What do you consider an experienced herp keeper?

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RMorrow;4368447; said:
It is obvious from the responses that you already have caimens and have the experience. So, I pose the question back to you as the experienced crocodilian keeper. Supposing all things being equal and legal, is a person who has owned a single dwarf caimen for a few months ready to jump to niles, salties, or cubans? As we gain experience, what is our responsibility to the hobby? The subject of crocodilians is part of the reason I brought this up. Recently I have had to get a 5' american alligator out of a guys garage after he had raised it and the animal became very food aggressive and scared him. And, I had to find, catch, and remove a black mamba from a man's house because he thought it looked cool on the internet and had owned other snakes in the past. By the way, she was a beautiful 4.5 foot female snake.
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actually i dont own a caiman. i have a large build for one. link to the build is in my sig if ud like to check it out. IMO few people are ever ready for salties, niles and such(just saw a saltie x nile hybrid:drool:) they are much larger than a caiman. actually a caiman i really wouldnt consider a true beginner crocadillian(not that there is any). Thier size makes them easier than say a gator but they are much more aggressive.
But a nile:WHOA:. Im a vary daring man, that isnt botherd by much and not afraid of much(except horses, dont ask) but i dont think id ever have the testicular fortitude to handle a nile or saltie. maybe if i buy another house with enough land. if we ever get to build another house i plan on build a much larger custom enclousre right onto the side of the house, completely glass:headbang2 As we gain experience we have to know our limits. Honostly i dont think hots are these super bad, need 1 million hour animals. just common sence and bein safe. now for example a black mamba u should have alot of experience. but id figure that would be common sence. thankfully most people lack that, which provides job security for me( professional fire fighter). But i also am against permits. IMO that is the gov reaching where i DONT want them and we dont need them. When they start reaching into something they dont stop untill it doesnt exist anymore. Theyve tryd with class 3 machineguns and its close to bein nonexistant. those that do exist are so far priced out of peoples range that few can get them.

I really dont understand why someone would be afraid of a 5' gator. My heart would be fast but def wouldnt be afraid. croc's are that hard to understand what they are doin or want to do.

4.5ft mamba:drool: is she good and healthy? at a good home?
 
the hybrid i said about

http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=24&de=790632

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http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/./image/1095800.jpg
 
haha, I saw that and thought of you the other day. that would be sick to have something that big but you would need a whole crew of people to work with it.

as far as permits go, I think that they need to be in place but accessible for people to get. The permit for owning exotic hots or native non vens is almost impossible to get and for that reason, I know a dozen capable people that are keeping them anyways and have been criminalized. FL's permit on the other hand is accessible and just the right difficulty to get.
 
The mamba is doing great and is quite healthy. I have to agree with Lepisosteus platyrhincus about the ever reaching hands of some oversight groups. Here in Missouri last year they tried to pass a law that would have made it illegal for even the native Black Ratsnakes to live in the state not to mention any non-native species. It was a knee jerk reaction to a monkey bite some where in the state. Don't ask, I do not get the leap in logic from monkeys to herps either, but it happened. But it is often those inexperienced in the herp field that try and place blanket regulations to cover a widely diverse group of organisms. Should we step up and offer some "self policing" within the hobby?
 
snakeguy101;4368796; said:
haha, I saw that and thought of you the other day. that would be sick to have something that big but you would need a whole crew of people to work with it.

as far as permits go, I think that they need to be in place but accessible for people to get. The permit for owning exotic hots or native non vens is almost impossible to get and for that reason, I know a dozen capable people that are keeping them anyways and have been criminalized. FL's permit on the other hand is accessible and just the right difficulty to get.
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lol!
yeah it would be sick but can u imagine the sheer aggression that thing has? or the size it will get to? question is with it bein a hybrid will it do the dwarf thing or the hyper size thing?

I dont mind permits but like i said the gov wouldnt stop there and be simple. they would find a way to make it tougher and cost more untill everyone except the more money than brains people where the only one's that could own them.

Take for example what i want. An african serval:headbang2. The permit process is annoying and a pita. 2 years(not a big deal) with a certified care center(which there are few) and first hand care of that exact species the entire 2 years which everyone knows would be a nightmare. You cant choose were u work or even really volly. they wont let u choose were u work. plus atm they dont want to give out permits. its a retarded process and they make it nearly impossible to get it.

like i said i like the concept of a permit is nice but u cant trust the government
 
yep. But getting back on track I think what LP and I were saying was that you can be a good herp keeper and not be able to attain the permits.
 
yep!
 
An adult female Bitis arietans jumped out from behind a tree at me once. I delivered my first round house kick to its left fang knocking it from its maxilla causing a bit of venom to splash onto my wrist. I then licked the venom off my wrist and refocused on the confused yet determined serpent regrouping itself as it was coiling for a second lunge. Its right fang now coming at my zipper zone like a bolt of lightning was then brought to a halt by my quick grasp to its neck then bringing it up to bite the fang clean out of the serpents mouth. I then kicked it directly in its cloaca and it pulled out its cell phone and called the cops. I disappeared into the trees and waited for the coast to clear before returning back to the scene since I needed the 35 cents I dropped during the fight to call for a cab ride home.

It was then that I realized I was an expert. Thank you. Jason.
 
Not a huge fan of labeling but i think experience and knowledge go a long way. Not necessarily one or the other. I had been into herps when i was younger keeping various snakes and a bearded dragon and read REPTILES mag cover to cover. But after being into them for maybe 10 years i got a job at a pet store while in college. I felt like i gained a lot of experience with a variety of animals, but it was helpful to have the background knowledge for problem solving. Either way i think for someone to be reliable and an expert they need to be able to combine actual experience with knowledge.
 
ive had experience with many different herps and I will NEVER be an expert on all herps, but there is things that im VERY knowledgeable about. i would consider myself an expert about turtles. but not an expert with something like boas or dart frogs. i think that it all depends on who your comparing yourself to. if you comparing your self to the average joe, then yes, im an expert about all herps. but if i compare myself to some people on this site, then NO, im not such an expert anymore.
 
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