Diversity in Collections

I was wondering earlier about diversity in others collections. What makes you want 100 ball pythons? What makes you want 1 of each colubrid? What makes you have the collection you have?

Some answers are obvious ie.."I like the way _____ snake looks so I have it"

Some answers are probably not so obvious.

What I want to know is....

Why do you have the collection you have? Not why do you keep snakes, not what got you started, but why have you narrowed (or broadened) your collection to what it is?

:D

Damn good question Baby Ears. I honestly can't say what draws me to certain morphs/species/specific animals. I'm still a wicked newcomer to the herp world so I'm sure as I am in the hobby longer and learn more my collection will change to represent that. Whether that means it just gets bigger from here or stays about the same and I trade off or sell some of the ones I have now I don't know.

Let's see if I can't try and answer the question.The balls I love for their laid back personalities and the huge array of paint jobs, my kings are probably the only ones I'll own just because I love the purple albinos, the hognoses are just FUN with their attitude of "I may be 6 inches long but inside I'm a 30 foot retic!" The corns I just have to mess around with, they're a sweet snake and I have a couple morphs I'd like to try to make myself but for the most part they're just a fun little side-project for me.

Good question. I am drawn to manageable, relatively small-sized reptiles. Snake-wise, I prefer Ball Pythons because I like constrictors, but I am not interested in keeping anything over 6 feet. I also love the amazing variety in morphs.

Lizard-wise, I am only interested in Bearded Dragons and Ackie Monitors also because they are manageable, not dangerous, and have pretty simple husbandry requirements. Skinks could also go on my list, but I have no plans for collecting those as of yet. I have rescused a few Uromastyx in my time, but I am not really interested in keeping them in my own collection (I found them homes).

I have Ball Pythons,Children's Pythons and Leopard Geckos because the conditions that they need are quite similar. It would be too tedious to me to keep up with radically differing temperature,humidity, housing and food requirements.

I have what I have cause it is what makes me happy and I know I can handle it.

Do I want to expand?? Absolutely!

Can I expand? Kinda...

Will I expand today when I get home? No way!

More animals to have, more to learn, and its even more problematic when the husbandry requirements are completely different.

SO, in conclusion, I want more, and plan to when I can provide the BEST possible situations for the animals I want.

I think between Dale and Heather, I am about the same. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I want to make sure I have a good handle on my main focus before I diversify too much. We do also have some Kenyan Sand Boas, Corn Snakes and Nicuraguan Boas.

This coming year, I plan to add a pair of Angolan Pythons and Black Bloods, because I can keep them in my Ball room, without having to make drastic changes in environment or finding an alternate location to keep my newest addiction.

Excellent points everyone.

I have found myself narrowing my collection, to more of the goals that I like/want.

Like Money Bags, I too tend to draft towards similar care species. I dont have any animals that I have to go above and beyond to provide their proper care....that said..if my wallet could do so, I would have more species with a more drastic requirement.

I keep Blood & Short-Tailed Pythons as well as Ball Pythons.

Ball Pythons, great animals with gentle disposition (most of the time!) a nice size and a myriad of colour morphs and the excitement of hatching them.

Bloods and Short-Tails, they keep me on my toes, they're big but not huge, so they're manageable and they have a fantastic natural variation, and we're just starting to see the Morphs come thick and fast!

Overall, they're the only 2 animals that really excite me, I can't begin to explain why that is, but they do!

Great question.

I think when buying more of the same type of animal, i.e. I own 3 ball pythons, it's just too easy to get a bunch of tubs, stick them all on the same thermostats, and relax. If you have different types of animals you really have to tweak the setups for each type.

On the other hand, if I had more room and money I would diversify much more!! Diversity in species is fun!

Great answers!

Wonderful question. :)

I think the largest thing that attracted me to Ball Pythons was their general docility, and "puppy dog" features. They were cute, and seemed like they would make a wonderful educational animal. Of course, the further I got into Ball Pythons, the more I realized how much I loved them. I currently have over 40 Ball Pythons, and my collection is always growing.

As for the diversity, I really enjoyed learning about all different species. From their captive husbandry, to their natural habitat. Every animal is like a lesson in Science, Responsibility, and Commitment.

I keep Amazon Tree Boas, Hog Island Boas, Asian Blue Beauties, Cave Dwelling Rat Snakes, Honduran Milk Snakes, Puget Sound Garters, Corn Snakes, Bairdi, Brazilian Rainbow Boas, Several different species of Nerodia, Tarantulas, Argentine Black and White Tegu, Bearded Dragons, Nosy Be Panther Chameleon, Crested Geckos, Leopard Geckos.

I plan to expand my collection (species wise) as I have the money, time, and means. I am currently researching Emerald Tree Boas (Corallus caninus). I'm hoping to add one to my collection in the next couple of months.

To sum it up, I guess I enjoy keeping a wide variety of animals because each animal is so different, each with a different lesson I want to learn.