Why do you keep reptiles?

[lolaophidia]

My folks never appreciated my interest in the scaley critters. As a child I caught any animal too slow to get away and wanted to keep it (ducks, squirrels, rabbits, snapping turtles, sliders, green snakes, garters, black rats, chain kings, etc...). My improvised housing rarely worked out and so there would be a second round of catching in the house. My father is deathly afraid of snakes so the snakes loose in the house were the thing that got me most in trouble. I always read anything I could get my hands on about reptiles (still do). Once I started college, a reptile shop (I shudder now to think about some of their conditions) opened in town and I spent a lot of time there. I loved when they'd get a shipment in and wouldn't know what was in the bags. Half the time I don't think they knew what the snakes were once they came out of the bags. I bought a couple of asian "garters" from them, one of which ended up being a Amphiesma stolata and figured out how to care for them. Moved on to northern banded waters, black rat snakes, corns, chinese water dragons, various geckos, lots of North American rat snakes, just to name a few. Rat snakes are still my favorites, though now I keep mainly asian varieties.
I love learning about snakes, observing them both in my home, zoos, and in the wild. I just think they are facinating creatures- one of the wonders of the natural world. A great means of studying genetic diversity in the captive environment.
Ok, I'm done!

[Edwin]

-always found them fascinating
-low maintenance (suits my lifestyle)
-not much interest in other pets

[Bartman]

Like some of you said, my parents also didnt dis-encourage my intrest. They told me they'd rather see me go toward this kind of stuff and spend my money on reptiles other then things that would be harmful to me (ex drugs!) It worked!

[jim mcallister]

-fascinating and beautiful

[BoidKeeper]

I am allergic to hair

Not me but my parents. I wanted a pet so they got me a turtle because of their allergies, that was when I was 13.
Since then I've only gone one year with out a herp. In 2001 I got my firt corn snake. Once I got my own house with my own herp room I was able to grow my collection to aprox 30 snakes.
For me it's not just about keeping any herp it's about keeping the best herps I can find or afford. By that I mean I try to find a Canadian breeder who is known for working with one animal for a long time. Those are the people I buy from, not pet shops or importers.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Soul_Reaper]

I've never had any life changing experiences or revelations that made me want reptiles...i was actually scared of snakes and such when i was a child. But as i grew older and the Discovery channel became available i started learning more and more, until i decided to buy my first one...

They are very intersteing animals and very fun to keep. That's the reason why i keep mine.

[drewlowe]

I've never used to be a big fan of snakes, but boy did i love lizards and toads growing up. I remember going down to the country (rocky and lots of hills and trees). Catching blue racersand collard lizards, i remember asking my mom why thier tails fell off (as i was crying cause i thought i really hurt one, ahhh those were the days.) My grandpa also had a nice pond that had TONS of toads in it along with a few fish. I would go out their just watching the toads for hours on end, and of course catching, playing then releasing them back. It never failed, anytime my grandpa would show me a snake i would take off running. Don't know why cause i would always have to be the first to hold a lizard, toad, or frog.

Originally posted by ~Suntiger~
I can't wait to be the eccentric aunt once my sister starts having kids lol.

HAHA my nephews call me Aunt Freak, (they have since i was 18)... cause of my tattoos and now all my reptiles. Everytime i see 2 of my nephews they BEG me to come up so they can see my herps. It's great knowing i have a huge influence of them. The youngest one loves getting snake skins from me i think his collection is up to 5 skins. then his older brother (12) always askes me tons of questions and he shares the information that he reads. It's great knowing that they may help me inform the rest of my family that herps are GOOD!!!!

[Tim and Julie B]

Well I have always been fascinated with amphibians Funny that I don't currently own any though. I remember when I was about 4 we moved into a trailer on this old dirt road. There were plenty of trees behind it, with tons of trails and such. On the other side of the road was the same, but it was owned by some horse breeders so they cleared a lot of it for pasture, but left all the creek area alone. The creek ran from thier side of the road to ours via a water duct and filled up this "pond" right by my house.

Now, both of my parents have thier fears: my mom hates frogs and my dad hates snakes. Go figure! So of course I had to scare the pants off of them at every given opportunity, right? I used to go to that little pond and flip over rocks. I found so many salamanders and frogs I would spend hours there every day. I used to bring them home all of the time and would keep them for a little while then let them go back in the pond. I have always feared snakes though. Even still I cannot understand thier body language and seem to make them mad when I hold them. So when I was little I used to tell my dad how much I wanted to learn about them and that I was scared but wanted to be brave anyways......so he used to look for garters for me, trying to put on a brave face for his little girl....white knuckles and gritting teeth he would find them and hold them for me. Hahahahaha kids always play thier parents!

Then I met Tim. That was the most pivotal point in my herp life. I always loved reptiles, but had no idea that you could go into a pet store and "buy" one as a pet. Or that you could buy crickets to feed them! Tim had always kept something and when we first met he had anolis. (low maintenance, but fun cause he was in college and didn't have too much spare time) I used to watch them a lot and started to read lots of reptile books. I remember looking through one book and coming across a pic of a leopard gecko. I fell in love and told Tim that I wnated to get one. I hummed and hawed for a good 3 or 4 months, not wanting to spend $100 at the pet store, plus the cage and stuff. Then Tim came home one day, about a week before my b-day and asked my if I still wanted one. I said or course and he told me he had just bought a 33 for me and that he also bought me a leo from our best pet store. I was so excited I didn't want to wait to bring it home, so we picked her up the next day! Now I have quite the collection of them and never get bored. Many people think they are beginner reptiles and that only an amatuer would still keep them, or breed them for that matter, but BAH!!! They are fascinating non the less and I will always keep them. I am always learning something new with them and love every moment. Sure, I have other reptiles, but leos are my true love I guess Next of course would be our turtles and tortoises

That's about it though. Blame Tim....it's all his fault!

Julie

[drewlowe]

Originally posted by Tim and Julie B
Many people think they are beginner reptiles and that only an amatuer would still keep them, or breed them for that matter, but BAH!!! They are fascinating non the less and I will always keep them. I am always learning something new with them and love every moment. Sure, I have other reptiles, but leos are my true love I guess

I agree Leos where my first "offical" herp and i will continue to always have at least 3-5 in my collection. Can't have just one leo. LOL

[Mr.Lizard]

When I was little one of the most exciting things for me was the heart pounding anticipation and exhiliration of flipping over a piece of plywood or other debris and finding a coiled garter hiding beneath it.
There was never a time in my life when I didn't love reptiles and amphibians.
Their nature and appearance was always far more interesting than that of mammals or birds.
My wife has yet to understand my fascination with these creatures that she sees as ugly.
To me they are living jewels,finely crafted and delicately tiled in exquisite detail.
I'm originally from Michigan where the variety of herps is rather limited,garter snakes,a couple of turtle species,some frogs and toads and the occasional salamander.
Like Crotalus,I was really upset when I'd find a reptile that'd been intentionally harmed or killed and couldn't understand how or why someone would do such a thing to such compelling creatures.
I was so excited as a kid moving to Florida,we've got all kinds of herps here,gators and glass snakes and green anoles are a few which fascinated me most.
I have landscaped my yard to encourage the herp life I love so much. We have several species of frogs taking up permanent residence in one of our three ponds and glass snakes and black racers which are attracted to our low growing shrubs.

--Kevin--

I've kept snakes, scorps, and tarants nearly all my life. I can sit and watch them and relax just as well as watching fish in a tank. I guess I keep them because they make me happy.