Is it a hobby anymore

I haven't slept in three days so this is going to be pretty daft and very crudely written...

:/ I hear you guys loud and clear. I haven't really been here that long but I've been around the internet to agree with hhmoore and to see the market go for roller coasters. It seems like whenever the economy is down every hobby including animals suffers a lot of blows and the people within that hobby run around like idiots trying to match prices and to make a fast sell with quick cash. When you stop taking your animals out, just to touch them and see them, because your too busy selling, pairing males and females, hatching eggs and dealing with feeders...Im pretty sure then it's not a hobby.

Right now Im buying all of Balls as youngsters, not at all once. And really, I think im topping myself off at 5. I want a few of those beautiful morphs so i can watch them grow up. I just want to take them threw thick and thin...as pets. Not as my money making machines. My own old man brought up breeding, we amused ourselves by looking about at different morphs, thinking of new ones we could try but in all honesty we both don't think of it as a money maker. We both know if it happens at all it's years off. Itll be a slow very expensive and careful project. Even involving Veterinarians. And who knows! By the time my guys are full grown, I may not have the room or money for more. I might just be sitting happy with what I have to say, no thanks, I like the number 5. It's all just musings and what if thoughts...Whats real is wanting to just be around the snakes themselves and learn about them. Thats the glory of this hobby, thats what the original intention is and always should be.

it stopped being fun when I spent more money than I could afford to and then figured out it was harder than I thought. Buying "hets" and possible hets that either NEVER proved or proved YEARS AND YEARS later than expected. "Friends" turning into scammers. Watching everyone else succeed while I failed again, and again, and again. At least it sure seemed like everyone else was succeeding while I failed.

I'm still plugging away.......waiting for it to be fun again. Succeeding now some~ three albinos and 1 pied produced this year...........

But I'm still waiting for it to be fun again. Wishing for that anticipation and eagerness I feel when I look at the calves I raised on bottles eating pasture all on their own. I used to get that feeling from the snakes. Now......it's more work than fun with the snakes. But I'm not giving up. Maybe I'll find the Joy again. And if I don't......well..........
The goats are getting wider I think there will be kids soon, then all that wonderful goat milk again!
The cows are getting bigger......there will be beef soon. The heifers will be coming up on breeding this summer, need to find a bull I like for them.
The chickens are pecking in the yard, raising little families and have little squables
There will be chicken soup for dinner tonight

and the snakes will be in their racks doing their thing. Might actually be able to make some money at them this year..........that will be nice. I'll use it to buy hay, build fences, buy a bush hog and have some fun.

To me, I love my hobby and am glad that is what it is. I guess when opinions get in the way that is when the love can also be lost. What I feel is not necessarily what others feel but this is my view.
No animal/reptile is a "crap" animal to me. Just because they arent hets, pieds, albino this or that, doesn't make them worthless to me. I remember when I was terrified of all critters, especially reptiles and the such. A friend was given a tarantula and I thought that was horrible, but as I watched it and began to read, I found a wonderful world of colors and differences. I remember attending my first "show" @ Dixie Reptiles in a motel room in Alabama. It was mostly spiders and such but a few geckos and the newest crazy "Bearded Dragons". I was in love. No color but cute as can be. Brought them home and read everything I could find. All was well. Then something no one could prepare me for and was in no book, propane gas takes the oxygen out of the air and I began to loose them. I remember the panic, the heart break, heaven knows the vet bills before I figured out what was the problem. Then we got our first breeding pair. I thought I was in heaven as I watched with wonder as she began to dig and later laid her eggs, carefully moving them to the boxes to wait for them to hatch. NOTHING other than my children or grandchild being born can compare to watching those eggs hatch and seeing those first beardie babies that were MINE. From a Ball python named Ms. Amenia that would only eat male mice and got a respritory infection then having to learn to give her shots, to the escapies that got loose and had to be hunted down, to the 2 snake bites I have had, I wouldn't change a thing. I have been here a while and watched alot come and go, But its still a hobby to me. I recently was diagnosed with a idiotic interstitial lung disease. Never smoked, no explanation and the first question from others was " Is it the reptiles?" I held my breath hoping that this would not be the case and thankfully it isn't but had it been, I could never give up the ones that I have loved so much and have given me such love in return as my reptiles. Thankfully, its still a hobbie to me.

Just to be sure, I went back and went through my list.
- I'd still rather clean cages than my house. CHECK
- I enjoy feeding the critters. CHECK
- If one doesn't eat that usually does, I still care why. CHECK
- I still hold snakes while cleaning cages, or feeding cagemates. CHECK
- I still get excited when I think something might be gravid. CHECK
- I still have first times. CHECK
- I think that the health of any given animal is more important than potential babies. CHECK
- I'm going to get rid of my animals, if/when I decide to take that "next step" with my girlfriend. WHAT???? HELL NO!!, WHO PUT THAT IN THERE, THAT ISN'T ON MY LIST
- I have snakes that I have no intention of breeding, or selling. CHECK
- When I get bit, my first thought is I hope the snake will hold on long enough for me to get a good picture. CHECK (sorry, guys, didn't happen today...but I think I've proved this one true enough times)

Wow you guys are depressing. I love this hobby. Their is so much to learn and the best thing is feeding day. I love it when people come over and see my collection and jaws drop. I don't plan on breeding only for me. I can buy whatever I want and don't need to make money off of them. Well have fun and enjoy this hobby.

