Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Thought people might want to check out my article in the July issue of Reptiles Magazine (if you subscibe you already have it). The article is not about milks but some of my Hondurans are pictured in the magazine including a tangerine albio and a tri-color hypo het anery. You got to love it when you can find a way to blend your day job (I'm a newspaper editor and writer) with your hobby. If you are wondering, the article is about tips on how to prepaer for a reptile show (as a buyer) and steps on safely getting your new purchase home safely. That may seem pretty basic but I've heard plenty of horror stories on how new herps never made it home because of bad planning. Hope you enjoy it.

I enojoyed it and the honduran pics had me drooling, nice job.
Tom Stevens
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TomsSnakes.com

Hey Rob,

I'll definitely get a copy of the magazine since I am looking forward to reading about your tips in getting started in reptile shows. I also wanted to ask you how a guy can submit an article like you did and get it published. You mentioned that you worked as a newspaper editor (so you probably got some connections) but for someone like me who has no known connections, how do I get something published?

Thanks for your input.

RAY

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RAY - "Laziness is nothing more than a habit of resting before getting tired!"

Getting an article in Reptiles is no different than getting published anywhere else as a freelancer. You submite a query letter with your story idea to one of the editors and they tell you if they like the idea and want you to write it. Some publications will ask you to write on "spec", which essentially means no guarantees. You submit it, and if they like it, you get paid and published. If not, you are free to shop it around elsewhere. My suggestion to anyone interested in writing for Reptiles or any other magazine is to study the publication, see what kind of articles they have written and who writes them. I'm not sure if my being a newspaper editor helped but being an experienced snake breeder and vendor at a show did help. It gives you firsthand knowledge from within the herp community.

Rob

congrats rob! i know you have some AMAZING hondos. im the "boa" guy that bought 2 black milks from you last year. theyre doing great and i love them! i had planned on buying some more snakes from you this year but i kinda got shafted with a sick carpet python from the nh expo, so all my $$ right now is going to him, but ill see what i can scrounge up when you start having babies. btw, did i mention you have sooo many AWESOME snakes?!!!!!
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* Colombian Boa (kilo)
* Black Milksnake ( coming in 2 days!!! )

Sorry to hear about your sick snake. Glad you have your priorities right and are focusing on taking care of what you have. Have you called the vendor who sold you the sick python?Good luck. If you want something come fall, give me a ring as you are practically next door.

Rob

Hi Rob,

We read your article and thought you did a nice job on it. Some of the information should be posted in huge letters at the entrance to any show.Good luck with your stuff this year.

Thanks!

Joe Exposito
Thoroughbred Exotics, LLC

Cool article. I started reading it @ work last night, and I knew I'd seen your name somewhere before.Think I'll finish it tonight. I like what I've read so far. Good job, man.

reako45

I was quickly flipping through the pages of the July issue and came to a dead stop when I saw that hypo tricolor Honduran in your article. That's one cool snake!

I'm sure your article will be helpful to alot of showgoers. There are many people who don't know where to begin when it comes to buying reptiles. By advising newcomers, you're further promoting the hobby of snake keeping and breeding.

Good job!

Tim

Thanks to Tim and the others who liked the article. Like I said, kind of basic stuff but hopefully it prevents some mishaps.

As for the hypo-tricolor in the article - that's same snake for sale in the classifieds. When I was taking pics, I was limited to shooting snakes that were actually awake in the dead of winter - most of mine were in cool down with the exception of a few yearlings.

Rob

thanks to you my gf wont speak to me now after coming up with plans to build a rack for all the snakes i plan to buy from you! lmao. did i mention you have so many awesome snakes?!!!! hehe. l8r. -Dave
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* 1.1 Black Milksnakes
* 0.1 Jungle Carpet Python
* 1.0 Ball Python
... and sadly had to get rid of all my boas