Re: ETB or GTP

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Posted by ls1grrrl on October 02, 2002 at 11:44:17:

In Reply to: Re: ETB or GTP posted by bam171bam on October 02, 2002 at 11:26:00:

::if this person does not know the difference between a green tree python and an emerald tree boa then they should definately not be buying them. they are obviously inexperienced.

::I agree that someone should not buy a snake that they do not know a lot about, but i have had MANY snakes, and still do. I know a great deal of reptiles, especially the ones that i own. However, I never had an interest in owning a chondro or emmy, so i never bothered to learn how to tell them apart. Say for instance, you wanted to buy a sinaloan milksnake....i am willing to bet that you wouldn't know if you got a nelsons or a sinaloan...that does not mean that you shouldn't own the snake simply because you can't identify it. Everybody has to start somewhere. You can read every book written about the snakes, but until you actually own one, you don't know everything about them.
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I believe the point Craig was trying to make was that, if a person was setting out to buy a snake of a certain species, then they'd want to be able not only identify it, but know all about the husbandry requirements BEFORE actually making the purchase.

To use your example of sinaloan or nelsons milksnake, if I wanted to buy a sinaloan milksnake I would want to be absolutely sure I could actually tell the difference between it and a nelsons before making a purchase. This is for your own good (to keep you from getting bamboozled by an unscrupulous seller) and more importantly (in my opinion) for the good of the animal.

You're right, no one can possibly know everything about every snake, but you should take the responsibility to educate yourself about the ones you do bring home and optimally you would do this BEFORE bringing them home so that you are prepared and absolutely certain you can care for the animal before putting it through the stress of transporting, putting into a new habitat, etc.

ETBs and GTPs have husbandry requirements that are fairly difficult for an inexperienced (or ill-prepared) person to handle. The requirements aren't just a "if you can manage it" type of thing. These animals will truly suffer if they're not maintained at just the right temps, humidity and feeding regime. These requirements are pretty different from those of other boas and pythons, so its something you want to be prepared for beforehand.

Regards,
Heather

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Re: ETB or GTP bam171bam 10/02/02 (0)