poll-what kind of keeper are YOU?

so what kind of keeper are you? novice hobbiest, intermediate hobbiest, advanced hobbiest, novice professional, intermediate professional, advanced professional.

hobbiest - not trying to make a living off of it (small breeding projects included, not a bussiness though)

professional - make a living off of it, or are trying too.

and i would also like for people chime in on what they think a novice intermediate and advanced keeper is?

what would you consider me, i personally consider myself intermediate, i have owned 4 snakes, different species, and am very educated in each of the species (do tons of research on them) and a general knowledge of snakes and floridas snakes especially.

also please post your animal count and so on and so forth.

HAVE FUN!!!!

I'd consider myself an intermediate hobbyist. I have 5 ball pythons and a bearded dragon, I'm constantly nerding out on the internet everywhere I can in order to learn more. I don't know everything by far but, I'm tryingggg! lol.

I do plan to eventually breed and maybe making it a minor financial venture. but at the moment, still just a hobbyist!

Intermediate hobbyist I guess.
I got my first two Leopard geckos 5 years ago and now have four of them, two Irian Jaya Carpets and a Greek tortoise. I am also a semi-permanent babysitter for my son's Leopard gecko (the reptile that started it all!!), Corn snake and Brazilian Rainbow boa.

Hobbyist, yes. Not so much a novice but not really intermediate, but I chose the latter.

4.2 ball pythons, an iguana(male) and I'm working on getting a macaw, because I miss keeping birds.

I said intermediate hobbiest, because I work with the snakes at my job, and I have a handful of bp's.

I would say intermediate hobbiest. I did thorough research on each species before getting them, making sure i was fully aware of each animals specific husbandry requirements.

I own a Ball Python, a BRB, A GrayBanded Kingsnake, A Paradox Albino Sand Boa, and her 4 offspring.

Id say im in between Intermediate and advanced...

Ive been breeding snakes for some time now, keeping large and small species.

My knowledge is mainly in BPs, Retics, and Anacondas. but its not limited to them.


im only 19, but id say im quite knowledgeable.

I am definitely only a novice hobbyist at this point. I have only been keeping ball pythons since 2008. I still do research on this species every day. Coming here I learn something new every day. I would one day like to breed ball pythons, not so much to make money, but for the sheer enjoyment of watching these creatures grow.

I called myself an "intermediate hobbyist" - I've been keeping snakes for about 1.5 years, and also kept lizards for a few years. I'm not a novice anymore, since I know more than your average newbie... however I wouldn't consider myself an expert yet. Oh, and I am currently incubating my first clutch, but nowhere near "professional" at this time. ;)

I am between an intermediate and an advanced hobbyist.

Intermediate for BP because I have 4 of them and plan on trying to breed them next year.

Advanced for water turtles because I have experience with several species and I am currently breeding Mud turtles. I'm also a vet tech have some medical experience about basic and more advanced treatment.

I went with intermediate hobbyest. I have several breeding projects going on now, some completed. I keep boa constrictors, ball pythons, leopard gecko morphs, bearded dragons, and a couple of dogs and too many fish. :O

I said intermediate. Right now I have two BCI's and three ball python. But I have kept leo's, a beardie, SD tic, and a JCP. I used to keep anoles and red bellied toads when I was younger, of course with the help of dad.

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and a couple of dogs and too many fish.

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Haha I know what you mean. We have four dogs and three cats. And my basement is for my dads reef tanks. He has a 240 gallon show tank, 100 gallon frag tank, 45 gallon refugium, 65 gallon frag tank, and about enough plumbing to stretch across the US. Haha:rolleye2:

I'm a novice Hobbyist with BP's Since I just got my first Ball.He was given to me buy a neighbor who bit off more then he could chew. And between novice and intermediate for Burm's one 10/ft one 8/ft raised from young both donated to a reptile show when I moved to wyoming 10/yrs ago. Enjoying this ball though especially since they don't get as large. I have three kids My 11/y girl is fine just not her taste but my 7/y boy and 5/y girl are ecstatic over it. They ask all the time to hold it. I think once I get settled I will get them their own probably Morph's. I'd like to try breeding.:D

I have been breeding for 6 years now, have more than 200 animals in the collection, and have gone thru a gamut of things that could and would happen to a breeder.

