I had the pleasure yesterday of meeting Alex for a chelonian transaction in which he was the buyer and I was the seller. It went off without a hitch and I would gladly sell to or buy from him in the future as well.
Alex is an accomplished professional in his field and that, along with his experience with the animals he works with in a more private capacity, gives him an enhanced level of insight into keeping, husbandry, and medical aspects related to the hobby. He has a mind for conservation efforts and tends to favor Asian chelonian species (although his interests do not end there). Like me, he appreciates when an animal can be a pet and then some by contributing to the perpetuation of its species via CB propagation. I welcome this perspective. While I respect the showpiece-oriented mentality and pet-oriented mentality some people have (I have these mentalities, too), I also like it to be coupled with a desire for more than just ornamental keeping and my impression of Alex is that he feels quite similarly.
We sat down and shared knowledge for around two hours after the sale itself and I must say it was certainly enjoyable and refreshing to interact with a caring, open-minded, and dedicated fellow keeper. I look forward to his additional successes working with his species of choice.
Alex is an accomplished professional in his field and that, along with his experience with the animals he works with in a more private capacity, gives him an enhanced level of insight into keeping, husbandry, and medical aspects related to the hobby. He has a mind for conservation efforts and tends to favor Asian chelonian species (although his interests do not end there). Like me, he appreciates when an animal can be a pet and then some by contributing to the perpetuation of its species via CB propagation. I welcome this perspective. While I respect the showpiece-oriented mentality and pet-oriented mentality some people have (I have these mentalities, too), I also like it to be coupled with a desire for more than just ornamental keeping and my impression of Alex is that he feels quite similarly.
We sat down and shared knowledge for around two hours after the sale itself and I must say it was certainly enjoyable and refreshing to interact with a caring, open-minded, and dedicated fellow keeper. I look forward to his additional successes working with his species of choice.