From your original post: "How old is this kid?"
Then, when you do learn, from an unidentifiable source, this kid is a minor and you back-peddle.
"You know what... I was told from someone else he is young, and I don't want to air him out... Forget this was posted... I'm not looking to discourage the kid from a passion of his, and I'm sorry I posted this... He's 15 and was probably trying to get the better end of a deal... Had he been a grown man I would post these pics... I was very upset at the time I posted this and have calmed down since, and finding out his age makes me feel like a bully.
1) You already sarcastically questioned his age in your original post, see above "how old is this kid?", and you already aired him out.
2) You get questionable, third-party information about his true age and you want to delete a post YOU started questioning his age, his ethics and honesty?
No, I wouldn't ever discourage a kid from learning or persuing an interest in herpetology or biology or entomology ... or math, or literature, or science, or the arts, or music.
That said, I would not also coddle or excuse that kid from attempting a scam or theft, just because he is 15. NO excuses.
How many people did you rob or try to scam at 15?
Better to out him now than later, so maybe he'll learn some fn thing.