Pet Snakes Policy

**Chanelle** · 14-09-2012, 08:53 PM

I have been updating my policies so they are in line with revised EYFS but I need to do a new one for my boyfriends Pet Snakes and have no idea where to start!!

Snakes are not a normal pet and wondered if anyone else has them and wondered if they would mind sharing their policy?

Thank you in advance xx

Pipsqueak · 14-09-2012, 09:08 PM

Mine would read..

Shudder

Shake

Run away screaming....

sorry that is no help

i guess you'd write it the same way as any pet policy - children will be supervised and taught to care and respect for the snakes, hygiene will be observed - hand washing, the snakes are cleaned and cared for XUZ....

**Chanelle** · 14-09-2012, 09:16 PM

lol ... I have adapted a policy I found on Bromley and just added what precautions I take to keep the children from being eaten

xx

(kiddin!) lol xx

**The Juggler** · 14-09-2012, 09:23 PM

well,not for me but bet the kids would LOVE to see snakes at close quarters

**miffy** · 15-09-2012, 07:37 AM

When my son lived at home he had a corn snake which lived in a tank in his bedroom, the children loved it but, strangely, the Ofsted inspector didn't want to look in that room

Miffy xx

**singingcactus** · 15-09-2012, 12:12 PM

I don't have a policy for my pet snakes. I do include them in my pet risk assessment though, along with the cats and gerbils and snails. The cats and gerbils obviously presenting a much higher risk of injury/illness than my pet snakes.

For the sake of your boyfriends snakes, he needs to ensure his vivs have locks on them or the second your back is turned the children will be trying to get in there and will very likely injure the snakes. As an aside I also have a stopper between all the glass in my vivs cos the kids like to dance and jump and it rattles the doors together the vibrations of which can be upsetting for the snakes. I just stopper them to stop the rattle.

I have in my RA's that the kids do not ever have unsupervised contact with the snakes, and that each of my vivs has it's own squirty bottle of hand sanitizer on it, so if I do get a snake out (usually my little rootbeer princess, cos she's a total softie) and allow the children to touch her, they have free access to the sanitizer and know to use it every single time. But my kids very rarely have contact with them, only if I am lucky enough to only have one child in the house. Which is rare. I do not not want my snakes being scared and stressed out by all these noisy kiddos.

**KarenM** · 17-09-2012, 08:46 AM

We had snakes when we first opened and an iguana, sadly they died, and Ofsted didn't mind. I just adapted a pet policy to include reptiles with things like locks on tanks, sanitizer etc. The children have now chosen a bearded dragon as 'their' pet and we have adapted the policy to include bugs etc for their food.