I believe I stand between an Intermediate and Advanced Professional, as I feel that I don't know everything that can be known, but I am comfortable sharing my knowledge and have a background of experience to fall back on.

this is a really cool thread :gj::gj:

i said intermediate hobbiest - i am interested in breeding but i don't plan on doing it. i know a lot about the reptiles i find fascinating. i feel comfortable enough to give advice as well but it will not be as high caliber as an advanced hobbiest :gj:

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Originally Posted by FIEND_FO_LYFE

Id say im in between Intermediate and advanced...

Ive been breeding snakes for some time now, keeping large and small species.

My knowledge is mainly in BPs, Retics, and Anacondas. but its not limited to them.


im only 19, but id say im quite knowledgeable.

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i would say your advanced :gj:. retics! anacondas! those are advanced reptiles! those are the snakes that have "must be 18 or older to purchase" because they are very difficult and dangerous if the keeper is not responsible :bow:

I consider myself an intermediate hobbyist. I breed though as of right now, I do not plan to make an actual business out of it. I have experience with ball pythons, corn snakes, leopard geckos, bearded dragons, limited experience with columbian red tail boas, and a few other species, but I do not know everything there is to know. I learn on a daily basis.

I plan to further my knowledge and keep many different species and breed many of them.

I'm not sure which I should pick. Help me out:

Got my first reptile, a green anole, in 1972.
Got my first boa constrictor in 1979.
Got my first burm in 1990.
Got my first Green iguana in 1990.
Got my first Nile and water monitors in 1990.
Got my first (and only) American alligator in 1993.
Bred my first Burms in 1995.

After that, there's all kinds of things, mostly larger herps (green anaconda, African Rock python, reticulated pythons) but the odd king, corn and other things thrown in. There was a crisis in the familly which forced me to give up the hobby for a period of four years, but I am now back in, to a smaller degree.

I currently keep bp's, redfoot tortoises, Burmese mountain tortoises, ackies, an Ornate monitor, a burm, a cal king and a yellow anaconda.

Chris

And oh, it's spelled "hobbyist" lol.

Id like to go on a limb and say Advanced hobbyist, because not only have I cared for many many reptiles, but if they got sick Id know exactly how to treat them if not life threatening (then they go to the vet). Really I have not kept a ton of reptiles, just Beardies, Anoles, Leopard geckos, Tortoises, Turtles (was a HUGE turtle person back in the day) Ball pythons, Kingsnakes, and a few odds and ends every once and a while.

Even though I've owned TONS of animals over the years, I've never had more than 2 setups at one time. So I consider myself a novice hobbyist. Honestly, I am quite content with this. I know a LOT of information, and I could keep a lot more animals, however I choose to remain a novice for the time being.

Plus it's hard enough for me to get girls over, why would I want them to really think I'm weird for having more than a few animals. Haha!

I consider myself a novice hobbyist because even though I know a fair amount about reptiles, I don't personally own any.

I said intermediate hobbyist. I may not have years under my belt, but I have practically put in a masters degree worth of time learning about all different kinds of reptiles.

Cornsnake started it all, unfortunately no longer with me.

0.2 leopard geckos
0.2 bearded dragons
1.0 normal ball
0.1 Peruvian RTB
1.0 BRB
1.0 Veiled Chameleon

I also have thousands of mealworms and superworms. My cricket colony didn't last because I fed them off too fast. I may do a round two with the crickets in a few more weeks.

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Originally Posted by jfreels

I also have thousands of mealworms and superworms. My cricket colony didn't last because I fed them off too fast. I may do a round two with the crickets in a few more weeks.

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Oh my G do we count these? Im not joking when I say ive had millions of crickets! Buying a couple thousand a week for a few years adds up!!...:P

I also forgot ive had RTBs... not long enough to say im avdanced on those though.

ide say advance, at one point i had 200 animals and breed them to make money, but over time my taste changed. and now i do it for me, get what i like dont care if i make money or not.

intermediate hobbiest mainly cause I spend more time with the snakes than i have looking for a girlfriend and out partying ( combined). I done rescues, hatched out eggs( unplanned still working on my first planned ones lol) built cages and have done many other things I never though I would do in the last 16 + years of reptile keeping.
So just in years of keeping I think i rank intermediate lol..

thanks alot guys very interesting replies!

