How can I get my mom to let me have a pet snake?

Your mom might have a phobia of snakes. That might be why she doesn’t want you to have one.

I haven’t asked yet, but I know her immediate answer would be no because she hates them. I want to know any strings I can pull besides the obvious to get her to let me have the snake.

Give her money.

How can we help you figure out how to pull the strings when you have indicated that most people don’t see them? You need to tell us what the strings are before we can help assess the best detours . . .

Just sneak one in and hide it in your closet. Convince her to let you have a pet mouse instead. But, a new pet mouse every week.

@rock4ever What’s the point of asking then?
@Blackberry I don’t think she has any money.
@Kayak8 I agree!

Don’t you think there is enough going on in your world without adding a reptile to the mix?

I used to tell my mother “Mom, aren’t you proud of me? I’m doing so good lately and I’m ready to make something great of myself!”. This usually works if you have been very bad in the past and you show tons of progress

Either that or just mention it everyday. I used to do that until she’d give in.

But I was just an expert at getting my way.

This is not what you want to hear, but these are the issues that would come with keeping a snake. Snakes are stinky (really!). They carry parasites (not the best thing to have crawling around). Pythons are rather stupid (I’m not sure if any snakes are really smart), and have been known to literally bite the hand that feeds them. You would have to keep your snake food in the freezer next to the ice cream and frozen pizza. How could you assure everyone that the snake would never get out? Most reptiles also carry salmonella or other diseases.

I would not blame anyone who did not want to deal with this stuff, but if you want one, these are the same issues you would have to resolve before your mom might even think about letting you get one.

Snowberry is right. Ball pythons are a big commitment. What are you going to do with this snake when you get a job, or go off to school? Pets are a lifetime commitment, not a fad.

Oh, and yeah, the snake food in the freezer next to the ice cream would be dead mice. Yum.

@snowberry Or they could buy them live and accidentally let one loose in the house! That’s even more fun!

I shall be formal and serious since this is the General Section. Dump the snake idea. Go for a Lady Gaga poster instead. Just wait, she’ll shed her skin sooner or later.

This is one thing you may have to wait until you move to your own place to get.

If you’re living in your mom’s house, she gets to make the rules. How very disrespectful of you to try to pull strings or suck up to try to get your way. Respect her answer and buy your own pet snake when you move out and get your own place.

Who would be responsible for actually taking care of the snake? Not just the physical aspects of care, but the financial ones as well. You’ve mentioned that you already have a dog that’s not being properly cared for, why bring another animal into that environment. If you really want the snake, just be up front and talk to her about it. If you are willing to do everything for the snake, tell her that. Tell her how you plan to cover the finances for the snake and how you plan to take care of the snake when it has medical issues. If you can’t handle the financial and medical issues of the snake, you aren’t even ready to consider taking on a pet that you know won’t be cared for by your mother. If you talk to her and she says no, then you’ll just have to wait until you move out.

Sinve you are asking for unseeable strings to pull, how about this: tell her that, in time, she will have a nice handbag.

Pet. Snake.
Two words that do not belong together in my book, ever.
If your mom says “no”, I am firmly on Team Mom on this one.
If she hates them, she will never feel easy about having one in her home. I would personally strangle the life out of somebody who snuck one in to my house.

To get your mom to say yes:

1. Know what kind of container the snake would be in and demonstrate to her that it is escape-proof.

2. Buy (or borrow from the library) books on reptile care and show her that you have done your homework and you understand what’s involved with keeping a snake.

3. Draw up your plan for caring for the snake: How are you paying for food? When will you go and buy the food? Do you have savings in case the snake needs to go to the vet’s?

4. Consider getting a part-time job somewhere where they sell snakes so that you can learn about them beforehand.

Talk to your Mom about all of these things, and she will see that you are serious and you have planned for this.

She is likely to look more favorably on you getting a snake.

Sorry, but I have to agree with @SuperMouse on this one. Given the question that she linked to that you asked last week, I really think you should worry about the other problems going on in your life before you start bugging your mom for a snake.

Besides, it’s her house. She’s the mom, you’re the kid.

@all I’m not interested in being talked out of having a snake. I know the difficulties and down sides. I know someone with a snake and he tells me all about it. I just want to know what I could say or do to make her say yes. I’m planning ahead in case the answer is no. She hasn’t actually said no yet.
@snowberry I would buy mice for 99 cents at petco ( alive ) and would only have to feed it once a month. I asked an owner of one. I know they can bite but frankly I don’t care if it does.
@Seaofclouds I“m making sure that the wound is healing correctly. She doesn’t like to take our pets to the vet except for check ups. The dog and other pets are well taken care of in all other aspects. If it came down to it and the wound wasn’t healing I would take her or any other of my pets somewhere myself. If it came down to that she would have no choice but to pay the bill. I make sure all my pets are fine. I never let them suffer. The snake would be no different. I will be buying mice for it. I will take care of it physically 100% by myself. The snake would definitely be in a good home here. Wait, I’m suppose to be convincing my mom. Not you :)
@rebbel haha I will. Good string!
@marinelife I will do my homework on snakes, but knowing her like I do she won’t go for that.
@BBSDTfamily How am I being disrespectful? I wasn’t planning to go for the sneaky string or annoying ones. I wasn’t planning on being a jerk about it. I wasn’t going to do anything bad. Even though the b**** deserves it, but either way I’m not like that.

