Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i asked anyone for advice, and thanks too the two who responded. As a herper who has kept many reptiles(i love the giants)i look up to those who know more and would take time to offer advice. i see many people on here harping at beginner hots keepers, so i asked about a the rights and wrongs of my husbandry techniques on my first ever hot(copperhead)(see post below if you feel like offering me sound advice)instead i get a very unwelcome feeling, i got two replies(i posted one here and one in venomus and got 1 hit on each one). I thought and hoped i would have a better response, every one in here tells beging hots keepers the wrong things they are doing but noone has offered anyone the help of telling them the right way,only in the form of some constuctive critisime. I was hoping to find good solid advice instead i have found no advice at all.Which brings me to my last statement, as herpers we should look out for the herps and then there keepers. if everyone loves theses animals we keep then you should care enough about them to lend your advice and knowledge thanks to all that reads and i hope this is read and understood. I didnt wright this as a form of complaining but as a form of concern about our hobbie.

Optimal words I agree to 100%
regards Ema

If I would have known I would have answered you nicely but I don't have any experience with copperheads .
Even though I have hots currently I'd probably do just about the same thing you did if I wanted a copperhead. It's not like there's a copperhead manual yet.

The reason you most likely didn't get as many responses as would would have liked, is probably because

A). You asked the question AFTER purchasing the snake, proving you obviously didn't do much research. Most of the people that would respond probably wouldn't have responded with any good advice, except do the research before you buy. So by not responding, there was probably some forum space that was saved, instead of flaming you for being irresponsible.

B). You asked a question that could have been answered with a simple Google search.

C). You asked a question that could have been answered by doing
an archive search.

D). You asked a question in a forum that doesn't have that much traffic, I didn't see your post on the venomous forum. I would think that this question gets skipped over alot also, simply because it's been asked quite a few times.

E). Your grammar and punctuation isn't quite up to par for someone who has just taken on the responsibility of keeping potentially dangerous animals. You might not think that matters, but it does to some.

Now you have an attitude because you didn't get as many responses as you would have liked. Bottom line, if you had done the research (which you didn't, simply for the fact that copperhead info is everywhere), then you wouldn't be as p!ssed as you are. This is the kind of crap that gives the HSUS and the Government the ammo to take away our rights as RESPONSIBLE hot keepers. I just hope you live in a state that has no venomous snake laws, cuz I'm pretty sure if you live in state where you need a permit ,you didn't take the time to get one.

Your spelling and grammar isn't up to par? Man, that’s really shallow. (My spelling and grammar won't be up to par either, just to let you know. I have dyslexia. ) Anyway, one thing that bugs me. Yeah the guy made a rash buy, sure, but he's still got the snake, and if he gets bite, won't that make it a PR nightmare for your hobby? (As you pointed out?)

Would it not be in your best interest to try and work with the guy and teach him, instead of pissing him off, so he doesn’t ask for help, and is sure to get bite? I would think a guy so worried about losing his so called "rights" to own hot herpes would be first in line to help. I mean, come on, you pointed out how rash and stupid it was to buy the snake without doing the proper research. (It is rash I agree) How it's obvious he's of lesser intelligence because he can't spell or forgets to use a comma...(...) And how's he's going to get your rights taken away when he gets bite... and yet what do you do? Nothing.

Hey, all I can say is, at least the guy asked for help, even if it’s after the fact. At least that shows me he cares about doing things right. Yeah, maybe the question gets asked a lot, but would it not be in YOUR best interest to answer it, no matter how often it’s asked, to insure people who will probably get the snake ANYWAY at least have some good information to go by? But instead, you leave them to their own machinations and when they get bite, and laws get past you whine and moan and cry. Remember, next time you see a report of someone losing a finger, arm, or their life to a snake bite, that guy COULD have possible asked for help from this forum, and YOU could have prevented it, but didn’t because it was a to common question, the guy sound to rash or impulsive, and best of all, he had bad grammar and wasn’t worth your time.

Ok I’m off my soapbox now. Later.

ks.com removed more than half of the "discussion", sorry you missed it. A quick recap, if you can't spell venomous, you shouldn't own one.....just my 2 cents. You don't have to like my opinion, many don't. I'm not going to explain myself again, I don't need to.

That's to bad, I would have like to have seen it. Ah well. :-/ I love a good "disscusion" evey now and then. Funny thing is, I've read many a story about people who most cerently know who to spell "venomous", and that all end with them guys getting bite... it's that strange?

EX

Look, perhaps I was a bit preachy and sarcastic earlier, I don't mean to be. So allow me to apologize. I get a little touchy when it comes to my spelling and grammar, because it isn't very good, and it's not for lack of trying. (Believe me...) So I went off a little, I’m sorry. You’re entitled to your option, and so am I. It's not my intention to come here and make enemies. I’m sure you’re a nice guy, I just caught you going off on a topic that annoys you, and I basically did the same thing… Again, sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.

EX

we all act preachy and sarcastic at times, me especially. My point wasn't aimed towards spelling, although it did seem it, it was aimed at responsibility. A responsible keeper would take the time to do as much research as possible. Getting on the internet and asking, "how do I keep this or that", AFTER purchasing the snake, is not a respected practice in the herp community. And while you ask it, if you don't prove that your reasonably intelligent, you're not going to get many helpful responses. You may not think, but many DO judge a person on how articulate they are, many do not. Even some States base their approval decision for permits on spelling, grammar, and, intelligence. NY is starting to be one of them. I wouldn't have said anything at all, until he got an attitude because he didn't get enough responses. If he did a simple search, google or archive, he would have found what he was looking for.
Keeping venomous snakes is a serious commitment. And, let's face it, reptile keepers are the bottom of the barrel in most people's eyes. So why not show them that we are a responsible and educated community of people, that have just as much responsiblity and intelligence as the yuppies that you see at dog shows? It's about time we get away from the dope dealing, tattood, Harley riding image, that is often what people think about our hobby.

except it should be "...you're" not "Your"....HAHAHHAHAHAHAHH sorry I had to jab at ya!! HAHAHAH*#&$&#$*#&$

Actually I think "your" was correct....lol. I do deserve a good busting though, at times. I'm going massasauga poaching this week-end....wanna go? He He. I checked out the website you gave on the field forum, it seems like the guy is p!ssed off at every branch of government and does sh!t just to p!ss em off. I'd like to know where the 200 hundred timbers came from that he's selling.