Is it a hobby anymore

[DISCERN]

Great thoughts everyone...

I now enjoy my hobby even more, as I never have before.

There is nothing quite like the reptilian stress reliever, of having a horrible day, taking out a beloved snake, and just being in awe about every little detail you can visually see with the serpent you are holding. The pattern, the colors, the scalation, the fact it has a mind of its' own, and the fact I feel like the most blessed guy alive by owning these wonderful animals and enjoying them, all play a part in my enjoyment of this hobby.

I bred snakes back in the nineties in small quantities, and while I had a complete blast doing so, and was successful in selling babies, vending at herp shows, wholesaling, etc., I decided to stop breeding and just focus on collecting the best specimens I could find. I have never looked back.

I do miss watching eggs hatch, and all of the excitement that all ensues. That I do miss. I am sure all of you readers know what I am talking about..haha!

I just found though, that with handling my hobby the way I do, I have much more time for the other things in my life as well, while having a decent sized collection that is actually quite easy to maintain, as they are pets only.

When it becomes more work that overrides your overall passion, it may be time to reconsider the goals.

 

[SamanthaJane13]

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)

YES!!!

I agree...with a few alterations...GECKOS, NOT SNAKES, GUY, NOT GIRLFRIEND (need one of them, but the geckos WILL NOT GO)

I even take in MBD rescues, knowing they will never be bred, but not wanting them to suffer at the hands of ignorant morons.

I just MAKE ROOM.

 

[shrap]

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)

Stop it Harald, I can only give you karma so many times in one day.

 

[Gary O]

This hobby means more to me then most people know. I get called names by people I have never done a thing too. I get called names becuase I buy and resell animals for my friends. I was even told I did not produce the cremesicle enigmas I had last year. I promise I did and I will be producing better quality ones this year.

I do not think making money is what is killing this all for us. I think it is greed from a few that just talk louder then most.

I make money doing this. I have a blast with what I have. I love sitting in my venomous room and watching the boomslangs. That is one of my most favorite things to do. The business side has it's perks also. I love when children get into the hobby or even get another animal. The look they have is priceless. You can ask most of my customers I will sit and talk to a child about their animals. I dont care if it is a normal corn snake. They love their animals and I think a lot of us have lost that feeling. I know I have.

When I post an ad I worry who is going to say this or that now. I never worry about what others are selling for. If they are cheaper then me who cares. But I worry what is this person going to say. Am I to cheap or to much. My geckos I produce dont even hit the market. I have yet to have one person say I charged to much. But I know I am higher then most people. I am still getting 300 to 400 for novas. I seen them posted here for 79.99 and I am not mad. But I wonder do people think I am ripping them off.

This feeling should not be here. I also worry about what I breed. Am I wrong if I want to breed a certain morph to a normal. And sell a few. Am I wrong if I want to breed to make normals of anything? Why do I have to worry about what others think is right and wrong. Why am I worried if my price is where others want it to be.

When I go to shows I know a lot of people come and price off me. I usualy have all my animals marked early and then the groups come up and look. I am cool with that. i have been asked why I dont do that. People see me talking to my friends instead. I tell them I would rather talk to my friends then worry about the "market" at the show.

Why do we have to look at an animal and first say what morph is it and how much is it worth. I see it a lot and I have been catching myself doing it too.

I dont mean to get down on anyone but I think most of us lost the kid inside us.

Every fight on the hobby has to do with money lately. This person crashed the market and this person is trying to sell what he has for to much and blah blah blah blah blah......................

I love the shows. I love them more then anything. I have friends I see like John, Dave and Sammy. And I look forward to that more then the show itself. I seen people say Daytona sucked this year. I WAS ONE OF THEM. Becuase nothing cool was there and some complained about the Bells and Rich. WHY? There were a lot of very cool animals there now that I look back. I got to see a lot of my friends and hang out with them. Gregg M, Brian B, Ray Hunter, and many many others.

