I was recently down at the Reptile World Serpentarium in Florida ( BTW, if you have a chance to go, it is well worth the money!) and I was talking to a staff member about snake teeth and they asked something to the effect of, "What's in your collection?" referring of course to my pet snakes, not a collection of teeth.

So why do we, as herp keepers, usually have more than one? Or do we? Maybe I'm totally off base and most herp keepers have just one?

It seems to me, based on my first assumption, that most pet owners have 1 dog, or 2-3 cats, or maybe a a bird, or pair of small birds. But the reptile keepers have much larger numbers. We have rack systems designed to keep dozens of snakes! I remember as a kid getting one, then two, then 3, and by the time I had to leave for college I had 6 different snakes all in my room. Empty top bunks without a mattress make for a great space for herp tanks

Here I am now with 3 (2 corns and a BP), and wanting a 4th and my wife doesn't want it or understand why I want it. Heck, I'm not even sure I understand why I want it. We have the room, and I feel like we have the time and money.

I think many people keep multiple pets because they are relatively low cost and low maintenance. Compare the space, money, and time needed for 4 dogs vs. 4 snakes. But there has got to be something more than that!

So has anyone else self analyzed the desire to amass huge numbers of pet herps?