Thanks all for the help

@rock4ever You are really being manipulative. I never liked it when my kids tried to manipulate me, and that’s the one thing that made me dig in my heels against whatever my kids were up to.
I hope you get your life straightened around, and no, a snake won’t help.

@rock4ever I think that when your mother tells you no about a pet snake, you should drop it or at the very most show her some facts/stats that may calm any fears she conveys to you about having the snake. But if she still doesn’t want it, even if it’s not a good reason in your opinion, her answer should be respected. The way you refer to your mother in your question to me is another way of being disrespectful.

@snowberry Manipulation is my life style. Believe it or not you manipulate people every day. Your crying friend, you manipulate them so they look at the happier side and feel better. Your complaining boss, you manipulate him/her to let you stay at that job by saying you won’t do it again and apologizing. Manipulating isn’t always bad if used in the right way. Any type of influence on anothers life is manipulation. I don’t even realize when I’m being manipulative and most people don’t. I don’t use it in a dark way by saying things like if you let me have the snake I’ll stop bugging you.
@BBSDTfamily She hasn’t said no yet. I haven’t asked yet. I’m just planning for the no because I predict she’ll say no. I’m planning ahead is all. I didn’t plan to annoy or provoke her. I just planned on one good strong argument. Trust me I would never get away with provoking the subject and I would never do that. I see where your coming from though. I don’t disrespect my mom to her face though. I’m not like that and would never do that. If she says no then it’s left at that. I’m just trying for one strong non-annoying argument.

I agree with @SuperMouse, at this point introducing a snake to the mix or any other animal wouldn’t be wise. A ball is something that takes a lot of work. They need large habitats, and feeding them is a big responsibility. You can’t just throw in a mouse or rat and call it a day. For the most part, a live mouse/rat will fight back and that might hurt the snake. Many vets aren’t experienced with herps. In this case you will also have to feed them frozen rats, thawed out of course, and move them a bit to entice the snake to eat them. There is a chance if you don’t wash your hands that the snake will go after your hand because it smells prey.

If you live in a place where there isn’t a lot of room it will be hard to upgrade the tank size and the snake will need it. Even though it’s a snake you will have to let it out of the tank occasionally to socialize with you and get used to you. Also it will need some exercise. With other animals around you have to be very cautious.

If you plan on annoying her until she gets it she won’t bother getting the proper housing for it. I can guarantee she will go with the cheapest alternative and it won’t bode well for the snake. Pets are a huge responsibility and even adults sometimes aren’t fit for this responsibility.

@rock4ever I am glad you don’t plan on disrespecting your mom or pushing the subject if she says no. I suggest thinking about what you think her reasons will be and present her with facts about snake ownership. Some people say “no” to things simply because they don’t fully understand them, so give her information. Maybe buy her a book and let her think it over for a week or so. Letting her know upfront that you will respect her decision either way but want to be able to have an open conversation – not argument- about it may help you. Please fully educate yourself on the responsibilities that come along with it first (asking one snake owner is definitely not enough).

@rock4ever Actually manipulation is using other people to get what you want. It’s self serving. A discerning person can see right through someone like that, and will avoid them, for they cannot be trusted (even if they ARE polite)! I have too much respect for myself to ever manipulate someone else, and honestly, the whole concept disgusts me.

Actually, I doubt this kid has the slightest clue what I just said, but you older ones will understand.

@rock4ever You said you would just take your pets to the vet and your mom would have no choice but to pay the bill, that is incorrect. She doesn’t have to pay the bill. She could refuse. Then, in the future, the vet could refuse to care for your pets because of the outstanding balance owed to them.

Buy a boy mouse and a girl mouse, set them up in a comfy home, and wait a couple of months. You’ll have something like a gadzillion mice. Set them loose in the house and tell mom that a snake is the only solution to the rodent infestation.

Just wait until you’re old enough to pay for and take care of a snake on your own before you get one. When you have your own place, there’s nothing she can do about it.

Instead of going for the ball python why not go with something small at first like a kenyan sand boa to get her used to snakes. Plus theyre super friendly.

You’d probably have to do something along the lines of, say…

…getting a job and getting your own apartment.

Yeah.
She’d probably go for that.

@SABOTEUR

Only problem with that is that the OP is 14…

@crisw There you are…!

@BBSDTfamily Thanks, that sounds like a good plan except for the book part. She’s not the reading type. I think I’ll make a power point on everything we need to know about owning a pet snake.
@SABOTEUR haha very funny.
@uberbatman I know where I could get a ball python. I however don’t know where I could get a kenyan sand boa. Either way the type of snake doesn’t matter yet. I have to research what type I want still. I was just saying ball python as an example. Also I don’t want a snake that small. Thanks for the advise I will opt for one slightly smaller than a ball python.