I posted up as a novice Pro. I am a newer keeper, however I do intend to get into breeding. I am also currently working on designing and building custom display/furniture cages. My plan is to build them for myself and if I enjoy it start a business doing that on the side.

I have some other things I'm working on but I'll avoid mentioning them since I'm nowhere near close to done with them.

Deff a novice hobbyist here! I only have the one BP...I've had him for 4 years now. But I've been a lover of all reptiles since....birth I guess. The first stuffed animal I ever picked out at the store when I was 2 years old was a dinosaur! I was always chasing lizards and frogs/toads as a child and when I turned 21 I got my BP. I am currently saving to get an iguana and a sphinx cat. (ok, the sphinx isnt a reptile, but ya know, deff not your typical house cat!)

I currently own two ball pythons, a boa, a Borneo short tail, a rough scaled sand boa, and a gargoyle gecko. I have also previously kept a beardie (miss him soso much!) and three frogs (a Pacific and two Whites). I have been keeping herps for a number of years now and am very knowledgable about most reptiles. I do consider myself to be very experienced with reptiles. I will admit, some unfortunate experiences have been my own fault (most, actually), and I regret them but find it a good opportunity to learn from my mistakes. All of my animals are healthy and I put a lot into their wellbeing. I spend a lot of time researching reptiles, and am always looking to learn new things. So yes, I would consider myself an intermediate keeper, though I have not encountered a wide variety of species.

A dang(pg rated for bp.net) good looking one with an awesome physique.:D Pretty smart also.:D

I would put us between intermediate and a advanced professional. I have been doing this for almost over 4 years now. No where near knowing everything but feel I know enough to share and help others any time I can but I am not a know it all. We have well over 100 bp's and it grows more after every breeding season. We do use this as part of our income and hope to make it our main income within the next 2 years or so. I love making and watching these babies so it's not all about money. It's the joy and excitement before every egg hatches.

i dont think i'd count as a hobbyist...i'm just a regualr pet owner.

Like Big Gunns, I consider myself a clown,:D, On the herp note though I have produced thousands of babies..Corns and rat snakes, kings and milks, several in the pituophis family, a few ball pythons,:P, carpets,rosy boas upteen boa constrictors and the 1st in the country to captive produce boa constrictor nebulosa, one of if not the first with other locales of B.C and I hold the record for the largest clutch of Borneo python eggs at 44 eggs..I may have been the first to produce P curtus although another says they are but theres no date..No biggie,, I'm just a clown who loves his snakes and meets with success at what i'm doing...:D

Hmm I said intermediate hobbyist because I'm not sure I would ever consider myself a professional. I've got nine bps, tried my hand at breeding this year, this next season I should have four clutches.

Novice, I have read a heck of alot about herps in the past year or so but at the moment I have little to no experiance with them.

I am a novice hobbyist, trying to see if I can get my first normal for a start. Then buy other bp to get my favorite :) bumblebee

I consider myself an advanced hobbyist, not because I am a professional. Because I have been keeping all types of "critters" alive & healthy for most of my life & in 6 days I will be 55. I am an intellectual reader, meaning I get as much info on anything I keep as I can. I currently own 22 snakes, 10 tarantulas, 8 lizards, 7 dogs, 3 tortoises, 3 parakeets, 2 chinchillas, 1 wolf spider, & 1 hedgehog. I still have tons of info to learn about all my charges. I hope to breed my boas & king snakes in a few years.
2.3.0 - Red Tail Boas
1.2.0 - Cal-King Snakes
2.2.0 - Corn Snakes
1.1.0 - Rosy Boas
0.0.1 - Green Tree Python
0.1.0 - Red Blood Python
1.0.0 - Coastal Carpet Python
0.0.1 - Rainbow boa
1.0.0 - Pueblan Milk Snake,
0.1.0 - Piebald Ball Python - coming home in a month
0.0.1 - Great western Rat Snake
0.0.1 - Checkered Garter Snake

intermediate hobbyist

I've only been doing this for about 3 years. I own everything in my sig, but this is my first year producing babies. I don't know what would make me call myself advanced. I don't know. i guess things i don't know are...

