dprince
Mod Squad Member
- Messages
- 4,270
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- California
bro paul said:I hope you're feeling better Marcia. Happy New Years, either way! You'll be in our prayers.
Also, thanks for always taking the time to answer my questions in the past. It means a lot...really.
As you know, one of the down sides of being a nice, helpful person is that people will tend to take advantage of your generosity. I don't know how to change that.
If you don't mind, I'd like to throw something out there that's been on my mind...and may explain a little bit about why there are so many frustrating aspects of "customer service" in the reptile industry. That being the possibility that for many people this "hobby" is more of an unhealthy addiction than a healthy hobby. Many of us call it a "passion", when in reality it's more characteristic of an addiction. That would explain the compulsive emails & purchases, the impatience, the lack of follow through, the panic...and so on.
I know from personal experience (confession time..lol)! I could write a book on all the bad decisions/financial risks I've made in the name of "advancing my collection". It finally hit me about 6 months ago...that I have to change my approach or risk losing something I really enjoy. I love my little leopards...and if I'm really going to give them the best care possible, then that means A LOT less geckos for me...and just slowing things down in general. This is after conducting my hobby as a fairly successful "small business" for the past 7 - 8 years. I'm still super excited about working with cutting edge genetics/projects...but the idea that I can get ahead with more geckos and more risks is gone. I don't think I even want to "be ahead"...if that makes sense. That's just me though...due to time constraints and all (and a bit of common sense). But, I'm using myself as an example of how "breeders" can quickly get in over their heads and begin making bad choices...and acting dumb, in general when it comes to reality with their hobby.
We've all seen how quickly someone can become a "breeder" with a nice looking website and tons of geckos (and possibly huge credit card debt). What most people (new hobbyist) don't know is how much stinking time and $ is involved in giving even a small collection the proper care. It's basically like running a small farm.
I must say that I have the utmost respect for those breeder/hobbyist (new & established) that have found the proper balance and maintain a successful, "healthy" hobby...showing a bit of discipline. Please share more of your wisdom with us...
Sorry for the rant within a rant...but, I thought this might fit in good here. I could go on and on, but then I'd have to go start a new thread :main_rolleyes: (lazy). I would like to hear what others think about the "addiction" aspect though.
On a side note, I'm already enjoying my geckos more than I have in years. :main_thumbsup:
I can see the correlation between addictive behavior and the behavior of many gecko "enthusiasts." I'm not sure it's an "addiction" per se, but there's certainly a correlation. I myself was very much like that in the beginning, when I didn't know better, and saw beautiful geckos and morphs and wanted them all!! LOL. It was exciting!! After I was successful with my first sets of eggs, I was more confident!! I could do it. :main_yes:
I bought too many and it took up a lot of time - more than I could afford.
I rethought my goals; what am I trying to accomplish? I started selling projects and set a self imposed limit of how many geckos I could *reasonably* keep. I decided that I wanted to produce 100-200 high quality babies a year. Period. So, I have geckos that I keep and won't breed. I have 20-30 breeders that will breed this year. If something new comes along that I *really* want to work with, I will have to decide what to let go of. The truth is, I *still* get excited when I buy a new gecko - and if I'm a PITA about it, I don't mean to be.
Nowadays, I just don't buy very many at all - regardless of how tempting some projects might be (Jeremy's RRS, Jason's snowglows, Dan's redstripes, to name a small few.) I think the balancing act will be a lifelong process, quite honestly. :main_yes: I really believe that a LOT of people - newer breeders like myself and more experienced breeders alike - start off with a bang acquiring new geckos like they're going out of style. At some point, I think *most* recognize some limitations and "downsize" or do what they need to do to continue in the hobby/small business without losing themselves.
There will always be "bigger" breeders who produce thousands of geckos a year - I think many do this as their full time job - and for them, I say good for them. It can just never be me.
And I also thank Marcia, Paul Sage, Kelli, and *many* other wonderful people who have taken the time to talk to me, answer questions, etc. Without the great people - not the ones we're ranting about, LOL - this hobby wouldn't be the great, supportive place it is.
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