Sorry to hear you have received hate mail! Too bad people can't post on the forum instead of attacking via email. I think that the forums, no matter what site they are on, are for the exchange of ideas. You take what is there or you don't!

I know that on some of these forums things can get pretty heated but in my opinion it should stay on the boards. Whatever needs to be said should be said in the open where everyone can voice their opinion.

Personally, I do find some of your ideas hard to grasp but I am trying some of the changes and am having good results. I stated a few threads down that I don't use moving water anymore, haven't for a long time. This is a practice I stopped before you brought up the issue. So, I hope the person who wrote you can read this and see that even I do things in conflict with my own caresheet. My caresheet is a guideline and not a bible. It has been the best known way to this point but that doesn't mean we should stop learning.

I have also added the basking spot and am finding that it is making a huge difference in one group of armata. The group of 1.3 larger animals are much brighter colors and are more active. They are eating much better as well. They have been holding their own for some time now but since I added the 40-watt bulb for them to bask during the day there is a huge improvement and I feel that they are more than holding their own, rather they appear to be thriving. The smaller 1.2 animals are not responding as well but I will give it time and see what happens.

I don't have bulbs on all of my babies yet but have always used uth pads to create warm areas for them. However, I did add a 25-watt bulb over one corner of the tank with the crop-tailed leps and so far I find there are always 2 animals under the light. I am also noticing that these animals who had almost no tail left after I had to amputate seem to be developing nicely and tonight when I was checking them it seems to me that their tails are longer than I recall. I am not going to say that they are regenerating, perhaps it is just that they are growing in ratio to the rest of the animal, but regardless these animals are developing and growing out very nicely for the poor start they got off to.

So, although I don't know if I have my mind around all of Jobi's ideas, I do know that what I have applied has had good effects, not bad. So, should you Jobi give advice? Why not? Should others follow the advice? That is for each to evaluate and decide for themselves!

One could just as well ask if I should have written a website and an article when I had no biology background and no previous reptile breeding experience. But then what I wrote was superior to what had been published on this species previously. Is what I wrote cast in stone? No way! I hope that cumulatively we all contribute new findings and learn to keep these animals in the best possible setting so that they can flourish.

So, I hope the author of your email is reading this and can see that we don't all have to agree but maybe we should keep an open mind. If we don't agree with something perhaps we have to keep it in perspective and just let it go. If you think an idea is stupid, don't use it!

Hope I don't get any bad emails for this! ; )
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

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