I havn't really delt with many sicknesses, sometimes I suspect a possible RI so I take action against it early... never had a snake come down with it tho. never had to make a vet trip, so I basically know nothing in this area and hope I don't have to learn about this area lol. guess i should educate myself in this area just incase.

I can't pick out yellowbellys for crap. guess I should look into that. I blame my color blindness (yes yes i know I should still be able to tell lol)

I really don't have a network of people I talk to that are in this hobby, guess I never got into the social part of the hobby. I just talk on the forum.

I am currently learning to deal with fresh born out of the egg hatchlings, so i should have that hurdle under my belt soon. 2 of the babies i will keep and raise into breeders.

even if I did know all that, i still don't know what would make me feel comfortable saying im an advanced hobbyist. things i do have under my belt tho...

my knowledge is pretty vast of the animals I own. I know their requirements, im pretty comfortable saying I can read their body language pretty well.

I've raised 2 months old snakes into breeders, produced ball pythons, few more months im going to try carpet pythons.

I understand genetics very well, im sure there still some things I need to learn, but I don't think anyone knows it all. I don't need a calc but, I still use one sometimes due to lazyness lol.

I don't need a stupid dial or read out to tell me what the humidity is in a cage, between just looking at a cage and feelign the air, you can tell.

I also have gotten pretty good at building cages and racks (if that counts for anything lol).

those last things are stuff that I didn't know when I first got in this hobby.

Defiantly novice but moving into professional fast not to make a lot of money but to hopefully make enough to support the hobby. And to experience of breeding morph's

Leaning towards novice professional. We are just getting to the point where we are building an "inventory" to start attending the local show to sell some of the animals we've produced or have as extra breeders. I'm really looking forward to the next few years. Hoping we can grow enough to create a self sustaining hobby and maybe into a small business.

Novice hobbyist....for now. At the moment I have two snakes and a leo.

Although, in the past I've had dozens of anoles, a Texas collared lizard, a rough green snake and a common garter, but none of those went exceptionally well. The three new guys are also the first reptiles I've taken care of without dad's help. So yeah, novice.

I'm thinking I just got into the Intermediate Hobbyist stage myself, any further advancement into the Advanced category having to be cut short due to starting college.
I've definitely got this leopard gecko care thing down! And I'm working on mastering breeding them (only hatched 2 so far). but, again, having to put it on hold due to college (hello poor and penniless, lol).
I think I'll feel really accomplished when I get this ball python thing figured out, that's my next clear cut goal, to have an accomplished BP breeding and raise some healthy babies.

What I wish is that I could find a larger breeding or professional to kind of apprentice under or just help out with for a while (anyone in Savannah, GA want to put me to work?) mainly so I can soak up what knowledge they have and get more experience working with other species.

And I'd love to learn more about field herping :) that's a glorious combination of my two favorite things, reptiles and the outdoors.

I would say I may have crossed the line to intermediate hobbyist recently. I feel more confident and like I have alot more knowledge.


Still there's alot more I need to know especially when it comes to heating large snake cages, for instance how do people without heated snake rooms keep Carpet Pythons, Blood Pythons and Boas at the right temp in say a 70 degree room? I have ideas but no practical experience currently a closed air rack is saving my butt with my BP's. But you can't put everything in those racks. Carpets gotta climb and Bloods and Many boas are to big.

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Originally Posted by MissLeMew

4.2 ball pythons, an iguana(male) and I'm working on getting a macaw, because I miss keeping birds.

I said intermediate hobbiest, because I work with the snakes at my job, and I have a handful of bp's.

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OMG I ABSOLOUTLY LOVE MACAWS!!! what type are you thinking about getting??? right now i have a BCC (blue crowned conure):D

I chose "intermediate hobbyist"

I have about 20 snakes, and a dozen lizards.. I breed, but don't have anything SUPER fancy.

