When did you start and why?

Ill stop pickin on ya now Laura, and get this thread back on track!

It all started with my dad. He had burms before I was born but got rid of them. When I was 5 or so he caught a gopher snake. Man, that snake was just mean to me lol, and it honesly put me off for a while. Then about 4 years later we went to utah and he caught a garter that was just awesome, and we kept it for a while until it died. Devastated me. Fast foreword until 2 years ago when my dad caught a baby cali king up at my grandparents. He got the bug under my skin and its history after that. (That's right, I'm a frickin 2 year herper! Shocker! :O)

I was 4, almost 5, and I broke my arm. My parents asked if there was anything they could do for me (or something like that). I didn't ask for a puppy or kitten or candy or ice cream, etc.......I asked for a snake. So that's when I got my first snake. Ever since then I've had tons of different kinds of reptiles. I'm more into bearded dragons rather than snakes now though.

I started working at a mom/pop pet store 3 years ago. I was always a fuzzy pet owner. Its not that I didn't like reptiles, I did, I just wasn't into them. Rabbits, cats, dogs, hamsters, etc. That was more my thing. Plus my mother was not a fan of reptiles either. I saw the different reptiles come through the store and I grew to like them more, but still, I wasn't in the "I have to have one" mode yet.

Then my grandmother came to the store one day. She went to the reptile area where I rolled my eyes behind her expecting her to moan and cry about how disgusting reptiles are and then she said so many things that each shocked me. First she asked had I thought about getting anything there. I said I kinda liked a few. She told me, I should get one. WTF? Who was this woman and where did my nana go? Then she points out the Nile Monitors, and asked why not get one, they were kinda pretty. I told her they were like little baby alligators. I showed her a bearded dragon and answered her questions about it and she said I should get it. I told her I didn't have all the money for something like that. So she said, she'd pay for it. And asked me to feed it and call her in the living room whenever I fed her. And so I got Jinx. Whenever I fed her, I called her into the room so she could watch her chase crickets and eat mealworms and salad. She loved it all. Never wanted to touch Jinx though, lol.

A few months later, a manager at the store gave me a corn snake he didn't want and I gave it to my daughter as a Christmas gift.

We currently have 2 bearded dragons and a corn snake. With plans on adding several more snakes and maybe more dragons in the coming weeks.

I know most people couldn't credit their GRANDMOTHER in getting them into herps. But I am glad I had my nana and she loved Jinx a lot. She never petted or touched her. Never held her or cared for her, but she loved to watch her eat, run around, swim, and sun bathe. So funny.

Originally Posted by Sirengarg

We currently have 2 bearded dragons and a corn snake. With plans on adding several more snakes and maybe more dragons in the coming weeks.

Ahhhhh the addiction is strong in this one grasshoppa

Well, I was kinda happy with one dragon and one snake. Then I moved in with my boyfriend. He had a dog. And he not only wanted me to live with him, he had no problem with the fact I was a mom of 1 daughter and also had 3 dogs, 2 cats, a hedgehog, bird, rats, a rabbit, and fish. When I moved in, we both decided, no more adding pets. Then he saw some pythons, mainly bloods. And he was hooked. Now he wants to get more snakes and is doing a lot of researching on breeding. We decided if we go with breeding, since we are new, we will start with breeding corns. Move up from there.

Oh plus I have turtles. How can I forget them? They stayed at my parents' house though. The turtles started also by accident sorta. Many people know me for taking in homeless animals, often exotics. I either keep them for life or rehome them to the best possible homes I can find. For little to no adoption fee. Depends on the situation really. One person gave me a red ear slider and then another, and another. Eventually I built them a pond outside, I live in Florida so they survive great out there. I fenced it all in so they can't escape, as they aren't native. Then one year, I saw an influx of box turtles with injures due to cars. I started to rehab those with minor injuries, major injuries were given to a licensed rehabber friend who had veterinarian resources I didn't. I rehabbed 7 adult box turtles total. I got SO good at it, they started having kids. That's when I knew, they were doing great and it was time to set them free. In the end I ended up having 8 red ear sliders and 3 yellow bellied (who someone dumped in the pond in the middle of the night). I rehomed the 3 yellow bellied to a friend's land who had a private pond, as they are native. Rehomed 2 baby red ears that hatched outside.