I posted this becuase I lost site myself. I lost that wow look at that animal it is stunning. People come by my table and talk to me a lot. But the last 4 months or so I noticed it faiding and I know why. becuase I turned into the vendor/breeder I hated. One that worried about market and worried what this group or that group were going to say.

I tell you what I am going to do. I am going to produce what I love. I am going to keep what I love. Screw what they are worth................... I dont care

 

[Southern Wolf]

Gary. Your post got me to thinking... thanks, Ive been battling some of those same thoughts here recently.

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

I dont mean to get down on anyone but I think most of us lost the kid inside us.

Thats it. Thats what I'm looking for again. That Christmas Morning feel. I used to get it from the snakes........but like Shrap says.......I let the money become an issue. My goat herd, every single one is a cheap goat. I obtained them cheap........and brought them up and when my nieghbor with the expensive goats looks at mine and says "How do you get them looking so good?" my pleasure in my accomplishment and skill is..............
everything I'm looking for

My snakes~ I fell into the money trap and it stole the pleasure from me. I've sold or given away a CONSIDERABLE number of the snakes. Have more empty tubs in the racks than full ones now. I'm trying to find it again. That pleasure........

The pleasure I got the first time a corn snake laid eggs for me
The second time one did~ or even the tenth time!
When a baby that didn't want to eat finally did
When the rats produced a blue dumbo for the first time

Before I discovered that no matter how I treasured those little corn snakes no one but me was excited about them and I could not keep them all. Before I found that no matter how many rats you breed.....ALL the babies are cute and they all freeze the same
No matter how much money I spend on Rat food, Rat racks, superior genetics, snake racks, heat, electricity, ALL of it...............
I was the only one excited about my babies and I couldn't/can't afford to keep every single one

The farm livestock is still exciting and fun........
and this awful but true..........

I can't afford to keep every single one I produce..........but much like the tomatoes from my garden.....if I dont have a buyer that values my stock as much as I do I can just EAT IT MYSELF


PS~ Gary......I'm pming you as soon as I post this. I think I owe you money for my website again. Hosting almost as many or more pics of livestock as of snakes on that site now!

 

[sschind]

Donna- I don't think anyone will chew you a new one and I'm sure no one is intentionally trying to rain on your parade because I'm pretty sure everyone who has posted here so far started out pretty much just like you.

Its not necessarily what happens in the first year or two or five that has produced the feelings of many of those here. Its what goes on past that time frame.

You say you produced 37 babies last year, that's great. You sold three at your first show, that's great. You have two pet stores that want to stock your geckos and again, that is great. You have a website and your hobby is taking of and once again, you guessed it that is just great. The most greatest thing of all however is that you are still loving it and it would be great if that feeling never changed. Now for some of the not so great stuff

Next year you produce twice as many babies. You still have 15 left over from this year but that's OK because you get such a thrill out of seeing all those smiling faces looking at you when you walk into your gecko room. The following year you produce even more but again whats a few more mouths feed and cages to clean with all those smiling faces.

You continue to sell only three per show but you don't care because the main thing is you are educating people. People who are going to the table next to yours buying the geckos for $10.00 less. But hey at least they are educated. Oh, yeah and the smiling faces make it all worth while.

Now those two pet stores want you to replace animals they killed because for some reason its your fault or you sold them sick animals. They want to buy fewer animals and they want them at cheaper prices or they want you to bring them in on consignment(stupid cheap lowlife pet store owners) If it wasn't for the smiling faces it just might start to bother you.

Your website is a hit and now you are selling on line. It gives you great joy to look at those smiling little faces as you gently pack them into their deli cups and take them to the fed ex terminal to send them off to their happy new homes. You are way to trusting at first and you have a couple of bad customers who don't hesitate to run to some other website to smear your name. You fight back and vindicate yourself but now the longest page on your site is your TOS page. You've also gotten a bit more cynical and you promise to be more selective about who you sell to.