I guess I would think advanced hobbyist would be someone that sinks a lot of money into it, has more fancy morphs, etc

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Originally Posted by Miss Tuniwha

I guess I would think advanced hobbyist would be someone that sinks a lot of money into it, has more fancy morphs, etc

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Ok, now I feel the need to put in my 2 cents to what an advanced keeper is. I'm just using your words as the quote, Brandi, but it's not directed at you. I feel a lot of people put the value of someones collection and the coolness of their BP morphs into consideration when thinking about what an advanced keeper is but I think that's about backward of what one is.

IMHO, an advanced keeper is one who has mastered all the tools of being an intermediate keeper and takes it to the next level. You cannot become an advanced keeper by spending money, or even by breeding BP's for the next 100 years, this might make you a BP god, but not an advanced keeper.

An advanced keeper is one with experience with a wide range of herps. They are people who have worked past the caresheets and books. They are people who are ready to work with new species who's care cannot be found by googling it. They use their wide range of knowledge and previous experience with other species in order to add greater understanding to animals that previously have not thrived in captivity.

Too many people put stock in what someones BP collection is like when they think about what level someone is on. That's not where it lies. You can keep and breed 300 BP's in cb70 racks for the next 50 years, but unless you take the plunge into transferring your experience into advancing herpetoculture, you are not an advanced keeper. You're just following someone else's recipe to keeping and breeding the species.

when you list your pets what does 0.0.1 mean?

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Originally Posted by tsdsbd

so what kind of keeper are you? novice hobbiest, intermediate hobbiest, advanced hobbiest, novice professional, intermediate professional, advanced professional.

hobbiest - not trying to make a living off of it (small breeding projects included, not a bussiness though)

professional - make a living off of it, or are trying too.

and i would also like for people chime in on what they think a novice intermediate and advanced keeper is?

what would you consider me, i personally consider myself intermediate, i have owned 4 snakes, different species, and am very educated in each of the species (do tons of research on them) and a general knowledge of snakes and floridas snakes especially.

also please post your animal count and so on and so forth.

HAVE FUN!!!!

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I like to think of myself as PRO... no matter what the situation.... lol.

Seriously though. I would consider myself to be a novice professional. I've had several successful clutches, I just haven't hit the very high end yet. So at best... intermediate professional, but I'll stick with novice professional. I have 37 snakes (1 burm, rest are balls) and I also breed and sell rats. I have about 500-600 breeder rats at the moment.

I would say advanced NOVICE keeper :) I've been keeping since 2007.
I have a BP, a BCA, and a BRB. I haven't had a single problem I can recall, other than some picky eating behaviors. I've never attempted breeding. I do my homework, but haven't had enough experiences that would take me to the next level. I've never even been field herping, except accidentally. I do go to shows but don't participate in any clubs. I hit a few forums but generally don't consider myself qualified to give advice other than offer my limited experiences.

I'm an advanced freshwater fish hobbyist though!

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Originally Posted by garweft

Ok, now I feel the need to put in my 2 cents to what an advanced keeper is. I'm just using your words as the quote, Brandi, but it's not directed at you. I feel a lot of people put the value of someones collection and the coolness of their BP morphs into consideration when thinking about what an advanced keeper is but I think that's about backward of what one is.

IMHO, an advanced keeper is one who has mastered all the tools of being an intermediate keeper and takes it to the next level. You cannot become an advanced keeper by spending money, or even by breeding BP's for the next 100 years, this might make you a BP god, but not an advanced keeper.

An advanced keeper is one with experience with a wide range of herps. They are people who have worked past the caresheets and books. They are people who are ready to work with new species who's care cannot be found by googling it. They use their wide range of knowledge and previous experience with other species in order to add greater understanding to animals that previously have not thrived in captivity.

Too many people put stock in what someones BP collection is like when they think about what level someone is on. That's not where it lies. You can keep and breed 300 BP's in cb70 racks for the next 50 years, but unless you take the plunge into transferring your experience into advancing herpetoculture, you are not an advanced keeper. You're just following someone else's recipe to keeping and breeding the species.

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hrm.. I do understand .. it is an odd line that divides the categories.. hrmm.. *ponders*

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Originally Posted by Eileithyia's keeper

when you list your pets what does 0.0.1 mean?

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male.female.unknown..

so 0.0.1 would mean they have 1 snake, but they don't know the gender of it..


2.1 would be 2 males, 1 female.. you will usually see it listed like this, with just the 2 placings..