How did you first get started?

[mooingtricycle]

I have always always loved snakes and amphibians and... well, everything to do with wild critters!

Ringnecks and Garters were my "pets" growing up. Id raise them for a time, feed them, bring them through a few sheds... and release them.

Years passed and i moved to a new town, not so many snakes, but lots and lots of frogs around, so i raised my own tadpoles, who turned into frogs and i let them go.

Went to the pet store with the Beau years after that and wanted to hold a ball python they had, he hadnt held a snake that big before and thought it was the coolest thing ever, so the next day he went and bought him and brought him home. I wanted one so badly, i went to the nearest petco after doing a TON of research and got my very own. Asus ( My First and favorite girl!) After that... and a second BP... the rest is well.... history!

[Patrick Long]

I was like 7 and I got a snow corn for Christmahaunakwansica

[LadyOhh]

Christmahaunakwansica

BEST HOLIDAY EVER

[littleindiangirl]

Hmmm

My best friend and I used to go to the petco in the town over to look at the animals there. We we're infatuated with this grey rat snake (a big one too) and from there really wanted to buy a grey snake. (cuz they look bad ass).

Then I met Chris and bothered him about getting a snake until we went to our first reptile show down in grand rapids. We came home with 2 snakes, a normal and a little baby pastel from TWH, and have expanded upwards and onwards since then.

[Ladydragon]

it started in school. every year someone would come to school with a variety of herps and small animals. I was pretty much the only girl who volunteered the hold the snakes. Fast forward to after having my first child and the itch to own a snake had returned in full force and I got a corn snake. that turned to three corns (now only 2 cause one is MIA ) which in turn led me to the cornsnake forum and that led me here and now I'm up to seven bp's and plan on getting more. I enjoy all of them and look forward to expanding my collection as time, money and space allows me.

[broadude]

I was a Divorcee, and one of my sons was babysitting for a girlfriend's snakes. She happened to have an Albino Burmese that I thought was sooo gorgeous. My son realized that I couldn't take my eyes off the animal and was always looking it..just fascinated.

I had never been exposed to snakes, but being Deaf, I also didn't get most of the fear-programming that most of society has, so when he asked me if I wanted to hold it, I quickly said, "YES!" I didn't know they could be held!

After I held that 6 foot beauty, I was hooked. I researched and found this website (Psst...wanna see my pet snake?) and realized that I couldn't deal with a Burm...further research led me to the BP and I fell in love again. I later met the love of my life and we got married, I shared my desire to own a snake with my new hubby and we went to Afishcondos where he brought me my very first Ball Python (I still have him).

We joined reptileforums (thanks DaemNox and Callalilly for the education) kept a low profile and learned...(he joined KS, but it was not the kind of site I was interested in..too "busy.") We learned and he brought me a Pastel next. He fell in love with the snakes himself and brought me an Albino for an early Christmas present and himself a het albino (he just proved out this year!) before he passed. Since we had wanted to play with the genetics of these animals (he bred fish for a hobby)...and he left me with enough money to have fun...I just immersed myself into collecting the morphs that caught my eyes.

The collection grew and I decided to continue and do what we had dreamed of doing before he died.

[ADEE]

when i was young my dad would bring home various creatures along the way.. he was an exterminator so of course he found all kinds of things! It started with a ring neck snake in a water bottle my dad brought home and after showing me it, it was released. ever since i HAD TO HAVE a snake.. when my now DH and I turned 18 he got me my first albino burmese, not long after that it started biting, alot... i got pregnant with my son and we got rid of the snake, then a couple years later we were driving in the car and i begged DH for another snake... that night we picked up a BP and the rest is history.

We didnt get a loan from family, we didnt borrow money, exc.. we saved up and bought each morph, we got everything except two females very young so it was as affordable as possible, for the morphs we couldnt afford (the bee, bel, exc) we bought the ingredients and are going to create our own.

As for borrowing money, asking family for help, exc....for almost 6 months my mil had no idea... just now over a year later my parents just found out. Thankfully they were all more excepting them I ever thought they would be.

[Muze]

I am the quintessential animal lover. I love fuzzies, featheries, scaleys. You name it, I've had it as a pet (mostly rescues). Add 2 years doing wildlife rescue, and my fate was sealed.

However, I've always had a particular soft spot for snakes. It all started out early this year with baby Marlon, a really young male Pastel . I now share my home with 13 BPs, and 1 Hognose. All, but 2 of my BPs are of breeding size/age, so this coming season I will be busy (I will have YBs, Spiders, Pinstripes, Mojaves, Spotnoses, Pastels, & hopefully, a few Doms-& normals, of course-lighting up my life) .

I did it all with disposable income. I am lucky enough to have a great job, and I live well within my means. Hopefully, after this season, we will be moving to a larger place so I can reach my max cap of 50-100 breeder BPs. I can say that it is a lot of hard work, but I absolutely love my collection.