Hey all, I'm a bit of an old timer I guess, been knocking around the herp biz for 30 years now. I've been dismayed of late seeing all the color morphs and ball pythons dominating the hobby. Seems like the hobby has become so much less rich than it once was.

For example, looking at some of the kingsnakes available these days I see bits of getula mixed with californiae mixed with guttatus. Yet they are being sold as "king snakes"... Weird, they should be honestly labeled as hybrids... or mutts.

In the "old days" folks were more interested in locality specifics types. A "miami corn" was interesting not because it was a double het for twice recessive blabbity blah, but because it was an interesting natural variation. It was beautiful in its own right and interesting because of its natural occurance. Not because it was purplish.

I remember riding down some back roads in the middle of the night south of Tampa 35 years ago with a local guy telling me about the occasional "lemon rat" snake they found in the area. That was exciting in its own right (and it really was). Not because I might find one and sell the offspring for a profit, but because that was just another very cool thing to spend endless hours and a bunch of (mosquito bitten) misery searching for.

I could say the same for so many species - snakes, frogs, lizards, turtles etc. Back then the importers were bringing in so many interesting species from around the world. Every shipment was like Christmas morning. It was really exciting. But it was the species - the animal - that was exciting, not the monetary value they might represent. Since there wasn't the "pyramid schemes" of color morphs back them, hobbyists tended to pursue the species they found fascinating rather than hopefully profitable.

Of course, back then, every single captive herp wasn't imprisoned in a plastic box either

Now its like we all shop from Walmart's HerpWorld. The only thing that seems to matter to most is how "pretty" the new morphs are - even if they are mutts. I feel like the whole herp world has become like the little aquarium section of the Walmart with it's multi-colored guppies.

Boring.

So ... I'm putting together a web site that features breeders and responsible collectors and importers who are genuinley interested in locality specific herps. I know this will be a challange, so I'm asking for your help.

If you know people who are breeding, collecting or importing locality specimens, or at least interested in the species more than the profit margin, let me know so I can contact them. I don't care if they are producing or even collecting water snakes, king snakes, leopard tortises or Acrochordus (don't laugh, I know one very responsible Acrochordus breeder!) , if they are doing it responsibly and passionately,. I want to feature them on my web page.

I won't ever charge anything, I'm doing this because I'm interested in promoting these businesses/individuals. I have 8 years experience in internet marketing and web development, so I can be a benefit to any well intentioned and responsible herp enthusiast, professional or amature -

Its my small way of encouraging a love of herps for their own sake rather than their profit margin or color morph.

Thanks guys -

Joe
corporate.prey@gmail.com
www.reptiles-and-amphibians.com

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