How do you guage "experience"?

Broad question (I apologize if it's been brought up recently):

How do you personally guage someone's or yourself's experience level with keeping or breeding reptiles?

Do you consider someone experienced when they have x amount of animals, x amount of years working with reptiles, the number of different species someone has/are working with, etc etc?

What experience level do you think you're at now and why? Do you feel experienced with a certain species instead of with lots of reptiles? If you're more novice/beginner/likewise what species would you like to work with/breed/own in the future and why?

I know there's so many factors but I'd like to hear input!

I don't think number of animals has anything to do with it. There are "horders" out there that have a large number of animals, but all are suffering and in poor condition due to lack of knowledge or "experience". There are also experts that due to space or financial situations only have a few.

My level... I still have a lot to learn, and I have no experience breeding, so I'll say I'm still a newbie. But I study and ask questions every day, I believe the more I know the safer my animals are. I've made some big mistakes and 18 years ago those mistakes killed my first snake, a nice Red Tail.

I believe that number of animals or years of experience have nothing to do with it. Because some people could have years of doing everything wrong, and some people could keep reptiles for years and just know the basics, never bothering to do any research on them. Experience is all about knowledge. Personally, until I found this website my knowledge of ball pythons and other reptiles was minuscule. As I knew the basic care requirements and some key facts etc. Since i've found this forum, in the last going on two months i've been on here for at least four-six hours a day learning as much as I can. I can look at almost any snake and tell you exactly what it is, give you an educated guess as to how old it is, and tell you whether or not it is a healthy animal. I am an aspiring reptile expert, right now i'm in the process of earning a four year degree in computer programming/engineering. But that is just to pay bills. When I finish with that I will either go back to school for Herpetology or join the U.S. Marines and let them pay for it after four years of service. My species of specialty is ball pythons and as far as experience level I would have to say that I have advanced greatly with this species, thought I have no breeding experience as of yet so I wouldn't go as far as to say that my experience level is advanced. As well i've learn a lot about other reptiles too. Sorry for the long post :oops:

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Originally Posted by Daybreaker

Broad question (I apologize if it's been brought up recently):

How do you personally guage someone's or yourself's experience level with keeping or breeding reptiles?

Do you consider someone experienced when they have x amount of animals, x amount of years working with reptiles, the number of different species someone has/are working with, etc etc?

What experience level do you think you're at now and why? Do you feel experienced with a certain species instead of with lots of reptiles? If you're more novice/beginner/likewise what species would you like to work with/breed/own in the future and why?

I know there's so many factors but I'd like to hear input!

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In short all of the above.

If you’re talking about over all experience as a herpetoculturist then I would say that the years of experience and number of animals and species a person has worked with would for me be the most defining factors in how experienced someone is. Knowledge is the greatest pursuit in life in my opinion and no matter from where you acquire it, it is potentially valuable. The internet is a great tool and there is allot of good information that can be gathered from it although one must be careful because there is at least as much bad info out there as good. But in my opinion the most valuable knowledge can only be gained first hand through personal experience. Take myself for example. I have been keeping reptiles for almost 20 years, in that time I have kept many different herps. Several lizards including multiple species of skinks, geckos and monitors as well as Gilas. Colubrids both new and old world. pythons including bloods, retics, burms, afrocks, white lips, and of course balls. Boas including hogs, Surinam’s, rainbow’s and Columbians. As well as multiple species of Crotalus, Bitis, Atheris, and agkistrodon. My collection over the years has ranged from almost 300 to just 2 or 3 animals. I consider myself very well versed in the animals I keep have kept or whish top keep and I still learn new things every day. That’s the awesome part of this hobby, no matter how much you learn there is always more.

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Originally Posted by Daybreaker

Broad question (I apologize if it's been brought up recently):

How do you personally guage someone's or yourself's experience level with keeping or breeding reptiles?

Do you consider someone experienced when they have x amount of animals, x amount of years working with reptiles, the number of different species someone has/are working with, etc etc?

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There are many factors I consider but probably one of the most obvious is reproduction. If you're able to raise a young animal to adulthood and then breed it and create more, healthy young then you must be doing something right. Every subsequent generation you breed in captivity would further reinforce your level of experience, with that specific species, in my opinion. This isn't the only thing I consider when gauging experience but it is undoubtedly one of the most telling.

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What experience level do you think you're at now and why? Do you feel experienced with a certain species instead of with lots of reptiles? If you're more novice/beginner/likewise what species would you like to work with/breed/own in the future and why?

I know there's so many factors but I'd like to hear input!

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I'll consider myself intermediate until I've successfully kept and bred all the species that interest me. So it looks like I'll be intermediate for life! :D

I would agree with most of what's already been posted. I have kept herps since I was a child and so I have nearly 30 years of "experience". But I will say that I don't think I gained too much practical knowledge when I was quite young. There are things a child can learn of course, but there's really only a certain amount of practical application at such a young age. More recently, I've kept various geckos, tortoises, and BPs although there was a time while I was in college when I didn't have any herps. But even though I didn't own herps during that time, I did continue my education and kept up to date with the hobby. I got my current BP a few years after marrying my hubby and all that continued education was invaluable. I also found this site and broadened my knowledge even more and I'm excited to be a part of the community again.

I have never bred any herps so I'd certainly say I'm a novice in that department. But I'd say I'm fairly intermediate with general care and husbandry. I also feel I'm experienced enough to offer some sound, general advice although I have no problem stating that I don't know the answer if I don't know.