The problem with that is you are still producing babies and you are starting to realize that you may have too many. You still love the smiling faces but the food bills and maintenance bills are creeping up and you have another 30 eggs in the incubator. You decide to sell 50 babies to a wholesaler to raise a bit of extra money and to lighten your load. It eases your burden a bit but you have these guilty feelings that somehow you haven't done enough to ensure that all those smiling faces will go to good homes. Then one day you are approached by a total stranger at one of the swaps. She asks you if you will take in two geckos that she can no longer care for. You gladly accept and are happy to be able to give these guys a better life. She hands you a box with two barely clinging to life geckos that have been neglected for so long you hardly recognize them. Then you find out that she bought them from either one of the shops you sell to or from one that buys from the wholesaler you sold you babies to and that really bums you out. You decide then and there that you will only sell your own animals.

A couple of weeks later you are in your gecko room at 4:00 AM dealing with some unforeseen emergency that will cost you several hundred dollars to fix and you look around and your heart sinks just a bit when you realize for the very first time that your really wish these stupid little lizards would wipe those silly little grins off their faces.

Welcome to our world.

I'm not saying this will happen to you and I truly hope it doesn't but I can almost guarantee that everyone who has posted here with feelings of relief at the way they have changed their outlook on their hobby has gone through something like this. Of course the details are going to be different but I think the others will recognize at least some parts of what I just wrote.

Please don't be offended by the continued references to the smiling faces. I wasn't making fun of you. I just saw an opportunity and ran with it.

I know that for me personally my enjoyment has diminished greatly since I made the switch from hobby to business. Unfortunately I don't see a way to get out of it easily and I am not so turned off by it that I am ready to pack it in entirely so I keep plugging away.

I wish you continued success and continued enjoyment of your geckos. Just don't be so focused on the angels that you forget about the demons and I am not just talking about people. I'm talking about all those little demons that seem to pop up and rob us of our enjoyment of our hobbies.

 

[kmarsh]

VERY well spoken post there Steve. You hit the spot right on in so many issues. Of course there are alot of those "demons" that rob us of our joy and sometimes we just have to scale back a little, take a deep breath and remember where it all started from.

 

[SamanthaJane13]

Steve- Thank you for your post!! I do know exactly when you mean. I've been reading BOI for years...and it's sad. And it's scary, too!! I can only hope that being armed with the knowledge I've gained here and at other sites, I won't fall into the problems others have...but I DO know that there will be OTHERS. I'll make mistakes. And I'll learn MORE from those mistakes. As for my last season, I only hatched 19 (due to heat/hatching medium issues with are now corrected). And lost 6. And sold 3. A couple are holdbacks because of their unique morphs, colors or markings. The remainder will be going in the website for sale this summer. The rest are the geckos I've purchased for my colonies. I'm not out to be the next Donald Trump. This isn't about the money. I'll never get as big as Anthony Caponetto or Allen Repashy, BUT I'd like to EVENTUALLY produce geckos 1/2 a beautiful as theirs someday, just because I LOVE the breed. IT'S the PEOPLE who scare me. The stupid ones who don't know how to care for animals, the scammers, the people who are out there breeding every gecko they own to make a buck and under-cutting everyone else, even if those geckos are unhealthy or UGLY. The ones who'd rather sell 100 mixed morph, sickly, inbred geckos for $35 a piece, rather than breeding for health and quality. And the lawmakers who think that just because we own "unconventional" pets, we're bad people who do bad things with those animals. I'm VERY selective about my breeding pairs. I'll never throw pairs together just to get more geckos if they aren't going to be great looking, healthy animals. I never intend to get so big that I can't spend time everyday with each of my geckos. If that happens, I'll sell the whole lot except for my favorites, and stick with the educational side of herps at local shows. Another thing I do when I'm not on the herp sites- I post crime news for CrimeLibrary's message boards. I see the demons every day. The murderers, rapists, child molesters, thieves...you name the scum-bag group, I post the news about them. I know they're out there, and do my damnedest to keep them as far away fro me and mine as humanly possible. But I still get the warm fuzzies when I encounter the angels, and I shout their names to the world so people know they're still with us! Thank you again for you post and your well wishes. I wish you happiness and success, too!!

