Restrainers

[erik]

So tell me, what do you do to prevent yourself from buying more and more reptiles? I need help! haha.

Eversince I started with my leopards in october, there's a craving for more. bought the stenodactylus petrii in november and just saw an add for 3 Tropiocolotes steudneri with viv and everything for 50 euro...

Maybe I should just stay away from websites as craigslist (dutch equivalent) but it is too tempting and to be honest I am looking for a front entrance viv for my stenos, can I help it that they offer herps on the herp accesories page!?

Well, I guess I'll have to wait until I have a house to myself so my roommates won't have to set a boundary (they have become quite avid cricket catchers over the past few months!)

 

[Holly12]

LOL to be really honest with you thier is nothing you can really do once you get into buying moor reptiles cuz it is very addited lol I use to have over 100 reptiles at onetime. But I had to stop it cuz of money problums so now all I have are my 2 female leos and will be geting a AFT a female as well in January. And trust me it was not easy to just not get moor of them so I know whear you are coming from.

 

[acpart]

I typed a whole reply and then lost it. In brief (got to get to work) I don't think we take this "addiction" as seriously as we should. There's an exciting feeling about researching and tracking down a new reptile but afterwards there is sometimes a kind of let down and then there's another mouth to feed. I think it's really important to evaluate how many reptiles we can reasonably feed and house and try to control ourselves. The reptile forum often subtly and not so subtly supports people getting in over their heads. There's a really nice interview that just went up on Gecko Time (www.geckotime.com) with Paul Allen who talks extensively about how he has cut back this season. While we were in production he was concerned that this sounded too negative but I really felt it's something the community needs to hear more about.

Aliza

 

[erik]

Holly that must have been quite a set back to have to sell most of your animals!

Aliza, I think you speak a lot of truth. As with buying (anything) there is the thrill of having something new. For one person it's about having a full wardrobe, another gets rid of the wardrobe to place a rack

I think to be honest to myself there's a lot in the kick of finding a new kind of species (for little money) and learning about it and observing it. When that wears off you need to be sure that you are still interested in the animals itself. I'd be less interested in buying more leos for example, but would (if space and time let me) easily be tempted to buy yet another species of gecko/lizard.

I do sum up the time that would be needed for care as that is the most weighing factor for me. But to be honest I am quite aware that I don't have room for more right now.

All in all it's easier to get weary of a sweater and neglect that for a year than to do so with a reptile or rather replace the word easier with acceptable.

 

[Holly12]

Yes it was very hard to let them go but they all whent to a very good home a lady I knew very well that breeds crested geckos and leos as well. She took alot of my reptiles and still to this day they are doing well. And I agree with you Aliza we don't take this addiction seriously enough and that is why alot of reptiles and other animals don't get the propper care and needs that it should get cuz thier is too many animals to care for and it will lead to abuse of a animal and thier is no need for a animal to be abuse.