wow!!?? (graphic?)

[TexanLady]

First, I'm going to pretend those photos are photoshopped. It will help me sleep better at night to believe that.

Second, I had no idea that there was such prejudice in the herp hobby! I kind of thought we all banded together against people that think snakes are evil or disgusting. The majority of my reptile collection is balls, but I also have two king snakes, two milk snakes, one leopard gecko, two red tails, and two burmese pythons. I in no way think one is better than the other. Every one has different characteristics and personalities, and each one has things I appreciate about it. To me a pet is a pet, and there is no such thing as better. It is personal preference. Although, I am completely opposed to selling large reptiles to individuals without the financial stability to have them. Sorry, but I personally think that boas, anacondas, burms, retics, shouldn't be as readily available as balls, kings, milks, etc. The simple fact is too many people get one and a year later have a nine foot snake they can't house, feed, or handle because it wasn't hand tamed properly. That is how I ended up with both my boas and burms. I adopted them from people that thought it would be "cool" to have a giant snake, and then the reality of owning it was too much for them.

One of my redtails, Cookie, had a huge infected burn on her from her previous owner. He had put a heat lamp in her cage with no cover and she burned herself on it. However, she was full grown, and he hadn't actually handled her in years (and yes, her cage was disgusting) because he was afraid of her. She bit him once when she was a juvenile, and it all got "real" to him. Because of that she was pretty much wild, and not only was the vet bill astronomical on her when I took her in, but treating her wound was not fun. She is a big ol' baby now, but I'll never forget how angry I was when I saw the condition she was in. And her owner? He said he was too scared to get close enough to take her out of the cage and clean it. She was literally sitting on top of years worth of feces in that big wooden box he'd built her. He just keep throwing more food in there and never cleaning anything out.

That's why I am so opposed to selling giant constrictors in the same manner balls and other snakes are sold. In my opinion red tails, burms, retics, anacondas, etc are not a beginner pet. They are also not a pet for some kid just out of high school and going into college that has no guarantee three years down the line he'll have the space or money to house it. This is why burms and retics are overrunning the American everglades, and the reason so many are abandoned or advertised as "Free to good home" on Craigslist.

Ok, rant over.

On another note, I have an Arabian and several Quarter horses. I also have a Shire, Andalusian, and Friesian. Yes, I went through a princess faze. I try not to dwell. Moving on, at the end of the day I think it comes down to what you are wanting to do with that horse. When I'm going to be in the saddle all day on a long trail ride nothing beats one of my Quarters. They are literally built to go all day long. That's why cowboys preferred them. When I was homecoming queen and rode in the high school parade? I was on my Friesian all decked out. Our two shires pull the wagon when we do hay rides. Different horses are bred for different things, so it's not really fair to judge them by the same standards.