Donna- I don't think anyone will chew you a new one and I'm sure no one is intentionally trying to rain on your parade because I'm pretty sure everyone who has posted here so far started out pretty much just like you.

Its not necessarily what happens in the first year or two or five that has produced the feelings of many of those here. Its what goes on past that time frame.

You say you produced 37 babies last year, that's great. You sold three at your first show, that's great. You have two pet stores that want to stock your geckos and again, that is great. You have a website and your hobby is taking of and once again, you guessed it that is just great. The most greatest thing of all however is that you are still loving it and it would be great if that feeling never changed. Now for some of the not so great stuff

Next year you produce twice as many babies. You still have 15 left over from this year but that's OK because you get such a thrill out of seeing all those smiling faces looking at you when you walk into your gecko room. The following year you produce even more but again whats a few more mouths feed and cages to clean with all those smiling faces.

You continue to sell only three per show but you don't care because the main thing is you are educating people. People who are going to the table next to yours buying the geckos for $10.00 less. But hey at least they are educated. Oh, yeah and the smiling faces make it all worth while.

Now those two pet stores want you to replace animals they killed because for some reason its your fault or you sold them sick animals. They want to buy fewer animals and they want them at cheaper prices or they want you to bring them in on consignment(stupid cheap lowlife pet store owners) If it wasn't for the smiling faces it just might start to bother you.

Your website is a hit and now you are selling on line. It gives you great joy to look at those smiling little faces as you gently pack them into their deli cups and take them to the fed ex terminal to send them off to their happy new homes. You are way to trusting at first and you have a couple of bad customers who don't hesitate to run to some other website to smear your name. You fight back and vindicate yourself but now the longest page on your site is your TOS page. You've also gotten a bit more cynical and you promise to be more selective about who you sell to.

The problem with that is you are still producing babies and you are starting to realize that you may have too many. You still love the smiling faces but the food bills and maintenance bills are creeping up and you have another 30 eggs in the incubator. You decide to sell 50 babies to a wholesaler to raise a bit of extra money and to lighten your load. It eases your burden a bit but you have these guilty feelings that somehow you haven't done enough to ensure that all those smiling faces will go to good homes. Then one day you are approached by a total stranger at one of the swaps. She asks you if you will take in two geckos that she can no longer care for. You gladly accept and are happy to be able to give these guys a better life. She hands you a box with two barely clinging to life geckos that have been neglected for so long you hardly recognize them. Then you find out that she bought them from either one of the shops you sell to or from one that buys from the wholesaler you sold you babies to and that really bums you out. You decide then and there that you will only sell your own animals.

A couple of weeks later you are in your gecko room at 4:00 AM dealing with some unforeseen emergency that will cost you several hundred dollars to fix and you look around and your heart sinks just a bit when you realize for the very first time that your really wish these stupid little lizards would wipe those silly little grins off their faces.

Welcome to our world.

I'm not saying this will happen to you and I truly hope it doesn't but I can almost guarantee that everyone who has posted here with feelings of relief at the way they have changed their outlook on their hobby has gone through something like this. Of course the details are going to be different but I think the others will recognize at least some parts of what I just wrote.

Please don't be offended by the continued references to the smiling faces. I wasn't making fun of you. I just saw an opportunity and ran with it.

I know that for me personally my enjoyment has diminished greatly since I made the switch from hobby to business. Unfortunately I don't see a way to get out of it easily and I am not so turned off by it that I am ready to pack it in entirely so I keep plugging away.

I wish you continued success and continued enjoyment of your geckos. Just don't be so focused on the angels that you forget about the demons and I am not just talking about people. I'm talking about all those little demons that seem to pop up and rob us of our enjoyment of our hobbies.

 

[SamanthaJane13]

VERY well spoken post there Steve. You hit the spot right on in so many issues. Of course there are alot of those "demons" that rob us of our joy and sometimes we just have to scale back a little, take a deep breath and remember where it all started from.

Yup- A breather and some perspective!!! And a look at the baby pictures!!

