Wow you guys did start really little... I got my first pet at nine and it was a snake only because my mom didn't like other animals and we lived in an apartment that only allowed caged animals. I'd always loved animals and wanted a pet, but she did not, did not, did not! I remember sitting at the zoo one day just rattling off a list of any animals I could think of, asking if each kind was an animal I could have as a pet. When I got to a snake she paused, said hmm, that she would think about it. Go figure the animal most moms would have said no way to was the one she ended up agreeing to....
We picked up Oscar, a common garter, from the small local pet store a few weeks later. Who knew that little guy would start....
To this day she is convinced my facination with reptiles started with a baby sitter when I was really young who had a snake that lived in her walls. I do remember that snake and thought it was the neatest thing ever...