Father Accepts Young Daughter’s Relationship With 16-Foot Python
Parents are usually concerned with introducing a new pet around their young children for the first time. This father, though, knew from the start that his 16-foot python would get along just fine with his daughter, writes moneysavingbasics.
“They’re just very used to each other’s company. When I introduced Emi to Cher, Emi was about 2-years-old and Cher was quite a tiny snake,” said Father Ed Taoka.
Not only has Ed’s daughter grown over the years, but so has his Lavender Motley Sunfire Tiger snake, who is now about 16 feet in length!
While Cher is much too big for little Emi to carry these days, the two still love to interact with one another.
According to Ed, the python is super gentle with his daughter.
“As a parent, I had to make sure that Cher was tame and sociable to be held,” the father admitted.
“I spent every day, multiple times a day, with Cher, just getting her used to human interaction. On the other front, I needed to make sure my daughter genuinely knew how to be gentle. As soon as she understood what she need to do, no grabbing no poking, just being gentle and respectful that’s all I needed form her, was to behave how I behave. And she proved that to me.”
For example, Ed won’t allow Emi to feed Cher until she’s 16-years-old.
Yes, that’s right: snakeS. The Taoko’s also have a reticulated python named Sonny, who Emi also loves to spend time with!
“No one gets to see the good nature of these animals and what they’re really like when they’re not being stressed out,” Ed said. “As soon as a large constrictor is shown with anything, it’s always a bad negative perception. The snakes haven’t bitten us, the cats have bitten us and scratched us. Cher is probably the most gentle snake I’ve ever owned.”
In the end, Cher is a gentle giant!
Source: moneysavingbasics.com
