• Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================

    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Desert Gecko

J

John Albrecht

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Just caught this Gecko out near El Paso.
 

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John,

When I was out in the desert of southern California many years ago, I brought home several geckos that I had caught. A couple of the females were gravid and laid eggs for us.

I wish now I hadn't gotten rid of them, because they were all extremely personable lizards and a lot of fun to keep. They learned in no time at all that Connie was the bringer of food, and would all run to the front of the cage to await her whenever they noticed her nearby.

Really neat little animals!
 
I remember those lizards.

I actually thought of you when I found this one.
Regarding your CA trip; was that the time we met up out there?
I have some old photos of you on that trip buried somewhere around here.
 
John,

Heck I can't remember or not. I think when I met you out there I was out in LA for a month for school. I kicked around in the desert during the weekends but the only things I brought back with me were a couple of zonatas I found up in the mountains.

I think it was the trip that Martin Leidy and I took out there that I brought back the coleonyx. Darn that was a fun trip! I really wish I had time for that sort of thing again. We caught quite a few zonatas, a couple of rosy boas and some of the desert geckos. We chased around sidewinders at night in the desert, and found some rattlers up in the mountains as well. Camped out the entire time and had a hell of a good time.

What are (were?) you doing in El Paso?
 
El Paso

I was interviewing for a job. I've been laid off since May. My severance ran out over a month ago.
I just got an offer from the El Paso interview a coule hours ago. I'm thinking about it. I'd sure love to live there with all the reptiles and everything, but I'm not sure it's the smart thing to do family and profession wise. Decisions, decisions. The only other thing I got going is a possibility in Denver.
Sometimes I wonder why I didn't just keep that aztec/zigzag and lavender line going. Then I'd be sitting pretty like you!
lol.
 
John, I guess I would say go for the El Paso gig. One regret I have this late in life is that I did not spend more of it living in different parts of the country. Of course, I should have moved to Florida a whole lot sooner than I did as well. Problem is, you don't really learn the important things in life until most of the more influential decisions to make have already passed.

And if you call what I do, "sitting pretty", you really have no idea what it is like around here... ;)

I'm surprised you didn't stop in at the Raleigh show at the end of August. You're living in North Carolina now, aren't you?
 
Close but....

I'm in South Carolina. I love it here. Less than 2 hours away from Ridgeland. Hard to beat that. Except maybe El Paso, which is right on the edge of Graybanded Kingsnake range, and right smack in the middle of Trans Pecos Ratsnake land. :)
I could spend the rest of my life catching platinum subocs and Hueca Graybands. I guess maybe it's not TOO hard of a decision afterall. There, I feel better already!
 
Hey John, having moved from Milwaukee to Tucson to SC and now to FL it's tough because you always miss something about some other place during every time of year.

Oh well, just wanted to say I love the Coleonyx, when I lived in Tucson I had a group of 1.7 in a 60 gallon and was lucky enough to get tons of eggs.

Just wanted to share a good tip for anybody looking for them.

I always did this as it was VERY EASY to find them this way and I felt more like I was saving a life then taking one out of the wild.

Drive golf courses, they have so much irrigation (sp?) that there are those 10"x12" boxes everyplace covering the motors/valves.

If you lift those covers you will almost always find one or two, not to mention a few scorps. They live well in there as it's always dark, there is always dew to drink and fresh bugs falling in. Since they're basicly dead to their echo system I never felt bad about collecting those.
 
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