Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know I'm not a regular contributor to this forum, but I thought I'd add my $0.02.

While I agree that when you are buying an animal from "name" breeder you are in part purchasing the "name" much as you would if you were purchasing a Harley Davidson, Nike, etc. And to receive an animal produced by someone else while under the assumption it was produced by said breeder is dishonest.

However I am opposed to the popular notion that animals broduced buy others are inferior. While it is true that there are plenty of backyard breeders who think they can make a fast buck and produce diseased, mite infested and/or genetically inferior animals. There are also as many dedicated herpetoculturists who produce top quality animals as well. As a herpetoculturist my self I have a regular occupation and a small house, meaning that I do not have the time or facilities (nor desire) to make a career out of reptile breeding. On the other hand I do have the time and ability to produce animals comparable in quality to any produced by a "name" breeder.

Any intelligent "name" breeder should know that his reputation is only as good as the animals he sells. And it would be foolish to buy unhealthy animals and risk, not only his reputation, but his own animals aswell. A "name" breeder should have the connections and resources to acquire animals from reputable herpetoculturists (some likely with animals descended from his own stock), and not some kid in New Jersey. So it may not be as misleading as it appears on the surface.

GD
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I don't believe in luck. Luck is God covering your a** when you screw up.

That's a good point,.. but one that I have considered many times and have come to my own conclusion makes little exception if the breeder still passes off the offspring as his or her own. I think when someone is buying these brokered animals, especially if they are forking out many thousands of dollars per snake, that they should be told the actual origin and history of the snakes. Maybe it's just me, I don't know. But there are a lot of snakes that I would not have purchased had I known they were from "somewhere else". Had I known I might as well just be spending 10k less "somewhere else". You know? I try to purchase from select suppliers so as to protect my entire stock from possible contamination or disease. If you see one breeder's facilities in say,... Oakland and you approve and buy their snakes based on the favorable practices that you witness firsthand, but find out later that the snakes came from "somewhere else" then it's nerve rattling. It's very unsettling. It's even horrific to me. I know of MANY breeders that seem like great herp keepers on the surface but have hideous husbandry practices that no one ever sees. Imported snakes lacking quarantine in the same rooms as their high end breeders, sometimes paired up with them! Mites crawling all over everything,. transmitting who knows what. I don't like to leave things to chance. Given a choice I will buy from someone that I KNOW produced the animals I am buying. Under the conditions that I know and trust. (now)

>>I know I'm not a regular contributor to this forum, but I thought I'd add my $0.02.
>>
>>While I agree that when you are buying an animal from "name" breeder you are in part purchasing the "name" much as you would if you were purchasing a Harley Davidson, Nike, etc. And to receive an animal produced by someone else while under the assumption it was produced by said breeder is dishonest.
>>
>>However I am opposed to the popular notion that animals broduced buy others are inferior. While it is true that there are plenty of backyard breeders who think they can make a fast buck and produce diseased, mite infested and/or genetically inferior animals. There are also as many dedicated herpetoculturists who produce top quality animals as well. As a herpetoculturist my self I have a regular occupation and a small house, meaning that I do not have the time or facilities (nor desire) to make a career out of reptile breeding. On the other hand I do have the time and ability to produce animals comparable in quality to any produced by a "name" breeder.
>>
>>Any intelligent "name" breeder should know that his reputation is only as good as the animals he sells. And it would be foolish to buy unhealthy animals and risk, not only his reputation, but his own animals aswell. A "name" breeder should have the connections and resources to acquire animals from reputable herpetoculturists (some likely with animals descended from his own stock), and not some kid in New Jersey. So it may not be as misleading as it appears on the surface.
>>
>>GD
>>-----
>>I don't believe in luck. Luck is God covering your a** when you screw up.
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"I must have some terrible, deadly disease. It seems that everyone that has screwed me in the past always dies mysteriously a few years later." *Lou Cypher*