Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi I am curious how many teenagers there are who keep a reptile collection of their own? I was talking with some breeders recently, and they always seem bring up how they know few teenagers if any who keep/breed Boas, Pythons etc.
Another thing I have noticed being a teenager is when ever people talk to me about my Boas they think it is all very fascinating and such until they ask me how much they cost... Then they think I'm crazy (my grandmother thinks I want off the deep end). This happens to me all of the time especially among my peers.
I'm not surprised by the responces that I get from people, I understand where they are coming from, but is their anyone out there that feels my pain!?!? lol!

Though I did get my first boa when I was 11 (if I'm remembering correctly). Yes people thought I was crazy then. Come to think of it, they still do.

You just answered your own question. Once people understand the true cost of this hobby, their interest declines rapidly.

Well you and many now know I am 16, something I have refrained from mentioning. Once people get to know you and understand you are not just some child with a fetish, but actually intelligent and mature I think perception changes. There have been breeders I have bought from, or talked to online with very high reputations and working with exclusive projects, when they found out my age they were ammaized. I have even noticed this with buyers at shows, when they ask me questions, and with the other breeders there.

Last year I bred Rough Scaled Sand boas, my first attempt with a boid, and 100% success. By compileing information from multiple sources I came up with what I thought would work and it did. I had 6, 8inch babies born May 1st last year. All af which fed one week after birth, and were eating small fuzzies in one month one a one a week scheadule. I took them to the show when they were a month old, another sand boa breeder said that they were no way that young, evidently with years of experience hers took a month to start feeding. After I explained how I did it, she said how she heard the procedure but didn't think it would do anything. (I kept them all individually, didn't offer water [they seem to get hungry then] and one just a sheet of paper towel [if they are underneath lift it up, this way they are undisturbed and offer food], once they fed I began offering water, being arid animals in nature they do not need much more than is acquired from food).

On one case I was talking to a breeder (name confidential), who was working with a special project. I was asking questions about the genetics, and in the end, applauding my knowledge offered me a pair of their offspring to this project with nothing but my parents permission.

It has been a nice ride so far, and this hobby keeps getting better. The costs are high, but well worth it, working non stop to sustain the collection and keep it growing.

1.1 Bolivian Amarali (Barnett.Miller animals) '04 X '03
1.1 66% het Blood (Burke) '04
0.1 Kahl strain albino '04
0.1 Hypomelanistic '04
1.0 Anerythristic '01
1.1 Costa Rican imperator (founder) '04
0.3 66% het albino '04
1.0 Argentine X Colombian 50% het albino (Kahl) '03
0.1 Surinam X Hog Island '02
0.1 Eryx Conicus (my baby)

Chris,
What are you gonna do with your collection during college?
Niko

>>Well you and many now know I am 16, something I have refrained from mentioning. Once people get to know you and understand you are not just some child with a fetish, but actually intelligent and mature I think perception changes. There have been breeders I have bought from, or talked to online with very high reputations and working with exclusive projects, when they found out my age they were ammaized. I have even noticed this with buyers at shows, when they ask me questions, and with the other breeders there.
>>
>>Last year I bred Rough Scaled Sand boas, my first attempt with a boid, and 100% success. By compileing information from multiple sources I came up with what I thought would work and it did. I had 6, 8inch babies born May 1st last year. All af which fed one week after birth, and were eating small fuzzies in one month one a one a week scheadule. I took them to the show when they were a month old, another sand boa breeder said that they were no way that young, evidently with years of experience hers took a month to start feeding. After I explained how I did it, she said how she heard the procedure but didn't think it would do anything. (I kept them all individually, didn't offer water [they seem to get hungry then] and one just a sheet of paper towel [if they are underneath lift it up, this way they are undisturbed and offer food], once they fed I began offering water, being arid animals in nature they do not need much more than is acquired from food).
>>
>>On one case I was talking to a breeder (name confidential), who was working with a special project. I was asking questions about the genetics, and in the end, applauding my knowledge offered me a pair of their offspring to this project with nothing but my parents permission.
>>
>>It has been a nice ride so far, and this hobby keeps getting better. The costs are high, but well worth it, working non stop to sustain the collection and keep it growing.
>>
>>1.1 Bolivian Amarali (Barnett.Miller animals) '04 X '03
>>1.1 66% het Blood (Burke) '04
>>0.1 Kahl strain albino '04
>>0.1 Hypomelanistic '04
>>1.0 Anerythristic '01
>>1.1 Costa Rican imperator (founder) '04
>>0.3 66% het albino '04
>>1.0 Argentine X Colombian 50% het albino (Kahl) '03
>>0.1 Surinam X Hog Island '02
>>0.1 Eryx Conicus (my baby)
>>
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1.0 Peruvian red-tail boa (boa constrictor constrictor)
1.0 Argentinian black and white tegu (tupinambis merianae)
2.0 Bearded Dragons (pogona vitticeps)
0.1 White's tree frog (litoria caerulea)
1.1 "assorted" geckoes (???)
1.0 anery Honduran Milksnake (lampropeltis t. hondurensis)
0.1 hypo Honduran Milksnake (l. triangulum hondurensis)
1.0 2005 Mustang V-8 GT manual
1.0 1973 Camaro V-8: 2002 350 ci. chevy small block, new automatic transmission, 650 cfm edelbrock carb intake manifold, flowmaster exhaust, pioneer sound system

