Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
My name is stephen i am going to be graduating from highschool. I am going to be a senior and after i graduate its been a life long dream of mine to become a herpetologist out in the field and breed specias of boida and other reptiles i am having trouble finding a colledge in florida or any were for that matter any help would be greatly appreciated. I would like a phone number or ainternet site. I am looking to attend a colledge to become a heretologist and thank you guys very much and good luck with you reticulated pythons and other such animals

stephen

Herpetology isn't a wide spread field, Get your masters in Biology and then get a minors in Herpetology. Thats what im doing, Plus if you have a masters in Herp it limits you, but with a masters in Bio there are so many more possibilities. Also it depends what part of herpetology you want, if your trying to be a field herp, or a vet for herps, or a Zoo curator(Spelling is wrong), Florida State has a good Bio program from what I have read. Good luck.

Pat

I want to be a field herp. I know herpeyologist Dr. brady Barr went some were in colledge and his line of work is amazing. I want to milk venoumouse reptiles catch pythons and boas tangle woth crocodilians its been a dream of mine since i was a little kid

If you intend on doing all of that, Id suggest that you Milk venomous as a hobby or a career. That field is only going to grow, as far as boas and pythons, you will have to know each species and be able to tell them apart on sight, my suggestion pick ONE SNAKE out of the group you pick, THey have a lot of people working on the anaconda (Jesús Rivas) alone and they find out new information everyday. Aso if you want to be in the field your going to want to live in Africa, or Australia/Indonesia/etc. those areas are the most populated for Pythons as im assuming you know. Theres just too much to learn to try and do them all as a field herp, Unless you just want to know general which isn't too much a use for anyone anymore (Almost anyone into a snake can write a care sheet for you, IF its well written with many details or poorly written with generals its still a care sheet).

Also always remember that not too many people are full time herpers, they have other jobs that fuel the herping they do. Many big herpers are the pioneers of this industry, Bob Clark, Ralph Davis, Kevin M, THey are able to do this because of the mass volume they produce and the new genes they come across.

Get your masters in Bio theres a lot more possibilites. Gene Therapy, understanding genes, Understanding the venom, what the venom is made out of, etc. A lot more possibilites then just being a strict herpetologist. Also, There's no money in being a herpetologist, Im not saying don't do it im just saying no one except other herpers care if the snakes colors are to hypnotize other animals or for camoflauge. If you truely care about the animals then its a very good choice, just don't expect anything except being able to be around the animals. You go to school and you get your masters in Herp, and it costs you $30,000 just for school, then you get the job some where and you get paid $25,000 a year, its just not effective to do that.

Being a herper isn't just a realisitc future, but milking the snakes for there venom is. As we come into contact with these snake more and more we have more bites.

SOrry if this has crushed your dream but hopefully it has shown you a new different way to go about doing what you want to do.
Here are some links to site that may show you things i haven't.

http://www.ukans.edu/~ssar/career.html

http://www.asih.org/pubs/herpjobs.htm

http://www.ku.edu/~ssar/careerfaq.html

Also these people would be a great help Id like to think anyway

Henri C. Seibert (Chairman)
Department of Zoological and
Biomedical Sciences
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio 45701, USA

Ralph W. Axtell (SSAR Pres., 1983)
Department of Biological Sciences
Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville, Illinois 62026, USA

Neil B. Ford
Department of Biology
University of Texas
Tyler, Texas 75701, USA

Martin J. Rosenberg
Department of Biology
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA

Good luck with the choice you make, this is your future make your decision carefully.

Pat

Thanks for getting those colledges for me. I am going to look into venom collecting. I think that would be a good choice for me. But i am also going to still look into field herp. I am mainly interested in the family boida(boas pythons) wich i'm sure you know already. But thanks again. Who know maybe i'l look into crocs. I am going to go to florida though. Maybe i can get study herpetology at the university there i dunno. yeah I think maybe oneday I'l move to austrlia haha maybe i'l get a job working with steve irwin. Alright time to wrap this up thanks

stephen

Not a problem but one thing when you email them spell check it over and over, and be real professional etc, Im in the same type of situation you are its just ive done my research, Best of luck to you.

Pat

Yes indeede i will. Thank you very much. I am going to write each one of them a letter since my email address isnt realy professional. Thank you for your help i greatly appreciate it. But after colledge i think i am going to move over seas to australia to greater improve my chances on becoming a herpetologist. Hopefully one day i can tangle with one of my fav venomouse reptiles the inland taipain.
stephen

no no no no!! I'm going to work with Irwin!! Just kidding, but if I had half a chance I would. While I'm on this topic, what happened to that thing on animal planet sort of ike king of the jungle but it was steve giving a contest for a trip aorund austrailia and a job at the zoo?
-----
Justin

Im not sure, all i know is that i don't believe any of them truely deserved that chance to be on king of the jungle, and it was mostly about exotics anyway. I thinkany person on this forum knows more about most animals then they do, but in all fairness im not sure about the australia thing, wth Irwin. Id love for them to do another season of that, It really made me laugh especially that bit about the ball python lol.

Speaking of Australia, doesn't Irwin have the albino carpet?

Hey,

I am finishing my BS in biology, so i would recomend to do a BS (Bachelor of Science) it will give you more options than a BA (bachelor of arts) I would recomend undergraduate research in your area of interest. I have been researching the Ultrastructure of Spermatogenesis in reptiles, primarily with Tachymes scripta and Podarcis muralis. Its all Electron Microscopy work. I would much rather work with the animals themselves, but haveing EM skills makes one very employable and could make one an asset to zoo's or research teams. For example i have to do field work to collect animals for tissue samples. But having undergraduate research looks great to graduate schools and coudl help you get the job or the graduate program acceptance you want! Best of luck and some to myself...im just starting the job hunting/graduate school application process.

-Matt