Hello :D

[M_surinamensis]

There are some exceptions from time to time and different business models have different pricing structures... but as a generalization, when it comes to animal prices, you get what you pay for.

Consider for a moment the total costs of owning a leopard gecko. There's the price of the animal, of course. The price of the terrarium. The ongoing price of feeder insects and supplements. The ongoing cost of electricity to power the heating elements. The cost of routine veterinary care, the cost of making sure you have a little money set aside for emergency veterinary care. You're doing it because you enjoy it and want to, but you could even put a price on your time and effort for every minute you spend maintaining the enclosure and caring for the animal's needs.

Owning a pet is expensive, when it's all added up.

So an extra fifty dollars for shipping costs is a drop in the bucket. That drop opens up options to you though, it lets you pick and choose the source you get your animal from. That fifty dollars is the difference between an animal in perfect health with detailed records about its birth and lineage, selectively bred and raised by an expert, backed by the long standing reputation of a successful breeder who will be there, guaranteeing the quality of their animals and assisting you with questions and concerns... and some mystery animal produced by a farm style breeder who hatched out fifteen thousand babies this season, using models that stress quantity over quality because they needed to make a profit on their contract with a big box chain store... or some know-nothing, accidental "Didn't even know I had a male and a female until I found this egg." pencil tailed, parasite ridden, gut full of sand Craigslist supplier.

If you happen to live near a quality breeder and can save yourself a bit of shipping, neat. Go for it. If you don't though, you should not think of it like paying twice the price for the same animal. You should think of it as ninety dollars buying the very best animal possible. Considering what you're spending in total to keep a gecko, it's more than worth it in the long run. Better for you. Better for the industry, as you support someone worthy of success.

It is probably best that I don't weigh in with my thoughts about the dying fish. I like fish. It would be... caustic.

 

[GeckoGirl1999]

It is probably best that I don't weigh in with my thoughts about the dying fish. I like fish. It would be... caustic.

I like fish too and really wish I could keep them alive... I would keep on going with the fish, but I don't want to keep killing them (not on purpose though!) My friend used to have a leo. It died from cancer (which it was born with, according to her.) She can't keep fish alive on her own either... I would never EVER kill a fish on purpose. I can barely stand flushing them once they die... I want to try something new...

 

[M_surinamensis]

I want to try something new...

I am sure killing a new species is much easier than learning anything about why you kept killing the old ones. Less reading, less self awareness required, a whole new excuse to use based on inexperience.

Your attitude is pretty reprehensible. Just a particularly vile example of the unpleasant underside of the pet industry, viewing animals as disposable fads as they catch your interest briefly. Nevermind learning what you need to learn to keep them healthy and alive. Nevermind having a modicum of empathy for a living thing. Nevermind putting the guilt for your past failures where it belongs. Nevermind seeking the real reason those failures happened. Just handwave it away as some funny little personality quirk and keep on subjecting something new and different to torturous neglect.

I've never spit on another human being in my life. You make me want build up a nice fat gob of phlegm and saliva and put it right in your eye. I wouldn't; I'm far better than that. Your ignorant ass deserves it though, a direct physical expression of disapproval and rejection.

 

[GeckoGirl1999]

I don't care what you say, because it is absolutely untrue. I do hours of endless research almost everyday. I don't wave things away. I don't kill them on purpose. You are the one being mean, so you better be quiet. I know how to take care of fish. I know how to take care of animals. You shouldn't come into forums trying to hurt people's feelings, because that makes you a cyberbully.

 

[5HiddenLizards]

Not to pick sides, or support anyone, but my mom had a fish tank & the fish kept dying. They could never get the PH right & she tried eveything & changed this & changed that. Still she was going thru fish like I go through fries...lol...when we had a big tank at my old house, we never did anything to it except change the filter regularly & add more water to the tank. And those fish died of old age. We had them forever.

My point being, some people just don't have luck with certain things, be it pets or cars. Mine was cats. They were indoor only but the first time they snuck out, they ended up getting runover. So, I've stopped with cats.

