Fish I agree with because fish involved dealing with water parameters and even fish people and professional aquarists unilaterally agree that maintaining the habitat and health of their animals is a pain in the behind.
Buuuuuuuutt... I bought my first snake after 20some years about 6 weeks ago.
Even in my overinvested, overprotective nature, my snake has added about 45 seconds extra work to my average day. That includes daily posts to her Instagram. And that 45 seconds is only because I don't have her daylight & basking combo lamp on an outlet timer.
They eat once a once a week to once every two months depending on size, poop once per meal, and if you go with a drought tolerant species like a rosy boa or kenyan sand boa it's not the end of the world if their water bowl sits dry for a couple of days. They don't need or want a snake friend. They don't care one way or another if you don't have time to love on them or walk them, and pretty much every aspects of husbandry can be automated except feeding and water dish refilling. A snake can lead a great life in a big enriched enclosure with little to no human interaction.
If the kid wanders off? It's nowhere near a dog's worth of extra labor for the kid's caretaker.
Tldr snakes are probably the best pet for a beginner pet owner, and with good education and some light supervision I'd absolutely recommend them for pretty much any kid old enough to moderate their grip.
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Fish I agree with because fish involved dealing with water parameters and even fish people and professional aquarists unilaterally agree that maintaining the habitat and health of their animals is a pain in the behind.
Buuuuuuuutt... I bought my first snake after 20some years about 6 weeks ago.
Even in my overinvested, overprotective nature, my snake has added about 45 seconds extra work to my average day. That includes daily posts to her Instagram. And that 45 seconds is only because I don't have her daylight & basking combo lamp on an outlet timer.
They eat once a once a week to once every two months depending on size, poop once per meal, and if you go with a drought tolerant species like a rosy boa or kenyan sand boa it's not the end of the world if their water bowl sits dry for a couple of days. They don't need or want a snake friend. They don't care one way or another if you don't have time to love on them or walk them, and pretty much every aspects of husbandry can be automated except feeding and water dish refilling. A snake can lead a great life in a big enriched enclosure with little to no human interaction.
If the kid wanders off? It's nowhere near a dog's worth of extra labor for the kid's caretaker.
Tldr snakes are probably the best pet for a beginner pet owner, and with good education and some light supervision I'd absolutely recommend them for pretty much any kid old enough to moderate their grip.