 

[garweft]

I read somewhere that to be successful at reptile breeding you need to specialize. Sticking to one species or even 1-2 morph projects in a species is the key to success.....

No way in hell I'm doing that. I gave up the idea of breeding for money right after that. I would have to chose between a half dozen species of gecko, a dozen or so species of snake, and might even need to get rid of the dart frogs to efficently keep just one. Not happening.

I stay at the hobby level and use the shows as a chance to get out and mingle with like minded people...... Problem is almost everyone at the shows is busy trying to make money.

OK, I guess I still have the field herping to use for social time about reptiles..... that's right most reptile people don't do that any more.

So here I am typing away on a reptile forum looking for some type of brotherhood or reptile friends with what ends up mostly being people that are more interested in the newest money making BP morph than reptiles.

Anymore most "reptile people" can't tell the difference betwen a zonata and a pyro. Hell, I bet a few reading this will have to google that just to understand what I said. Now you know why Lampropeltis keepers are so jaded...lol

 

[Twizted Paths]

Anymore most "reptile people" can't tell the difference betwen a zonata and a pyro. Hell, I bet a few reading this will have to google that just to understand what I said. Now you know why Lampropeltis keepers are so jaded...lol

Nope, no google - a zonata is a snake, a pyro is a human who likes setting things on fire.

 

[Gary O]

Yeah I have heard unless you go after combo ball python morphs you are flooding the market and are bad.

I have heard that if you produce something new and price it high you are wrong.

I have heard that if you breed on a larger level you are wrong.

I am getting back to where I was who cares what people think. Becuase there will always be the people that think what they do is the only way to do it. Amd most of the time them people are complianing about people mass producing and not doing it for the love. Then in the same breath say my babies I produced are not worth what they were before. WTF you say one minute it is all about the hobby but then flip and say it is about market?

I dont get it

 

[garweft]

Yeah I have heard unless you go after combo ball python morphs you are flooding the market and are bad.

I have heard that if you produce something new and price it high you are wrong.

I have heard that if you breed on a larger level you are wrong.

I am getting back to where I was who cares what people think. Becuase there will always be the people that think what they do is the only way to do it. Amd most of the time them people are complianing about people mass producing and not doing it for the love. Then in the same breath say my babies I produced are not worth what they were before. WTF you say one minute it is all about the hobby but then flip and say it is about market?

I dont get it

Whoever said that just put down the majority of their own customers. So if I breed a few codom balls to some normal females I'm just in it for the money? Like there is sooo much money in codom balls....

Ha Ha fooled them.... I'm going to flood their market and then get rich breeding corns and pumilio.....

Problem is that nothing is selling..... well almost nothing. $10 corns sit on my table with no more than a glance, balls get sold at 1/2 asking price....(at least they sell)..... hognose..... well hognose sell very well for me..... which means in 2 years they will be everywhere and nobody will want them. Maybe garters will be cool again by then.

 

[Alex G]

I have no intention of breeding my two corn snakes more than once, and only because I'm curious about their life stages and want to experience the elation of seeing pippies. Just once. I have growing numbers of snake loving friends who would take them. I have no intent of purchasing pairs of any other snakes I like... just pets. You can all tell me how I'm detrimental to the hobby because I don't plan to continue buying animal after animal to breed in my bedroom now.

 

[KelliH]

Donna- I don't think anyone will chew you a new one and I'm sure no one is intentionally trying to rain on your parade because I'm pretty sure everyone who has posted here so far started out pretty much just like you.

Its not necessarily what happens in the first year or two or five that has produced the feelings of many of those here. Its what goes on past that time frame.

You say you produced 37 babies last year, that's great. You sold three at your first show, that's great. You have two pet stores that want to stock your geckos and again, that is great. You have a website and your hobby is taking of and once again, you guessed it that is just great. The most greatest thing of all however is that you are still loving it and it would be great if that feeling never changed. Now for some of the not so great stuff

Next year you produce twice as many babies. You still have 15 left over from this year but that's OK because you get such a thrill out of seeing all those smiling faces looking at you when you walk into your gecko room. The following year you produce even more but again whats a few more mouths feed and cages to clean with all those smiling faces.

