Boy Scout Snake

We had several snakes, as we always do, in the rescue. A young boy scout called me and told me that he wanted to get his badge in reptiles. In order to get that badge, he needed to take care of a snake for one month. He was probably about 12 years old at the time. That’s a pretty good age for kids to get a snake for a pet.

I thought this was a great idea. It was like foster care. The boy’s father told me that he had snakes as a kid and knew how to take care of them. The father would supervise the care of the snake. And, they would pay to “rent” the snake for a month.

I was hoping that the boy would really love taking care of the snake and then decide to adopt it. I had the people fill out the paperwork as if they were adopting the snake.

The boy and his dad came over and they chose a California kingsnake. It was an adult snake and everyone in the family was excited about the snake coming to stay. We went over all of the care for the animal. They told me that they had gotten a couple books about snake care as part of the research for the badge.

They gave a donation and also donated money for some frozen mice we had.

Unfortunately, my plan didn’t work. The boy kept the snake for the month and was able to get his reptile care badge, but he lost interest in the animal by the time the month was over.

I was glad that the people “rented” the snake instead of buying one. I would have ended up with that animal either way, so at least I got a donation out of it this way.