My family doesn’t like snakes. As the title says. So I have taken it upon to educate the world about the bendy straws or reptiles and I’d say the first step of that is going around on the internet and answering questions that I can and directing people to answers if I can. Then, after a few months of that, I decided, why not get my own snake to educate people in my area and school. Or even just my family. And while dogs are great pets, they can be hard to care for and alot of the world has no problem with them. And I already have two of them (Spoiled little dogs. I love them very much). And then I realized my family does NOT like reptiles after my dad made quite the effort to murk the dangernoodles in my backyard even though mice can be a problem when our chickens population gets low. So after much trial and error (and so much research that my head is spinning in wonder and the need to sleep) I have come to the conclusion that I need some help. Even a picture of a snake just vibing.
My parents hated the idea of getting a snake but when my mom came to a reptile expo, she held a snake and loved it so she let my brother get a ball about a month after. my dad hates snakes also and thinks they are horrible. Try and show your parents that you are responsible enough to care for one. Do you like any type of lizard (small is probably better) as much as a snake that your parents might allow you to get first to prove you can care for a reptile? Also maybe go for a snake that your parents won’t find intimidating. even though a ball python might not seem intimidating to you, it might be for someone who doesn’t like reptiles. If you like sand boas or hognoses, i would probably look into getting one of them because they don’t look intimidating and even my dad who doesn’t like snakes thinks they are a little funny looking. hope this helps
Thanks for the help! I don’t know too much about lizards currently, but I could do plenty of research on them although I don’t think it’s a matter of responsibility. And there’s 2 reptile expos within a 3-hour drive and my cousin used to have bearded dragons, so that’s a start. I can’t have Hoggies because they’re technically venomous and I need a permit but sand boas are an option, as well as corn snakes and garter snakes.
I am surprised you would need a permit for hogs. garter snakes are also technically venomous (not as bad as hogs which is already next to nothing) just not medically significant.
As far as I can find hogs do need a permit where I live, but not garter snakes. I don’t really know and there next to nothing I can find other than you need a permit for venomous snakes an I don’t want to take the chance of illegally owning a pet.
Wickens Wicked Reptiles and Clint’s Reptiles, two great Youtube Channels, both did really good videos on how to teach your parents gradually about reptiles and show that you are not “whining for” something, but in fact actually a responsible young person wanting the LEAST problematic pet out of any you could get.
(Seriously, I have snakes as an Adulty-adult, over 30 now -which is weird, I’m just a wiser version of my 19 year old self tbh- and my Mom doesn’t like snakes but when she visits my house, I can reassure her she will NEVER SEE THEM even if she looked for them. They are nocturnal. When she’s here, they’re fast asleep.)
I also gotta add:
I think the hardest part of getting a reptile as a younger person, after the Convincing, is that you should try to have a couple hundred bucks in an emergency fund after you’ve bought the expensive lighting and heating, and have a local vet within a few hours distance whom you can get to, and who can treat reptiles.
Both of these are for the chance that something should ever go wrong and you need to get your pet some medical attention. Not an impossibility, and it’s a hard truth but if you can’t afford vet care for an animal, it’s not time for that animal yet.
You may find it harder to convince them of going to a vet and paying their fees. There is a good chance if they really don’t like them, but allow you to get one, that they won’t be willing to spend the extra on them too keep them alive. This part should really be in the conversation so everyone is aware there could be extra expense.
Everything d_y_python said.
People of a certain turn of mind will often refuse to “see the point” of saving the life of an animal they think of as not worth it- ie, not a mammal and something they dislike anyway. I have personal opinions on this I will keep to myself, suffice it to say. But it is common from parents with a child who has a pet they think poorly of or consider useless/unprofitable/insignificant. “it’s JUST a fish/rat/mouse/spider/snake/lizard/mangy old cat/useless dog” etc etc
This is where you having saved the funds to cover costs will come in most handy as a sign of planning to care for this animal yourself. Then if all else fails and you’re old enough to arrange a bus ride or taxi service you might be able to take the poor thing to the vet on your own if they refuse to at least help.
But all of that is after you patiently get them to consider animals as neutral beings and not the messengers of disease and evil.
I’m a little late on this one, but I have to say that it took 5 years nearly 6 for my family to accept snakes and even call them cute and cool. I was persistent, but not pushy, and I showed them the fascinating side to reptiles. Show them snake videos from channels like Snake Discovery and Clints Reptiles where they show the interesting side of the animals and how they can be docile. Also show that you can be responsible for an animal and have the correct husbandry, and that you won’t make them involved with it if they don’t want to and that it is just for you. Not sure how old you are but act as mature as you can and show that you can care for an animal. Maybe this helps you it did at least for me. Best of luck!
I’m incredibly late but what I did with my family who also hates snakes (but somehow likes mine ??) is that I did a lot of research and like wrote out how I’d care for the animal, what we would need for it, estimated costs, and all that kind of stuff. I took like a bunch of time to do this (right before you asked this question I started researching and writing) and after that I presented them the paper which had bullet points and explanations and let my parents think on it.
For me it was more of a persevere thing and I was able to adopt my snake in April!! Sometimes it just takes some time to get them used to the idea of a new thing and it might just take you explaining that you know what you’re doing and what’s expected of the new animal and their contribution to it