Reply To: Cricket Contest – September 2019 Winner!

[Zoodulcis]

OK, here is a fun story.  All true.  What parents have to cope with when kids want snakes.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl (me) that had parents that hated snakes (mine).  Because almost all of my family members worked at the San Diego Zoo at some time or the other, we were all exposed to various forms of wildlife.  My cousin holds a PhD in herpetology and loves snakes.  So did I at a young age, to my parent’s horror.

So best story of all….I once found a tiny rattlesnake on the threshold of our country home in southern California.  I saw the snake about one minute before our cat saw it.  It was not going to be a pretty scene for the fat lazy cat, so I scooped the little rattlesnake up in a most professional manner, right behind the jaw and whisked him up and out of harm’s way, and that of the cat.

He, or she, wrapped their tiny little body around my wrist, and with it’s tiny little fangs protruding and its tiny little rattle going like mad, I made the unwise decision to take it INSIDE THE HOUSE to show my parents.  Needless to say, they were not amused. Restriction for a week was the least of my worries.

With that in mind, and with the desire to be the perfect parent, when my daughter announced at the same age that she, randomly, wanted a ball python, I said, “of course.”  I made her earn the money to pay for it, but the snake was a delightful creature that brought much joy to our house.  Different strokes for different folks, I guess.