How to say NO MORE...

Seriously. Every time I set a limit on snakes I end up with more. I wanted to downsize to 6 pets (except for this last batch of hatchlings), I even rehomed some last year that were to be future breeders....Now Im back up to 8..I sold some of my babies this week to the local petstore and they had this big male ball python that they wanted to be rid of, it was brought in by someone moving..guess what,,I brought it home.
I just recently bought a couple of gophers that this guy just about begged me to take and gave me such a good deal I had to say yes.
I really dont want a gazillion snakes again. I need to isolate myself away from all things reptile.
Anyone else have this problem? Im such a weak willed wimp.But snakes are just sooo cool.

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Originally Posted by Miranda2

Seriously. Every time I set a limit on snakes I end up with more. I wanted to downsize to 6 pets (except for this last batch of hatchlings), I even rehomed some last year that were to be future breeders....Now Im back up to 8..I sold some of my babies this week to the local petstore and they had this big male ball python that they wanted to be rid of, it was brought in by someone moving..guess what,,I brought it home.
I just recently bought a couple of gophers that this guy just about begged me to take and gave me such a good deal I had to say yes.
I really dont want a gazillion snakes again. I need to isolate myself away from all things reptile.
Anyone else have this problem? Im such a weak willed wimp.But snakes are just sooo cool.

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LOL I have two BP and a bearded dragon. but I make my self feel better by telling everyone that the dragon is my daughters lol I also cant get the thought of another snake out of my head. the wife wants to build a stack for them and I know once that's done that we will have more snakes.. they are just to cool

Yea. I know the feeling. I tried to limit myself to ten ball pythons. I think including what i bought today (not counting the 17hatchlings i have right now) I'm about 35 or so. Fortunately all the hatchlings that are old enough to go have found new homes and will be shipping soon.

I limit the number of racks allowed in the house so that I don't just have empty bins laying around to welcome a new snake into the home. It's easier to say no when you also have to buy all the stuff that comes with housing one. :)

Just remember, recognizing that you have a problem is the first step to recovery, so you're on your way. Take it one snake, er I mean, one day at a time.

The BP serenity prayer is as follows:

Lord, give me the cash to purchase that which I can afford
the strength not to do payments on that which I cannot,
and a spouse or significant other to show me the difference.

Haha if you find out I want to know too! I started with just that "one" snake and that has somehow turned into 21 :) I've just had to stop going to the Atlanta Repticon because if I see a morph that I like I'm going to get it lol. I have no control just to window shop there...they are just so beautiful :)

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Originally Posted by Juliemay13

I started with just that "one" snake and that has somehow turned into 21 :)

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Same. Except that I'm up to 24 now. Granted, a few of those are going to new homes soon. I'm pretty limited space-wise and running out of corners I can shove racks in. It's as good a reason as any to stop getting more, right?

I have found from persoanl experience that the lack of money is a good motivator. Also, having a kid is another good motivator for not getting anymore snakes.

Lack of space or temperature controls helps. When I had a three bedroom apartment, I had 10 snakes, 5 crested geckos, 2 leopard geckos, a bearded dragon, and a frog (plus a cat). Now I live in a small farm house where the "bedroom" is really the old living room, with no central air or heat :( I keep two BPs in the newer addition of the house, but it's a cramped space.

I'm in the process of building a house though... with a huge basement. And three bedrooms. And my husband and I are already planning on getting a Tegu, a boa, a couple beardies, and who knows what else lol (I'm personally planning another colony of either cresties or leos, but he doesn't need to know about that yet.....)

No comment. I know I need therapy. (But I can't afford it because of all the snakes!):rolleye2:

You gotta be kidding, you come to THIS forum for tips on Not acquiring snakes? :D That's like asking a junky how to come clean. Good luck with that! ;)

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Originally Posted by Reinz

You gotta be kidding, you come to THIS forum for tips on Not acquiring snakes? :D That's like asking a junky how to come clean. Good luck with that! ;)

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So very true ! :)

Pretty easy the key is not to have any empty enclosure and no longer buy any.

I have a certain amount of enclosures for my adults, so if I want something new something else has to go.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I started out with one baby Corn Snake in a tank. Then I discovered Neodesha 3 packs. But then realized my office would look so much better with a stack on either side of the window. As I expanded cages, so did my species range expand. At that point, I figured out that my desk and office stuff could fit very nicely in the first floor laundry room, and I could rent a pickup truck to snag used 422D's which expanded the size range of what I could keep. 11 species later, my son and his fiancé bought me a chest freezer for my birthday to get the rodents out of the kitchen.
I have no advice other than this... if it ends up looking like a warehouse, and you can't remember who you have, and taking care of them is too costly in time, energy, and money... then you've gone too far.
How much of your resources do you really want to spend on your snakes? How are you keeping them? In a dedicated room? As living area displays? This, too, will limit your numbers. And just like any other pet, what size can you safely handle, how much poop and pee are you willing and able to keep cleaned up? And how long are you going to want to do this? Because they last decades, and rehoming one or two is easy, a dozen or two, not so much.

If you are ever at the point of having the time it takes to care for your animals affect your relationships with friends, family, romantic ones. You should take the time and money you'd spend on the next step and invest in those relationships instead.

Now that your friends and family know you aren't dead, ask them to watch your snakes while you use the next build's money on a field herping vacation tour (you'll see them posted every now and then on some sites)

There, you're poor again. No more snakes.

If you don't have friends, family or significant other or don't care about them I've found completely running out of room is the next step. If you keep your animals in tubs, instead of a new snake, pick a snake and put it in a nice vivarium. Do so with each urge.