>>720529342
Reptiles have stupidly long life spans. In captivity a snake can live 20-30 years. If you're an established adult who knows you'll have a stable situation for a next couple decades, go for it, but otherwise, wait. That lizard your parents got you at 13 will just be a source of stress and distraction when you go off to college, then after when you move to an apartment that doesn't allow pets, then after when you're moving around looking for work, then after once you're married and have infants, then after when you're busy with kids' extra curricular activities and you have to spend 30-60 minutes feeding that old fucker every few days. Reptiles are REALLY slow eaters, but you can't just leave live food in the tank; you need to monitor it and make sure it gets eaten.