Tips on pet frogs or snakes?

My almost 10yo son has been talking about being a herpetologist for
over a year now. He's lobbying very hard for a new pet for his
birthday in March. He would love either a snake or a frog. I'm not
excited about either one, especially when I think about having to feed
them live critters. However, I think it would be a good experience for
him and he's shown with our dog that he can be a responsible pet
owner. I found some information here
(http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/index.html) that was pretty useful and a
couple African Dwarf Frogs look to be the best place to start (you can
feed them frozen blood worms instead of live crickets). My main
question though is what do you *do* with a pet frog or snake? They
aren't something to cuddle with or teach tricks. To me they seem
even more boring than fish, which we've had before and I've never
really seen the attraction. I don't want to go through the expense
of setting up the right habitat only to have my son tire of it a few
months later. Have any of you had experience with snakes or frogs that
could share some tips? How quickly does the novelty wear off?

Thanks!

Annie

"annie" wrote in message
oups.com...
My almost 10yo son has been talking about being a herpetologist for
over a year now. He's lobbying very hard for a new pet for his
birthday in March. He would love either a snake or a frog. I'm not
excited about either one, especially when I think about having to feed
them live critters. However, I think it would be a good experience for
him and he's shown with our dog that he can be a responsible pet
owner. I found some information here
(http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/index.html) that was pretty useful and a
couple African Dwarf Frogs look to be the best place to start (you can
feed them frozen blood worms instead of live crickets). My main
question though is what do you *do* with a pet frog or snake? They
aren't something to cuddle with or teach tricks. To me they seem
even more boring than fish, which we've had before and I've never
really seen the attraction. I don't want to go through the expense
of setting up the right habitat only to have my son tire of it a few
months later. Have any of you had experience with snakes or frogs that
could share some tips? How quickly does the novelty wear off?

My experience is with snakes. Most people I know have not gotten bored with
them. We have three and one of them we've had a year and have not grown
bored with her.(and I know I will never get tired of her b/c I have loved
snakes since I was a teen) Really all you can do with snakes is hold and
wear them around your neck (or ponytail, mine love to wrap around my
ponytail and I can wash dishes and cook or whatever) You can teach your son
to feed the snake if you are wary of doing it, or find someone who will.
It's important that there is someone watching so the snake doesn't get hurt
by the mouse (many people drop it in and leave, and a rat can really hurt a
snake, even kill it, the snake has nowhere to go). Some people feed frozen
mice but some snakes won't eat those. I like ball pythons and would
recommend them as a first snake. Other snakes I've found to be really
"hyper" and hard to hold, and take longer to get used to being held.
I'm sure frogs are more exciting and you can do more with them (have races,
just watching them hop is entertaining) but they tend to **** on me so I
don't care for them much lol
Marie

In article , Marie says...


It's important that there is someone watching so the snake doesn't get hurt
by the mouse (many people drop it in and leave, and a rat can really hurt a
snake, even kill it, the snake has nowhere to go).

Yay - go rat!

Banty (had pet rats...)

"Banty" wrote in message
...
In article , Marie says...


It's important that there is someone watching so the snake doesn't get
hurt
by the mouse (many people drop it in and leave, and a rat can really hurt
a
snake, even kill it, the snake has nowhere to go).

Yay - go rat!

Banty (had pet rats...)


We've had rats for years. They're great!

annie wrote:
My almost 10yo son has been talking about being a herpetologist for
over a year now. He's lobbying very hard for a new pet for his
birthday in March. He would love either a snake or a frog. I'm not
excited about either one, especially when I think about having to feed
them live critters. However, I think it would be a good experience for
him and he's shown with our dog that he can be a responsible pet
owner. I found some information here
(http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/index.html) that was pretty useful and a
couple African Dwarf Frogs look to be the best place to start (you can
feed them frozen blood worms instead of live crickets). My main
question though is what do you *do* with a pet frog or snake? They
aren't something to cuddle with or teach tricks. To me they seem
even more boring than fish, which we've had before and I've never
really seen the attraction. I don't want to go through the expense
of setting up the right habitat only to have my son tire of it a few
months later. Have any of you had experience with snakes or frogs that
could share some tips? How quickly does the novelty wear off?