You continue to sell only three per show but you don't care because the main thing is you are educating people. People who are going to the table next to yours buying the geckos for $10.00 less. But hey at least they are educated. Oh, yeah and the smiling faces make it all worth while.

Now those two pet stores want you to replace animals they killed because for some reason its your fault or you sold them sick animals. They want to buy fewer animals and they want them at cheaper prices or they want you to bring them in on consignment(stupid cheap lowlife pet store owners) If it wasn't for the smiling faces it just might start to bother you.

Your website is a hit and now you are selling on line. It gives you great joy to look at those smiling little faces as you gently pack them into their deli cups and take them to the fed ex terminal to send them off to their happy new homes. You are way to trusting at first and you have a couple of bad customers who don't hesitate to run to some other website to smear your name. You fight back and vindicate yourself but now the longest page on your site is your TOS page. You've also gotten a bit more cynical and you promise to be more selective about who you sell to.

The problem with that is you are still producing babies and you are starting to realize that you may have too many. You still love the smiling faces but the food bills and maintenance bills are creeping up and you have another 30 eggs in the incubator. You decide to sell 50 babies to a wholesaler to raise a bit of extra money and to lighten your load. It eases your burden a bit but you have these guilty feelings that somehow you haven't done enough to ensure that all those smiling faces will go to good homes. Then one day you are approached by a total stranger at one of the swaps. She asks you if you will take in two geckos that she can no longer care for. You gladly accept and are happy to be able to give these guys a better life. She hands you a box with two barely clinging to life geckos that have been neglected for so long you hardly recognize them. Then you find out that she bought them from either one of the shops you sell to or from one that buys from the wholesaler you sold you babies to and that really bums you out. You decide then and there that you will only sell your own animals.

A couple of weeks later you are in your gecko room at 4:00 AM dealing with some unforeseen emergency that will cost you several hundred dollars to fix and you look around and your heart sinks just a bit when you realize for the very first time that your really wish these stupid little lizards would wipe those silly little grins off their faces.

Welcome to our world.

I'm not saying this will happen to you and I truly hope it doesn't but I can almost guarantee that everyone who has posted here with feelings of relief at the way they have changed their outlook on their hobby has gone through something like this. Of course the details are going to be different but I think the others will recognize at least some parts of what I just wrote.

Please don't be offended by the continued references to the smiling faces. I wasn't making fun of you. I just saw an opportunity and ran with it.

I know that for me personally my enjoyment has diminished greatly since I made the switch from hobby to business. Unfortunately I don't see a way to get out of it easily and I am not so turned off by it that I am ready to pack it in entirely so I keep plugging away.

I wish you continued success and continued enjoyment of your geckos. Just don't be so focused on the angels that you forget about the demons and I am not just talking about people. I'm talking about all those little demons that seem to pop up and rob us of our enjoyment of our hobbies.

That was a damn good post.

 

[sschind]

Anyone ever hear the term "postage stamp collection" It refers to the type of collection where people are out to get as many different kinds of reptiles as possible and display them like a stamp collection. Back when I got started my goal was to have one of every lampropeltis tricolor there was (pyro's and zonatas included) I wasn't planning on breeding them I just thought it would be cool to have the display. That was frowned upon. It was thought that the goal of having as many as you could was a bad thing (which I agree it could be if the persons ability to care for them became an issue) So many "experts" said the goal should be to breed the animals. "why would you want to keep them if you cant let them experience their natural life cycle" they said. "Give something back to the hobby" they said. Well, they got their wish. It seems everyone and their brother got into reptiles with the intent on breeding and getting rich. It looks to me like it has come full circle. More and more people are keeping reptiles simply to enjoy them for what they are with no intentions of breeding them. Many people have stopped breeding their animals or have scaled back considerably for one reason or another.

