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Originally posted by infernalis: Point being, I did a few dumb things along the way, Heck I still make errors in judgement.. Anyone who has been keeping animals for any thength of time has a mortality or two under their belt, and are a lot less likely to launch a "pity party" thread when a snake dies.
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Wayne, I couldn't agree with this more. Anyone who keeps a number of snakes for years will make mistakes...it's part of the learning curve. There's a period of learning for everything; unfortunately will herping it involves living creatures. I do think it's important for people to recognize their mistakes and try to learn from them; I think what's been annoying me more than anything with the large number of "my snake escaped" or "my snake won't eat" or "my snake is blue in the eyes...what's wrong?" threads is the repetition...people will go onto this forum to make a thread. WHy can't they take five minutes and see if anyone else made a similar thread and just read that and LEARN???? Then they get upset and all sore when we point out that they could have looked it up and found an answer easily, rather than expect us to magically change and pat them on the back. The answers to a question will always be the same...no matter who asks it.
There is really no excuse for repeat escapes. Having a snake escape once when you're still learning happens to a lot of people. Some people it will never happen to, but others it's part of the learning process. However, when someone lets a snake get out multiple times, I cant' even comment because I will lose my temper. It's negligence. I've had snakes escape...a few years ago I kept everything in second-hand homemade melamine enclosures. They weren't the best, and after an escape, I redid all the locks. After another snake escaped, I saved up for new cages and got rid of those. I had to pare down on the number of snakes I had to afford the new cages, but it was worth it because all my animals are secure and safe now.
Fish tanks are NEVER good enclosures for snakes. They do not hold humidity, and the screen tops don't even allow for efficient heating because all the hot air wants to just escape out the top. Even with cage clips, snakes can push up a corner and get out. Even with a sliding lid, snakes can press up against the screen and work a spot loose from the edging (the screens are usually only held in with a strip of rubber...flimsy). Furthermore, aquariums are so expensive now compared to commercially available snake-specific caging that they just aren't worth it. I personally LOVE PM Herps line of cages. They're lightweight plastic with tight-fitting doors that lock with turning pegs or can be keyed. Boaphile and Boamaster and Vision also all make nice snake-friendly caging.
An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure. People don't research and think before getting animals, and then the animals suffer. Not ok.
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