Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well to start this out. I think that sometimes we may be a bit hard on the young ones on here, myself included. I can remember when I was 11,12,13 even older, thank god we did not have forums 20 to 25 years ago I don't know what kind of crazy moronic things I would have posted back then. LOL. I am quite pleased and give outstanding credit to the young people these days on the forum. We must understand that they are still working with developing minds and alot of times we look at them as adults. Young ones today have so much more responsibility than I ever thought of when I was a kid. I give them all a big hoorah. Sorry to preach, I will get down off of the soap box now.
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Even if your on the right track you will get run over if you just sit there
22 leos,1.1 redtail boas,1.1 rainbow boas,1.1 cornsnakes, 1.0 tokay gecko,1.0 veiled cham, 5 dogs and a cat. Oh, can't forget Tater my parrolet.

In my opinion one of the best parts about it is that I can see such a great future for the field of leos...there are so many young people who are getting so interested that I know the future will be promising...for instance, I'm only 19 years old and I've been breeding for two years and I know that I've got some cool projects that I'm working on and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon, it's just good to know that all of the exciting morphs that have developed won't just stop happening due to a lack of interest.
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Garden State Geckos Website - www.jerseygeckos.tk
THE ALL NEW GSG GECKOCAM!

I agree to. I am only 20 and man div I thought you were older lol. Just like i thought Cleo was older too lol. I think its hard for me to hear someone like him when there are a lot of young people in here, but yet the all act older and more mature than we think. Hell yea im 20 and Im a kid still and heck I act like a dork all the time to. But im not going to jump on people for stating their opinon are giving me advice when I ask for it. I am very opinonated and im sorry for that sometime . But I hhonstly believe that 12 year old shoulk repect other peoples thoughts and advice, even if they dont agree.

Alicia
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1 male HY(Winky), 1 Tang female(Sunshine), and 1 Tremper Albino female(Serenity)

I agree, I'm only 18 and have had my oldest leo for 3 years now. :-], I have even concidered breeding them but decided not to, it was a very hard choice.

i give them all alot of credit too, lol, and i know i do get very fiery regarding pet responsibility. but i think it is good to be as blunt with them as possible, because that is the best way of getting a message across. if you are making a mistake, i'll tell you flat out you made a mistake, but i won't beat you into the ground for it, lol . i remember the first time i came to the forum, about a year and a half ago. i had my leo on a total sand bedding, and i was basically told "sand is dangerous, if you want to risk your leos life, then go ahead and use it". and i switched my leo off sand, thank god too, because she was pooping sand out for a week after that. even though we are very opinionated and sometimes harsh on here, it is a good experience because it shows kids that they can't be babied every time they make a mistake, which is good preperation for the real world....lol, and this is coming from a 16 year old!!!

cleo
1:1 leos (4 eggs cooking)

I know your only 16.... I thought you were like heck of old. LOL Just cuz you sould like and old lady doesnt mean you are. Just means you know your stuff. And thats great. Its helped me out more than once.

Alicia
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1 male HY(Winky), 1 Tang female(Sunshine), and 1 Tremper Albino female(Serenity)

Yeah, just goes to show ya how paranoid i am about knowing my pets.....lol...

cleo
1:1 leos (4 eggs cooking)

Lol! You're 16? That's pretty cool, I am too!
Well, 17 in September, lol.

-Britney

I'll be 17 in a week and a half! It seems like a lot of us are the same age.

>>Lol! You're 16? That's pretty cool, I am too!
>>Well, 17 in September, lol.
>>
>> -Britney
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*Erin*

You are only 16!!! I can't believe how mature you sound in your posts. I am very impressed.....

I tried to be firm but kind in my response. As a parent, I wouldn't want a bunch of strangers heavily laying into my child. A certain amount is to be expected but there's a limit.

Thank you Sybella! I'm glad you understand where I'm coming from.

Of course! I have a 12 year old too.

Man! Ya'll are making me feel so OLD!!!! I just turned 40 at the beginning of July! My sons and I (My wife and I have a 9 year old too, too young for forums) got into leos for the science of it and teaching genetic lessons in addition to teaching responsability and loving the animals. My son, eyssk8r, is only 13 and has picked up a lot here as we both have!! We see posts and then we do research over the internet to see what the "Pros" have to say in their websites on the subject at hand and go with what we think is best based on what we've read. We read most all the posts but reply or ask questions very seldom as we see others have already answered the question very well. Some of what we see we disagree with but we don't want to start a confrontation on the forum so we don't post our objections, especially if someone else has already stated what we think. Maybe we should post so the reader has more than one response to think about... I'll think that over... Sometimes we do post our opinions but try to be as nonthreatening as possible. I am trying to teach my sons to pick their battles and leave others lay.