Anyway....that's my 2cents...



{via Tapatalk}

 

[GeckoGirl1999]

Thanks for helping. I can keep grasshoppers alive for over 4 months in a butterfly house (Kind of like Jiminey Cricket, or however you spell Jiminey, but with a grasshopper). I keep a lot of things alive, and I guess the thing I can't is a fish. When I was little and my dad had a 40 gal tank, things lived up to 2 years. My mom can't keep fish alive on her own, and niether can I. It could be in the genes I guess.

 

[M_surinamensis]

My point being, some people just don't have luck with certain things, be it pets or cars.

Luck and coincidence are what they are. Statistical outliers, anomalies that could not be predicted.

It is not enough to establish a pattern. Bad luck is when an aquarium heater malfunctions and cooks a tank full of fish. It is not something that happens frequently enough to result in someone saying they're incapable of keeping fish alive. That takes persistence and willful ignorance; a conscious decision to not identify and correct the problems, to not anticipate and plan for potential dangers, to not learn from mistakes, from bad luck.

Luck certainly isn't an explanation for someone planning for their aquarium to die off so that they can fill the tank with a new pet. A humane person would constantly do everything in their power to prevent the unnecessary death of their current pets. They would have tried to figure out why their previous fish had died so that the same thing wouldn't happen again, not shrugging and treating it like a cute personal idiosyncrasy.

This person does not know what went wrong and, more importantly, does not care. This is a clear statement about the way they value life, their capacity for empathy. A person like this one should not own pets. Their disinterest and lack of care will eventually result in the preventable death of anything they own. They certainly should not be encouraged to obtain something new, for them to grow bored of, for them to neglect or mistreat or kill.

 

[GeckoGirl1999]

I'm not killing off my tank! I'm saying that when the time comes, that is what I'll do. I can't believe that you cut to conclusions thinking that I'd kill my pets. You should just leave this thread and stop ruining it with your rude comments.

 

[Pinky81]

Erin meet Semus!! You learn to eventually love him I promise!

I will agree with him on getting what you pay for! Take your time, keep researching, reading on the forum, and don't be in a rush!

And actually I'll be honest I have never been able to keep a betta alive very long nor have I been able to keep plants alive either LOL this being the reason why I no longer have either plants nor "fish"...doesn't mean your a terrible person.

 

[CamoCustom]

It is probably best that I don't weigh in with my thoughts about the dying fish. I like fish. It would be... caustic.

Proabably should have kept your thoughts to yourself. Words on a screen always sound a whole lot more aggressive than they are, and your responses really are uncalled for. For all you know you are talking to a 14 year old, and isnt this a friendly family forum? Not by the looks of your post going unchallenged.

 

[flnative]

Wow, where are the people who moderate this site? You want to spit in her eye? You realize that you are typing to a high school girl? Right, tough guy? You are a pretentious dick. Who are you to judge her, what she's done and what she will do in the future? What makes what you've done so divine? Why are your interests and projects so pure? You are at least semi-intelligent (truly smart people don't have to remind everybody how smart they are constantly)....so tell me what good it does to attack people who ask question?

I have kept and bred reptiles for 30 years and have noticed another "underbelly" to the pet trade. People like you, who bring this arrogance to the hobby, that make newbies feel stupid for asking questions. You were new once too. Get over yourself.

You are entitled to your opinion, as she is entitled to ask whatever question she wants. I'm certainly not defending killing any pet but she's not doing it intentionally. I am defending her right to post any questions she might have.

Maybe you'll be in south fl one day and you can spit in my eye, but I doubt you would. I would bet at your core you are a coward.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk

 

[Wild West Reptile]

I don't think Seamus would spit in your eye...he'd probably freeze you or melt you or use one of his other super-powers to render you helpless.

 

[CamoCustom]

I don't think Seamus would spit in your eye...he'd probably freeze you or melt you or use one of his other super-powers to render you helpless.

Is that supposed to be funny?

