thanx for the advise also i saw that you have a tortoise i have a six year old son who loves my snakes but i think he,s still a little to young for a snake i know if it was to ever strike at him or bite him all hell would break loose with his mother so i was wondering would a tortoise make a good pet for him? are they pretty easy to maintain? are there ever any instances where they would bite?are they expensive to raise? i would appreciate any advise you might have on the situation thanx for your help.