| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| n/a |
Posted - 12/01/2010 : 13:25:08
Hi all.
It won’t have escaped your notice that I’ve gone from none to lots of snakes in a pretty short time. I kind of feel like I need to justify this because I don’t want people thinking I’m going through a bit of a fad and am heading for ‘snake saturation’. This hasn’t come from any comments made to me, or anything like that, but I just wanted to give people an idea of why we’re cruising in the fast lane of the Herp Superhighway....
Without going into too much detail, the situation is this; The OH & I (before we were together) have long had a passion for reps, bugs and arachnids. He kept scorps, mantids and spiders before his ex made him give them away and I was always in my sister’s room helping with her axolotls and her geckos. When we got together we knew we wanted Reps and insects of all kinds and we were just waiting for the right time.
We’re now finally in a position, space-wise, time-wise and money-wise that we can get into the hobby that we have a passion for. We’re not trying to run before we can walk, preferring to stick, for the time being, to ‘fairly’ straightforward snakes with the odd challenge thrown in. We’re doing our research, speaking to people with far more experience than us, not just online but in real life too. We’ve been as far afield as Portsmouth, Wales and London to talk to other owners, look at their snakes, set-ups, and listen to their advice.
Our girls seem to have developed a genuine interest in Reps, (corns and Beardies in particular) and I have to be honest, without sounding mushy or schmaltzy, it’s actually a genuinely great feeling to have found One Single Thing that all 5 of us enjoy together. Something which has never happened before.
So yes, we are moving quite fast but yes, we are doing our research and we aren’t acting on impulse. I admit we’re probably addicted but if we know what we want and we can give it the care it deserves I’m not sure it matters whether we start building a collection relatively quickly or over a period of years. We have no intention of having a collection that’s too big and leaves us no time to enjoy the critters we own but we’ve a pretty clear idea of what we want and we’re going to spend the next year or so making it happen.
I’d be interested in hearing from people with more than a couple of Reps to see whether they ever feel like they have to justify themselves or their hobby.
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| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 19/01/2010 : 09:59:54
quote:
Originally posted by shelly84
i think it is fab that you and your famliy can share a love for something, when i went to buy my very first snake (december 09) something that i had wanted and researched all my life. I actually came home with 2 corn snakes, alot of people (mostly the ones that dont share the pasion for snakes like myself)judged me. They thought i was silly and acting on impulse. I have 3 kids a little boy 6, girl 5 and my youngest girl 11 months.
If your snakes are cohabiting I suggest you read this-
http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1070
One would have been better than 2 if they now have to share a faun. |
| n/a |
Posted - 19/01/2010 : 09:10:18
i think it is fab that you and your famliy can share a love for something, when i went to buy my very first snake (december 09) something that i had wanted and researched all my life. I actually came home with 2 corn snakes, alot of people (mostly the ones that dont share the pasion for snakes like myself)judged me. They thought i was silly and acting on impulse. I have 3 kids a little boy 6, girl 5 and my youngest girl 11 months. |
| n/a |
Posted - 18/01/2010 : 08:29:35
I probably would've, but my hubby tied my hands. quote:
Originally posted by bbsmog
Hi all.
It won’t have escaped your notice that I’ve gone from none to lots of snakes in a pretty short time. I kind of feel like I need to justify this because I don’t want people thinking I’m going through a bit of a fad and am heading for ‘snake saturation’. This hasn’t come from any comments made to me, or anything like that, but I just wanted to give people an idea of why we’re cruising in the fast lane of the Herp Superhighway....
Without going into too much detail, the situation is this; The OH & I (before we were together) have long had a passion for reps, bugs and arachnids. He kept scorps, mantids and spiders before his ex made him give them away and I was always in my sister’s room helping with her axolotls and her geckos. When we got together we knew we wanted Reps and insects of all kinds and we were just waiting for the right time.
We’re now finally in a position, space-wise, time-wise and money-wise that we can get into the hobby that we have a passion for. We’re not trying to run before we can walk, preferring to stick, for the time being, to ‘fairly’ straightforward snakes with the odd challenge thrown in. We’re doing our research, speaking to people with far more experience than us, not just online but in real life too. We’ve been as far afield as Portsmouth, Wales and London to talk to other owners, look at their snakes, set-ups, and listen to their advice.
Our girls seem to have developed a genuine interest in Reps, (corns and Beardies in particular) and I have to be honest, without sounding mushy or schmaltzy, it’s actually a genuinely great feeling to have found One Single Thing that all 5 of us enjoy together. Something which has never happened before.
So yes, we are moving quite fast but yes, we are doing our research and we aren’t acting on impulse. I admit we’re probably addicted but if we know what we want and we can give it the care it deserves I’m not sure it matters whether we start building a collection relatively quickly or over a period of years. We have no intention of having a collection that’s too big and leaves us no time to enjoy the critters we own but we’ve a pretty clear idea of what we want and we’re going to spend the next year or so making it happen.
I’d be interested in hearing from people with more than a couple of Reps to see whether they ever feel like they have to justify themselves or their hobby.
