Oh man i didn't think there was an "Introduce Yourself" section in the forum >.<' sorry if i didn't it before but in the italian forum there is no "Introdusce Yourself" option, sorry again. My name is Kaali, i am romanian but i have been living in Italy for +25 years because i am adopted, my roots and soul are and will be always romanian though. I am a final year undergraduate student in Chemistry, even if my real passion is Medicine that i am going to attend after Chemistry. My main reason for joining this forum is because first i love snakes and all reptiles and i wanted to know more and better about them since i am going to get a male royal python (i like "ball python" too but i am used to "royal" adjective) and second i want to improve my english knowledge (english is not my first language so please excuse any mistakes or typing errors because sometimes i type fast, my mind is faster than my hands XD). I love this forum because is full of cool and useful infos about reptiles and because i can sense a friendly atmosphere with enthusiastic people always ready to help you with suggests and advices unlike the italian snake forum i visit (the people are nice but i feel a more cold atmosphere, even though i use it for infos about where to buy all accessories for snake caresheet).
I always loved animals and reptiles in particular among vertebrates, my first encounter with a snake was with an asp viper. I was 5 years old and i was excited because one of my childhood wish was to see a real snake, after watching them on documentaries. The viper was on the left side of my house under a pile of tiles and stuff, it was coiled and calm, i went up to it very slowly and i saw it, i immediately recognised it as viper due to broad and triangular head and vertical pupils. It flipped its tongue calmly and after this magic moment i got up and walked away. Sadly i was never able to see a live grass snake (Natix natrix), people kill them because they mistake them for vipers -_-i got really mad and frustated when i found my neighbours killed a grass snake. Snakes and lizards are my favourite reptiles not only for scientific studies and passion but also for religious reasons, since i practise tibetan buddhism where nagas (mythological creatuers half-men and half-snake) play an important role in practise and nagas are strongly related to snakes even from an energetic point of view, of course according tibetan buddhism and shamanism.
Finally after a year and half i managed to persuade my mother to keep a python, all subliminal messages worked (just kidding). I look forward to taking care of my future scaly friend. Sorry for this loooong introduction but i am very happy to stay here and read your threads, see you later!