No Thanks, No Snakes!
My son has been on a campaign to get me to allow him a pet snake.
Um . . . NO.
He brings home books galore and recites every interesting fact about them from their reticulated skins to their eating habits.
Son: Pleeeease, Mom.
Me: NO, I don't want to lay in bed at night knowing that in the next room over, a large snake is engulfing a rat or a little bunny. (See previous post about me being a wimp.) I also hate the thought of it getting loose in my house.
Son: But Mom, only XX number of snakes are actually poisonous!
Me: NO.
Son next day: But Mom, they can't wind themselves up your legs because your skin is too smooth and they couldn't maintain a grip. (Obviously, he hasn't seen how hairy my legs get when I don't shave).
Me: NO.
Son next week: But Mom, they're important in nature to keep the rodent population down.
Me: That's where they need to stay. In NATURE. I'm fine with them being out there.
I did let him have the lizard, which after going to the pet store for crickets to feed him cost $83.11 in crickets, cricets cage, cricket tubes to coat the crickets in calcium powder, etc. I nearly had heart failure at the cash register. If a small lizard costs that much, how much would it cost to keep a snake in rats and rabbits? *shiver*
Have you ever had creepy pets in your home?
Um . . . NO.
He brings home books galore and recites every interesting fact about them from their reticulated skins to their eating habits.
Son: Pleeeease, Mom.
Me: NO, I don't want to lay in bed at night knowing that in the next room over, a large snake is engulfing a rat or a little bunny. (See previous post about me being a wimp.) I also hate the thought of it getting loose in my house.
Son: But Mom, only XX number of snakes are actually poisonous!
Me: NO.
Son next day: But Mom, they can't wind themselves up your legs because your skin is too smooth and they couldn't maintain a grip. (Obviously, he hasn't seen how hairy my legs get when I don't shave).
Me: NO.
Son next week: But Mom, they're important in nature to keep the rodent population down.
Me: That's where they need to stay. In NATURE. I'm fine with them being out there.
I did let him have the lizard, which after going to the pet store for crickets to feed him cost $83.11 in crickets, cricets cage, cricket tubes to coat the crickets in calcium powder, etc. I nearly had heart failure at the cash register. If a small lizard costs that much, how much would it cost to keep a snake in rats and rabbits? *shiver*
Have you ever had creepy pets in your home?
posted by Ellen @ 11:11 AM
17 Comments:
At 1:25 PM,
Lucy said…
I haven't intentionally had a creepy creature in my house but I do have to say, I need to amend my post on your "I'm a wimp" post. To me, the only good snake is a dead snake. *shudder* I don't do well where snakes are concerned.
At 8:38 PM,
Anonymous said…
I grew up in the Mojave Desert, which means snakes were a part of my life. I don't mind them in nature, like you said, Ellen. As a pet, I don't think so! No way, no how! I have enough, trying to keep up with three kids. The last thing I want is to have something slithering and sliding into places I can't reach.
Lizards on the other hand, I adore. I had a pet lizard growing up. I caught it myself, and I called him George :) For some reason, it didn't bother me to catch George's food then, now I don't think I'd be so ready to search the wilderness for bugs and such.
Sorry for the long post, Ellen. I haven't thought about George in ages! I still wouldn't have a pet snake, though. Guess I'll join the wimp crew. Oh well, at least I'm in good company.
At 3:02 AM,
KimAmburn said…
Not unless you count the spider my son caught and kept in his bug habitat until I made him release it. I like snakes, but not in the house. I know someone who had a boa that got loose in the house for a week. I would never have been able to close my eyes in that house....
At 6:37 AM,
Marly Mathews said…
No. Never.
~Marly
At 6:55 AM,
Anonymous said…
Nopers. Furbot only owner.
Wow..didn't know crickets were so spendy.
Is he happy with lizard?
At 7:34 AM,
Chris Peters said…
Lucy, they are definitely creepy. *shiver*
Dawna, I guess where you grew up would make a difference - we never saw lizards or snakes (other than wee gardner snakes) in Michigan.
Kim, if a boa was loose in my house, I'd freaking move. Yikes! LOL.
Marly - smart lady. :)
K, the crickets were pretty cheap - it was the cage, the tubes, the calcium powder, the cricket food, then the lizard's ground cover, extra food and food and water bowls, temperature and humidity controls, etc. that the salesman threw in my cart saying I HAD to have for the lizard. I was too overwhelmed to realize how it was all adding up until I got the total at the end. LOL. I'll be more careful next time. :)
At 8:18 AM,
Aura said…
You know, the only creepy pet I've had in my house was a skank and that wasn't intentional. Laying in bed trying to sleep one night, I kept feeling something poke my hip. Finally I turned on the light to see what it was and saw just the head of what I thought was a snake. I FREAKED out!! I woke my roomie up, thinking it was a snake and we took the entire bed apart, box spring and all, to finally find out that it was a skank. (What looks like a very large lizard) Then we couldn't get it out. Finally, around 12:30 am, I prayed to God that it would go in the cup and it did. Threw the bugger out and spent the next half hour putting my bed back together. I decided that night to never have a reptile as a pet. LOL
At 8:41 AM,
Chris Peters said…
Yikes, A! That would have sent me into cardiac arrest. Holy camoley! (Is that how you spell that? Or is it Kamolee?). LOL.
At 9:00 AM,
Lucy said…
I'm with Ellen on the reaction there Aura. Woulda freaked me out. *shudder*
At 12:27 PM,
Unknown said…
come on mom, just a little garter snake!! Lyns son Danny had a boa and the dam thing got loose and froze to death.
At 3:44 PM,
Chris Peters said…
I would be so afraid a boa would wind around me and squeeze the life out of me. And pythons - some of those can eat sheep and deer! No garter, Dad. Sorry to say the meeker of the species is painted by the same brush as the more deadly in my book. LOL.
At 9:30 PM,
Unknown said…
Indiana Jones didn't like snakes. Enough said.
At 2:48 AM,
Shannon said…
Snakes... I believe they have their uses. And all of the uses are far from a home and from me!
If you want to kill rodents, get a cat or two!!
At 5:57 AM,
Honey said…
Just say no to snakes!
I snake-sat for some friends once about a year ago. It buried itself in its bedding and made me freak out, thinking it had escaped and I'd lost my friends' snake. Not a fun experience, let me tell you. :)
At 7:29 AM,
Ellen said…
Lillian, you're right. Indiana Jones is my hero.
Shannon, LOL, I agree - our 5 cats take care of any rodent problems we might have.
Honey, all I can say is you're way too good a friend! LOL.
At 8:36 AM,
Tempest Knight said…
You mean beside my ex-boyfriend? Uh... define creepy creatures.
At 7:49 PM,
Chris Peters said…
LOL, Tempest! :)
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