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Hello and welcome to Reptil TV, episode 63.
Today's episode is a children's hour. But for that I need my dad.
Maddox got it spot on. This episode is about children and reptiles. In what ways can children interact with reptiles?
Which reptiles can children own? How can they touch the animals? And we'll talk about what is allowed and what isn't.
Today I've brought along three of my children. They are 3, 5 and 7 years old.
They are like organ-pipes. With their help I would like to explain what children can and cannot do.
Of course children want to touch reptiles or animals. Of course that is alright.
Here, the children are sitting on a table. It is important that the animals do not fall down.
A good position is, if the children are sitting - that can be on a chair or a couch.
That way, if the children are frightened and let the animal fall, it doesn't hit the ground.
That way it would only fall into their lap or onto the couch.
And the animal shouldn't get hurt - which is a very important aspect.
So that is what we want so show you. How can interact and handle reptiles at different ages.
If your kid is 3 1/2, like our cutie Peaches here. Of course they want to touch the animals and feel the animals.
I believe this is justifiable, even with such a large snake here.
It goes without saying that someone has to watch them at all times.
It has to be an animal that is predictable - Boa Constrictor, a Black-Tailed Python or Indian Python, and Ball Pythons. Normally these animals are predictable.
What is very important is that the head of animal doesn't face towards the head of your child.
That way, even if something where to happen, You have to avoid that it could bite a child in the face.
A snake's head and a child's head should be as far apart as possible.
That way it is no problem at all to touch the snake at the rear. Petting the snake is no problem at all.
You can even put it around the neck, just like this. That is also no problem.
And the head has to be as far away as possible.
The same rules apply for large lizards, iguanas and similar animals.
You can let your child experience the animal. Make sure to never leave booth unattended and the snake's head should be as far away as possible.
A small jump forward in time. Melino is 5 1/2, he'll be 6 soon. He has an honest interest in reptiles and can really help me a lot.
With his age you can't keep animals on your own. However he can be a lot of help for his father when it comes to taking care of the animals.
Let's say we've got a snake where we have to clean up its housing.
You can help me. Can you hold the snake please?
I can take out the scat.
Take out the water bowl.
These are tasks that in my experience are fun for the kids.
They like to hold the animals. And they like to help with little tasks.
They can be a great help. You often get the job done quicker.
I don't have to take the snake and put it into another terrarium.
We got the litter.
A fresh water bowl.
Stefan: Do you want to pour in fresh water? Melino: Yes. Stefan: Be careful.
Stefan: I'll hold the water bowl. Melino: Do I pour the water in there?
Perfect.
Can you hold the snake again?
Let's put back the hiding cave. Carefully put the snake into the terrarium.
That's it. And I closed the lid.
Stefan: And we can continue with the next ... Melino: I'll go and get my Kellogg’s.
This is my son Maddox, he is 7 years old.
I'd say that 7 years is almost the time when they can do some things on their own. They also can have a Terrarium in their room.
You can start between 7 and 10 years, of course it depends on how mature your child is.
If they are serious about it or if they only fool around.
With that age they can do almost all the caretaking their selves. Here we've got a terrarium for spiny-tailed agamas
Spiny-tailed Agamas, Bearded Dragons, Turtles maybe even a snake, such as Ball Pythons or Corn Snakes can be suitable animals.
With the exception of feeding the animals.
They can do many tasks their selves and take the responsibility for the animal.
They can do the everyday tasks.
Maddox, could you please clean the terrarium here?
Yes, open it up. You can use both hands.
Do it the way you always do.
With Bearded Dragons, turtles and Spiny-tailed Agamas they can swap the old for fresh salad leaves.
Leave that there, that is how it is supposed to be.
Change the salad. You've got some fresh leaves on top.
Take out the old salad.
You can clean up the water bowl. Perfect, lay the stone aside.
Put the water bowl there.
Stefan: Pour it in there. Let me help you. Maddox: Normally, I can do that on my own!
Let's wash it of a bit. That's enough.
Stefan: Wait a second. Let's pour in fresh water. Maddox: Dad! I wanted to do that!
Stefan: Ok, put it back in. Maddox: I wanted to pour the water in. I know how to do that.
Ok, you can put in the fresh salad.
Then you can put in the crickets. Right, put back the stone.
Don't forget to powder them. Of course we prepared that in advance. It is normal calcium carbonate.
Now they are thoroughly powdered.
Put them inside.
Make sure that the Agamas are inside, they are probably hiding there in the back.
Perfect, carefully take them out - let them see that they've got something to feed on.
Maddox: Can you help me? Stefan: Help, yes.
That was it. We can now close the terrarium again.
Oh, some litter found its way here.
Good.
Close it.
Try it on this side.
Put the lock on.
These are some of the tasks they can do. 7 years is the age limit where you can start thinking about this.
They can do this daily routine. With 8 to 10 years, they can almost do all the jobs alone.
As parents, you should pay attention that these tasks are done every day.
That everything is nice and clean. And that the job isn't forgotten.
That way the children can take over responsibility and slowly get into this hobby.
Another important fact that I'd like to illustrate with this turtle.
