Pro's and Con's

[pepsi111]

hey every one

my mate is not sure if he wants to get a snake and i just wanted to see what pro's and con's there are about snakes??

pro's
- cheap on power bill
- easy to look after
- only need to be feed every fortnight longer or shorter depending on yourself

con's
- they bit a little or heaps depending on the snake

 

[pythons73]

Well he has 2 options...1-is he can get a snake.....2-dont get one..

 

[JAS101]

if your mates not sure then i would advise him not to get one , UNTIL he is sure.

 

[pepsi111]

well yea i no but surely there has to be more pro's and con's

 

[Grogshla]

do they smell?
are they hard to clean up after?

 

[garthy]

pro's: snakes are good
con's: Your mate needs to Know about them, Know how to keep them, Know how to house them, Know how feed them, Know where to purchase food, Know where to contact a decent vet, Know how and where to ask for advice, Know how to acquire a licence, Know how to be confident with them..... snakes are a serious pet, lots can go wrong, there's nothing cool about maltreating any type of animal.

 

[pepsi111]

yea he i told him to buy that keeping and breeding australian snake ( not sure if thats what its called) and to become a member of a fourm like this for anything els he would need to know.

and how do you mean SNAKE"S ARE GOOD ????

 

[FusionMorelia]

mate if your friend is getting you to do all the leg work, he shouldnt get one,
they take research, decent access to cash, for food, heating, housing, and vets are REALLY expensive
a decent sound beginner knowledge of python care is heavily advised! if he isnt sure, then do not get one.
its not just a pet its a 20 + year commitment.

 

[pepsi111]

mate if your friend is getting you to do all the leg work, he shouldnt get one,
they take research, decent access to cash, for food, heating, housing, and vets are REALLY expensive
a decent sound beginner knowledge of python care is heavily advised! if he isnt sure, then do not get one.
its not just a pet its a 20 + year commitment.

ok i get that

but so far i have only got 1 pro there has to be more than that surely

 

[souldoubt]

As everyone else has said he needs to find some resources and do some of his own research about how to keep snakes.

He also needs to understand that providing they are well looked after reptiles can have very long lives in captivity, and although theyre relatively cheap to keep the initial outlay (costs) for reptiles are quite high as you need to buy enclosure, hides, thermostats, thermometers etc.

There are many other factors to consider which is where reptile husbandry books, caresheets and certain websites will come in handy. It might also be a good idea for your mate to get himself a basic understand of reptile biology if he doesn't already have one

 

[pepsi111]

yea your right he can do this his self lol

but any ways thanks for your reply's i will pass this on to him when he comes around next

 

[Clarke.93]

Im sure your question did not get answered the way it was intended?
haha

 

[pepsi111]

yea it didint i was looking for good thing's about snakes and all i got was that he need to do research

 

[Just_Plain_Nuts]

Pro's: Fascinating, different,beautiful, wide and varyied types, the enclosures can look awesome, cheap to feed, low maintenance, can go on holidays for weeks at a time without problems, cool to hold

Cons: Can be scary, not everyone likes them, ???

 

[souldoubt]

I think you got a few cons if you look into it a little more mate,

cons
- expensive set up cost
- can be a bit messy sometimes eg. diarrhoea, defecate on you and so on
- needs knowledge of species and husbandry prior to purchase
- lengthy lifespan
- be aware of a vet that is either has an interest in or experience with reptiles

These have all been mentioned in previous posts on this thread

- require records so that if they get sick you have some idea of when they last pooed, ate, shed etc

Pro's

- generally easy to clean up after
- dont have much of an odour
(which were also mentioned on this thread)
- have a lot of character and can be really inquisitive
- a massive variety of native pythons available as pets
- dont crave attention, so are not as dependant as dogs and cats

Im sure you can add more

 

[giggle]

The thing is I think people weren't answering it for a good reason. You can't just go to someone with pro's and con's for whether they should get a pet or not. If he had decided he wanted a snake and wasn't sure what species and wanted a pro's and con's for a certain species it would be different. But if he isn't sure about getting a snake at all... then he shouldn't get one at all. You should never feel indecisive about whether or not you should get a pet.
I think this is what you should take back to your friend rather than a list of pro's and con's

Reasons....

The reasons to get a snake are as follows;
* You have a passion for them (and this is why people wouldn't answer pro's and con's, because if he isn't sure then he doesn't have a passion!)
* you have the means to provide their full range of care... enclosure, heating, food etc
* you know you wont get bored of them when it turns out all they do is curl up in a hide all day long xD

The reasons you should not get a snake;
* You think it would be cool to tell people that you have a snake
* You want an interactive pet
* You want to watch it kill rodents
* You want a cheap and easy pet (while they are generally cheap and easy... when things go wrong they are just the opposite... if you want cheap and easy get a hermit crab )

Anyone else have anything to ad to the reasons why/why not?

 

[J-A-X]

Pro: 'anti snake' relatives dont stay long when you answer the door with a snake draped across your shoulders - or your 7ft Coastal is cruising her tank (Floor to ceiling height) for a feed and in full view of them while they are having coffee & a chat.

Con: it can deter potential partners if you're single and they are in the 'anti snake' category.

seriously though, it does sound as though he hasn't made an impulse buy and is trying to make some sort of an informed decision, so give him some of the more sensible responses here and try and answer as many questions as you can without bias. Some people aren't 'snake people', just like some people aren't cat / dog people

 

[shortstuff61]

PROS
- Little to no smell
- They don't leave hair all over your clothes
- They don't scratch up your furnature
- NO NOISE!
- Low maintenance (unless you have a decent sized collection)
- Sub-adults to adults will only crap once per fortnight/month depending on how often they are fed (excludes urates)
- When cooling sub-adults/adults they will go all winter without a single feed
- Many species are very affordable nowadays

CONS
- Can shut down and not eat if not supplied with correct temps, hides
- Vet bills can be painful on the wallet
- Electricity bill will go up
- If you're unlucky enough to get a snappy first snake, you may be turned off them
- If purchasing a hatchling, you will eventually need to upgrade his/her enclosure at least once or twice
- Once you get 1-2, you will want many

Definately get him to buy that Keeping and Breeding Australian Pythons, it's pretty much the bible I reckon.

---------- Post added 12-Jan-11 at 11:12 AM ----------

Haha nice one Jax.