Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Peter Parrot]

Exactly. It is merely a case of reccomending their particular favourite , or what is generally perceived to be the right thing to say. It very rarely takes into consideration what the person is actually looking for or what they can provide.
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[Dan]

Thats something i brought up on an earlier post Scott. I also tend to find that as a rule it is the inexperienced people who suggest the "usual suspects" which is NEVER a good thing.
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The future is bright, the future is a net like pattern.................

I'm NOT an expert, so if you don't want to know my opinion don't ask!!

[Jan O]

Scott- thats true also. How many times do you see the "ive got an empty viv, what can I put in it" type of post too. I wanted a rep that looked good,was quite easy to house, wasn't expensive to buy or feed and came up with a Bd or Rankins.
The yemens was pointed out to me as a good "starter" cham, even though I already had the Pygmies, as its slightly more forgiving of minor mistakes. I never wanted a reptile to cuddle- I have dogs for that. I think you are right Scott- the would be keeper should ask themselves these questions. Reptile keeping has never seemed so popular as it is now but I do think a lot of folk have them as "trophy" pets or "poser" pets- maybe Im wrong but this has come to be my opinion of late.
Jan

[Peter Parrot]

Definately the case Jan. Countless Green Iguanas could testify to that one!
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[Dan]

It has to be said i'm a bugger for impulse buying, i have more than once been out wandering, spotted something i like the look of and bought it then and there without knowing a great deal of anythin about it. The thing is i don't see anything wrong with it in my case as i know (whether others do or not) that i'm going to do everything i can to make sure they are looked after in the best way i can. However if i were to make a point of saying when i get home that i had just bought on impulse i would be crucified for it (generally by people who don't know me).
Perception is the other problem as we all have a different one. If someone comes on a forum and says they have bought on impulse and does anyone know how to look after said animal how many times do you see people reply to say how bad it is but not actually help? The fact they are asking is a start in my view but many miss this.

I'd dissagree that there has been an increase in "trophy" keepers as such. I think the problem we are seeing is that on the whole the hobby is growing. The proportion of "genuine" keepers to "trophy" keepers is probably the same, it's just that both types have increased and the availability of forums has brought more of the muppets to light.

I would say though that the general attitude towards reptiles has and is changed/changing. They are treated with far less respect now, i would go so far as to say they are taken for granted by many of the new keepers. The type of people has also changed in my opinion, the "new generation" (hows that coming from a 24 year old, LOL) are only interested on what is easy and what has been done already, no one seems to want to try something new or move out of the common mold. There is still so much to learn about reptiles in general and i genuinely fear that the hobby will soon start to go backwards. The new royal morph is not the be all and end all to this hobby yet that is all that seems to matter - now whether that actually has financial roots or not i don't know but it is entirely plausible.

No idea how the topic ended up here, but, it's fun all the same
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TFA

The future is bright, the future is a net like pattern.................

I'm NOT an expert, so if you don't want to know my opinion don't ask!!

[Peter Parrot]

I would be lying if I said I had not committed the impulse purchase thing myself. I agree with Dan when he says that he knows he will bend over backwards to find out the animal`s needs just as I do and it would appear, a lot of the members on this forum also.

One other aspect though I am afraid and that is that all too often people place the price of the animal as a great importance . Admittedly money is hard to come by but all too often an animal is viewed as a good "starter" because of it`s affordability. Red eared terrapins are a classic example. Cheaply and often available, this animal is grossly unsuited to the majority of prospective terrapin keepers idea of what is the right "set up" for them but hundreds (and I know it used to be a lot more) are still sold every year. Far too many are then released in ponds and canals.

Rant over.
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[Rickeezee]

hmmmmmmm yes. 2 points, the price issue I have bought this up before. Pros and cons. Ninja turtles nuff said.

Would like to home in on something Dan said, no one seems to want to try something new or move out of the common mold.

I for one are up for a bit of experimentation, not at the sake of the herp but I mean in terms of what is kept and even as to how the herp is kept, group housing of various herps springs to mind. Personally I enjoy and prefer the more unusual.

I have so called beginners herps and so called advance herpers herps. At the end of the day in my view it makes no difference to me, as long as I like the actual herp and appreciate it within it's own right. Not because soemone else has one or it is the latest do dah blah.

Plus I enjoy the challenge of a new herp that is a tad more unusual or not often kept. I get as much fun from learning about the herp as I do from eventually looking after it. Including the challenge of the husbandry of an unusual herp.

I also agree that some herps are more forgiving of mistakes in their care. At the end of the day in my view all herps require the correct care, at the same time I think it is good to stretch the boundaries to.