My dad is very interested in reptiles, has been since he was young, but was never allowed to own anything but fish. He said if necessary he will maintain my collection.

I am looking heavily at Purdue (visiting next week). My cousin starts in the fall (one year ahead of me). They allow freshmen to live off campus, and he is getting a house. I can stay with him and take my animals with me.

The other options are Cornell and my uncle live in NY, and Penn State which is just a few hours from where i live.

Trust me, I have deeply thought out everything before I began to acquire my collection. And everything will be taken care of.

Chris

Normally, I'm a Chevy guy, but those '05 Mustangs are HOT!

How do I post a pic? Anyways, I put the pic in the gallery.

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.php?photo=199929

>>Normally, I'm a Chevy guy, but those '05 Mustangs are HOT!

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1.0 Peruvian red-tail boa (boa constrictor constrictor)
1.0 Argentinian black and white tegu (tupinambis merianae)
2.0 Bearded Dragons (pogona vitticeps)
0.1 White's tree frog (litoria caerulea)
1.1 "assorted" geckoes (???)
1.0 anery Honduran Milksnake (lampropeltis t. hondurensis)
0.1 hypo Honduran Milksnake (l. triangulum hondurensis)
1.0 2005 Mustang V-8 GT manual
1.0 1973 Camaro V-8: 2002 350 ci. chevy small block, new automatic transmission, 650 cfm edelbrock carb intake manifold, flowmaster exhaust, pioneer sound system

What category did you place it under?

Not sure why, but I put it under 'Wildlife & Exotic Animals.'

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.php?photo=199929&user=80723

>>What category did you place it under?

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1.0 Peruvian red-tail boa (boa constrictor constrictor)
1.0 Argentinian black and white tegu (tupinambis merianae)
2.0 Bearded Dragons (pogona vitticeps)
0.1 White's tree frog (litoria caerulea)
1.1 "assorted" geckoes (???)
1.0 anery Honduran Milksnake (lampropeltis t. hondurensis)
0.1 hypo Honduran Milksnake (l. triangulum hondurensis)
1.0 2005 Mustang V-8 GT manual
1.0 1973 Camaro V-8: 2002 350 ci. chevy small block, new automatic transmission, 650 cfm edelbrock carb intake manifold, flowmaster exhaust, pioneer sound system

!

I'm not a teen (28 yrs old) but I sympathize with you. I get all sorts of reactions from people, especially regarding prices and it's now to the point that I don't even like telling people about my collection anymore unless the conversation is getting extremely dry. When I do bring it up, I always ease into it and start off by saying that I have 'only a few snakes' and then wait for their reaction. If they show interest, I'll tell them I have over 60 snakes but if they getting annoying by passively insulting me, then I simply change the topic quickly. No big deal.

As far as younger people showing interest in herps, I think it's great to start off early. I actually just hired a young 'apprentice' to help me care for my animals. My ex-neighbor's 12 yr old son started working with me this past weekend (with parent's permission of course) to help clean the snakes since I very recently had major abdominal surgery and cannot lift anything over 5 lbs. or even stand for anymore than 5 minutes.

