Soul Searching and downsizing.

[presspirate]

So, first off. Hello everyone. To all of my friends, Hows it going? To all of the newer members, welcome to the forums. You couldn't have picked a better reptile forum community to join to learn and or share your wisdom.

Some of you may have noticed that I have not been posting frequently of late. I've been lurking, but haven't felt all too chatty. :elvis: The older members will remember some trouble we had with a couple people a few months back and the drama that ensued. I really have strong issues with people that hide behind the words that they type and toss into the internet void. Heck. I have strong issues with most people anyways.:crazy: At any rate, the drama caused me to lay low for awhile because I do not appreciate it.

I've also reevaluated my view of the hobby. I love snakes, reptiles, animals in general (with the exception of cats and a few dog breeds. Oh, and mosquitoes I hate mosquitoes.) They don't lie to you, talk back, pick fights, cheat you or try to constantly prove how much better than you they are. But I came to the conclusion, that I had to many to properly care for. Or rather, I could properly care for them, but it was taking time from myself and my Family. So, I have downsized my collection.

First to go was My Nicaraguan Boa Constrictor Nina. She was donated to animal discovery park that does educational programs at schools and community events. I was sad to see her go, but happy that she will be educating the next generation of herpers.

Next was Vern, my coastal carpet. Vern got himself a girlfriend and will be breeding this season. I cannot wait to see his offspring. In exchange for Vern, I received a baby pastel BCC, who sadly passed away over the weekend. He gave no sign of illness other than a regurge the last time that I fed him. After that he ate two mice just fine. :no:

Last to go were my face biting double threats. The scrubs. Abyss and Amenti. While I found them entertaining, and sometime aggravating. I had bought them with the intention of breeding. Seeing all of the unwanted snakes out there, on CL and petfinder and other sites. I decided that breeding was just not going to be my forte. They went to a breeder out of Iowa. Blackhawke exotics. He plans to breed them this fall. Best of luck to him.

So, now I am left with a more manageable collection. Of, Ghost, my albino Burm. Cap'n Squish, my bcc. Genesis, the Jungle x Coastal Carpet, and three corns. Tweak, Butters, and Herei.

In closing, I guess I'd like to say: Enjoy the hobby but know your limitations. Also, I truly believe that you should experience every snake/reptile that you are interested in, but when it comes time to give them up be sure they are going to the right place.

[presspirate]

Ghost, Cap'n, Herei, and Tweak and Butters.

[stephanbakir]

Glad you made the hard, but right choice for you man. If you need anything, your friends are here :)

[shaunyboy]

glad to see your back posting again greg

you and i pretty much share the same view on the human race in general mate

there have been times in my life where i have lost ALL faith in human nature.times where i've personally witnessed the sick acts one human does to another.for being the most intelligent species on the planet,you would have thought that by now,we would know how to get along and be at one with each other.sadly this is not the case but that said there is hope mate.

this forum has a fair amount of friendly helpfull decent people on it.

people who won't and don't tollerate crappy behavoir

so don't let the b*****d's get you down mate

you are one of the many reasons that make this the ONLY forum i take part in

sorry to hear you had to downsize your collection but at least it was done for the best reason possible,that being to spend more time with your family

have to admit i've missed the banter with you mate:yes:

all the best shaun

[SnakeyJay]

Its sad that you had to let them go... but thats what makes a good reptile keeper, doing whats best for the animals and for yourself responsibly. Good luck and condolences on you loss with the baby bcc.

[marvelfreak]

Good to see you back on here. Glad to hear you found a good home for the Scrubs. I still feeling so bad that i had to back out on taking them. Of course my face is relived. lol Sorry to hear about your Baby Pastel.

[Lankyrob]

Any animal lover will totally understand and back you up on your decision mate. Good on you and like shauny said, the scumbags come and go but the good'uns stick around and you are certainly one of those.