I think experience should be weighed on many factors and not one set standard alone.

Experience is two things, knowledge and time. A person that can readily answer any questions especially uncommon ones I would call experienced. Also, the longer a person has done the same thing usually they will be more proficient at it. So in my opinion I'd say the longer they've done something compared to another and the more knowledge they have than another, the more experienced that person would be.

Experience....http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/experience

Knowledge...http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/knowledge

You can gain knowledge through experience, but you can only gain experience through DOING.

This is why you have people who have college degrees (knowledge) sometimes having a hard time finding a job due to not having any experience (doing).

I think experience is combination of everything everyone is saying. Experience is all about knowledge. But at some point you have to put that knowledge into action. It also depends on who you are talking too. My professor would say I was not very experienced in handling hots even though I interned at a zoo for 3 months and have had 3 years of handling hots under supervision. But to some that would look like a long time of handling snakes. Experience is totally dependent on the viewer and it depends on a lot of factors. But that being said, my opinion of experience is someone who is constantly craving new knowledge on how to improve their herps well-being. Someone who has properly cared for their herps. Someone who knows proper handling of their herps. And someone who has handled a wide variety of herps.

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Originally Posted by dart

Experience is two things, knowledge and time. A person that can readily answer any questions especially uncommon ones I would call experienced. Also, the longer a person has done the same thing usually they will be more proficient at it. So in my opinion I'd say the longer they've done something compared to another and the more knowledge they have than another, the more experienced that person would be.

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^^ This.

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Originally Posted by Daybreaker

Broad question (I apologize if it's been brought up recently):

How do you personally guage someone's or yourself's experience level with keeping or breeding reptiles?

Do you consider someone experienced when they have x amount of animals, x amount of years working with reptiles, the number of different species someone has/are working with, etc etc?

What experience level do you think you're at now and why? Do you feel experienced with a certain species instead of with lots of reptiles? If you're more novice/beginner/likewise what species would you like to work with/breed/own in the future and why?

I know there's so many factors but I'd like to hear input!

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Nice reptiles collection. Did they never bite to you?

Good judgement comes from experience, often, experience comes from bad judgement.

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.

Experience is recognising our mistakes once we have made them.

See the trend in the notable quotables? You gain experience by doing. You gain knowledge by reading.

I can read about a complicated surgical procedure, but that does not mean I have any experience doing it.

I can read about exploring the Marianas trench in a submarine, but that does not mean I have experience doing it.

Likewise you can read about how to sex a snake. You can read about how to administer injections to an animal. You can read about how to remove a stuck eyecap.

But that does not mean you have experience doing it.

Experience is not parroting or regurgitating what someone else knows or sharing what you have read. When you do that, all you are doing is sharing someone else's experience.

When someone asks a specific question about snake care, an experienced keeper relates what has worked for him/her successfully. An inexperienced keeper cribs the information from a care sheet or from what an experienced keeper has shared.

Can't make it any simpler than that. You've either done it, or you haven't. Being the first one to Google the correct answer or being the first one to offer up someone else's experiences is not a substitute for actual hands on expertise.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

Good judgement comes from experience, often, experience comes from bad judgement.

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.

Experience is recognising our mistakes once we have made them.

See the trend in the notable quotables? You gain experience by doing. You gain knowledge by reading.

I can read about a complicated surgical procedure, but that does not mean I have any experience doing it.

I can read about exploring the Marianas trench in a submarine, but that does not mean I have experience doing it.

Likewise you can read about how to sex a snake. You can read about how to administer injections to an animal. You can read about how to remove a stuck eyecap.

But that does not mean you have experience doing it.

Experience is not parroting or regurgitating what someone else knows or sharing what you have read. When you do that, all you are doing is sharing someone else's experience.

When someone asks a specific question about snake care, an experienced keeper relates what has worked for him/her successfully. An inexperienced keeper cribs the information from a care sheet or from what an experienced keeper has shared.

Can't make it any simpler than that. You've either done it, or you haven't. Being the first one to Google the correct answer or being the first one to offer up someone else's experiences is not a substitute for actual hands on expertise.

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What he said.......

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Originally Posted by Daybreaker

Broad question (I apologize if it's been brought up recently):

How do you personally guage someone's or yourself's experience level with keeping or breeding reptiles?

Do you consider someone experienced when they have x amount of animals, x amount of years working with reptiles, the number of different species someone has/are working with, etc etc?

What experience level do you think you're at now and why? Do you feel experienced with a certain species instead of with lots of reptiles? If you're more novice/beginner/likewise what species would you like to work with/breed/own in the future and why?

I know there's so many factors but I'd like to hear input!

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This is like asking how do you tell if a painting is beautiful. There are many levels to experience. A person could memorize 100 books on all levels of husbandry but until you see it a few times its hard to notice the differences in the animals body language that indicate, they are hungry vs just being out of their hide. I still see my BP head out and think tonight she will eat only to have her recoil as soon as the rodent is presented. The following week I think ok what was I thinking last week. That's a hungry snake and sure enough I get a good feed. In 10 years I might be nearly perfect in reading my snake only to fail miserably when I get a new BP. Time and number of animals can help one person gain experience while another learns nothing. I have far more experience with horses and the one thing I have learned is that a person is only really good at judging whether another person has more, less or the same experience level as them.

Wonderful input everyone! Very insightful

(I apologize for not coming in earlier to check through the thread, had internet problems) :(