Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I hope the coordinator will allow this message to stand. This will be the last time that I post on this forum. I am not looking for sympathy, but I have a statement to make. I am not going to open my life up as a book to people that I have never even seen, but I would like for you guys to understand some things.I have easily, become one of the most dis-liked herpers on this forum and at times, I understand that; " I may very well set myself up for it. " Alot of times, I go against the grain of what has been said by old time breeders and books that alot of you have read and when you go against the grain, you set yourself up for ridicule. I know that I can sound demanding at times and I can even come across less than tactful. That is not because I am a mean person, in fact just the opposite. I do these things for one reason; " I truly do care about this Hobby and alot of the people in it. " Here are the facts guys and I have said it before and I will say it one last time; " When I started in this Hobby as a young man, I made every mistake in the book, in this Hobby and also in life in general. " I told little white lies and cheated and got drunk and beat people up and went to jail and killed alot of snakes." By the Grace of GOD, I stopped that kind of living and started to become educated in this Hobby and in life itself. I finally learned, " what worked in this Hobby and life and most of all what did not work. " My only intent, ( as brash as my intent can sound at times ) is to help people not make the same mistakes that I have. I have to learn to put " principles before personalities and I feel that alot of you concentrate on my personality, more than the principal of what I may be saying at the time. " I am realizing now, more than ever, " It is not my job to save the world and sometimes I cannot even save myself. " You guys and gals will learn the way you were meant to learn " with or without anyones help. " So, if I have offended anybody on here over the last few years; " I sincerely apologise and it was not my intent, whatsoever. " I will be at the Daytona Show this year to hang out with some friends that have also stopped drinking and acting like fools and have had to learn some of lifes lessons the hard way. I may get to meet some of you and you may find out really quick; " That I am a pretty cool dude and do not carry a pitch fork. " Good Luck and GOD BLESS you guys.........Johnson Herp

Hey it's only a forum. You'll be fine with or without it.

Everyone makes mistakes. As long as you step up and be a man about your mistakes and actions everyone should forgive and forget. This business is ruthless and people are brutal, but in the end we all have one thing in common. The love of Reptiles. That is something that can always be shared and never be forgotten. Good luck with you on your journey and i hope you find yourself and a happy place. See you in Daytona.

Sincerley,
Rose Hipskind
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www.srsnakes.com

I am not on this forum very often however I have read some of your posts. I have found them to be VERY informative, helpful, and FULL of advice that obviously has come from extensive experience. I feel sad knowing that you have decided to discontinue one of the more enjoyable parts of this hobby and that is sharing your knowledge and love for boas on an open forum with people from all over the world. I am especially agreeable to your emphasis on bad husbandry practices as causing many of the problems owners tend to have with their boas. It seems that there are many people who are careless with their animals and how they keep them, throwing them into racks that are too small, letting their cages get filthy before cleaning them, and spreading mites and other problems among their herps. It is because of you that I made it a practice to change my water dishes every other day!
LOL . . .I certainly hope you will reconsider your decision and help those of us who really do appreciate your advice and experience.
Sincerely,
Nicole
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0.1 Hogg Island Boa
0.3 Leopard Geckos (my very first reptiles-I've had them a LOOOOOOOOONG time!)
2.0 Wonderful Dogs

Its a shame to see you go. I have always been very intrested in the things that you have written and could see where you were you were coming from on most of them. We all will always have different opinions on certain things, but I think its a big loss for this forum to see you go. I look forward to hopefully meeting you in Daytona. Vinnie Caruso

I don't know what caused this. I post rarely, in fact I have to look up my password every time. But I do know your post and I as far as I can remember agree with them. I too have been keeping and breeding for a long time(started in 67). I don't post because it seems like more of a hassle than it's worth. So I know where you're coming from. Just wanted to let you know there are those that appreciate what you have to say.
Kevin

Turn that magic magnifying mind off. Concentrate on what you can bring.......and remember that your serenity is directly porportional to your level of expectation. All we can do and are responsible for is sharing our experience.........the rest is not up to us. Principles above personalities....you're forgetting the first word of this slogan...I SUGGEST you read it again (since you appear to know where it originates).

Linda Misch

P.S. Don't skip reading my sig.....

Have a good evening.

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"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance- that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer

I have been posting here since 2000 and I have read and replyed to some of your post and I dont recall ever having a problem with what you post. I have been in allot of heated debates and missunderdstadings (?) but I still think it is important for debate and to dissagree because sometimes we all are a little thickheaded. Keep posting! Keep debating! And always dissagree if you feel you must! Later

-Dylan Keays
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True Redtails

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I slowed down on feeding my boas and I am raising them slower because of your posts. Hope you change your mind.
God Bless
Chuck

Hey, the fact that your Human and you love boas...your allright w/ me! Passion, concern for living creatures (whether captive or wild), and the fact that your willing to help others via your advise through your own lessons...so that they may avoid those same mistakes ARE great qualtities!! Don't second quess your self or be hard on your self!! Don't quick because "someone" does not agree with what you say or write. People need to have dialogue,debate and sometimes dissagree to learn, to re-open their closed minds, and to move forward!!

I have been dealing with snakes for about 10 years now and just recently I have been interested in breeding them I am more of a lurker then a poster. And what I find Is that I get alot of very good info out of your posts. I don't understand most of the terms everyone uses in thier messages but it seems like most post on this forum are pics which I like looking at it helps me see who has what for boas and what thier different morphs look like which will come in handy when I start buying in morphs in te next few months. But any way what I am saying is that I am getting most of my care info off of you and you have been a big help to me dispite what others might think of you!

You are not going anywhere, just look at the proof. you are liked alot on this forum and have helped people out with thier questions, you helped me recently as well.

your staying and thats all there is to it.

best wishes

steve

and accept the fact that when dealing with the various people that post here there are going to be differing opinions and attitudes on just about everything. I for one don't have a problem with anything you've posted so I'm not quite sure why you're down on yourself. Just because there are others with different viewpoints doesn't mean they are right and you're wrong or vice versa. I think you're being to hard on yourself. If you have something you wish to contribute here by all means do it. After all, this is a public forum idsn't it?

LOTs of appreciation and moral support towards you dude!! I'm not surprised, as in general herp people are very opinionated, but loyal to people with the same interests, attitudes, and as I said before, the care and passion for these amazing living creatures!! Sometimes we take life for granted, and many people are motivated by the dollar sign($), but the fact that you have taken time to help others....well, the proof is in all these posts above! Be yourself, stay yourself, and heep herping!!!

I totally understand where you are coming from, but it is not all doom and gloom.

One suggestion however, lay off the GOD bit, there are atheists and agnostics in the world who are intellectually offended by that stuff. And it's a reptile forum, not a theology forum. Please stay, and good luck in all your endeavors.
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Jeremy J. Anderson
snakepimp.com
gemstatereptiles.com
Of course it's my opinion, I said it, didn't I?
Breeding season is always just around the corner....JOY!!!