I do reptile education for our local library and school system.
Reptiles, in general, are a very LONG committment. Snakes live in
captivity as long as 30 years. My advice to you would be that since
you (parents) aren't interested in the animals, to not get them. A
snake is a HUGE committment and since you don't understand the
attraction of having one as a pet, I would wait until your son is older
and can make the decision for himself as to whether he wants to commit
to 30 years of having a snake.


The problem with frogs is that they usually have pretty specific
environmental conditions, including humidity and it is difficult to
keep the conditions such that the frogs stay healthy. Frogs can be
long-lived as well, but usually die in captivity because they aren't
well kept. So the pet industry keeps churning them out, they die by
the thousands and the breeders and pet stores make a profit. Not a
pretty business. Reptiles that live in water are very messy and
require constant cleaning and attention. I do not consider any type of
frog as a beginner's pet.


If you do decide to take the plunge with a snake, EDUCATE YOURSELF as
much as you can FIRST, and THEN adopt an older snake that is used to
being handled, from a Humane Society. Do not get any species other
than a Ball Python or Corn Snake - most other species are not as hardy
as these two and require more complex environments to thrive - these
are the only two species I recommend for beginners. Do not under any
circumstances buy pet reptiles from chain pet stores - most of the
reptiles are imported and heavily parasitized. Get them from a Humane
Society, or if you insist on buy, buy from a reputable breeder. Your
son also needs to be educated about how to properly care for and handle
a snake - you can kill it if you squeeze it, or hold it improperly.
Also, snakes stink and bite. All snakes bite. Every snake I have ever
owned has bitten me at one time or another, and I have had snakes since
I was 10 years old. If your son is afraid of being bitten or pooped on
(called being skunked - it stinks *really* badly), a snake is not for
him.

IMO, a much better pet for him, at this point would be a hermit crab.
They are pretty hardy, are cute, interactive and inexpensive. They
usually only live 3-5 years in captivity, so if the novelty wears off,
it isn't a 30-year committment. They are a good beginner's pet - they
don't take a lot of education or practice. They do, however, require a
heat/light source on one end of the tank so they can thermoregulate
(like snakes), as they are cold blooded, as well.

Good luck, and email me if you'd like more info.

-L.
(Sorry if this seems disjointed - I am sick and dopey on cold meds!)

"annie" wrote in
oups.com:

My almost 10yo son has been talking about being a
herpetologist for over a year now. He's lobbying very hard
for a new pet for his birthday in March. He would love
either a snake or a frog. I'm not excited about either
one, especially when I think about having to feed them live
critters. However, I think it would be a good experience
for him and he's shown with our dog that he can be a
responsible pet owner. I found some information here
(http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/index.html) that was pretty
useful and a couple African Dwarf Frogs look to be the best
place to start (you can feed them frozen blood worms
instead of live crickets). My main question though is what
do you *do* with a pet frog or snake? They aren't
something to cuddle with or teach tricks. To me they seem
even more boring than fish, which we've had before and I've
never really seen the attraction. I don't want to go
through the expense of setting up the right habitat only to
have my son tire of it a few months later. Have any of you
had experience with snakes or frogs that could share some
tips? How quickly does the novelty wear off?

