My Last Response

[DJC Reptiles]

Hello to so many of you,

I am not a reptile expert, in fact I am not an expert in anything. I am just a fifteen year old kid who has a passion for these animals. I would like to thank everybody on this forum because even though I wasn't here long it strengthened what I thought I knew even more. I don't have an ackie monitor, what I wrote down in my caresheet was what I had learned over the year and a half of me studying reptiles. May God bless you all, I hope you find comfort in what you do.

Goodbye to so many of you,
Thank you,
-DJC Reptiles

[murrindindi]

Originally Posted by DJC Reptiles

Hello to so many of you,

I am not a reptile expert, in fact I am not an expert in anything. I am just a fifteen year old kid who has a passion for these animals. I would like to thank everybody on this forum because even though I wasn't here long it strengthened what I thought I knew even more. I don't have an ackie monitor, what I wrote down in my caresheet was what I had learned over the year and a half of me studying reptiles. May God bless you all, I hope you find comfort in what you do.

Goodbye to so many of you,
Thank you,
-DJC Reptiles

Hi, why not continue to post comments (and learn more) about these fascinating animals rather than stopping?

[DJC Reptiles]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Hi, why not continue to post comments (and learn more) about these fascinating animals rather than stopping?

Mostly it's because I feel bad, how could I give my advice on what to do with a problem, if I have never truly experienced it before? I don't want to hide behind my internet name and avatar as a person I am not. I keep a ball python, a corn snake, and a leopard gecko. That's all I have. I haven't been feeling that great latley and that's why I joined these forums, I wanted to help people with their animals, I wanted to feel good about myself and I wanted people to respect me and what I know. Let's be honest, when your running around school talking about reptiles your not the most likeable kid. Who cares that a gaboon viper has the longest fangs of any venomous snake? Or that a female copperhead can hold off on the fertilization of her eggs until after she is already done with hibernation? I love reptiles, but I feel like I am becoming divided between my love for them, and my wanting to be a part of a community, a family of people who feel the same as I. I realize most people who walk into pet shops aren't knowledgeable in reptiles, they aren't knowledgeable in the animals they already have. Every time I walk into a reptile store, whether it is NERD or some other place, I am treated as a nothing. Regardless of my dedication, and my knowledge I am neglected by the community I want to be a part of. I can't give up on reptiles, so I won't, but I can't be on this forum because that requires being a person I am not, and I need to find my actual identity. I lost my friendships to other things, sports, after school activities, and I am sure marijuana. I can't participate in those things, because instead of doing those I have been studying and learning all I can about reptiles, because they are the only thing that can help me cope with the insanity of my life. Every kid has a story like this, and it makes me feel terrible about myself, here I am complaining about things like this when people in Somalia are being killed by pirates. Or when people in Kenya succumb to starvation and Ebola, why should my story be so important? I recently attended what's called a retreat. A retreat is a weekend spent away from technology and the hardships of society, where people thank God for all they have. I didn't want to participate in this, I didn't think my life could be changed by a cottage in the middle of nowhere. But it was, in a way I cannot explain, I can't continue to be this person DJC Reptiles, because that's not who I am, I have found comfort in something I didn't think I would. My religion, my connection with God, and I have to hold on to that. I hope you all have fun on this site, I know you don't need me, there are plenty of people who can help with anyone's problems.

Thank you for listening,
-Daniel

[MDT]

Daniel,
I typically don't respond to these things.. but you gotta stop being so hard on yourself. You are young... you will gain experience and learn. I'm 51 and still learning. One would assume that you joined the forum to educate yourself. That's good, that's what these things are for. Keep learning.

Here's a boring story that old people tell, but listen man, I was you as a kid. Trust me, I was the "snake kid" in school, and I dealt with a lot of crap. I had all of the "book facts" on every snake you could think of. I was eating, breathing, sleeping reptiles. My folks were horrified, but finally they succumbed when I caught my first snake at the ripe age of 12. It was a Lined Snake. I named her Margo. Anyway, as I got older, I knew I was going to be a herpetologist. I even communicated with a real-live herpetologist at Oklahoma State University- I wrote him a letter asking how I could be one. I received an awesome letter back, detailing what it really meant to be a herpetologist. As the years went by, I gained more and more experience with different local species. Soon, I was keeping exotics. I made a ton of mistakes. Unfortunately, many of my captives paid the price. But I learned from my mistakes and I realized where my shortcomings were. Continuing on, I later attended Ok State and actually took a herpetology class by the very same Dr. Stanley Fox that had written me back many years earlier. The class was great, the field trips were great, but I then knew I didn't want to pursue a graduate degree, but instead wanted to go into medicine.

Here's the thing...situations and decisions in my life have given me the opportunity to continue with my love of snakes, and afforded me the ability to continue to learn from some really smart people. From the relationships I've forged on these forums, friendships with local zoo keepers, my studies in toxicology and animal venoms, and just like-minded people at reptile expos. I would encourage you to remain and learn, maybe you won't have the latest down-low on research yet, or the most current change in husbandry practices just now... but you will. Give your interest time and room to grow and realize you may not have the answers, realize that "listening" is just as important as "doing"- that is the mark of a truly wise person. That doesn't stop you from soaking up all the info that people are willing to impart.

Seriously man. It's all good... just allow yourself some time. Trust me.

[DJC Reptiles]

Originally Posted by MDT

Daniel,
I typically don't respond to these things.. but you gotta stop being so hard on yourself. You are young... you will gain experience and learn. I'm 51 and still learning. One would assume that you joined the forum to educate yourself. That's good, that's what these things are for. Keep learning.

