BY Meghan Vogt
LifeAtStart.com Reporter
A pet is a wonderful addition to any family. However, I think we can all agree that having the typical domestic cat or dog in the house can be a bit too high-maintenance in some cases, especially for a busy teenager or college student. Allow me to persuade you to consider an equally satisfying, yet lower maintenance pet option: a snake.
After having such a pet in my house for a little over three months now, I can say that a snake is a very enjoyable pet to possess. I should point out, however, that our snake is only a young ball python. As stated before, snakes are very low maintenance. Maytag (our snake) eats just once every week or two, so there are no daily feedings to worry about. His daily routine only includes switching his day/night lights and rewetting the humidity-control towel atop his cage.
Along with low maintenance come low costs, a definite plus for any prospective pet owner. Although the initial cage, light fixtures and similar items are a bit pricey, the monthly purchases of a box of frozen mice and maybe a new lightbulb only come to total about twelve to twenty five dollars, if that. Of course, as Maytag grows, his food will become more expensive, but he will stay relatively small for at least the remainder of the year.
It’s true that you can’t really cuddle with a cold-blooded pet like Maytag, but you can still hold and bond with him like you would with a dog. Their personalities are usually more subtle than those of cats and dogs and maybe even small rodents, but they are definitely unique and fun to discover. And the addition of scales does not make snakes any less cute than the puppies at the pet store. You just have to look a little bit closer to appreciate their beauty. Looking closer actually leads me to my final snake-selling point for this article: a guard snake is probably much more effective than a guard dog.