Hi all!
I made this account like 2 or so years ago and asked one question and then disappeared until pretty much now.
I just thought it would be fun to introduce myself, mostly because I realized I'm not new at all! I was using the search function on the General Boas forum to find threads about yellow anacondas, and wow! I found my younger self. I guess I had an account here about 7 years ago. I have no memory of making an account or making posts, but they are there.
7 years ago, I made a few threads about my desire to get a yellow anaconda. You guys all gave me great advice. I was 16 years old. I'm 23 now and a bit more mature (I'm sure I've got a ways to go, but at least I'm not 16!) and wow! I was so ignorant and gave myself WAY too much credit about my abilities as a snake owner. Sure makes me cringe to read. Buying a yellow anaconda as my first large constrictor and at 16 years old was such a stupid decision.
Here is my original thread:
http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/gener...da-advice.html
http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/gener...he-s-here.html
None of you really said so, but I bet you were worried about a 16 year old kid getting a notoriously aggressive, large constrictor that lives for decades. I know I would be if I saw that now! It turned out okay for the most part. "She" ended up being "he" (thank god) and he is fortunately a little one! Only 6 feet at 7 years, and 12 pounds. He is quite a defensive snake, but I handle the front portion of the snake with a hook and he lets me pick up the rest of his body with my hand. I still use heavy duty gloves and wear a thick jacket for safety. I don't think I'll ever trust him totally. However, I haven't been bitten in years and years, so I must not be doing too bad.
Despite the deplorable decision I made to buy such an animal at 16, I am absolutely resolved to give him a good life no matter what. I'm at least mature enough now to take 100% responsibility for my actions. He will never find himself homeless, even when I move. I refuse to be one of those people who bought a baby snake and then can't take care of it anymore because it got too big/too hard to handle.
And here he is today! He is in a temporary enclosure for the moment due to problems with the old one. I'm in the process of figuring out for sure what his enclosure size needs to be for the rest of his life, and then he's going to get a new home.
And can't forget my female rosy boa. I've had her for more than a decade. This one is actually an acceptable pet for a teenager!
I'm not sure it's quite a success story, more like a "I made it work" story. It's still going to be hard for me. I'm going to grad school in a year or two across the country. I've gotta take this big bugger with me, along with the other animals I have. He will be the most difficult, though. I would love to go back in time and slap my younger self when I was making this decision. The fact that he didn't turn out to be a 14 foot female also really helps. I feel like I dodged a bullet that he turned out to be male (even though I bought him as female) and an exceptionally small male at that. He might not even be as nasty as a lot of them, temperament wise. I still use all the protection I can because everyone says they are so unpredictable, but he hasn't struck at me in years, much less bitten me. The universe must have decided I only deserved a slap on the wrist for making dumb choices rather than what I could have ended up with. 
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