Hello, as I stated above I'm a life long herptile enthusiast, having been "in the business" years ago, and in more or less chronological order I have been all of the following, (at least as relates to herpetology); kid with a frog in his pocket, retail and wholesale pet industry employee/store owner, commercial collector, (with a state issued permit to prove it), importer, reptile breeder, assistant zoo herpetologist, etc. Unfortunately, life being what it is, I had to give it all up due to various reasons and completely change the direction of my life, (economics for one, and ultimately the need to provide for a coming child; other reasons I won't go into here).
Recently I took my now nearly grown daughter to a prominent zoo, and naturally we went to the reptile house. Once there, I "bumped into" the herpetologist, (on purpose of course), dropped a couple of names and we found ourselves "back stage" in the reptile house drinking sodas and talking about old aquaintances and the amazing animals surrounding us. Meanwhile my 17 yr old daughter was off flirting with one of the cuter keepers, came back with a boa in her arms and immediately asked if she could "pleeeese" have a pet snake. I agreed of course, and recently got her a small captive raised ball python, (P. regius; nice mellow snakes that stay relatively small).
The crux of the story is that the the whole episode renewed my passion for the squirmy and scaly side of nature, so basically that's it.....here I am! When I "got out of it" I did so completely, and haven't had any animals in my life since the late 80's-early 90's. There were no internet forums at that time, (Al Gore hadn't "invented it yet"), most of the "exotic" trade was via classifieds, and the number of captive raised animals was small with the occasional wild-caught albino being a novelty, (Axy's being an exception, but captive breeding of amphibs was in it's infancy; the very first use of hormones for breeding of amphibians had just recently been successful; the floodgates were opening!). In the meantime, humans being what they are, have succumbed to their irresistible urge to "domesticate" animals which has resulted in a dizzying array of genetic varieties being produced in captivity; it's actually difficult to find a "normal". I am literally in shock at the shear variety of the morphs out there; it's truly amazing what genetics and the internet has done for this hobby/career/obsession/business/mania.
I intend to monitor this forum, re-learn some of what I've forgotten in 20+ tears away, tell a story or two, (I had lots of adventures in herpetology in my younger days), and get to know some of you. What animals I decide to bring into my very small living space is yet to be determined, but that's one thing I want from this forum; just to know what's out there nowadays! I look forward to my re-education!
SLC
Recently I took my now nearly grown daughter to a prominent zoo, and naturally we went to the reptile house. Once there, I "bumped into" the herpetologist, (on purpose of course), dropped a couple of names and we found ourselves "back stage" in the reptile house drinking sodas and talking about old aquaintances and the amazing animals surrounding us. Meanwhile my 17 yr old daughter was off flirting with one of the cuter keepers, came back with a boa in her arms and immediately asked if she could "pleeeese" have a pet snake. I agreed of course, and recently got her a small captive raised ball python, (P. regius; nice mellow snakes that stay relatively small).
The crux of the story is that the the whole episode renewed my passion for the squirmy and scaly side of nature, so basically that's it.....here I am! When I "got out of it" I did so completely, and haven't had any animals in my life since the late 80's-early 90's. There were no internet forums at that time, (Al Gore hadn't "invented it yet"), most of the "exotic" trade was via classifieds, and the number of captive raised animals was small with the occasional wild-caught albino being a novelty, (Axy's being an exception, but captive breeding of amphibs was in it's infancy; the very first use of hormones for breeding of amphibians had just recently been successful; the floodgates were opening!). In the meantime, humans being what they are, have succumbed to their irresistible urge to "domesticate" animals which has resulted in a dizzying array of genetic varieties being produced in captivity; it's actually difficult to find a "normal". I am literally in shock at the shear variety of the morphs out there; it's truly amazing what genetics and the internet has done for this hobby/career/obsession/business/mania.
I intend to monitor this forum, re-learn some of what I've forgotten in 20+ tears away, tell a story or two, (I had lots of adventures in herpetology in my younger days), and get to know some of you. What animals I decide to bring into my very small living space is yet to be determined, but that's one thing I want from this forum; just to know what's out there nowadays! I look forward to my re-education!
SLC
