Your view of the reptile hobby

[Tsubaki]

I live in Brabant not Holland, so i get slightly frustrated if people call my entire country the name of one region.

[formica]

I would not consider field herping part of general reptile keeping hobby personally, I suspect that those who do it are a minority amongst reptile owners...and some of us are unlucky enough to have very few to spot in the wild any way

Originally Posted by Tsubaki

I live in Brabant not Holland, so i get slightly frustrated if people call my entire country the name of one region.

had no idea there was a diffrence...so Netherlands is like the UK, a union of seperate countries? dont blame you...I wouldnt appriciate being called Welsh or Scottish either

Originally Posted by Donnie

saying they are going to the West Midlands when they mean England.

are the West Midlands also looking for independence from England and the UK? haha :P

[Tsubaki]

Originally Posted by formica

had no idea there was a diffrence...so Netherlands is like the UK, a union of seperate countries? dont blame you...I wouldnt appriciate being called Welsh or Scottish either

Not exactly The name Holland goes back tot he time that the dutch were famous on the seas. Holland is the part of the Netherlands where the docks are, so the name got a round a lot, but it is merely the name of a province. I don't blame anyone, a lot of foreigners were just simply never told the difference.

Sorry for the off-topic!

I do not consider field herping a part of the the reptile keeping hobby either, but i it is still a hobby with a shared love for reptiles. I cant go legally herping within my own country without a license, and i will never get a license. So there is not much more i can say about it.

[lady_bug87]

Originally Posted by athms

Ball pythons,leopard geckos,corn snakes,bearded dragons,crested geckos is all people are buying and selling for money. 95% of videos i watch is of a 8 year old that has bought a leopard gecko and is going to start breeding them and i always think "wow your going to make lots of money cause not like your going up against giant breeders". Here is the reptile community.

In it for money-85%
Want to show off-5%
In it for the animals-10%

Why don't people try making morphs of other animals? Like tiger salamanders or green anoles other wise were just going to be stuck in the same cycle.

Originally Posted by smy_749

This is pretty accurate.

You can divide the 10% that are "In it for the animals" to 8% uneducated on proper husbandry, and thinking their reptiles love them and love to dress up for halloween and sleep on their laps. 2% can say the scientific name of whats in their collection, and tell you some interesting facts.

Originally Posted by athms;90078[I

9]Thanks i guess im in that 2%

[/I]

Originally Posted by kwhitlock

I get tired of the crazes. At least with the ball pythons holy cow. Dont get me wrong, I love that they are the economy of the reptile trade right now, and I think they are beautiful animals. But honestly when you go to a show, and 90% of the herps there are ball pythons, it shows that most are just there for the money. I honestly like going for the other animals, the skinks, moniters, tree boas, and the colubrids. I will check out a colubrid or a boa any day of the week over a ball. Ill own a ball python one day but honestly lets get some variety back into things..

But also I agree with cosmic. The motto for snakes shouldnt be gotta catch em' all. How about we breed for the fun of it, to learn something..

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

Ball pythons at expos are like collectors items. Oh look! a new and shiny toy! Same with non-locale morph boas.

If I ever get a ball python I'm owning a normal one.

Right, I started with the moral high ground....

[Mikoh4792]

Originally Posted by lady_bug87

Right, I started with the moral high ground....

I did take the moral high ground first, but I think you're using the wrong example. In my comment you quoted, I was just saying expos focus too much on BP morphs and that I would rather get a normal one. I never said it was morally wrong to have too many bp's at an expo.

I took the moral high ground in my post after that, when I gave my opinion on how I think people are viewing these animals in the wrong way(ie. fascination with multi-gene morphs, feeling accomplishment for creating multi-gene morphs...etc).

So you're right. we are the ones who acted all high and mighty first.

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

In my comment you quoted, I was just saying expos focus too much on BP morphs...

This is silly. It isn't the expo that picks who comes and vends at a show. ANYONE can buy a table and set up. Don't blame the expo for something completely out of their control.

So as Lori said, if you want to see something different at a show then people should put their money where their mouth is and do it themselves.

The funny part is that everyone claims they want something else and "different" but when some breeders actually do offer it, no one wants to pay for them. They simply want a different zoo everytime they go to a show.

[Mikoh4792]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

This is silly. It isn't the expo that picks who comes and vends at a show. ANYONE can buy a table and set up. Don't blame the expo for something completely out of their control.

So as Lori said, if you want to see something different at a show then people should put their money where their mouth is and do it themselves.

The funny part is that everyone claims they want something else and "different" but when some breeders actually do offer it, no one wants to pay for them. They simply want a different zoo everytime they go to a show.

My fault, I chose the wrong words.

I did not mean to say the people running the expos were to blame. I should have just said "There are too many ball pythons at expos".

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

My fault, I chose the wrong words.