I think that getting parental support is key to getting younger people involved with herps. Let's face it, not many parents understand our hobby. Heck, at 28, mine still don't.lol. I remember having over 40 snakes that I had to literally give away when I moved back home after college. I still regret it to this day. But I've built the collection up tremendously since then and I've recently finished a huge room for this seemingly expensive hobby.
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Sincerely, Jason
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www.members.aol.com/northeastsnakes

I think most teens are more worried about the popularity contests that they are in at school instead of learning to and actually taking care of something that takes alot of responsibility and cost alot of money. Keep up the good work

Im no longer in my teens but I started with sand boas (kenyans) when i was 13 or 14. by 17 I still only had 2 or 3 snakes. but I was running the reptile and saltwater section of the largest full line family owned pet store in town (stat actually). 30 plus salt tanks 100 or so reptiles at any given time (mostly cheap stuff anoles tree frogs etc.. plus a few big snakes and monitors off and on. by time I went to college I sold a bunch of stuff by kept 6 or 7 boas at my sisters apartment my freshmen year. by my junior year I was breeding sandboas and a few other things in side my couch in the dorms (about 30 boas live inside my couch in bulit in cages under the cushions) but what angered me the most was I walk into a big breeders show room that used to be open where I live to buy some bca's for sure and to pick a st lucains boa if they still had some in the back (if know i live then you might be able to guess where this was) I stood around for about 30 min or so with a wade of cash eatting a whole in me pocket while the lady that worked there help some 8 year old and his dad with a leo. then when she finished a ask to see the bca that they had and she got it out but refused to let me even touch the thing and when I ask if they still had a st lucians she demanded to know hoew i knew that they had them, who told me about thewm and then put the bca away a throw me out of the store. I was about 18 at the time. I was pissed I remeber standing out front with 2g in my hand think what a *****. so just because your stilll in your teens don't let anybody look down on you go ahead and make you mark so you can go back and say ha i made it. it feels dam good.

I like your story, and much is the same for me. I usually employ the new keeper attitude when buying from an unknown breeder. I ask them basic and above questions all of which I know the answers, but to see if they know what they are doing and how to take care of animals. I do not like giving business to people who don't care for their animals.

Sometimes the money out in the open will change their minds, lol.

I am 19 and a student at the Univ of South Carolina studying political science and spanish.

I have gone off the deep end. I just got into the hobby a year ago. I read and read before i bought my first snake (ball python).

I have found i love boas...and more boas.

I have 1.1 Colombian (gravid female, first breeding season)
0.1 Guyana BCC
0.1 Dumeril's

thats it as far as boas go.

When I was a teen in the 70's there was very little interest in breeding and most collections were like zoo displays. I had reticulated, burmese, ball and indian pythons and anacondas and boas. I wish all of the morphs and knowledge of breeding was available then. Instead of selling my animals when I went to college and being without snakes through my medical training I would have been breeding all of this time. If you really like everything that goes into keeping and breeding snakes this is a great time to start as a teen because you can enjoy it for decades to come. Good luck with your projects.
Bill Kirby

It really is true. I am in my first breeding season being 19, and i just want to produce healthy babies. None of my boas are 'breeders' they are all family members and their health and happiness is first and formost to me.

I just picked up my first, to which i see being my passion, locality boa. I got a Guyana BCC this past weekend.

With the internet and the wealth of information it is a great time to be a young herper. I can only imagine where it will go!

Best luck to all!
Hunter

I'm not a teen any longer either. But, still a young 23 years old. It's hard for people to understand though that a 23 year old FEMALE at that, would have so many snakes. I've had male company over who have freaked out when they saw my collection. One guy even jumped off the couch and ran for the door when one of my 'escape artists' ball python was found in the blinds peeking her head out. I thought it was the funniest thing in the world, but was happy as all heck to have found my snake. Needless to say he didn't think it was very funny. I typically do not go around and tell anyone about my "pets" unless they bring up the subject of snakes; which doesn't typically happen. I just think its funny when people pass judgment about herpers like us who have a "few" snakes around. They assume my snakes roam my place like housecats, or think their slimey, or even have the gall to ask if I pose or sleep with them (maybe its some quarky fantasy of theirs because I'm a female, Lmao). And, yes some ask how much do they cost...and they freak out that they cost alotta mullah $$$. Other people assume that any good snake is a dead snake or would like to make a good pair of boots out of them. I just tell them that I'll make a pair of boots out of their a$$ first . I currently have an apartment, and its funny... maintenance wont even come inside when I need them to fix something, so I end up doing it myself! Do any of you guys experience this?
As of now, I don't have alot of snakes. I would like more in the future though. I currently have 0.1 ball python (extremely high yellow - w/c unkown lineage) 1.1 Het Albino balls, and a 1.0 salmon boa. I recently downsized and sold a few boas (1.1) and a ball python (0.1). I guess I just have other financial obligations to tend to first before I invest more money into any more snakes...or maybe I'll just get a house, LoL =)

I'm 17, but I only have one Boa. I am so tempted to get another but with college and everything, I think it is best just to focus on one, and keep him perfectly healthy. I'm not interested in a collection, I just want a pet that I will keep for it's 20 years life time.

You can't be 17. I want to see some I.D.