Sorry if I wasn’t very clear on how this was going down. I too, am totally against irresponsible pet owners who impulse buy do to a whim or fad and dump it in their kid’s laps. This is precisely why there is such a dilemma in animal shelters today. If I could I would have my own animal rescue/sanctuary and the first on my crusade list would be the American pit bull terrier.
Quote Originally Posted by tyflier View Post
Of course the kids that young don't actually participate in the care of the animals. They are too young at 5 or 6. The snake is the responsibility of the parent, even at 13 or 14.

I got my daughter a snake when she was 2. I take care of him, and I use him for breeding, but when she is old enough to move out of the house, if she wants to take Sammy Snake with her, she is welcome to...it's her snake. If she doesn't want to, of course I will continue to care for him, but she at least has the option.
Thank you tyflier…that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. I believe you’ve got to expose children at an early age and it’s up to them if they dig it or not. At the very least they will see how to care for a living creature. It’s a good life lesson. And no matter what happens, it will always be my responsibility. My wife will make sure of that.
Quote Originally Posted by Snake lover 3-25 View Post
i am fully responsible for all my snakes and my fish and turtle.... i got a job outside of the house to pay for them, i feed them clean cages ect. my parents have no part whatsoever in their care....... and i'm 15....... and i've had snakes like this since i was ten with no parental guidence.... i ask my parents if i can keep them in the house and that's about it....
I grew up much like you Snake lover 3-25. My parents let me have my first pet when I was 10 years old too. I rescued a three-toed box turtle from a fish market in San Francisco Chinatown. Poor little guy was going to be turtle soup. So we bought him and I packed him up in a picnic basket and brought him home on the plane back to Boston. And that’s how it all started. Teddy The Turtle is no longer with us. But after 25 years, I still have two of his old roommates. A Florida (Terrapene carolina bauri) & a Tree-toed (Terrapene carolina triunguis). Granted…I wasn’t your average 10 year old. But maybe one of my boys will be like me. Isn’t that the wishes of every parent? If they are into pets or not it’s ok. And if my boys want to take the the turtles when they move out, it is totally up to them. If not, that’s cool too. They’ll always be MY turtles. Maybe someday my boys can give these turtles to their kids.