Let me guess. Seamus must be the one on the forums that knows everything and is always right, and sticks his nose in on everything with smarty pants comments, right? Yea, there are always a few of them on forums....Its why I like the IGNORE button.

 

[Wild West Reptile]

Its why I like the IGNORE button.

Too bad there isn't a STFU button for crybaby, non-contributing members.

 

[NinjaDuo]

Is that supposed to be funny?

Let me guess. Seamus must be the one on the forums that knows everything and is always right, and sticks his nose in on everything with smarty pants comments, right? Yea, there are always a few of them on forums....Its why I like the IGNORE button.

I thought it was funny, and yes he is THAT guy.
You can learn from him.

 

[NinjaDuo]

Too bad there isn't a STFU button for crybaby, non-contributing members.

Ha +1

 

[M_surinamensis]

I'm certainly not defending killing any pet but she's not doing it intentionally.

She is doing it knowingly though.

She had some fish, she killed some fish. Did something wrong, didn't do something she was supposed to, didn't control something she should have, didn't know something necessary... it happens. It shouldn't happen often, because pet owners should have an awareness of what they are getting into before they obtain an animal, but at least the first time it can be a product of honest naivety.

She got more fish. Without taking the time to figure out what went wrong with the first fish. She killed more fish.

A process she's repeated at least a couple times, she was ambiguous about exactly how many.

Now, having acknowledged her previous failures, knowing that something keeps going wrong... rather than learning more about the living animals she currently has so that she can prevent that problem and keep them healthy and alive, rather than getting better at keeping aquariums... she is busy planning what she wants next, after their predicted death.

It is negligence and it is cruelty. Do you really want her doing the same thing to a leopard gecko, having the same attitude, the same lack of empathy and care? What could possibly make you think that she won't just disregard it the way she has disregarded all these fish?

It doesn't matter if she's fourteen or forty, that attitude is not something that anyone should condone. If she is a minor then where the hell are her parents in all this? Why is she wandering around the internet unsupervised and, far more importantly, why haven't they stopped her from filling the world with the corpses of aquarium fish? If anything it sounds like they have encouraged this attitude of disregard for consequences, this "I kill fish, LOLOLOL!!!" approach to her current pets.

It is not some cute personal quirk. It is not okay.

She needs to get off her incompetent ass and figure out what she needs to do to keep her current pets alive and healthy, not go looking for a replacement before they're even deceased.

A side note here... while I appreciate some of the "Seamus is okay" sentiments, none of you should get drawn into a fight over that subject. I know full well that I am awesome, I don't need anyone else to defend me. I also know that I can be aggressive and abrasive; you guys who know me know that too. I cross lines sometimes. I don't think this is one of them considering the circumstances, but that's really a decision for Kelli and her mods to make. They may well decide that I have done so, my indignation at seeing someone so blithely willing to neglect their pets to the point of death has certainly resulted in the expression of sentiments that are not in keeping with the welcoming and happy tone that they try to build. What I am sure they don't need, whatever they decide about my posts, are more people clearing the benches and piling in on my behalf. Of course if you just happened to have something to say, that's your thing. I just don't want anyone getting in trouble for me, if you get what I'm saying.

 

[CamoCustom]

Too bad there isn't a STFU button for crybaby, non-contributing members.

So you think I am not contributing because I have a few posts and new on the boards? I am glad you think like a high school popularity contest.

I thought it was funny, and yes he is THAT guy.
You can learn from him.

Learn what? How to insult uneducated pet owners? Those are the kinds of people I dont listen to.

 

[Wild West Reptile]

So you think I am not contributing because I have a few posts and new on the boards?

No, I think your over reacting and insulting other members who you know nothing about. Just relax man....we are all here to learn and have fun.

 

[CamoCustom]

No, I think your over reacting and insulting other members who you know nothing about. Just relax man....we are all here to learn and have fun.

Im sorry, I am not the one over reacting or insulting here. I didnt tell anybody to get off their incompetent arse did I? just stating that it was totally uncalled for. I also dont need to know anything about a certain Member to see that it was very wrong to say some of the things that were said. Its common sense. guess its not that common......