Parents and Our Hobby Poll

[Lena]

Well, reading through the "Spouses and Our Hobby Poll" thread, I thought to myself, "Well, my boyfriend's wonderful about my reptiles.. It's my parents that just don't get it!".

My mom has always supported my love of animals, but now she's starting to seem overwhelmed by the amount of reptiles I've brought home. "Do you really need another one?" "Ok, one more, and that's it! No more!" "What are you going to do with all these things when you move into an apartment?" She always refers to them as 'it' or 'thing' or 'that'. Thankfully though, she sees that it makes me happy and tells me, "Well, you have a passion, and that's what life's all about." She even agreed to come with me to a reptile show where she gained a greater appreciation of my hobby.

I see my father (my parents are divorced) almost every other weekend. But at the mention of my reptiles he just gives me that sort look where he thinks I'm being irresponsible or child-like about it. He's old fashioned.. I'm sure if I were a guy it'd be more acceptable for me to be playing with lizards. :main_rolleyes:

How do your parents feel about your hobby?

 

[metaldad904]

Even though i'm way past the age where my parents opinion really means much other than just that...an opinion, they will still chime in w/something occasionally. My dad is actually very supportive & finds the whole thing interesting, he likes animals a lot though. My mother is the polar opposite, she doesn't like lizards & hates snakes. She would go out of her way to behead a snake just for coming into her field of vision. As a child i had to save countless numbers of them from her wrath, to the point where i hid them in cages & told her i had something else in there. I believe it stems from a mishap she had with a garter snake when she was really young (she had a really bad allergic reaction from its bite & had to go to the hospital). She's a very stubborn lady & it's never going to change, she just rolls her eyes at me whenever i mention the animals and says i'm wasting my time. I just tell her i don't really care & move on, not worth arguing over.

As a parent myself nowadays my daughter is turning out to be a lot like me, she has a fasination with animals. When she was 3 I got her an Emperor Scorpion & a Rosehair Tarantula for her Birthday, much to my ex's dismay lol. I guess you could say i'm supportive lol.

 

[Spooki]

neither if my parents care... although i don't live with them. if i did my mom might have objected initially because she'd be afraid of it escaping. i'm sure she'd be fine with a leopard gecko. my dad on the other hand has a snake phobia so he wouldn't like one in the house.

 

[Alusdra]

My parents waver between not minding and being supportive. They will herp-sit for me, but anything more than basic feeding and watering they don't really care to do. I don't live with them anymore, but it was not an unusual situation that one or the other of them would find an old container of mealworms in the fridge stuck back behind the milk or something. They would just put them in the front at eye level so I would find them. I think that being content with mealworms next to the milk is probably the best you can expect from someone who could take or leave geckos (preferably leave). Especially after that incident with the dried soup packets and the 'wild' mealworms.

 

[LizMarie]

I live with my mom and she's very supportive and doesn't mind at all. I got that animal obsessive gene from her, lol. Growing up she had dogs, cats, birds, even a pet mouse so she really doesn't care about what I get as long as I'm responsible, have room and don't go broke over it, lol. At times my mom even seems proud of how much I care I am about my pets whether it be a fish, gecko or dog and how responsible it's made me. Sometimes when family and her friends come over she'll bring them to my room and show them my gecko and explain how I take care of here and what she feeds etc. She even enjoys sitting back looking at pics in the Show off your Geckos Section. My mom understands that I'm me and a big part of who I am has to deal with my pets and my love for animals in general and she's told me I have to be the best me I can be because that's all I can be is me. Yeah that sounds weird.

Yeah all that plus she told me your an adult already you can basically do whatever you want as long as your not breaking the law, lmao

My dad hasn't lived with us since the day before my 8th birthday so I he really doesn't say anything and honestly can't say anything. He doesn't live with me so why should he have anything to say about it? Plus he knows it'd piss me off but he does say a lot about my 30yr old sister that have 4dogs, a parrot and a tortoise. He's always telling me that she's wasting her money and time on animals that don't do anything. I imagine he feels the same about me and my dog, cat, gecko and 3birds but I can really careless.

