Another irresponsible misinformed herp owner.

[Jeremy Browning]

Ok so yesterday i went dirtbiking on some farmers track. we had to switch off every 15 mins. because there were two groups of people: the beginners and the experts. So during my time not riding i talked to this 12-year old who has has previously owned 2 cresties 2 leos and 1 BP. All of them died and were mean. i asked about his care for them to try to figure out why they were so mean and why they died. Here is why:
1. he kept them all in the 10 gals.
2. feed WC food: he caught voles mice and crickets for them in the wild and he only feed the baby BP once a month and the Cresties and Leos once a week. Cresties need repashy diet or fruits. Crickets should be a treat.
3. He heated the Bp at only 85 ( he only used a 50-watt night glo bulb) he didn’t heat his cresties at all and he didn’t have AC in the summer ( his family couldn’t afford it).
He used the same bulb from his dead BP for his Leos. Which the female most likely died due to the fact that they were raised together in the same 10 gal. and she probably got egg-bound.

Oh, and did i mention theyre all dead now so he decided to get two alligator snapping turtle babies and put them in the 10 gal. I asked him what he would do when they were huge, and he said that they grow slowly (not at all true) and he would be dead when they needed a new cage (not true either) And he cant release them because he lives in Wisconsin.

[Simple Man]

It happens all the time man. We don't appreciate people that come here for answers enough. All you can do is your best to try and educate people or at least steer them in the right direction. Otherwise, if you worried about this kind of stuff all the time you would have the weight of the worlds exotic animals on your chest. The majority of people don't do things incorrect because they want to. They do things incorrect because they don't know any better.

Regards,

B

[Cendalla]

I thank my parents for teaching me to pay attention to details and that the bare minimum is not appropriate for any situation. I might not be filthy rich but I offer my pets the best that I can!

[mainbutter]

While I certainly don't want to detract from the fact that this owner did not know much about herp keeping, I wanted to say something:

I don't provide heat for my crested geckos, nor do I have AC. Luckily the basement is surprisingly ideal for crested temperatures throughout the year. Sometimes herp keeping doesn't have to be complicated.

[Jeremy Browning]

True i dont give my cresties heat either however they live in a room thats usually 70-75 and in wisconsin it will get well above 80 in the summer which is as hot as cresties should be and although they had heating in the winter he told me it still gets below 60 alot in his house in the winter which is colder than cresties should be.

[Anna.Sitarski]

Things like this make me angry and that parents let it happen. My very good friend has a two year old and she has played with each of my snakes big to small. Good for their socialization as well. She understand to touch them softly on their back, no touching their head and to moves slow around their face. She will be great as she gets older. I found out now she makes play doh snakes at home and names after my snakes. She even gets the sizes right. She can distinguish between baby and juvenile.
People need to educate themselves about any animal they bring into the home.

[mpkeelee]

you should have told him it was illegal to catch wild animals and keep them as pets. and you could have told him its illegal to let animals die in your care. maybe use a little scare tactic to get him to learn more about his animals.

[LoNeSt4r]

At this point i just feel sorry for any animals in that kid's care. I think we should all thank our parents (or whoever raised you to love animals) for teaching us that it's not just an animal, it's another life that we've decided to take care of. It really irks me when people let their animals die so flippantly.

[SoFarAway]

Ugh, that's disgusting. It's sad enough that it happened to the first animal, but when he chose to continue keeping them after seeing them die in a short period of time is disgusting. Where the hell are this boy's parents? They should teach him that all life has value, and must treated respectfully. Even if they don't give a crap about the animals' lives, shouldn't they be bothered by the multitude of dead reptiles that have been in their son's room?

I hope that somehow the snappers end up in better hands. I don't know what Wisconsin's animal abuse laws are, but could you call them? 10 gal is WAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY to small for multiple baby alligator snappers. Did he mention what he feeds these guys? Or if they have a filter? Has the 50 watt been passed down to them?

[Amon Ra Reptiles]

Guys it sucks that the animals died and it sucks that how he's housing them now but let me just say this HE IS JUST A KID. You cant tell me as a kid you didnt catch frogs and toads lizard and turtles and keep them as pets. Kids don't know any better and not all kids have parents like a few of you do or have parents like us. I know as a kid I had all sorts or pets that I found and yes some of them died but I didn't know the things I do now.