Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im not even sure how we got on the subject but..........

A guy in my local pet shop who can be a wise guy was trying to be serious and tell me that beardies dont feel pain, that they dont have nerves or something to that effect.....

It sounds too unreal to be true, but i couldnt resist asking the group.

Sorry if this is really stupid.........
Sue
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Life is what happens when you are making other plans.......

Yes they feel pain just like we do. Or they wouldn't grimace when they get blood taken. Just because they are very good at hiding signs of pain doesn't mean that they don't feel any. And the fact that they hardly have any facial expressions doesn't help us when we are trying to figure out if hey are sick or not. I hope this makes sense...

Veronica
Beautiful Dragons

this guy who owns a local pet shop, has degrees one in marine biology etc, always acts like he knows so much!

busts my chops about kingsnake, says its like reptile ebay...he doesnt know what he is talking about there....

He is smart about some things, maybe feels threatned by people looking somewhere else for information than just beleiving what they say.......it infuriates me........Ive gotten some really bad advice from people who would like to make money on me and others.

my friend got a corn snake from the same place different guy at the time and they never mentioned that undertank heat was needed.
I dont own any snakes but have read some because at one time i considered the idea of a corn.......they were telling her that it didnt need "any" heat source of any kind......

Ive had pet shop people tell me that chams "enjoy" being handled...that goes against most everything ive "read".

sometimes these people are nice other times they act stupid, im not sure if its just being obnixous for the sake of it or what.

I sometimes ask quesitons because who knows maybe he might actually be right about something......

Sue
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Life is what happens when you are making other plans.......

it like the difference between Knowlege and Wisdom....

he may be "Knowlegeable" about some stuff but still a fool

the first step to true Wisdom is to admit you do not know...

if he has a degree in Marine Biology thats nice but thats about like saying "I have a degree in Physics, so I can build a TV for you" the two relate but are very different....

theres an adage I've read that goes a bit like this:
the more specialized a persons field of study is the more they tend to belive that they can / have mastered any other subject.

IT"S NOT SO!!!

and the faster he gets that down the sooner he will be really smart....

Well perhaps, if he realy has the stuff to do it
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This space reserved for future use...

Yeah, sometime syou cant go off of what the sales people say. They're just trying to sell their product. The person probbaly said that chams like being handled because who wants a lizard that they have to leave alone? (Don't get me wrong,I love chams, I own them so I'm not insulting them) But not all of them are like that. There is a petco near my house, I really like the staff. I've found that every petco I've been to, they have pretty educated staff...for maybe the excpetion of one or two. But with these baby beardies I'm alway going back for something, so there I go again, back with my dog, straight to the reptile aisle. I practically own that store! Lol, with all the stuff I buy from there. Theye even want me to visit with my dragons when they get older. Whenever I need to ask the salesperson something, I ask them soemthing I know first, maybe a series of things..see how knowledgable they are. Sry it's so long....I'm kinda rambling, lol. But hoped you enjoyed it.
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~Julie~

Marine biology is alot different than herptology. The needs of aquatic animals are alot different from those of reptiles. During the course of obtaining a degree in marine biology they of course will learn the same core course as herptologists or veternarians but when you specialize in an area you learn alot of specialized knowledge geared towards the area of your masters.

Another point though is that guy wasn't completely wrong when he told your friend you don't necessarily need an undertank heater for a corn snake. As long as the tank has the proper temperatures during the day and night, you don't need the undertank heater. A light can provide the same amount of heat, especially when shinning on rocks that can hold the heat through the night. Corn snakes need to be kept between 74-85 F if I remember correctly. I asked on the corn snake forum about the necessity of undertank heaters and the gist I received back in replies is that they are not necessary if the proper temperatures are maintained throughout the day/night.

that ambient room temp was enough......
we live in upstate NY
my friends heat with wood mostly......in a few weeks the ambient temp in that house is gonna drop.....too cold for a snake without a source of heat.....

I suggested first for her to go to the corn snake forum which she didnt and to get an undertank heater as a heating option.....

I think this guy to says this stuff is just trying to get a rise out of me.........

and is on his own personal head trip....

thanks....
Sue
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Life is what happens when you are making other plans.......

hhhhh

There's not much info on pain in reptiles, but most agree that they do feel pain..
pain

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TheClassyLizard

One of our adopted BDs has a strange nerve disorder, probably due to vit B dificiency as a baby. So, we were trying a bunch of different treatments to cure her. We gave her a few shots of B3. OMG! She HATED them. I think they really stung. If she had vocal chords I think she would have cried. I felt so bad for her. Unfortunetly none of the treaments worked, she is still "neurologically challenged", but she's healthy otherwise and very cute!

So yes, they feel pain, without a doubt.

BTW: if he has a "degree" in marine biology, why is he working in a pet-store?? Was it a mail order degree on salt water fish or something? sorry.. couldn't help it!
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Kelly Affonce
DeKeaff Exotics
www.dekeaffexotics.com
AIM: DekeaffGrrl