 

[Kitsune]

My mom was always the real supportive one. She loves animals just as much as I do. She's not really a huge reptile fan, but she always understood that I <3 them. I even warmed her up to my first leo when we got him. =)
My dad on the other hand.. x.x; lol. He was tolerant with a certain number of pets in the house and anything more than that had to go! ... My mom and I used to sneak pets in and hide them in my room. He really never went in to my room.. but when he did.. he was completely oblivious.

My brother had a snake when we were younger and had it's habitat sitting on the floor. My dad came in once to fix the blinds or something and rested one foot on the top of the habitat. NEVER knew it was there. And he has a HUGE snake phobia. lol.
I've hidden so many pets in my room without him knowing. lol.

 

[Greyscale_Geckos]

My father doesn't seem to mind too much. He thinks that reptiles are probably the best pet option for me (easy to care for, no fur to aggravate my allergies, and etc)... However he will not allow me to breed them until I get my high school diploma. He thinks that while they are amazing, they are also a distraction for me. Haha, I agree 110% so in two months when I get my diploma I'll start building my collection up again.

My dad really loves my viper gecko Bowser. I've seen him standing in my room and watching Bowser, and then he'll make some comment like "Look at him climb that log! Hey, I think he knows I'm looking at him!".

My step-mom also likes/supports my love of reptiles. She thinks that almost every living thing is cute, so it wasn't hard to win her over.

At my mom's house (my parents are divorced) it's a completely different story. My mother absolutely does not like reptiles. She cringes and freaks out over lizards and snakes of any kind. But hey, I don't live with her anymore, so she seems to be content.

 

[latshki]

my family has always been supportive and since I was little they would tell me I am going to be a bioligest when I grow up
also my grandfather was in conservation so I have a huge passion for animals big and small (except bugs)
but my dad is helping me with my breeding project and when we get a few clutches we're going to make a site
my mom doesn't care if I have 1000 geckos or none but she regularily comes in and checks on my geckos

 

[Crazygecko]

My mother when I was growing up didnt really mind the animals I caught and brought home. Often she found them cute even my giant common snapping turtle that i kept in a big pool I bought just for him. He was the calmest giant turtle I ever seen. I would even take him for walks. lol
She even didnt mind it when I a garter snake I had got away and was under the kitchen table and scared the crap out of her.
I think the only people who didnt like my love for animals was my gramer school. In 4th grade being the punk I was I went out and caught a bunch of field mice and garter snakes and let them go in my principals office. lol I still get a chuckle out of that.

 

[Baoh]

My mother was always supportive and my father was always tolerant.

 

[lizardlove]

Haha, well, I live with both my parents because dorms are expensive ^.^. My father figures that I can have anything I want short of wolverines as long as I take care of it and pay for it. He won't touch Sappho, though, and pretends he's busy but I actually think she makes him nervous. My 71 year old grandmother would touch her! I put my dad down for 'he doesn't mind.' My mother was the same way, wouldn't touch her, until one day I needed to clean her tank and basically plopped her on top of my mother's leg! She stared for a moment, then did a really good job of holding her and putting her hand out so she doesn't walk off her other hand. I counted that as 'supportive.' She even bought a lot of tank decoration for me which was really nice.

 

[Haligren]

Well currently I live in house with my in-laws (always hate saying that, but hopefully we'll be out by summer). Anyway, after telling them I wanted a leopard gecko they didn't seem to mind at all. My mother-in-law actually kind of likes reptiles - even snakes - and she loves frogs! She has frogs everywhere and all kinds of knick knacks and dust collectors. lol She doesn't have any real frogs. She has too many plants to take care of and frogs can be difficult to maintain. My father-in-law on the other hand doesn't much care for animals so I had to assure him that the gecko couldn't climb out of it's cage or anything and even if it did it'd probably end up under the fridge or something where it's warm and not on his pillow at night. He's warmed up to Tiamat a bit and even tried to hold her but Tiamat only likes certain people to hold her I think. lol

My mom lives far away, back in Virginia, so she doesn't really know what to think. I sent her pictures of Tiamat when I first got her and she said she was really pretty. I think she has a hard time seeing that reptiles can be "cute" but she's starting to warm up to Tiamat the more I talk about her and has even asked for more pics. My mom is an animal lover like myself but she has limits as to what she'd keep as a pet. She's crazy about cats, of course, so am I. lol And I don't even think my dad knows I have a gecko.