let's see... i've had assorted "pet" reptiles since i was 3 &
i'm 51 now... so, i'd say the novelty is pretty durable
that said, i wouldn't start with African Dwarf frogs. they
aren't very exciting & they take more work than the "wow"
factor needed for even a budding herptologist 10 year old.
if you like frogs, a White's tree frog is a nice, fairly easy
frog... although they are more nocturnal & they do eat live
food (bugs).
i see no reason not to start with a nice temperate climate
snake, like a corn or rat snake. they don't need the elaborate
heated setups that tropical snakes like boas or pythons do.
most snakes will take prekilled food & you can buy frozen mice
from pinkies to full size at Petco.
one caution when getting a first snake: do NOT get a baby.
get an adult. they tend to be easier to both feed & handle.
another reptile you might consider is a skink. they do need
live bugs, but they have personalities. house geckos,
uromastix, & bearded dragons are also all good "starter"
reptiles. insisting on something that only eats pre-killed
food is really limiting though. most reptiles will not do so.
we currently have (in reptiles):
1 Bell's Hingeback tortoise
a pair of Spider tortoises
1 year old snapping turtle
2 common toads
1 Schneider's skink
we'll have a corn snake as soon as i can find a place to put
it
lee
--
war is peace
freedom is slavery
ignorance is strength
1984-George Orwell

We have had snakes. We had 2 ball pythons, at different times. We
couldn't get either of them to eat frozen/thawed (which is all I will
feed since I have had mice as pets in the past). I'm afraid we didn't
do too well with either of them, they both died. We then got a corn
snake that was already eating frozen/thawed when we got it, it escaped.
We currently have an amelinistic corn snake. We have had it for about
1 1/2 years. It was also already eating frozen/thawed when we got it
and we were very careful with the top so it couldn't push it up and
escape.

I agree with another poster that says you can take snakes out and hold
them, let them wrap themselves around you, etc.

Do some research on the different snake types. I would recommend ball
pythons or corns. Ball Pythons are slower and easier to handle when
babies, corns tend to be very fast as babies. If you don't get a baby
snake (as someone else told you not to do) be sure the snake is used to
being handled. The problem with getting an adult is that if it not
used to being handled it could be a biter. Also research the place you
are going to get the snake from. I would recommend checking places in
the area that deal specifically with the more exotic animals. I would
not recommend PetSmart, etc. Get a snake that is already eating
frozen/thawed food. Most places that specialize in the more exotic
pets will also sell the frozen/thawed food.

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about our snake
experiences. BTW, my 8 y/o ds feeds our snake so your son shouldn't
have any problem, especially if you go frozen/thawed.

L. Miller

In article . com,
"-L." wrote:

Frogs can be
long-lived as well, but usually die in captivity because they aren't
well kept. So the pet industry keeps churning them out, they die by
the thousands and the breeders and pet stores make a profit. Not a
pretty business. Reptiles that live in water are very messy and
require constant cleaning and attention. I do not consider any type of
frog as a beginner's pet.

Whew -- had no idea this sort of thing went on. Here in Australia, you need a
permit to keep native animals, which keeps the abuse to a minimum (for those
species, anyway). Of course, people do sometimes buy snakes in pubs and so on.

Here is the info on keeping reptiles etc in Oz:

http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/reptiles_pets.htm

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"... if *I* was buying a baby I'd jolly well make sure it was at
least a two-tooth!"
Mary Grant Bruce, The Houses of the Eagle.

Chookie wrote:
In article . com,
"-L." wrote:

Frogs can be
long-lived as well, but usually die in captivity because they aren't
well kept. So the pet industry keeps churning them out, they die by
the thousands and the breeders and pet stores make a profit. Not a
pretty business. Reptiles that live in water are very messy and
require constant cleaning and attention. I do not consider any type of
frog as a beginner's pet.

Whew -- had no idea this sort of thing went on. Here in Australia, you need a
permit to keep native animals, which keeps the abuse to a minimum (for those
species, anyway). Of course, people do sometimes buy snakes in pubs and so on.

Here is the info on keeping reptiles etc in Oz:

http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/reptiles_pets.htm


By and large these are not native. The Ball Pythons, for example, are
harvested in Africa: The pregnant mothers are cut open alive and then
literally thrown into the soup pot. The babies are shipped by the
thousands to the US - some still with their egg sacs still attached.
More than 50% die in transit and another 50% die before they hit the
market. It's a sick business.

-L.

That's one of the many reasons to be sure to buy captive bred snakes.
Which is one of the reasons I recommended researching the place you buy
from before buying.