Oh and I got 2 iguanas that were found running loose in the city. One was super friendly, a sexually mature male who was extremely tame and enjoyed human companionship. He was the biggest iguana I ever saw and we got on the news for his capture. I did rehome him, only because I didn't have a cage large enough and though I would have been fine with a house iguana, the family situation I was in at the time was not safe for him. A month later another adult male was found, wilder and not nearly as big. He actually escaped while I was cleaning his cage. Found a way out of the kennel I put him in while I was cleaning.

I was around 5-6 years old. Found local woods and water bodies, as well as the lake our family cottage is located on. Caught everything from fish to snakes, frogs, and of course turtles of all ages and types. Baby turtles, were somehow always brought home. Did all that hardcore, for a number of years into my teens. However, I was also very into cars, and Musclecars, so for years I kinda got lost in cars, repairs, driving, and eventually opened up a trucking company. Years of being on the road makes a person homesick, and begin to reminisc the old days. Every time I got near water, either in my travels, or when I visited home, I would somehow get hold of some sort of reptile. This even includes catching baby American Alligators when I visited the Everglades in the tractor trailer. I kept three tanks set-up in the sleeper cab of the truck and made pets out of everything I could catch. I had the gators, several turtles, and many different snakes, in the truck with me.
Anyways, Long story short, The trucking industry took a dive, and I sold the company, all the trucks, and all the contracts, to Fed-Ex when they made me the right offer. Swore off the trucking industry forever, and so began hardcore with the cars, and reptiles again. Now I have a Fiance', who is as much interested as I am, so it's our bond, and our mission as a couple to basically revolve our whole lives around reptiles. I/We, are happier than ever now, and looking to get even more serious with the reptiles in every way possible.

My fascination began when I was hunting with my dad down in edgewater and I was only like 8 or sumthin I was at the hunting camp and I was walking to a neighboring camp and I saw a tiny red ratsnake. It was gorgeous and I just picked it up and it didnt even try to bite or musk, it just sat there roaming my fingers. I brought him to my dad and begged him to let me keep it but he said no my mom would flip. So I let him go by a tree next to where I found him and he slithered away. Then ironically later that night under the same neighbors trailer we found a 6+foot THICK yellow rat snake and we tried to chase it down and catch it, but it was too smart for a bunch of old drunk rednecks, and they wouldnt let me near it for some reason.

After I moved into a friends house who would actually let me own a snake, I bought a female BRB that was nasty and traded it to a guy the day after for a neonate 2007 "hypo" RTB. My whole intention was to get the BRB and trade I knew it was nasty. Friend wanted to get rid of a snake, guy wanted an adult female BRB and for some reason they couldnt work out a deal with each other. I came in played middle man bought the BRB for 100 traded for a $300 "hypo" RTB, and all parties were happy, turns out after a while all the black started to bleed in and she wasnt a genetic salmon hypo, just a normal that had NO black pigmentation as a youngun. and after a year she would get a black border around her tail pattern, but to this day she doesnt any black anywhere else.

BTW now I am back at home and have all my snakes with me, tho my mom made me get rid of all the boas except the one I just described, she woulda had to fight me about my baby. lol

I seriously got into herps when we were living in Spain. I must have been about 9 at the time.
Used to catch lizards by the dozens and all kinds of water and land snakes.
I would always end up letting them go after I kept them for a day or two.
Now I am a big boy who works at the local zoo, I enjoy it to no end.
There is a great need for reptile conservationists these days.
Something to think about when you are starting to think about college.

My patrents had nothing to do with reptiles of any kind. I got hooked when I cased down a large rat snake. I grabed it by the tail and it bite the crap out of me. By the time he was done i had only one finger that was not bleeding. He went south I ran north. Been hooked ever since.

Sulcata Tortoise
Russian Tortoise
Greek Tortoise
Several small lizards
Hognose snake
Several local garden snakes
Black Throat Monitor current purchase

But my ex-wife hated them.. so.. when she decided she had a boyfriend and moved out, I bought about 15 corns, turned the extra bedroom into a snake room and that Guaranteed she would never come back. She wouldn't even come to the house to argue over it. Didn't even want the house for fear I'd let a couple loose before I left! That was 15 years ago. Enjoyed it so much, I now have about 45 boas, balls and corns..LOL.. And I have a GREAT snake enthusiast wife now!