Here's a boring story that old people tell, but listen man, I was you as a kid. Trust me, I was the "snake kid" in school, and I dealt with a lot of crap. I had all of the "book facts" on every snake you could think of. I was eating, breathing, sleeping reptiles. My folks were horrified, but finally they succumbed when I caught my first snake at the ripe age of 12. It was a Lined Snake. I named her Margo. Anyway, as I got older, I knew I was going to be a herpetologist. I even communicated with a real-live herpetologist at Oklahoma State University- I wrote him a letter asking how I could be one. I received an awesome letter back, detailing what it really meant to be a herpetologist. As the years went by, I gained more and more experience with different local species. Soon, I was keeping exotics. I made a ton of mistakes. Unfortunately, many of my captives paid the price. But I learned from my mistakes and I realized where my shortcomings were. Continuing on, I later attended Ok State and actually took a herpetology class by the very same Dr. Stanley Fox that had written me back many years earlier. The class was great, the field trips were great, but I then knew I didn't want to pursue a graduate degree, but instead wanted to go into medicine.

Here's the thing...situations and decisions in my life have given me the opportunity to continue with my love of snakes, and afforded me the ability to continue to learn from some really smart people. From the relationships I've forged on these forums, friendships with local zoo keepers, my studies in toxicology and animal venoms, and just like-minded people at reptile expos. I would encourage you to remain and learn, maybe you won't have the latest down-low on research yet, or the most current change in husbandry practices just now... but you will. Give your interest time and room to grow and realize you may not have the answers, realize that "listening" is just as important as "doing"- that is the mark of a truly wise person. That doesn't stop you from soaking up all the info that people are willing to impart.

Seriously man. It's all good... just allow yourself some time. Trust me.

Thank you, I want to hopefully go on to be someone in the reptile world, but I can't stay here, I won't read anymore responses, I can't keep on moving backward. But I can keep on moving forward.

Thank you all, your kind words, and personal stories have inspired me to be someone, I know I can make a difference, but it might be awhile until I do, I appreciate you all,
-Daniel

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by MDT

Daniel,
I typically don't respond to these things.. but you gotta stop being so hard on yourself. You are young... you will gain experience and learn. I'm 51 and still learning. One would assume that you joined the forum to educate yourself. That's good, that's what these things are for. Keep learning.

Here's a boring story that old people tell, but listen man, I was you as a kid. Trust me, I was the "snake kid" in school, and I dealt with a lot of crap. I had all of the "book facts" on every snake you could think of. I was eating, breathing, sleeping reptiles. My folks were horrified, but finally they succumbed when I caught my first snake at the ripe age of 12. It was a Lined Snake. I named her Margo. Anyway, as I got older, I knew I was going to be a herpetologist. I even communicated with a real-live herpetologist at Oklahoma State University- I wrote him a letter asking how I could be one. I received an awesome letter back, detailing what it really meant to be a herpetologist. As the years went by, I gained more and more experience with different local species. Soon, I was keeping exotics. I made a ton of mistakes. Unfortunately, many of my captives paid the price. But I learned from my mistakes and I realized where my shortcomings were. Continuing on, I later attended Ok State and actually took a herpetology class by the very same Dr. Stanley Fox that had written me back many years earlier. The class was great, the field trips were great, but I then knew I didn't want to pursue a graduate degree, but instead wanted to go into medicine.

Here's the thing...situations and decisions in my life have given me the opportunity to continue with my love of snakes, and afforded me the ability to continue to learn from some really smart people. From the relationships I've forged on these forums, friendships with local zoo keepers, my studies in toxicology and animal venoms, and just like-minded people at reptile expos. I would encourage you to remain and learn, maybe you won't have the latest down-low on research yet, or the most current change in husbandry practices just now... but you will. Give your interest time and room to grow and realize you may not have the answers, realize that "listening" is just as important as "doing"- that is the mark of a truly wise person. That doesn't stop you from soaking up all the info that people are willing to impart.

Seriously man. It's all good... just allow yourself some time. Trust me.

What this guy said.


As everyone stated, just read and learn. You don't need to be an expert at this point in anything. I've been on this forum for legit 16 years now. (Yeah I'm THAT guy.) I was 16 at the time and just like you. Limited in actual experience but ready and willing to learn. You'll catch on. Just keep reading.

[jjhill001]

Just chill out and read stuff. If there is something you can help with then chime in. This isn't like facebook or some forums where you'll get your head bitten off for having a different way of doing stuff.

[Magdalen]

Yeah we all start at the beginning. Sure you can stop posting as DJC Reptiles, but you can start posting as yourself. I know it's hard to be yourself when you think so many people will not like your self, especially at your age. I mean I still feel that way, still feel like I don't have a place where I belong, some times anyway. But it got better. Plus haha I've gotten to that age where I'm like f--- it, I'm going to be me and not care what people think, even if it means I'm alone. I dunno it I am making it sound like it gets better but it does.
Stay and learn. That's the great thing, learning.

[EL Ziggy]

Just keep living, just keep loving, just keep learning, just keep laughing. That's why we're all here.

[DJC Reptiles]

You're all right, is was pretty childish to just end it off there. Plus I am having a lot of fun on this site. This will not be my last response, but know that my only objective is to help people on this site. Thanks for the support, I might not post as much but I'll be here.

[Aaron_S]

Great news! I'm going to close this thread now. Thank you for staying with the community.