My 2 cents.......>

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Rat Snake Forum ]

Posted by Terry Cox on December 14, 2002 at 09:13:09:

In Reply to: Interesting topic... posted by JDM on December 13, 2002 at 19:55:22:

I pretty much agree and have a similar collection. I think it depends on the individual and how much a pet you think the snake is, not what you paid. An animal is as valuable as you make it. If it was a little common corn, etc, I wouldn't spend much on it, but if it was valuable to continue the genes, etc, I'd think about it much more. Unfortunately, it's the survival of the fittest sometimes (I'm a little calous in my old age), and I worry much more about the survival of the species rather than the individual animal.

Another thing is the large breeder or person who has been in the hobby for many years has lots of tricks up his/her sleeve. For instance, I have a really nice microscope that can be used to find any kind of parasite. Many of us also know about different kinds of medications, etc. A lot of problems can be solved with neosporin, for instance.

Another aspect this strand made me think of is that some breeders want to work with imports, in order to get new bloodlines, etc. I don't think it's a terrible idea to try to get new genes, or species, into the hobby, but it helps to know what you're doing. Some will immediately take the animal to a qualified vet to get shots, etc, because they know about how imports or w/c usually have to be treated. Other breeders will do the treatments themselves because they have the experience. ASAMOF, a pet owner could take their snake to one of these qualified breeders, and get cheaper, and sometimes even better treatment than a vet could give, because vets are usually not experienced with reptiles.

Our vet for our Siamese cat likes reptiles and found out that I keep some and know stuff about them and do field work. He has asked me for info and to see some of my snakes and even wants to go in the field with me to see some wild ones. Needless to say, I don't have to pay for any advice I get back from him.

I guess there's lots of different angles, and this is a very interesting topic.

Later,

:I have a fairly large collection of animals and I try to learn how to treat most conditions on my own if at all possible. I have spent up to $100 on animals that I acquired for free. In general, I would try to treat animals on my own first. Even animals that are treated by vets can die. I also realize that there is such a crisis in providing medical treatment to humans that it would be insane to judge someone who is unwilling to spend hundreds of dollars on a $20 snake. If you have the money(within reason), I think that you should take them to a vet, but a large percentage of people who live in the United States cannot even provide health treatment for themselves, let alone an animal. Some would argue that you should not acquire an animal if you are not capable of providing medical treatment for it. I would agree to a certain extent... you should be able to provide conditions for an animal to be healthy before acquiring it. As far as being able to fork out $1000 for a surgical treatment on a $20 snake, I would have to draw the line.

Follow Ups: