How long have you loved herps? - Page 2

ballpython5000 · 04-01-03, 03:57 PM

ah....makes sense

**Andy_G** · 04-01-03, 04:16 PM

I started to chase around garter snakes at the family cottage at about 3 years old with my dad. That's when I started taking a liking to the lil critters.

eyespy · 04-01-03, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ballpython5000
looks like if you start young then you are most likely to become fond of them. a lot of us have started young.........hmmm interesting. maybe thats why people have such a big herp phobia, becuase they never got expose to them when they were kids.

I'm the second of 8 kids and none of my brothers and sisters like my reptiles or would go into the woods with Grandpa. One of my brothers has a mild interest in my herps and will feed them when I'm away but the others are basically still afraid of them.

Even Jim won't touch them, just change out the water dishes, dole out salads and bugs, or thaw mice and throw them directly into the cages. He absolutely refuses to use feeding tongs or a feeding cage, so I only allow him to feed my snakes if I'm absolutely stuck for help and simply must be out of town.

Linds · 04-01-03, 05:03 PM

Well, I can't remember how long ago it was been, but since I've kept them since I was 4, I think it is safe to say that my interest was sparked as soon as I discovered them

J.J. · 04-01-03, 06:35 PM

Wow everybody...what great stories!! I think yal could write a book!

Ha ha!
Well, I guess I started to like reptiles when I was a lil kid, about 5 I would say. I remember I used to go up to this lil camper up in Hesperia, Michigan and catch salamanders like crazy! I had such a good time! I remember we would keep them in a bucket for the night, then let them go in the morning (when we would leave). Then I also remember one of my dad's friends saying they found a snake. It was a garter snake and I held it for a bit and it was really kewl (I think I was about 7 or 8 then). Then I would keep wanting to find snakes and salamanders and things everytime I went up there. I guess I never realized that I had a true passion for reptiles at that age. Then the day came when I was up north at my dad's house, which is also in Hesperia, and I was driving the 4 wheeler and my dad's girlfriend's daughter, Stephanie, was on the back. All the sudden she screamed " A SNAKE, A SNAKE!" I stopped and saw the tiny thing. I still cannot believe that she ever saw that thing... Anyway, it was a baby hognose snake. At the time I didnt know what it was. Then I started to try and catch the snake. I caught it and then it went through the motions of playing dead and trying to get away and all that jazz. I then had Steph drive back to the house and get something to put it in. Since she was taking 4ever I just slipped my boot off and put it in there. She came back shortly after w/o anything because she figured I had been waiting there too long so she didnt even go to the house. We then drove back to the house and I put the snake in a bucket with some leaves and a stick. Then I brought it to my mom's and then I put it in a cage in my science teacher's room. He lived for about a month or 2 then he died. I really regreted ever taking that poor snake outta the wild....

But the thing is, after it died...I WANTED ANOTHER!!! So I got another snake, Leo, and I now have 3 snakes and I have really explored my true passion for these amazing creatures!! So I guess I found my true passion for snakes when I was 12, so about a year ago! lol..

Alphonzo · 04-01-03, 07:14 PM

Since I was a little boy (about 7-8 years, I guess).
Now I am 46 years

Burmies · 04-02-03, 04:48 PM

I have been interested in herps for about 2 years now. I have never really not liked them.

Burmies

Lisa · 04-02-03, 05:40 PM

I don't know how long I've been interested in them, though I did have a bit of a hiatus my late teens and some of my adult years.

HeatherRose · 04-02-03, 06:38 PM

I've always been the girl who wasn't afraid of frogs and snakes :P
I've always wanted to keep them as pets and I used to wake up early and save all the frogs from the pool filter lol

AstroZombie · 04-03-03, 06:47 PM

I used to catch frogs and garter snakes all the time as a kid, it was good for scaring my annoying little sister. At eight I was allowed to bring my first reptile into the house, a pair of red eared sliders, which I still have...Godzilla and Booger will be turning twenty this year

:skull: Jenn:skull:

**Aaron_S** · 04-03-03, 10:14 PM

From what my mom tells me I was 3 when i asked for my first pet and she thought it would be hamster fish or someother "normal" animal as she calls em but no I asked for a snake so I guess it was at a real early age. My parents never really were into the wilderness thing so I grew up with books and such until I was about 12 or 13 I really got into them more and when i was 14 my parents let me buy my frist snake,sadly he/she is no longer with us.

Cold Blooded · 04-03-03, 11:10 PM

Wow, I must be the weirdo. I hated snakes up until I was 15. I was afraid of frogs until I was like 12. When I was little my uncle, who is only like 5 years older than me used to do all sorts of things with snakes and frogs to scare me. And he used to tell me that they would bite me and such. I grew up thinking that a little old frog would bite my finger off and that a snake was evil and would eat me. But 2 years ago a little ball python found her way into my backyard and I've been hooked ever since.

Tim and Julie B · 04-04-03, 02:31 AM

Well, I never knew just how many cool things a person could keep as a pet until I met Tim. Then I saw my first picture of a leo and had to have one(or 2 dozen) so he bought me one for my 22nd birthday(July7) Been hooked ever since.My Mom reminded me that when I was little I used to catch those cute little black and green salamanders and would keep them then let them go after a couple of days-fed them little spiders and such.

gfisher2002 · 04-04-03, 10:48 AM

I've loved reptile since i could say guana. That's what i use to call an iguana.

ballpython5000 · 04-04-03, 08:31 PM

i remeber whe i was about 2-3 my mom said i could get a fish. she took me to the store and i got to looking around. i saw an iguana but thought it was ugly, then i cam across this huge ball python, or i think it was. i begged and begged for it. i cried cause i couldnt have it. i wanted it so bad, it was so big and i was so small. she showed me ferretts and chinchillas but i wanted the python!!! i never got my python cause i made a big scene and my mom was scarred of snakes. that was my first encounter with the wonderful ball python. i suppose that is why i still love em. its strange the things a person will remember.