The trophy herpers will soon get bored of their latest acquisition and move on to the next fashion herp.

I think honesty is all important, what I mean by this is, lose the ego, none of us are experts in everything just some of us are more experienced than others. So no harm in asking a question even if it seems a daft question at the time. I have asked plenty of them at one point or another and make no apologies for it. Also be open to other techniques and ways of herp husbandry. The right wrong brigade are well dead and buried as far as I am concerned. That simply does not encourage progress. At the same time if one asks for advice then one should at least have the courtesy of reading the reply and listening, no one has to take any advice given. it's all about choice at the end of the day.

Call me old fashioned but if the ego can be left in a box somewhere then the hobby may progress to new heights, or not as the case maybe

Yes making a list is a good idea.


God did i use the word herp a lot then or what!
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[coachwhip]

In my opinion a starter herp is something that the person buying actually wants and will continue to want for a long time, and something that they can take good care of. I help out in a shop and although I certainly agree with most of the people on the forums that a corn is a perfect starter snake, I always ask what the potential buyer likes and try to recommend a few different species.

It does always annoy me that on most forums newbies are told to get either a corn, royal or boa, ok the corn is a very good first snake (if you like them in the first place), royals aren't as good as they have feeding problems (which if you are prepared to take advice isn't usually a problem), whereas boas are easy and docile (but can get massive). What about things like kings and garters ? The old excuse for garters was you have to feed them fish so not as easy to keep, well most if not all garters feed on rodents. As for kings, where are the posts on forums saying 'my king won't eat' ? Never see them, they are as hardy can be, look stunning and have more personality than other starter snakes.

I also agree that most herps are fairly easy to look after, after all in the wild they never have perfect conditions and so are adaptable.

Too many 'breeders' nowadays have forgotten about the fascination of herps and now only see pound signs. This is fairly well proved by the morphs, yes they can look very nice, but the animal is still the same as a normal, as 20 000 pound royal will do exactly the same things as a 30 pound one.

Mike

P.S. A little off track but why is it I can breed mice/ rats for my snakes, but according to most forums I can't give them any other type of prey, either rodents, insects, frogs, lizards or even snakes ? If I posted a pic of a kingsnake eating a corn there would be uproar. Even though I can break the neck of a mouse and feed it, I couldn't destroy the brain of a corn and feed it ? WHY NOT ?

[Dan]

Mike, a lot of what we can and can't do is down to perception, much like everything else. An example of this would be the topic we had about feeding frogs a while back. I am all for it as in my eyes food is food but Pollywog doesn't view it the same way as these are what he keeps.

God i love a good random shoot the sh*t thread
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TFA

The future is bright, the future is a net like pattern.................

I'm NOT an expert, so if you don't want to know my opinion don't ask!!

[Peter Parrot]

I keep frogs, snakes, and lizards (but no ducks).

Some of my frogs eat insects. One of them likes the occassional mouse. I dare say that he would eat my hatchling Honduran milksnakes too if he had the opportunity.

Some of my snakes eat mice, some rats, some both and some quail as well. (I keep a Parrot but don`t baulk at feeding quail).

The lizards also have a very varied diet.

If I kept a frog eating species, and I could provide a source of easily obtained suitably unendangered frogs, I would have absolutely no problem feeding frogs to the animal whatsoever. Nor would I snakes or lizards of a similar type to anything that fed on them that I kept.

The simple fact of the matter is that I don`t at present NEED to feed anything other than what I am feeding. If I kept species that required me too, then I would do. Simple as that.

People that like a particular type of animal tend to say; "Oh but you can`t do that!" and then go and munch on their roast lamb or bacon. It`s funny also how many "selective" vegetarians (and I am not talking about those people that do it for health reasons) but a few misguided individuals that I have met (and each to their own for sure, I am not slating vegetarianism or PART vegetarianism) when asked why they don`t eat meat , they say , Quote; "I just can`t, it seems wrong." In their case it is because they like or are fond of the said animal, sheep, lambs, pigs, calves, rabbits etc. Funny though how many of them don`t seem to mind eating chickens or fish.

Likewise then, are the same mind set that doesn`t mind feeding a nasty horrible rat to something, but quite often cannot come to terms with feeding anything else to the animal. I think it is a bizarre train of thought and perhaps a sign of an ever so slightly closed mind.

Right, I am rambling now on tangents. Enough!
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YSBRYDOLI POBL, GWELLA LLEOEDD
INSPIRING PEOPLE, IMPROVING PLACES
www.btcv.org
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Llinell Gymorth / Helpline: 08702 40 48 41