and not the sulawesis and silvers, and normals.

Just my 0.02 ... hope this makes sense =)

~*Rachel*~"