 

[breanna-banana13]

I chose "mom is supportive" and "dad dosn't mind" or "isn't bothered" or whatever it said i forgot lol. anyway- they were both leery when i first brought up the idea of "a lizard" (No-"a GECKO") but just as the boyfriend, they saw her eat and fell in love. As far as the "herp" hobby goes... my mom is supportive in the way that she does love eliza (although is afraid to hold her for fear of dropping her), she'll pick up crix at the store (wont touch them though) and she loves keeping tabs on their pooing habits:main_robin: Ill walk in the house after a day at work/school and the first thing out of her mouth is "Eliza pooped"...:main_huh:thanks for the announcement:main_huh:...lol. My mom also talks to them and will feed Eval worms (with tongs) he is a hog so its fun to watch him eat. She just dosn't want more...i want a crestie but its gonna have to wait til i move out :main_thumbsdown:. anywho as far as my dad goes, he really isn't a big part of my life (parents still together and i still live at home btw...) but i guess he dosn't mind b/c he dosn't care. As long as they dont stink (which they dont). he wont touch them, hold them or feed them which is fine with me. After all they are "my lizards"

 

[rubym]

As a parent and not the child... I have to say that my kid is pretty lucky. He has a mom and a dad that are reptile junkies,lol. I admit I am not the fondest person in the world of snakes but my 15 year old has 3 corns ( hoping to get a carmel next). As long as he is responcible and takes care of them, he can have what he wants......well with the exception of spiders. No offense to anyone but I HATE spiders.

 

[GeckoStud]

At first my mother was adamant about no reptiles, but after years of nagging and begging I was able to get my first leo about 7 years ago. After that she grew comfortable about them because she never had to touch them and I took care of them. And years later I had several leos and other reptiles and even bred them too. I just got my first snake last year MUCH to her dismay, but again she got used to it and now even takes care of my animals while I'm at school. Granted I did sell off most of my collection for their sake...

SO over all I'd say my mom doesn't mind, but thinks I'm nuts every time I get more animals haha.

My dad is kinda schizo about it, he's supportive, and occasionally mentions I should get so and so a girlfriend or we should build a new rack, and other times he is like... don't you think you have enough? Haha, so I guess I'd say he's supportive.... and when he goes to shows with me he definitively DOESN'T help hahaha... chanting geeeet iiiiit..... lol

 

[Alliemac]

My mom is scared to death and she doesn't consider them real pets. Although, to her credit she is coming around slowly. She will now come in my house and my sister's house even with "slimy evil snakes" in our homes. She has also asked twice (very recently) about 2 of my pets when they were sick. I was floored but I think it's because the kids love them so much.

My older daughter had a reptile party last year for her birthday. I have a friend that throws parties. Anyway, my mom even came as far as the front door to watch through the window. That was a big step for her.

My dad doesn't get it but he shows interest to be polite. lol

 

[JayLeo57]

mom doesnt care as long as i can aford it. dad doesnt like animals. and he gets the final say

 

[sunshinegeckofarm]

well my parents like reptiles and they have my first leo ever still hes 9+ years old...now my inlaws on the other hand dont like reptiles and animals in general so i can't wait to move out of this hell hole...cuz i dont like it when others are not tolerant of others interests and likes and only care about themselves.

danielle

 

[bubblez825]

my parents love my geckos & allow me to have them but won't let me breed them. my dad doesn't like my skink very much though lol. he wont touch it unlike the geckos, who he will actually hold & play with them.

Before I got my first gecko, my parent were already warmed up to them because on the weekends I would take my teachers leopard geckos home with me. Sooooo they were already used to them and it was no surprise when i asked if i could get my own lol

 

[lizardlove]

*sniffle* I asked my mom recently if I could get a lil' ball python, and she said no snakes... I'm sad. She's so good with my gecko! I'm like, 'Mom, it's a long leo without the bumps!' Not really, but I tried. When I kept asking why, she's all 'There's just a stigma about keeping snakes, normal people don't keep snakes, now shut up.' I was sort of shocked... She's fine with the gecko. Sigh.