I never really liked the term "hobby" in regard to keeping live animals, anyways. Hobby conjures up images of gardening or coin collecting or something quiet and relaxing, and while I love my snakes, there are definitely huge stressers whenever there is anything wrong with them. Gary... it sounds like your not dissatisfied with the animals and the care that goes into them, just with the people who share your interest in them. With snakes becoming a more common pet, there are all kinds of people to deal with, not always good. Maybe take a break, fade away for a bit as you mentioned in another thread, just to get a breath of fresh air away from bickering and constant questions about the same thing, and then come back when or if you feel like engaging with the community again?

Originally Posted by Twizted Paths

Jobs are not something you enjoy, they're something you do so that you can afford to do what you enjoy.

My job supports my hobby.

When I first got reptiles in '98 I didn't know a lot but was thankful for the internet and various forums so I could learn as much as possible (what kind of redtail boa is this? was probably one of my first posts). I will also say that because of the things I was reading on the net I wanted to 'get rich' breeding, I had dollar signs dancing in my eyes in 2002.

The two boa litters I got in '03 brought me straight back to reality (the albino dropped premature, 16 babies, 8 still borns and out of the 16 only 4 ended up surviving, total heartbreak; the normal dropped 34 poss hets that I had a heck of a time selling, ended up selling almost all to a local reptile shop in Vegas that pretty much sold at an indoor flea market, I shudder to think about the homes those babies went to). It was hard but I am so glad it all happened because it made this a hobby for me again.

I still breed my snakes every once in a while, probably more often now because all the babies I bought years ago are mature, but it's not my goal anymore. I also resigned myself to know that most of the babies I produce will probably have to be sold wholesale. Will I break even? nope! But it does help cover a couple months worth of food or alows me to do trades and get other snakes I want, so that's worth it to me. I love seeing little baby squirmers in the goo, knowing that I 'helped' make that possible by taking the best care I can of my critters.

Not much brings as much joy in my life as being able to go into the snake room and see all these beautiful colorful interesting creatures looking back at me.

Originally Posted by Cheryl Marchek AKA JM

But I'm still waiting for it to be fun again.

The second you take money out of the equation it will be. Almost the instant I decided to treat my beloved hobby like a business it stopped being fun. Honestly, I dont need 50 plus snakes, 20 plus clutches a year and some fat cash to be happy. I was happier when I had a dozen critters and a couple of clutches a year. And that is exactly what I am getting back to....... and have found happiness once again!

Originally Posted by Gary O

LMAO.... Still love ya bro

hehe, I am such an ass.

Its been too long since I have seen that big silly grin of yours. We need to hook up bro. (cant ya'll feel the man love)

PM or email me your show schedule for the Spring. I need a good excuse to catch an out of town show or two.

Please-don't chew me a new azz...

I'm rather new to this vending/dealing end of a hobby that I've loved and dabbled in most of my 49 3/4 years.

5 years ago, I fell in love with the first crested gecko I saw.

After months of reading, researching, and learning, we purchased out FIRST.

Now, five years later, we've just closed our first breeding season, and have 37 cresties.

We made some mistakes last summer, and lost a bunch of eggs and hatchlings in the heat.

We've made changes and adjustments to improve hatch rates and hatchling survival rates.

We did our first herp show and sold 3 of the 12 geckos we took, but did a LOT of educating...we took our MBD gecko with us to show what a bad diet of baby food and meal worms can do to these beautiful animals. We also learned a lot about dealing at herp shows, so we walked away with a lot more than we went in with.

We're setting up our gecko room to get all the tanks out of the rest of the rooms. Gecko eyes staring at us in bed all night have my daughter and myself a bit squirrelly, so it's all for the best.

In the last two months, I've found 2 pet stores who WANT to stock our geckos, and prospects of two more!!!

This has me STOKED!!!

The last week, the MIRACLE happened.

A totally unknown member from another forum I belong to has approached me to let her make & host a WEBSITE for me!!

In exchange for one of my HATCHLINGS!!!

http://www.lakeeffectgeckos.com/

THAT'S ME & MY DAUGHTER!!!

I'm still gasping!!! I figured it would be at least a year before I would have a website, and then I'd have to pay an arm and a butt cheek for it!!

I have learned so much from these silly little ciliatus creatures!! I'm sure there's more of a reason why they have that name-other than the fact that it means "eyelash" which is one of their outstanding characteristics. I'm pretty sure that the guy who rediscovered them picked one up, saw that crazy gecko smile and those eyelashes any woman would KILL for, and said to the little gecko, "Aren't YOU a SILLY little thing!!".

I wake up every day to 37 smiling faces!!! Even when my daughter wakes on the wrong side of the bed, SOMETHING gives me a smile!! They're all my babies, even though at some point, I'll be selling many of them. I keep photo albums of each one-even the perfect little still-borne pinner that took part of my heart when I buried him under my rose bush.

These cute little guys have brought soooo many people together on forums. They've made people unite to help OTHER herpers by getting us to sign petitions, etc, against the dreaded reptile ban bills.

We're NOT just going stand by and let you snake guys get hurt, because when they're done with snakes, they'll be coming for the lizards, turtles and frogs.

But in the meantime, PLEASE!!

Don't rain on MY parade!!

I'm just getting started, and you make it sound like a reptile Armageddon is coming!!

And while some people are gnashing their teeth at each other, there are WONDERFUL people all over this hobby who make it a pleasure!!

For example, a member on Pangea lost a HUGE part of her collection during the summer heatwave...Pangea members helped...in SECRET.

http://www.pangeareptile.com/forums/...ad.php?t=26874

So remember-there ARE ANGELS out there, just as surely as there are demons.

This is NOT a hobby-it's a JOY!!!