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| newsnakekeeper |
Posted - 17/01/2010 : 23:48:20
As i said before i got my first corn in December 2 days before christmas and i would like to get a ghost corn as well but i am going to leave this for a good 12 months to make sure i understand the needs of what is involved with looking after these reptiles yeah my intial set up is basic but i have got an old viv empty so will get that cleaned out and will look for appropriate plants hides waterbowl etc to give the snake the best hiding possabilties and also to make sure it also feels secure. My only other previous reptile was a gecko which unfortuantly passed away at the begining of november. |
| n/a |
Posted - 13/01/2010 : 13:51:28
Thanks for your replies.
I felt like I needed to say something. If it was someone else who'd gone from no snakes to 4 in less than 5 months I'd have probably judged them. And because I can be unkind sometimes, I probably would judge them quite harshly (I know me too well).
I think the thing is that I'm a very commited person and I try and take the 'long view' with everything (I think this might be an age thing, 10 years ago I didn't give any thought to anything beyond the next weekend!). I'm not just thinking about now, I'm planning for when the children get older, and even beyond that!!
Animals are an extention of this for me and the commitment they require is paramount in my mind. Not very long ago I had to rehome my dog. It was probably one of the lowest points of my adult life. To cut a long and sad story short, he couldn't cope with me going back to work for 4 hours a day. He barked incesantly and the neighbours (rightly) complained A LOT. We tried everything but eventually our landlord gave us a choice of rehoming our dog or finding somewhere else to live. Uprooting our family wasn't an option and sadly Spot went to a new home.
Giving up on, or giving away, an animal is not in my nature and it's something that I shall endeavour to never let happen again so every decision I make regarding animals is made with that thought in mind. OH & I research and question and read so we are armed with as much information as we can possibly be. Then we get stuck in and make informed choices, based on what we have learned. It's trial and error, but the errors seem to be getting less and it never feels like a trial with the snakes. Just pleasure!! xx |
| Kellog |
Posted - 13/01/2010 : 03:08:58
Sally-Anne, I have to agree with SexyBear (which is happening with an annoying regularity  !!).
It was wonderful reading your post  . I know that I, for one, havent had any concerns about your increase in snakes because it has been obvious from your posts how much you care and how important it is to you to get it right for your snakes. This obviously isnt a 'passing fancy' and your post is so important because it makes it clear to others how important it is to take your snake keeping seriously, that it is not something that can be done without a lot of thought and research, and that it is a commitment that is for many many years.
It is also lovely that you have found something that brings the family together like that....so rarely happens in this day and age. Our children live such insular lives shut in their rooms in front of their computers or tvs...communicating by text and msn. They seem to lose the ability to talk properly  !! You have found a way to bring your family together over a shared love. My family has that with nature walks and wildlife, even my 16yr old daughter joins in, which is lovely. It hasnt happened so much with the snakes yet, but only because I am the one who has had to do so much with them and therefore the family see them as mine....although I dont. Hopefully that will slowly change and they will all become involved.
Thank you for posting your topic...not only is it reassuring but I also hope that any newbies reading it will stop and think before getting their next snake and think again about their reasons for it.
xxx |
| gmac |
Posted - 12/01/2010 : 23:51:42
Having 1 or 2 snakeys and 1 or 2 beardies, I dont find I have to justify the number of reps we have but the fact our enjoyment we get from our reps as each of them has their own individual quirks.
quote:
Originally posted by SexyBear77
I will freely admit (bring on the flaming) to being concerned when someone joins the forum having only 1 snake, maybe even none, and then gets about a gazillion more in a short space of time. I think its mainly "what happens if/when they get bored?" or the fact that they may have a lot of snakes but little or no experience, so when something goes wrong, what happens?
We have not had our snakes particulary long but as I see it we have a very good friend, who breeds snakes and gives us all the support we need, she comes round to the house and assist feeds our young female royal as we dont feel experienced enough to do this at the moment, even though assisting has been going on for a month now, and is always just a call away. We certainly would not have got the royals and the king had this support not been available. |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 12/01/2010 : 17:44:19
Its so lovely to read your post, its obvious you have really done your research and love your hobby and snakes to bits. No one really understands my love of snakes, so its so nice that your daughters are also getting involved.
I will freely admit (bring on the flaming) to being concerned when someone joins the forum having only 1 snake, maybe even none, and then gets about a gazillion more in a short space of time. I think its mainly "what happens if/when they get bored?" or the fact that they may have a lot of snakes but little or no experience, so when something goes wrong, what happens?
Your post is therefore really refreshing, you obviously are passionate about the hobby and your snakes are in safe hands, so have fun with all of them, and heres to many more snakes and years of enjoyment! |
| Kehhlyr |
Posted - 12/01/2010 : 15:22:19
I have to justify my love of snakes to people fairly often, but it's normally the same people who have a fish tank, but can't see the point of having a snake.
Aside from that, I don't ever really have to. It's normally the total snake haters that are the ones that question your rep hobby more, but seeing as they don't like snakes it's understandable in some ways. It's just up to you to convert them. |
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