Hi, I read your post in detail and should say there are some points I do agree, some I dont and also some of my own I would like to ad to spice things up a bit. First of the thing I do 100% agree is that reptile and amphibian keeping its a owesame hobby and comparing to others themes of human interest, extremely POWERFULL in terms of both education of the public regarding this "creepy crawlys" and conservation grounds, as well as all the other advantages regarding pet keeping (teaching good will, tolerance, responsability,etc). However as well as other kinds of pet keeping its turning a up turn for the worse, people are for istances more conserned sometimes about their dogs pedigree then they are about their health and the same is happening with herps, enigma leopard geckos, spider ball pythons,etc you name it, and that also turns for a very important point you mentioned wich is making reptile breeding as a living. DONT generalize there are great breeders (Hi Tom how your doing? lol) but the prob is that with todays market its all about producing and with many species its all about quantity, not quality and that has a dreatfull efect on the animals (reptile mills if you will). But however I dont necessarily agree with your statement about reptile breeding operations or private individuals being restricted in the number of species or individuals they can work with, high number doesant necessarily equal bad care, some people I know CANT keep a darn good old goldfish alive, I in the other end keep more things alive and well then most people will do in a life time, of corse if you live in like a apartment you dont want to get into normal reticulated python breeding, but in that I appeal for each person to have self restriction limits and comon sence, it would be a sad sad world if everything you did must be regulated by law. And I also have some simpaty by your statement about snakes needing bigger living spaces, however I also have to comment that many species comonly kept like ball pythons are fossorial by nature and so that is all to natural for them to live in that matter, but YES people should when ever possible to allow bigger and better enclosures for their animals that allow for them to have a variaty of natural behaviors. I think we should learn a bit from our aquarium keeping fellows, remenbar that frase "get a tank as big as possible", good advice. As for the python bill...yea...A aparently good will bill (for the non rep keepers) with a underlying darker side and pseudo cience in the mix. However a few thoughs: first of I think that for both pythons and the rest of reptiles people need to start giving value to what they already have, the reptile keeping as well as all the other pet industrys should focus on QUALITY no quantity, people should be educated to only purchase reptiles from reputable breeders that value the animals and respect them, shut rep mills. Wanna a herp? Get one from the rescue or from a reputable breeder. Wanna a burmese python? Well the glades are full of them and many of the first brough ones were wild cauth ones and did fine, how hard will it be to tame a baby? And by that matter there are more then enough burmese pythons in the US, more then the houses avaible to them, why not set up quotas of offspring animals the breeders can produce each year? And all the dangerous reptiles should only be avaible true a permiting sistem in all states and never shall a child be able to purchase them from a pet store anymore. Public education and responsability should be taken more steps foward. And finely I think that serious reptile keepers and breeders should form aliances with the zoo and aquarium comunitys for beneficts of both parts. Allowing extreme bills to come foard will not do anything good, specialy bills that treat with the same degree of public danger leopard geckos and tigers.

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