Do I think Mac was rude? yes. Does he feel bad and apologetic because he got caught or because he realized what he did was wrong and is truely sorry from his heart? I don't know but I think his Mom would know. My 13 year old sometimes says things I can't believe comes out of his mouth but after explaining how he sounded I know he has learned a lesson and usually (not always) has changed his tune. We all make mistakes... we all have asked for forgiveness... we all need to forgive for our own mental well being... but we also learn from our mistakes (and/or how others have treated us) and act differently (more cautious, etc.) in the future!

Mac's Mom, from what you have told us in all the posts I've read, sounds like you are a great mom, not only working with your son to help him grow into a better young man but also for defending him as I think a mom and dad should! Kudos to you!

JJay

P.S., I won't apologize for being preachy, Im a dad!
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JJay
4.5.3 Leos
(& 11 eggs cooking)
0.1 Map turtle

I think I will just stick with my beasties!

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3.2 leopards( 3 tremper albinos,1 high yellow, 1 tang)1.0 African fattail,0.1 pink toe tarantula,1.0 jungle/diamond carpet python,1.0 albino sonoran gopher,2 eastern painted turtles,0.1 sun conure, leo eggs incubating with one eastern box turtle egg,55 gallon brackish tank, and one ten gallon freshwater, and two chihuahuas......and thats all!

You were a kid once! You have learned a lot and when a person becomes a parent, they want what's best for their child(ren). Parents try to teach their kids what they have learned when they grew up (and you never stop growing up) so to make them better young people. The trouble is, the kids think they know better than the adult who may have already made a similar mistake so the kid does what they want to only to face the consequences of their actions. It's called growing pains (I know you know this already ...)

When I was young I was amazed at what my father knew (when I listened to him). How could he know all that stuff??? it's called experience. As you get older you will have experience too and if you have kids you will want to share with them to help to mold them into better people. Is it hard being a parent, yes... at times. But one of the thousands of rewards is, after all the teaching (which never ends, I still call my dad for advise), to see a child (any age) to make a decision (good or bad) and deal with the result in a respectful manor.

You may change your mind about children, but then again you may not. Either way is fine, not right or wrong.

....The best thing though is......

Leopard Geckos! HA

By the way, you've got a beauty there!!!!

JJay
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JJay
4.5.3 Leos
(& 11 eggs cooking)
0.1 Map turtle

My kids are 12, 7 and 5. My daughter is already starting the "teenage" garbage and some days, I think "Ooooh!! Grrr!!! She sure is asking for it!!" My younger two are boys and still very cuddly.

With the little ones, it's a lot like having a dog. They follow you from room to room, wont let you go to the bathroom without an audience and always want to see what you've got. When you issue a command, if you don't say their name first, you wont have their attention and if you give too many commands at once, they'll only hear the first one.

However, the little things make it all worth it. Here's a memory, I know I will never forget.

Several years ago, my grandmother sent the kids a stuffed animal each for Easter. Two were rabbits that sat upright and the 3rd was this really fantastic looking one laying down with flop ears and a great tail. I liked it so much, I wanted to know who made it. I turned it over to read the tag, which happenned to be right next to the tail. My daughter saw me looking closely and asked, "Is it a boy??" I looked at her, trying not to laugh and said, "I don't know...wanna check?" as I offered it to her. It was then she realized what a silly question it was.

LLLLOOOOLLLL! That's a great story! My 9 year old son can come off with some great ones too!! usually he doesn't realize he was so funny. Then he trys to be funny and it's not. He gets upset because people laugh when he's serious then they don't laugh when he wants to be funny. poor guy.

The kids are truely such a joy!

(Plus I get to play with their toys sometimes ) I guess I'm still a kid at heart.
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JJay
4.5.3 Leos
(& 11 eggs cooking)
0.1 Map turtle

Thanks to both jjay and Sybella for backing me up on this. And thank you for explaining it a little better than I did. I was pretty upset yesterday at the lashing that Mac got, I had so many thoughts running through my mind, I didn't know where to begin. He is truly sorry for what he said, like you said jjay, we know our kids. I know he didn't mean anything by it and I can even hear the tone of it (because I know him) - but you can't always know that when posting in a forum. He's learned a lesson and abiding by it.

Have a great day both of you!

Mac's Mom