We spend a lot of time outdoors in my family, so proper training is a necessity for my young family, consisting of four children six and under. We enjoy catching and observing many of the creatures than run around on planet earth, but there are many dangers that exist as well. Though I will let my children check out and handle certain creatures, even snakes, they know that they are not allowed to look for them on their own, and even if they see one that they believe is harmless, they are not allowed to touch it.
That training has paid off multiple times including the other day. The kids came back from a building next door and my oldest girl said our son saw a weird snake over by a rock wall. She said that it had a tail that looked like a gecko. I asked them to show me where they saw it, and when we got back to the place, before I could even begin to look around, my daughter said, "See, there's its head," as she pointed under a certain rock. I could immediately from the head shape and cat eyes that we had some sort of pit viper on our hands.
I pulled it out to relocate it to a safer place for all of us and thanked the children for their obedience and promptness in telling me about the snake. It was a small, about eight inch longer Pygmy Rattlesnake. Usually not a deadly snake (so I hear), but still a potentially dangerous situation for anyone, including children.
Nice job kids!