Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, in the short time I have been in this hobby I have noticed many things and I just figured its about time I said them out loud. I have come to find that this is a great hobby and passion for me and many other people but it is starting to get out of hand. There are many many people that collect snakes because they love them. They love the colors, the morphs, the size, whatever it is that you like. At the same time while collecting animals that you love, you can also make some money doing it, and that is fine, great even. But there is one problem that is growing. More people are getting into this "hobby", not for personal enjoyment of the animals but for just monitary reasons. There are people that are looking just for certain morphs because they will make them tons of quick money and they will go about it any way they see fit. This means no regards to the saftey of the animal, be it by power feeding or providing insufficient living quarters. Don't get me wrong, I am all for breeding and getting these morphs that are out there. Now the prices of them are a totally a different story and that has been debated before and I will not bring that back up. But I feel it is ruining the hobby as a whole to have these people out there that are just in it for the money and the snakes mean nothing to them other than $$$.

Now these people are ruining it for others that are trying to get into the hobby. Because everytime a new person post on these boards about a snake they got, there will be atleast one person out of 10 that will reply to it and say how they made a mistake and should research it better and do this and that. This comes from so many other people that have gotten into this hobby for other reasons than the pleasure of snakes and then new people have to suffer because of others mistakes. I understand there are also those folks that get snakes because of the shock value, and i disagree with them also but I am going to leave that alone.

Really what I am trying to get across is please if you have a snake no matter what type, enjoy it for what it is, not what it can do for you and how you can make money off it. Also please can we stop the hateful replies and attacks on people. These boards are for help and if people keep getting attacked by others, and i dont just mean the random person is attacking folks, it is sometimes the big names that do it to. But if this continues, then less people will come to these boards and they will become very boring and I have seen that on other message boards as well.

Please be kind to everyone, this is like a large family, yea there are some screw ups, but most of us are here because we love these animals, so lets help each other if there is a problem

Sorry for the long post.

Regarding the people in it for the money, I agree for the most part that it is hurting the hobby. I actually debated selling my entire collection of animals simply to avoid dealing with people who are in it for the wrong reasons. (that was one deciding factor moving away from most pythons a few years ago). Thankfully those true to the enjoyment side of this hobby stick with it (as I will even though feelings say I shouldn't sometimes) and the people in it for money usually move on for bigger and better opportunities.
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Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com.

yea they move one but I am just hoping over time they dont leave a huge dent or hole in our hobby that we have to repair. But I am glad that there are folks out there that are willing to do it the right way and help the hobby and help everyone in it.

I don't know about ruining that seems like a strong word.
What other people do doesn't really affect what I do or what
pleasure I derive from keeping boas...

BUT, I will say this. This forum is very, very different than
it was when I first found it over 5 years ago. The tone & topics
are almost all completely related to breeding projects, profits and morphs.

There really seems to be no discussion about boa behavior or
anything that isn't bottom line type thinking...

wow thats what it is, i was trying to think how it has changed since i found it 4 years ago.

its funny you say that because there if a forum just for breeding

is the name of the game. This isn't just a Boa breeding issue. Greed and a disregard for nature, or viewing it (nature) as nothing more than a resource is rampant, especially in America.
Don't waste your time shoulding, all it brings is tears. Enjoy them for your own reasons and let others enjoy them (or not) for theirs. Not all of us do it for money. Cultivate relationships with like minded people.
It won't be this way forever..
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sounddjinn@yahoo.com

Things always get cloudy just before transformation.

That's a major ethical difference between the many people involved in this hobby. It's like most hobbies, to some it's a living, not a hobby. They have to make money or they have to do something else. Many would just hope they go do something else but that is unlikely too.
In regards to the narrowness of discussion topics, that's everyones problem. I get lost in the morph discussion at times and it takes more thought and observation for topics like behavior. I think it will take a concious effort by those who do think about more than the bottom line and morphs to start the conversation about really pertinent issues (politics, behavior, improving the perception of the general public).

Just a thought.

Rich

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bigdnutz
1.2 Suriname Boa
1.0 Venezuelan Boa

I've also gotten really good husbandry info from people in "the business." Think about it-even if certain high volume morph breeders aren't in it for the "love," they certainly care about their investment, and probably are on top of the game as far as husbandry goes. Plus, there will be a day when all you can get is captive bred, so if it weren't for greed, our hobby would die. Greed is an excellant motivator. It is what this country is founded on (free enterprise.)