The Americans have a funny 4-inch rule. You are only allowed to sell turtles if they are least 4 inches long. That's about 10cm.
This one here is about 6-7 cm long.
As I said, in the US they have to be at least 4 inches long.
The background information to this rule is the following. If they are below 4 inches, children could take them into their mouths.
Reptiles in general can carry salmonella. Just like birds, mammals and people too.
According to new findings, reptiles don't have salmonella more often than other animals.
But the Americans assume that it still is the case. Reptiles often have salmonella.
That's the reason for the 4-inch law. That way children can't put a reptile into their moth.
Of course this is bogus. But of course hygiene is one of the most important facts you have to get right, if you keep reptiles.
If adults - or in our case children - handle reptiles and snakes ...
... don't forget to wash your hands thereafter.
Don't put the animals in your mouth.
Babies like to put things into their moth.
They definitely are too young and small to hold an animal on their own.
When your children are older, they of course can hold the animals.
Afterwards, don't forget to wash your hands. Abide the conventional forms of hygiene.
That way you are not going to be infected by some kind of disease from reptiles.
That's a claim I'd like to make. With common hygiene methods and washing your hands afterwards ...
... with soap of course - maybe even a gel disinfectant - no infections disease can spread from the reptile to a person.
The question is, with what age can you give a child his own reptiles? What reptiles is the most suitable?
You could see it with Maddox, he's 7 years old.
I think he is almost ready to look after an animal himself - and to having a terrarium in his own room.
I'd still wait about 2 years with that. It always depends on the maturity of the child.
I would say that between 8 and 10 years, you can give the a terrarium that is inside their room.
It goes without saying that this should be with parental guidance.
It is a different situation if they only help their parents. Or if they are responsible for the animal on their own.
Where they have to look after them themselves.
Which animals are suitable? There are only small differences.
It can be a turtle or a lizard. If you have snakes, it can be a concern when you have to feed living mice.
I would not let a 7 - 9 year old feed his snake living mice. I'd wait a few more years.
On the other side, when they are watching ... When we feed our animals livestock, my children are often around and watch.
For them, this is a normal and natural.
This wouldn't worry me too much.
But it would raise questions for me, if the child would have to feed livestock himself.
With this topic I would wait until they are way beyond 10 years old.
Apart from that, I think turtles, lizards and snakes are all suitable to be the first reptile for your child.
With turtles you can even start earlier. With lizards and snakes, they should be between 7 and 10 years old.
And always keep an eye on them.
A no go are venomous snakes. In general, I am skeptical when it comes to keeping venomous snakes.
If made statements on this topic numerous times. When children are somewhere nearby, this is a big no go.
The animals shouldn't be too large or aggressive - and likely to snap at you, like a Reticulated Python or some specific species.
There are some species, that are rather aggressive. They aren't suitable for children.
Ball Pythons and Corn Snakes fit the requirements. Also they don't grow too large in size.
Also they are rather well-behaved.
Everything we talked about up to now, doesn't apply exclusively to children of your own.
Sometimes you've got other children visiting. They are curious and want to see and touch the reptiles.
Everything we talked about applies for all children!
Always pay attention!
Before I bring it to a close, let me talk about two things
First: Your terrarium should always be secured with a lock.
That way it can't be opened accidently and taken out - maybe even the child or reptile would get hurt.
Always use a lock!
Let me share some insider knowledge with you.
Most terrariums have these sliding doors. They are clipped into the terrarium's glass guidance.
This method of clipping is convenient. But it can be a trap for children.
If a child comes from below and presses its hands against the terrarium...
... this can work like a lever. The child presses against the glass, presses upwards and in a worst case scenario the glass would fall inside the terrarium.
That is a drawback that comes with this clipping technique.
I know a case where this happened, with severe consequences.
In that case it even was with a venomous snake. It really is treacherous.
A child should never be in such a situation.
If you install glass guidances on the side of your terrarium, you can prevent this from happening.
That was or so-called "episode for children".
We wanted to show you that reptiles can be an interesting and fascinating matter - even for very young ones.
Children can even hold the animals. With guidance and at some point independently - always with parental oversight.
I hope you share my opinion. I hope you enjoyed this episode.
Remain faithful and until next time.
And remember: CHECK MY BALLS!!!
... for that I need my dad.
Maddox: Is that finally good enough? Stefan: Well, Maddox already talked about it.
Maddox: For that I need my dad. That was the last one! Stefan: Maddox already talked about it...
Peaches: ouch, ouch, ouch...
Maddox: Is it on tape?
Peaches: Waah! It tickled my finger!
Stefan: Well, if you have a cutie like her... Peaches: It's crawling away from me!
Melino: Daddy! If you don't wash your hands, than you get sick, right? Stefan: You got it right.
Peaches: Check - daddies’ balls!
Stefan: Always keep the head away... Honey, please stay here.
I hope this episode was interesting and you learnt something new.
And remember - check my balls.
Check my Boas!
You have to pay attention!
Don't make such a fuzz about it,
Stefan: That was our so-called "episode for children". Peaches: Check my Boas! Maddox: No, not now. That was too early.