I did not mean to say the people running the expos were to blame. I should have just said "There are too many ball pythons at expos".

Here's a good question, instead of complaining about it on the internet, what are you currently doing to change it?

[Mikoh4792]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Here's a good question, instead of complaining about it on the internet, what are you currently doing to change it?

Not exactly complaining, just expressing my views on the forum. Do I need to take action for every view I have? I personally don't see the overwhelming number of ball pythons at expos as a big deal. It's just something I'm stating while we are on the subject.

[formica]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Here's a good question, instead of complaining about it on the internet, what are you currently doing to change it?

here is a better question, what exactly is your point? what have you brought to this discussion which is of any value to the topic? all I can see are comments designed to belittle anyone with an opinion, with no participation in the discussion itself. they have a word for that you know.

sounds to me like you are being contrary just for its own sake. and there is little value in that - it certainly has less value than the discussion itself.


and FYI, in a world which values intelligent decision making; discussion's, come before actions.

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by formica

here is a better question, what exactly is your point? what have you brought to this discussion which is of any value to the topic? all I can see are comments designed to belittle anyone with an opinion, with no participation in the discussion itself. they have a word for that you know.

sounds to me like you are being contrary just for its own sake. and there is little value in that - it certainly has less value than the discussion itself.


and FYI, in a world which values intelligent decision making; discussion's, come before actions.

My point is simple. People came to this thread and belittled MY hobby. I defended it.

and FYI this "discussion" has been going on for YEARS. When does action occur?

Here are two instances where I was involved in the discussion. You can stop trying to paint me in one particular light that you see me in.

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/900946-post39.html

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/900945-post38.html

I await my apology for lying about me and my participation in the discussion.

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

Not exactly complaining, just expressing my views on the forum. Do I need to take action for every view I have? I personally don't see the overwhelming number of ball pythons at expos as a big deal. It's just something I'm stating while we are on the subject.

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

Ball pythons at expos are like collectors items. Oh look! a new and shiny toy! Same with non-locale morph boas.

If I ever get a ball python I'm owning a normal one.

Hmm if that's just a "view" it's rather negative and judgemental to a particular group within the hobby don't you think?

It followed a number of posts with the same sentiment about ball python keepers and their mentalities. I am not putting words into anyone's mouth because this is the context of which the poster's used.

...when I gave my opinion on how I think people are viewing these animals in the wrong way...

This is another quote of yours.
You want to give your opinion that people have a "wrong view" of these animals then what are you doing to help change that?

This is YOUR question essentially at the start of this thread. It's clear you want this "wrong view" to change so what are you doing to help change it?!

[psychocircus]

Sorry this is a little off topic, but it goes back to the "general" exotics that were mentioned.

Lady bug, how do you feel about captive animals that are bred in part because they are endangered in the wild? If these animals are "weaker" than their wild counterparts, then is it selfish to raise them in captivity?

Would it be better to let the species go extinct because they are not truly thriving in captivity? After all, there are still other motives in keeping those captive animals.

[Mikoh4792]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Hmm if that's just a "view" it's rather negative and judgemental to a particular group within the hobby don't you think?

It followed a number of posts with the same sentiment about ball python keepers and their mentalities. I am not putting words into anyone's mouth because this is the context of which the poster's used.

This is another quote of yours.
You want to give your opinion that people have a "wrong view" of these animals then what are you doing to help change that?

This is YOUR question essentially at the start of this thread. It's clear you want this "wrong view" to change so what are you doing to help change it?!

Judgmental and negative? Yes. It was meant to be. If I think something is "wrong" it means I am judging and viewing it in a negative light. It's common sense and self explanatory.

What am I going to do about it? To tell you the truth I'm not so sure. I don't breed snakes yet, nor can I tell people to stop breeding ball python morphs.

I am just here to discuss people's views and opinions, I don't need to take any action. Again, the fact that expos are overrun with ball pythons is an annoyance, it's not a serious problem. Why do I have to do anything? Are you trying to stop me from expressing my views here with a similar philosophy of "If you're not going to do something about it, don't say anything bad about it"?

Well what I am doing about it is spreading ideas by discussion. That's as far as I'll go.

[Mikoh4792]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

It followed a number of posts with the same sentiment about ball python keepers and their mentalities. I am not putting words into anyone's mouth because this is the context of which the poster's used.

Nothing against ball pythons keepers, breeders, fans...etc. Just with the overwhelming fascination with morphs. And if it were to go the same way with my favorite genus Morelia, I'd be saying the same thing. It just so happens that right now my view is aimed towards ball pythons... since it's a good example

And to add to my last post, the reason why I won't do much about it is because it's peoples' freedom to keep and breed what they want. If I don't like it, I'll just say it, I'm not going to actually try to stop people from doing what they do as long as others are not harmed.