Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It seems like it is very hard to get responses from this forum. I have jumped in when it is just a matter of regurgitating something I have read, but I am not experienced enough to even begin to answer some of these questions. I know alot of you guys who have been herpers for many years get annoyed at the rookies who ask questions that can be found in other places. Sometimes the answer is very tricky to find, and just because the experts know it or where to find it doesn't mean the rookies do. I have been into herps over a year now, and of course I am always running into a concern or worry that I cannot find the answer to anywhere. I am just asking everyone to please put in their 2 cents for some of these cases below. I posted one about a skin shed problem that I could not find any answers to, another guy is trying to save his rhac's life. When I posted my question, their were several other questions/comments and pics posted and replied to, but my question was never answered. Alot of us depend on the first hand experience you experts have, and after all, we are just trying to be the best parents we can. Thank you for reading this and we all hope to hear from you soon.
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-Bill

1.0.0 Albino California Kingsnake
0.1.0 Colombian Red Tail Boa
0.0.1 Axolotl Salamander
0.0.1 Red Flame Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu

BoidsNTegus@insightbb.com

First off, answers to 95% of the questions asked here can be found by doing a search on Google. Even a non-herper should be able to figure this out.

As for the "My Cresty is SICK. Please Help!!!!!!!!!!!" posts, most of those are false alarms...like the boy that cried wolf, after a while, I don't even bother reading them. I realize that that may not be fair, but I for one, simply don't have time to reply to those kinds of posts over and over again.

Many times, the problem is nothing but a stuck shed, which they would know about had they done any research BEFORE buying the animal, not to mention something they would easily find by doing a search on Google as mentioned above. Other times, it's usually that their gecko supposedly won't eat, but upon further reading, we find out that the gecko has perfect body weight and the only problem is that the owner hasn't actually seen it eat.

Other times, it's a question of how to set up a Crested Gecko after they've already bought the animal(s). To me, these people are ignorant for not knowing what they're getting into BEFORE they buy an animal. For those people, I don't feel sorry for them one bit and they deserve to sweat a little bit. If it were a matter of life or death for the gecko, of course I would help, but fortunately for the animal(s), they will thrive in just about any environment, providing they aren't overheated. So for those posts, I read to make sure that they're not being kept too hot, and then I ignore the post.

If it's a customer that has bought a gecko from me, chances are that I've already made absolutely certain that they have the knowlegdge and means to provide a healthy/happy life for their geckos, and if they have a question, they know to email me, rather than post on a message board.

That's my three cents.
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

Hey I agree. You are right about people who would much rather post their questions in hopes of avoiding the effort of researching. However, take myself for instance. I have read everything I can find on the net and even bought some books for each animal I own, and I always did the research before getting any of them. I did all the research, but I tend to worry like I know others do. Sometimes i find I have questions that have not been answered yet, maybe never even thought to be answered. I understand people have other things in their lives besides herps and that they don't have time to respond to every little question, but some of these questions may appear at first to be the normal repetitive questions asked by the guy who just bought his pet, but a lot of times the question goes deeper and we all are just looking for guidance. This isn't meant to ruffle any feathers, rather I just wanted to kinda get some attention to some of the posts that seem to never be answered. There are tons of excellent posts on these forums, and for that we are all thankful, but there will always be questions whether from the guy who bought that cute little burmese python in the pet store to the guy who paid $10,000 for his 72nd ball python. Again, this is not to sound pushy or ungrateful for the great advice on past issues. I do appreciate your three cents as you yourself have posted alot of great advice on these forums.
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-Bill

1.0.0 Albino California Kingsnake
0.1.0 Colombian Red Tail Boa
0.0.1 Axolotl Salamander
0.0.1 Red Flame Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu

BoidsNTegus@insightbb.com

That sounds like one of my friends...and he did just pay $10,000 for his 70-something-th Ball Python. lol

Anyway, I know what you mean, but unfortunately, it's too time consuming for most people to read through all that crap on the forums.

That's why my website is there. It's got some husbandry tips and very useful links for both my customers and the general public. Also, I always encourage my customers to call me or email me with any questions they might have. In addition to getting a better looking, selectively bred Crested Gecko complete with pics of the parents (as opposed to a mass produced generic Cresty), that's just another one of the perks that comes along with buying directly from me.

-Anthony
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

That's cool man. As it happens, I want to buy a couple more cresteds myself. Maybe I'll get them from you. Your collection speaks for itself. When is the best time to ship cresteds? I may be hitting you up in the next month or two.
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-Bill

1.0.0 Albino California Kingsnake
0.1.0 Colombian Red Tail Boa
0.0.1 Axolotl Salamander
0.0.1 Red Flame Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu

BoidsNTegus@insightbb.com

Bill,

Thanks for the kind words. Last summer/fall, I went to several shows all over the country and bought the best Cresties I could get my hands on. Raising them to adulthood seemed to have taken forever, but it's finally starting to pay off.

The first ones of the season started hatching a few weeks ago. I've been selling out of them as fast as they hatch, so most of the time, they're spoken for before they're actually ready to be sent to a new home.

I've only got about a dozen eggs cooking, but I have some more females that should be laying eggs any day now. I should have some babies available and ready to go to their new homes by the end of April.

I also have more females that are just about ready to be paired up with males, so I hope to be in full production mode by mid summer.

Here's a pic of a harlequin I recently hatched...hopefully a sign of good things to come.

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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

You have an awesome collection, and that hatchling is absolutely amazing. I'm hoping to find some good cresties at some shows this year as well. How many breeders do you have in production right now? From the ones I see on your website, it looks like you really focus on quality over quantity, and what great quality it is. Keep up the good work, I can't wait to see how some of your hatchlings come out to look like this year.
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Sal
Geckos "R" Us

www.geckosrus.com

Sal,

Thanks for the kind words. I do focus on high end animals and selective breeding, rather than producing a bunch of average animals. I really have no intention of producing a lot of Crested Geckos. My number one goal is to produce some of the very best looking Crested Geckos available anywhere.

Currently, I have about two dozen Cresteds total. Of those, there are 7 females that are actively producing, and another 6 or 7 that will be producing in the next few months. Some of those females are ready to go now, but I'm just waiting for their future boyfriends to get big enough. That's how picky I am about what I pair up.

I do have 2-3 females that really aren't the quality that I'm striving for, but they share similar traits with some very spectacular males that I have, so they make good pairings and will produce babies that show the traits I'm looking to improve on. It's really a challenge to raise up babies and then try to pair them up for certain traits. It's like there's always one animal you would love to produce 100 just like it, but you can never find a mate. lol

Take care,
Anthony

>>You have an awesome collection, and that hatchling is absolutely amazing. I'm hoping to find some good cresties at some shows this year as well. How many breeders do you have in production right now? From the ones I see on your website, it looks like you really focus on quality over quantity, and what great quality it is. Keep up the good work, I can't wait to see how some of your hatchlings come out to look like this year.
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>>Sal
>>Geckos "R" Us
>>
>>www.geckosrus.com
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com