Where Everybody Going?

I've been here for 5 years now. And I've seen more people leave the hobby in the last 6 months than I've seen leave in the previous 4 or so years.

And the reasons all seem to differ. Financial issues, moving issues, change of passion and so on.

I am just curious if there's really an underlying common reason that's going unspoken or if it's just what it is and it's just coincidense that there are so many in such a short period.

Not sure if its coincidence or not, but I agree, quite a few people seem to have left - and I've only been around here consistently since December.

I've noticed it to. I wonder if it's the drop in value that has driven people out or legislation issues that have people worried. Might just be a normal cycle.

I noticed it too. I also wondered if decline in market prices is the driving force here. I don't want to say that those people were just in it for the money, but if they WERE in it for the money and the money has declined significantly, it would make sense to get out now before they lose any more on their investments...

It seems to be a mix of issues, but from what I have seen so far a lot of it seems like personal or relationship issues (new baby, controlling boyfriend, moving, etc...) vice a money issue (though I am sure that is a factor in some as well).

By the looks of it most people are having changes in life Kids, relationships, moving. I don't understand while snakes will out live most dogs they are treated as a temporary commitment, when clearly they are a long term one.

There's all sorts of reasons that this hobby is a revolving door that never stops...money is a HUGE one. A lot of people get into this seeing dollar signs, and for the overwhelming majority, it never pans out. They don't have the passion to keep the snakes, and when they realize that the mojave male and 4 normal females they bought back in 08 are not going to recoup their investment, they bail. I've seen a guy put quite an impressive collection of 40ish snakes together in a year's time, and one trip to the vet spread his finances too thin and he sold it all off.

Then there's this to consider...forums aren't for everyone, and not everyone is for forums. A LOT of people who keep/breed reptiles don't frequent forums much, if at all.

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Originally Posted by Rob

I don't understand while snakes will out live most dogs they are treated as a temporary commitment, when clearly they are a long term one.

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If it came down to my snakes or my dog, sadly, my snakes would go. The way snakes get tossed around doesn't help the "long term" aspect of snake keeping either.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RobNJ

If it came down to my snakes or my dog, sadly, my snakes would go. The way snakes get tossed around doesn't help the "long term" aspect of snake keeping either.

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I never said people had to pick one over the other. My point was a snakes life span is generally longer then a dogs yet people are so fast to sell/ trade snakes like they are baseball cards. Sadly I think a lot of people just see them as a cool looking object, not the living breathing animal that they are.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rob

I never said people had to pick one over the other. My point was a snakes life span is generally longer then a dogs yet people are so fast to sell/ trade snakes like they are baseball cards. Sadly I think a lot of people just see them as a cool looking object, not the living breathing animal that they are.

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It probably doesn't help that we call them a collection and not just "my pets". You call someone's pack of dogs a collection and they'll tell you they're not running an art gallery or collecting stamps.

It's also a lot more expensive to get into breeding dogs (provided you do it properly, ie health tests, titles, etc) unless you're working with some crazy morphs.

Not that I don't agree with you, I hate how on my craigslist the most active guy just wants trades for BP morphs... xbox for bp morph, fan items for bp morph, etcetc. They're not trading cards that you can just swap on a whim. They're living breathing animals that might not have higher emotion, but Quetzal definitely seems to associate me and only me with "safety" considering he doesn't seem particularly interested in crawling on anyone else.