Reptile & Amphibian Forums

by friends and family, for having to many chameleons? or for being to "obsessed" with your chameleons? like... wacko? or your insane? freak! when's the maddness going to stop? you need help. you need another hobby. you need to get laid. have you lost your marbles...you paid how much for a lizard?

These are things I hear on a weekly basis... just wondering if anyone else has herd some of these things..
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.1 Veileds
1.0 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

Oooh yes! I hear those too. "You have a pet what? Why would you want a pet lizard? Eeewww lizards are gross!" But I do also get people that think it's really cool. After my room mate saw Bender nail a cricket he was all "Oh wow!! I want to be a chameleon! That's so cool!!" My family thinks I'm insane though. All the work and time I put into his care, they think is nuts. What can I say... I've got chameleon fever!

Hard to tell your tone on this one, whether you're actually hurt by stupid remarks some people might say about things that are beyond their comprehension or whether you're just having fun with your own 'obsession'.
I'm careful about who I show what to, for many reasons beyond what others might think of me. Very few members of my family even know about my herps, as do my neighbors.
Next time someone calls you names, consider the source. And consider you want to take remarks from this source to heart.
Hope I haven't come off as preachy.
Your fellow obsessed insane herper wacko-freak who needs another hobby and lost his marbles for paying WAY too much for a lizard.

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Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

...I think people think that is even freakier!
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Just wondering if I'm the only person who has "normal" friends and family that just find it wierd. Of course I love all kinds of exotics.. I have a saltwater reef tank that I spent a few grand on. 2 macaws (we wont even discuss their costs).. and my chams...which suprisingly cost less than either of the other. But everyone seems to like the other pets... they just dont understand why chameleons.

Hehe my mom calls and reminds me I'm a girl and I need to act like a girl and not touch yucky bugs that I feed my chams.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.1 Veileds
1.0 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

Moms - just being moms!

As much as I never want to live in FL again or any other place that is HOT, I am sometimes envious. There was very little about FL that I liked, but I did like the wildlife. Used to canoe the Myakka and see 'gators, herons and all the other cool creatures. Not that we don't have neat ones up here! We have the great blues all summer and hey - our frogs freeze in the winter and "come back to life" in the spring!
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

I also like going to Myakka it is a great place and I go to photograph the wildlife there. I also seem to love the heat and humidity (believe it or not). I must be a tropical creature because I really feel at home here. I also got to visit Costa Rica a few years ago and fell in love with that climate and the wildlife is unbelievable.
I don't do very well in the cold.
I get sluggish and start looking for my basking light. LOL

at that point you don't get called names, people just give you strange looks and slowly back away from you lol. Our neighbors dont seem to mind much, some have even helped us on building our cage racks or brought their kids over to check out the animals. Its mostly family members that think we are insane. My mom will occasionally ask how the critters are out of an attempt to be kind and understanding but she still rolls her eyes or just says she doesnt want to hear about it when I try to tell her I got a new animal. I don't think the reptiles are what bugs people so much anymore, its the bins of roaches, crickets, and silkworms that go along with having so many animals. Oh well, I like my hobby and Im sticking with it, no matter how many people roll their eyes

Hi: I'm one to admire what a nice place you have with all those pets to love! I would love to see everyone's livingroom! My eyes don't roll at the sight of someone who is able to devote their time to caring and nurturing(especially animals that don't 'put out' in the way a dog does-nothing against dogs, I've got 2 lovely Whippets).

Some of my employees work at my home office and politely say "interesting" when they first see my animals. The boss is ecentric. My siblings say nothing cause they are still unable to admit I am related to them. They are all serious business people. My mother shakes her head, rolls her eyes while pursing her lips and makes excuses to her friends about me. My best friend says "wha..what is that thing??? Gosh, your so wierd!" I come from a culture where girls NEVER come into contact with anything herpy.

But this revoltion of me did not just start with Chams, frogs, and other animals. I think it takes a certain heart, a certain individual to come to appreciate the uncommon creatures we hold so dearly. It is this difference, this separation from us which people sense that drives them to their quick assessment of us. The separation reminds them of their own internal sense of not belonging. The name calling/quick categorization of us is a help to them to deal with their own fears. If they make you out to be wacko, freak, or insane then they are normal, good, and sane. It is at its most basic parts an aspect of envy. To see your individuality stirs the smallness they feel inside.

We joke around with each other on the forum as it alievates the sting that we at minimum feel about these encounters. But the deeper feeling of being misunderstood, misjugded or even rejected very much exsists at least for the most sensitive of us. For those of us more inclined to this, I am so glad to have net buddies to share not only info, help with care but also an occasional "hey, you're pretty cool!" pat on the back. By the way, my son thinks I'm the coolest mom in the whole school and so do all his friends.

Oh, and what is on the floor of the big cages? I'm trying to figure out what to put on the floor of my cage cause there is always so much water. thanks-Maggie

lol..yup, mostly get called "freak boy"

My family and friends all think I'm a nut burger! You paid what for a lizard! You took your what to the vet and the bill was HOW MUCH! If I am not careful they will get together and lock me up and toss the key! Most of them have a very hard time understanding it and I have found many people to be ignorant and critical of my hobby.
Some have even had very harsh criticism because I have a couple of them with me at my art gallery. Several have told me this is no place for those animals, what is this a pet store!
Some of these people think nothing of paying $200 to get a full beauty treatment and have their hair dyed a fake butt red (even though they are old as dirt and everyone knows it's not their natural color) and I don't tell them not too, others drive a Jag that is in the shop being fixed every other week, I don't criticize them for that. Some bring their bratty kids and say nothing to them as they tear through my store and I don't complain. Others have a poofy white poodle with red toenails, in their big purple purse and I don't call them names for that. I work too many hours per week and make too little to be told I can't have them in my store.
Then there are others who think my lizards are great!
My mother has been surprisingly supportive, one day she told me, "you know I have always been facinated with lizards"
"I find them to be so attractive and interesting"
By the way I don't think you have too many chams but I have 50 reptiles and frogs, two cats and a parrot.

np

Most of the people I know think Orion is neat. Well, some think lizards are gross, but that's about it. The only problem my boyfriend has is that he is TERRIFIED to bits of insects. No joke. TERRIFIED! Most of my friends have lizards, or snakes, or want one. I figure I get more out of this hobby then I would out of cars, or bingo, etc. It is something that gives back. I think the thing I hear most is "why aren't you a vet yet?" Or "you should be a vet" Thats probably the only thing that bugs me.. but that's another story. I was raised to love animals, so I guess it is just wierd for me to see that a lot of other people aren't drawn to them.
I think part of it is that I am very picky about who I let into my life. I'm not friends with the type of people that carry primped little dogetts in their armani purses. That, and I'm only 19. I suppose once I get into the "real world" I'll encounter more people like you guys are talking about. I hope not though... One of my goals is to surround myself with people I like.. I guess we'll see.
Well.. that, and i'm going to have a big fat rottie, so anyone with a little cutsy dog will be scared to come near my house, lol lol lol.