While goals may not be to amass the largest collection anymore the desire to breed reptiles has seemed to die down a bit. One thing I have noticed however is that the desire to breed them has died down more with intermediate to advanced breeders. Many young people and newcomers to the hobby still seem to have dollar signs in their eyes. Granted this may be from the sales pitches they get from some of those breeders who have decided not to scale back and need to sell their animals any way they can, but I still get questions almost every day about how to breed this or that animal.

On the flip side, I've read posts where people say breeding should be left up to the professionals. They say casual hobbyists should not be attempting to breed their animals and all the backyard breeders are ruining it for everyone who is trying to make a living at it by driving down the prices and messing with the quality. That's a bunch of BS as well. There is a line. Do I think anyone who wants to try to breed animals should be allowed to do it? For the most part yes I do. Do I think anyone who wants to try to breed animals SHOULD do it? No way. some people shouldn't be breeding ANYTHING EVER PERIOD.

What we all have to realize is that the hobby means different things to different people. The way I participate in the hobby and what I enjoy may not be the same as the way you participate or what you enjoy and that is OK. IMO as long as animals are not being compromised and what someone else is doing is not harming me or the hobby as a whole, no one has the right to tell anyone what he or she can or can't do within the hobby. Obviously opinions on what is or is not harming the hobby as whole is open for debate but there are some things that I am sure we can all agree on (releasing non native wildlife, selling venomous to kids etc)

The bottom line, after yet another long post (can you tell I don't want to do my water changes again. It happens every time I get lazy. I find a thread that I have an opinion on and go on and on) is that first and foremost we all need to recognize what the hobby means to US as individuals. Only then can we start to care about or concern ourselves with others and that is what I am getting form many of the posts here.

 

[Twizted Paths]

I really like that postage stamp post.

I've gotten flack because I have so many 'pointless' hypo boas. They're not pointless to me. I shouldn't have to justify all my animals with breeding plans, I should be able to get something just because I find it incredibly beautiful & have the means to care for it properly.

I try to stay amused when people express disbelief when I specifically have no intention to breed something. Being accused of hoarding something because I don't want to breed it does piss me off though. If it's not a threatened, endangered or rare species than there is no reason to pressure people to breed.

It doesn't matter what you want to do, there will always be very vocal people to disagree with you. I just try to learn something from the encounter, even if it is just to never ever get in a conversation with that person again.

Having places to talk to people who share my obsession is an added bonus, not a necessity, to my enjoyment.

 

[garweft]

I do think it is funny when someone says that someone else is "ruining the hobby". When what they really mean is "ruining what I'm trying to do"

Only thing I see that ruins the hobby is pending legislation and the careless acts that have led to it. Other than that nothing else really ruins the hobby.

Flooding the market with cheap pastels and spiders will make it hard to sell your pastels and pins for a good price..... but that's not really ruining the hobby..... just your ability to sell your excess pastels and pins from your projects.

Meanwhile..... field herping has never been better.


* notice how I keep bringing up field herping...... it is the best cure for the reptile market, reptile show, reptile forum downers. Get out in the fresh air, take a walk, and find some herps..... no sale pressures no need to do or worry about anything....... except enjoying finding cool critters.

 

[shrap]

I do think it is funny when someone says that someone else is "ruining the hobby". When what they really mean is "ruining what I'm trying to do".

Meanwhile..... field herping has never been better.

That very issue, sorta, also played a big role in me deciding to trim down my collection. When a collection (herps, insects, rodents) gets to the size that mine is currently, you cant leave for more than a couple of days at a time. Prior to becoming a parent, traveling was all I did for 10 years. So after 15 years of being basically a home bound single parent with an ever growing herp collection, it is time to finish my life's dream of seeing the world.

This year I plan to take 3 or 4 months (literally leaving for a month or so at a time) and show my daughter North America. In 2011 we are taking an 8 week trip to the Galapagos and South America. In 2012, three months in Europe is planned. Followed by two or three months in Australia/New Zealand/Fiji/American Somoa in 2013. If finances permit after all of that, Africa in 2014.

There is no way we could do this with my current collection. Subtracting critters in my home and adding the freedom to get out and see critters in their home is a trade off I will make any day.