[presspirate]

Without getting too philosophical. One of the main reasons I exposed myself to the hobby was my love of animals. The more I learned about and experienced my snakes the more I enjoyed having them around.
I believe it is Kim that has the signature "Snakes are like potato chips you can't have just one." This is entirely true and because they are so easy to care for it's easy to go down the road of having one too many, and wanting just one more. And one more and one more. :yes:
In the back of my mind, I wanted some type of return for my hobby. But I realized that the best return was the reward of keeping my animals in the best possible condition, well fed and happy.
Anyways. Thanks all, (Stphan, Shauny, jay, Chuck and Rob) for the kind comments. I'll be posting more regularly as the seasons change. But in the meantime......I have a Burm cage to finish. This guy is growing like a weed!:crazy:

[CK SandBoas]

I hope no one minds that i comment on this, since i'm a newbie, but i truly understand where you're coming from in regards to trying to do what's best for not only your family, but the animals as well. Early on, when i had only 4 snakes in my collection, my Ball Python, My Brazilian Rainbow Boa (both which i still have to this day), a Tangerine Honduran Milk, and a RTB, i was also having severe financial issues which began to affect not only my family, but also how i was caring for my animals. I made the decision at that time to find new homes for the RTB and the Honduran, which killed me, because they were both great snakes, temperament wise. But i knew i could only devote my time and finances to two animals, so i made sure that they both went to friends of mine who would give them good homes. It was a hard decision, but i know i made the best decision in regards to my snake's welfare.

Of course now i have 8 adult animals, plus 17 brand new baby Sand Boas, but i have the time and the finances to properly give them the attention they need.

And i'm so sorry to hear about the Baby Pastel BCC:sad:

[Will0W783]

Greg, I'm so glad to see you back on here...I too havent' been as active as of late. In my case it's been more because I've been having a lot of pressing issues in other areas of my life. I recently had to downsize too, for the same reasons- it's so easy to just get one more snake...one more snake....and then you realize "Oh gee, I have several dozen animals and there are entire weeks that go by when they get no more attention than being given water and having cages cleaned"
I consider all my snakes my pets, and while I would love to breed them someday, their health and happiness comes first. So I rehomed 16 of my animals, and did some trades to get more numbers down. It's a hard decision to make, and it sucks you had to make it, but hopefully now you will have even more enjoyment with the ones you kept!

[presspirate]

I hope no one minds that i comment on this, since i'm a newbie,
Not at all. I'll admit, I was concerned I'd get negative feedback, but not surprised that everybody has been supportive. I may try my hand at breeding someday, but my main concern right now is for the health and comfort of my animals. I believe I am down to a manageable amount. (Though I have empty cages and extra supplies. ) Drat the temptation. lol!

[presspirate]

Greg, I'm so glad to see you back on here...I too havent' been as active as of late. In my case it's been more because I've been having a lot of pressing issues in other areas of my life. I recently had to downsize too, for the same reasons- it's so easy to just get one more snake...one more snake....and then you realize "Oh gee, I have several dozen animals and there are entire weeks that go by when they get no more attention than being given water and having cages cleaned"
I consider all my snakes my pets, and while I would love to breed them someday, their health and happiness comes first. So I rehomed 16 of my animals, and did some trades to get more numbers down. It's a hard decision to make, and it sucks you had to make it, but hopefully now you will have even more enjoyment with the ones you kept!

I am glad you chimed in Kim. It was tough to decide to let a few of them go, but the ones that I kept are the ones that were most special to me. One day I will up size again, but not until I am either independently wealthy, or retired. :crazy2:
I can imagine that you agonized when you decided to rehome 16 of your pets.

[Will0W783]

It wasn't easy, but it had to be done. It had gotten to the point where my fiance was constantly angry because they were in 3 different rooms, something was always being quarantined, bills were climbing and I had to keep asking him to help out more because my school schedule was getting rougher. I decided that my relationship and the emotional health of us as a couple was more important, and that in all honesty I could not give the snakes as much attention and individual care as I would like. I will admit that I did some trades, and my fiance got a few species he had been interested in for years, but at least the overall numbers are down to a manageable size now. I can feed them all in a half hour or so, cage cleaning doesn't take an entire day, and I can stay on top of any issues that may crop up. It was the best decision for my animals as well as me, but it sure sucked. I'm adopting out one of my Burms tomorrow, as we decided that we just have too many giant snakes, and I ran into a very nice guy who has one boa and would really love a Burmese python. I am letting him have Silas (the pop-eyed Burm) because I know that he will give him a great home and have more time for him than I do. I just can't part with Trogdor or any of my retics, and told my fiance as much.