Am I Crazy?!?!?

[KatherineI]

Sooo... I currently live in a 2 bedroom duplex. I have 1 small dog, my GCC, a Bearded Dragon, a Russian Tortoise and I'm bringing home a Goffin in a few weeks. Hubs and I recently lost our corn snake, Freckles, to unknown causes (she was sick from the get-go though, not growing or shedding properly).

Last summer, we "fostered"/babysat our daughters Kindergarten class pet, a large corn snake called RB. We had a lot of fun with her, all three of us grew to really love her. Hubs asked me on more than one occasion "what if she (the teacher) doesn't want RB back?" to which I would say "then we keep her."

Every so often I'll stop in and "check" on RB. Today, however, was a little different. The teacher was there and we chit chatted a bit and I asked about RB, even taking her out for a bit. Turns out, the poor snake has outgrown her tank, is too heavy for most of the Kindergarteners to handle and so the teacher is going to be looking for a new home for her at the end of the school year. The teacher expressed her distain at the idea of listing her on Craigslist and I immediately said "Let me talk to Hubs and I'll let you know"

He agreed that if we're still here at the end of the school year (we will be, long story), that we'll take her. Am I crazy for even entertaining the idea, or crazier because I'm looking forward to it? It's no less than what we would have had when we put our deposit on Sugar, soooo...

 

[Sadie]

If you can handle it go for it! I assume you already considered costs and vet care, so i wont bring that all up. But its what you can do without running yourself dry!
I know the feeling though. I have 4 dogs and ended up with a puppy after i paid off my rocky! Wasnt part of the plan and last thing we wanted was to add a dog to the family...but the family couldnt find anyone to take her (getting rid of them at only 5 weeks) and it was off to the pound she was going. We figured eh its not a financial issue, just if we could provide attention for one more. But thats it, were done
Sorry for rambling, just letting you know i was just there too. For a few days you may be like oh no what did i get myself into, but once its factored into the routine its more like "i have this" good luck!

 

[Mare Miller]

My oldest son would bring home the strangest creatures. Nothing I would ever go out and buy for myself. During his high school years, we had living in our home, 2 different kind of snakes, a Pac Man frog, (that was the weirdest), had to feed these guys baby mice, then came the green iguana. My son took good care of them, so wasn't really an issue for me till the snakes escaped in the house, pythons.

He found good homes for all except the iguana, who was about one and a half foot long when he brought it home, when he went off to college.

My husband and I get stuck with this iguana, not friendly in any way, and about four feet long by this time. Vegetarian this guy is and was more expensive to feed than ourselves!

Sorry about the rambling, you got me going with the snake and you being crazy part. Sounds like you can deal with this critter and also give it a good home. He's lucky to have you!

 

[KatherineI]

Thanks. Yeah, we take really good care of our guys, they get vetted when we first get them and again once a year unless they get sick, then obviously they go in.

When Onyx (dog) was 16 weeks, she got her leg tangled up and yanked it to try and get it out. She let out a huge yelp and started limping. However, she let us move her leg, touch it, etc., so we didn't think much of it despite the limp and favoring. The next day, she was still doing the limping, but still let us manipulate the leg and touch it, but I called the vet anyway. When he looked at her, he said it was most likely just bruised and sore, but he'd take an x-ray to ease my mind. Imagine the shock for everyone -vet included - when the x-ray revealed a break at the knee joint! She had to have a pin placed in. $1000 surgery right there.

Yeah, I know how expensive pets can be

 

[IcyWolf]

Fortunately, snakes are pretty cheap animals to care for once you have the initial set up. A good under tank heater will last for years and years, a few of mine have to be close to ten years old and still work fine. The only real continuing costs would be bedding and food. A large bag/bale of aspen should last one cornsnake a good year and if you buy mice frozen and in bulk you can get them for under a dollar a mouse, if your snake eats 2 mice a week, that's still only about 8 bucks a month, way cheaper than any bird!
As long as you have the time to care for him and get him out every now and then, I say go for it!

 

[FutureDVM]

I say go for it! Snakes are so easy to care for and such fun pets to own. I have a total of five snakes (two of which are corns) and I love them!

 

[IcyWolf]

The one thing I was wondering, you said that the snake is too heavy for some of the kids to hold, how big is this corn? Most don't get that large, I'd love to see a pic of him.

 

[KatherineI]

I already sent the email to the teacher. Barring us moving before the end of June, RB will be ours!! Woot! Jeni (teacher) is as giddy as I am, lol.

I haven't seen RB fully stretched out since August. S/he did feel a but heavy to me, so Od say she's about 3-4lbs. That doesn't seem heavy, but for some kids it can be, and then to have her moving around and trying to keep her in a place... I can see it being an issue. I'm not even sure how old she is, a few years definitely. She's hardy, and super super sweet. She's (I believe) a Sunkist, orange and red.

We go through waaaay more aspen bedding than one large bag/year, but we do full tank cleanings about every other month, for both our snake (when we had one) and the Tortoise.

 

[mrgoogls]

i know this is REALLY late. but it is a great idea! i say "Can't have enough reptiles!". i have 2 bearded dragons that will hopefully breed,a leopard gecko,a corn snake, and a crested gecko who is my youngest that i got just a month ago from a local breeder.

 

[luvmytooo]

If you can handle it , why the heck not ! lololol
Post pictures when you finally bring her home
I wanna see her !!!!!