Yeah....thanks alot Gregg!!!! Good stuff....kept me occupied for a good couple of hours!

On a serious note. It's really too bad. I would have been really bummed if I wasn't able to keep my collection at his age. Hopefully he wont lie anymore.

BThacker

FROM MICHAEL'S DAD......
 

I have spent the last few hours reading all the rediculous claims and statements made by my son... I am embarrassed and saddened that he feels he has to tell completely absurd stories in an attempt to feel important or get attention... I have obviously failed him in some aspect ... Michael does not now, or has he ever owned any poisionous snakes, other than the mangrove snake he has now, and a southern hognose, I believe he is a southern because we found him , and that is what we were told he was. He also owns a Red tailed Boa....All of which will be finding new homes until the time Mike can realize the trouble he has caused by his repeated lying. We have no relatives that are veterenarians, and michael does not know any vets that are doing any of the procedures he has claimed to help with so there is no need in looking for some one breaking the law, these were all completely false statements.

I am most saddened by the fact that Michael would imply that Vinny, from "Off the Ark Exotic Reptiles" would be in any way part of the rediculous claims he has made. His only involvement at the store was to do some volunteer work on occassion. Vinny was kind enough to teach mike all that he knows about snakes and reptiles. The damage done by the stupid statements made by my son can be hard to forget ... but anyone who knows Vinny and his family know that these were rediculous claims all along... I only hope that they will accept mine and my families apology for the harm Michael has done to "Off the Ark's" reputation...

We also would like to apologize to all the people who take the priviledge of owning snakes and reptiles as pets and reassure all of you, that there has never been any surgeries done here at home or at any other location.

I hope that some good may come out of this and that mike learns a valuable lesson. Maybe the loss of his pets that he cares about so much, and actually takes good care of, will get his attention. Again we are sorry for the uproar and you shouldn't hear much from michael anytime in the near future.

sincerely and sadly, mikes dad

No problem Brett, any time....LOL......

Mikes dad, just make sure you do not discourage Mike from learning all he can about reptiles...... He can learn tons on a site like this...... The greater majority of people on this site know alot about reptiles and are very willing to pass the info off to someone not as experianced...... If Mike came in here today with a serious question, I for one, would not hesitate to answer...... I do not feel you failed him Mr Metzger..... Kids are in a weird place at 15...... Each kid deals with it differently...... Just coach him on how to conduct himself on a public board and he should be fine...... Mr. Metzger, I am glad you found all of this out before any real damage could be done...... Thank you for coming to this forum with an explaination even though you did not have to...... You are a gentleman and I hope Mike will fallow in your footsteps.....

Might have been a little more valuable if you hadn't tried to dig him out of the trouble he had made by posting as him.

Hey Seamus,
Did you know that the comment Ian made in your sig, goes right to the BC forum????? Too bad it does not go to that thread anymore....LOL

Ok I know this is kinda off the subect but it gets to me.......


You say your son does not own a venomous snake other then a Mang and a Hognose..........

WELL

A hognose is not "venomous" a Mang is......... There is a difference.

I am not sure why you would allow your son to own a Hot when you do not have the knowledge yourself...........Sure mangs are good stepping stone for hot keeping but they are not as easy to keep as some think and you may know by now.

They have a striking range that puts most snakes to shame. and as I said before their venom is nasty but it is their delivery system that they lack that puts them down on the charts. Dr. Bryan Fry said it is like a death adder lite. He has wrote many papers on the mangs venom and delivery system. I recommend his site to anyone that does not know about it

http://www.venomdoc.com/

I have learned a lot from this mans knowledge and papers!

Knowledge is power and knowing everything you can about a species before you bring it onto your home should be your first thing.

I am not trying to tell you how to raise your son with the next statement but I think you will find it may help.

Sit down with him and pick out a snkae. Study where it comes from learn everything you can and then bring it into your home and work with it together................

A good friend told me this and it makes so much sence.....lol

But I seen Mike say the mang is no hot. He did not know. IMO he should not even of had the snake then........

I am sorry my above statement is wrong.

When I say the hognose is not venomous...............

http://www.venomdoc.com/forums/viewt...r=asc&start=10

Hi Gary-

I am going to have to disagree with you saying:

"I am not sure why you would allow your son to own a Hot when you do not have the knowledge yourself"

I believe there are plenty of mature young adults that can take care of Hots without the parent having "the knowledge". What I don't mean by that is for the parent not to know what is going on, but be aware of the risks involved.

Unfortunately Mike's situation may not be the best to refer to in assessing the capabilities of a young hot keeper.

I do agree with you on the fact that Mangroves do make a great stepping stone into hot keeping.

There are alot of dangers out there. Allergic reactions to mildly venomous animals, pit-bulls, scorpions, tarantulas etc....However you are correct about education. You should learn as much as you can before acquiring an animal, becuase there is going to be plenty more to learn when you actually do have them in possesion.

Anyway...I hope I made some sense. I still haven't had my coffee.

Ciao-

BThacker

Mr Haley..... Mikes Dad
 

That was Mike's post... and i'm far from trying to "dig him out of trouble" I was standing over his shoulder making sure he wasn't trying to get out of trouble by telling more lies..... I'm sure you've all heard enough... I appreciate your comments.... mike is in the process of writing to apologize to the person he did the most harm to .. and he's no where near out of trouble around this house.... thanks

AGREED. The reason I brought it up here is I seen that Mike did not know either. He said many times the Mnag was not hot.

So I took it as he did not even know what he had. lol

But I agree there are some very good minors out there that have owned hots.......... I know of a few that did it here in their young days lol..........

Also about the comment on the Hog. I am not really sure now. The more I read into the papers written on the subject the more I am confused lol. I have had a few friend talk to me about it though. And to say the Hog is not a true hot as the mang is. But that is for another post lol