B
becky b
Guest
Just a little bit ago I answered a question in which the asker wanted a long, tameable, slender monitor. He included a PS in response to an answer that said he lacked enough experience to take on a monitor... In his PS he stated that he takes his reptiles to the vet once a month. I called him on it as that is excessive and stressful on the reptile. I also suggested that he compromise on one of the requirements he is looking for in a monitor and he would have better success in finding what he is looking for. I got an email response from him almost immediately, he does not allow email and he blocked me. This means I am unable to respond to his email and can not look at his questions (including the one I answered). So I'm bringing it to the forums. ;~)
The email (copy/pasted) ~
"From: Max
Subject: Reptile info for you
Message: I probibally have more experience with reptiles than you ever had in your life. I take them to the vet once a month, yes. My mom is a vet and she tells me to bring them in once a month. But i guess you know more than a vet? i doubt it. So stop leaving stupid *** comments on my posts and stop being a *****. I know how to take care of my reptiles and i even breed ball pythons with many morph including piebald. I also breed panther chameleons. sooo i must be doing somthing right if i successfully both."
So my question is ~ How do other reptile keepers define "experience"? At what point do you think someone is ready for an intermediate or expert species??
Being almost forty years old and having been herping since the age of 2 or 3, owning my first reptile as a child, being involved in reptile rescues almost my entire adult life, having a personal collection that is occasionally mind-boggling (from skinks to monitors, burmese to amazon tree boas, and pretty much everything in between), and providing rehab and housing to rescue reptiles (usually the more difficult or larger beasts nobody else wants to take on ~ monitors, large snakes, igs) I define reptile experience as:
The successful keeping of one or more species in a manner that results in a healthy animal that does not perish from poor husbandry practices. To be ready for a more difficult species is a gradual process which includes the successful keeping of multiple species.
What are your thoughts?? How do other keepers define experience??
The email (copy/pasted) ~
"From: Max
Subject: Reptile info for you
Message: I probibally have more experience with reptiles than you ever had in your life. I take them to the vet once a month, yes. My mom is a vet and she tells me to bring them in once a month. But i guess you know more than a vet? i doubt it. So stop leaving stupid *** comments on my posts and stop being a *****. I know how to take care of my reptiles and i even breed ball pythons with many morph including piebald. I also breed panther chameleons. sooo i must be doing somthing right if i successfully both."
So my question is ~ How do other reptile keepers define "experience"? At what point do you think someone is ready for an intermediate or expert species??
Being almost forty years old and having been herping since the age of 2 or 3, owning my first reptile as a child, being involved in reptile rescues almost my entire adult life, having a personal collection that is occasionally mind-boggling (from skinks to monitors, burmese to amazon tree boas, and pretty much everything in between), and providing rehab and housing to rescue reptiles (usually the more difficult or larger beasts nobody else wants to take on ~ monitors, large snakes, igs) I define reptile experience as:
The successful keeping of one or more species in a manner that results in a healthy animal that does not perish from poor husbandry practices. To be ready for a more difficult species is a gradual process which includes the successful keeping of multiple species.
What are your thoughts?? How do other keepers define experience??