When to introduce a kid to a snake or reptile?

I have 4 young cousins and all of them love my snakes and always want to hold them but I feel nervous letting them because if it bites them(unlikely with the snakes I have but still) and they drop it or just get scared and drop it or if i look away one second and they lose it or something I was just wondering what some other people who have a similar situation think.

i find that older ages tend to be better like 8-10 maybe younger if the kid is mature, but the younger the get the more risk of dropping, "picking", pinching, and accidental freak out can occur one on one i think is the best for introduction. calm and conferrable environment are the most ideal

but working with more then one kid can be hard the best thing to do is try to calm them and taking turns and letting them hold the snake in their lap and "pet it like a kitty" is the best thing to do

Originally Posted by kellylake0001

i find that older ages tend to be better like 8-10 maybe younger if the kid is mature, but the younger the get the more risk of dropping, "picking", pinching, and accidental freak out can occur one on one i think is the best for introduction. calm and conferrable environment are the most ideal

but working with more then one kid can be hard the best thing to do is try to calm them and taking turns and letting them hold the snake in their lap and "pet it like a kitty" is the best thing to do

yea i agree my cousins are nuts when there together but angels alone. I have introduced them only to my sweetest snake and when they are alone they actually do quite well with her even though they are all around 6

My son was introduced to his first reptile (a Leopard Gecko) at about 18 months. He wasn't permitted to hold it on his own, but we showed him how to gently pet it. I have friends with kids that are a bit older (3 & 4) and I allow them to hold baby ball pythons. The trick is to keep the kids calm, have a mellow animal and make sure the children understand the rules. Our rule is that they must be seated and keep their voices down. They understand the concept that they're babies so they must be gentle and quiet so as not to scare them.

Originally Posted by TripleMoonsExotic

My son was introduced to his first reptile (a Leopard Gecko) at about 18 months. He wasn't permitted to hold it on his own, but we showed him how to gently pet it. I have friends with kids that are a bit older (3 & 4) and I allow them to hold baby ball pythons. The trick is to keep the kids calm, have a mellow animal and make sure the children understand the rules. Our rule is that they must be seated and keep their voices down. They understand the concept that they're babies so they must be gentle and quiet so as not to scare them.

thats sweet. my snake was actually a baby ball as well

Totally cute kid. I especially like the ruby eyes. must be a T-positive albino.
The CDC website says that children should not have reptile contact until they are 10 years old. In all seriousness, I have heard of more than one case in which small children were removed from homes by child protective services and the parents charged with child endangerment and forced to get rid of reptiles and disinfect the house before getting the children back. The way this comes to the attention of the authorities is that if a kid actually does get salmonella and the parents take it to the doctor, and lab tests show salmonella, the tests also show whether it is a reptile as opposed to a food borne strain. Just something to keep in mind.
When I let kids hold or touch a snake, the kid must be at least 6 years old, and I wash the snake off in soap and water and dry it with one of those disinfectent wipes before contact, just to remove any gross contamination. The way things are these days, I wouldnt take chances.

that really irritates me, as far as im concerned there are way more issues with other containments in a home then what a maintain reptile can ever produce. i personally thing reptiles are some of the most amazing things on the plaint.i wonder how many they had.

Originally Posted by BobOblak

Totally cute kid. I especially like the ruby eyes. must be a T-positive albino.

No, not t-positive albino. Just a crap photo because I was rushed to capture the moment. I promise, no ruby eyes on this hatchling!

Originally Posted by BobOblak

The CDC website says that children should not have reptile contact until they are 10 years old. In all seriousness, I have heard of more than one case in which small children were removed from homes by child protective services and the parents charged with child endangerment and forced to get rid of reptiles and disinfect the house before getting the children back. The way this comes to the attention of the authorities is that if a kid actually does get salmonella and the parents take it to the doctor, and lab tests show salmonella, the tests also show whether it is a reptile as opposed to a food borne strain. Just something to keep in mind.

I actually had a friend who had that issue a couple months ago. One of her neighbors called CPS on her in retaliation because someone (not my friend) in their neighborhood called the police about her nasty dog running loose in the neighborhood. So CPS has to do visits on every call, no matter how ridiculous they are (we were told a story about a neighbor calling CPS because a kid's parents were "vampires") and they just took a look around at the room, made sure everything was secure and that was it. I guess they also have to disclose what the call said (but not who), and this neighbor of hers said that she was calling because she "was afraid for the safety" of my friends three kids because she, "heard they could get out." When questioned on whether or not their has been cases of them getting out, the response was "no, I just heard they can." We're also not talking about anything big here...Two Cornsnakes and five ball pythons...

Cooooooookie Monster!!!!!

Originally Posted by BobOblak

Totally cute kid. I especially like the ruby eyes. must be a T-positive albino.
The CDC website says that children should not have reptile contact until they are 10 years old. In all seriousness, I have heard of more than one case in which small children were removed from homes by child protective services and the parents charged with child endangerment and forced to get rid of reptiles and disinfect the house before getting the children back. The way this comes to the attention of the authorities is that if a kid actually does get salmonella and the parents take it to the doctor, and lab tests show salmonella, the tests also show whether it is a reptile as opposed to a food borne strain. Just something to keep in mind.
When I let kids hold or touch a snake, the kid must be at least 6 years old, and I wash the snake off in soap and water and dry it with one of those disinfectent wipes before contact, just to remove any gross contamination. The way things are these days, I wouldnt take chances.

Bob makes a very good point. The age of the child is also critical because older kids have developed their immune system. In addition even if you do a great job at cleaning the reptile, you are not "sterilizing" it!