Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I didn't see this one posted, I could have missed it, but just in case her it is again...
http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/Reptiles_as_Pets.html
If you have already seen this sorry to double up...
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Jeff Carr
West Coast Constrictors
www.westcoastconstrictors.com

Honestly, that wasn't that bad. The initial headline and byline seemed like the article would be awful, but it was just stating what good reptile owners have been saying all along. Reptiles are not easier than a dog or cat, don't let your reptiles go, and don't get an animal that you don't know how to take care of.

Yes, it was slanted very much towards not keeping reptiles, period, but it made good points regarding reasons you SHOULDN'T get a reptile as a pet. At work I have to explain on a daily basis that no, the lizard/snake/frog will not love you, yes, if you have a reptile with legs you should be supplementing, and yes, that $20 iguana is costing you $300 in accessories to set up properly, not counting the cage you are going to have to build a year from now to house the large angry beast it will become.
The general public is not as smart as we could wish.

~jenny
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"Polysyllabism in no way insures that what you're saying is actually worth being heard." - Blake (an e-friend of mine)

"I have never made but one prayer to god, a very short one: "O lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And he granted it." - Voltaire

I agree with your points to why this article could be considered truthful and good, to a point. In the end, I would have been pleased had it mentioned better education regarding the animals might help to diminish the issues that come with owning them. They focused on the worst things entirely, not one positive thing to say about how far we've come with the hobby and care for reptiles over the years... obviously, as you've said, they are leaning towards no reptile pets at all. I still stand firm that the ignorance of the few, shouldn't penalize the many... this is a no win battle though. As long as people buy blindly, some sellers bring in WC animals that aren't stated as such, and also neglect to educate the buyers on what they are getting into, etc. etc... these negative points aren't going to go away.
Of course, we could focus on the same negatives involving other animals and exotics... as far as health issues, lack of proper care (whether by not having an experienced vet for a reptile or just plain refusing to spend the bucks to have a warm-blooded animal vaccinated, spayed/neutered, treated, etc.) We also have quite the quantity of loose DOGS and CATS that duplicate in more places than reptiles can... it all just depends on how you look at the topic I guess?
Good comments and no doubt a topic that we'll see again and again! Oh and nothing I've said was to stir up trouble, just in case something is taken badly, it wasn't meant badly! This is my disclaimer! ;p

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Steph S.
Boas...
1.1 Albino boas (Loki & Hope)
1.4 07 Het. albino boas (Petty & Lady,Sierra,Madeline,Lola)
0.1 Reverse stripe poss. het albino (Cookie)
0.1 Salmon/hypo (Scarlet)
0.1 Anery poss. het snow (Missy)
1.0 Anery (Reno)
0.1 DH Sunglow (Bonnie)
0.0.1 Hypo het anery
1.0.0 Het. Anery (Guy & ?)
0.3 Normals (Ophelia, Sasha, & Lulu)
1.1 Surinames (Solomon & Surreal)
1.2 Hog Isles (Mr.Orange & Peaches, Tang.)
0.0.1 Central American (Sassy)
0.1 Emerald Tree boa (Jade)
1.0 ATB (Satan... seriously!)
Pythons...
2.1 GTPs (B., Monty & Jewel)
0.0.3 BPs (MJ, Precious, Houdini)
1.1 Carpet Pythons (Jackson & Charlotte)
0.1 Blood python (Akaia)
Misc.
1.1 Mandarin Ratsnakes (Jack & Jill)
1.0 Boxer/Pitt Mutt (Tyson)

"one out of every 25 households includes at least one reptile..."

according to the US census, there are an estimated 112 million housholds in the US. using the HS estimate of 1 in 25 keeping a reptile, that means there are about 4.5 milion homes with at least one reptile. if one could figure out a way to mobilize as little as 1 in 100, or even 1 in 500, of those folks, you'd have a real force to be reconded with...
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uncommonboa.com

i honestly dont think 9000 or even 45000 people are a FORCE TO BE RECONED WITH.........against a population of 250 million or more....unless of course all reptile owners were spartans

actually, in politics, i think those are quite significant numbers, particularly if they are motivated to act. we're not "fighting" the entire poulation, only the ones avtively attempting to suppress our "reptile ownership and commerce" rights. i'm not talking 9,000-45,000 people "passively interested" in the cause, i said "mobilized", as in actively working to advance our position.

maybe i'm wrong in my opinion, but 9,000-45,000 people is between 45-900 motivated people per state. i wonder how many people were active in the NCARK or HCU-TX successes?

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uncommonboa.com

the more the merrier.......round up the spartans,,,,,,,but just hope they all fight the fight the right way and not to aproach it as has been mentioned so many times on the ball python forum stating with numbers grabbed from the air how this will destroy our economy as its a multi billion dollar industry........the pet trade yes......interstate sales of boids....NO.......fight the fight and disclaim any and all wrong ideas about their threats being bought,sold,and or traded across state lines.....go spartans!!!!!!!!

Hey Bro, not everyone can see what they are really saying....that is how they get through with their agenda. If it was totally unacceptable we would all regect it and it would fail...

I think we all need some see clearly data...
But alot of the data is so hard to handle...people get angry too fast.

Andy
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http://www.api4animals.org/a3b_exotic_pets.php
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com
http://slitheringserpents.com