My Collection is Complete: I am done acquiring reptiles

[dakski]

Oh stop! You're SO bad! (then again, I "like" the number 15 much better than 14...just saying-)

Besides, I've never once had a bad Friday the 13th. Just a silly superstition...& when we take things out of context, we can find all sorts of silly excuses, instead of realizing all the other times that a particular number was just great.

dakski: it would be so much better for pets of all kinds if everyone did the sort of soul-searching that you've done to reach a harmonious number that you can
enjoy & handle without feeling burdened.

Thank you Bogertophis. I agree, but it's not for me to say when others' have reached their limits. It's individual thing. I just know I am there.

Health issues and other life issues have taught me to always reflect and evaluate. I think it's healthy and knowledge is power. A lot of people do not want to seek answers because they may not like what they find. To me, I'd rather know where I stand.

Would it be cool to have another Boa, or a dwarf burmese, etc.? Sure. However, I know that now, that would be at someone else's expense. I am not willing to do that. When I take an animal on, I plan to keep them for their life. I plan to care for them appropriately and to the best of my ability. Have I been impulsive in the past about getting an animal? Absolutely. However, I had no doubt I could care for that animal.

It's hard being a "collector," especially of living things. I collect inanimate things too, like whiskey and cigars. I always want something great on hand and want to try the latest and greatest. The only thing I hurt here, by getting another bottle of whiskey, for example, is space in my liquor closet, and my wallet. No risk of hurting the whiskey.

However, with animals, although most keepers' love them and enjoy them, I feel, with reptiles, even people who love their pets and want to do the best for them, often get carried away. We always seem to want the next morph, or next species, etc. The reality is, it will never stop unless you stop it. You will suffer in the end, potentially lose your passion for the hobby and reptiles, and the animals will ultimately suffer.

It was tough, but I will not let the animals I have and I have committed to suffer in any way. Take Cleo, Carra, and Kayla, my leopard geckos. The used to all live together in a 4X2' enclosure and everything was pretty good. About a year ago, Cleo got aggressive and had to be separated and got her own tank. Then I did more and more research. Leopard geckos tend to thrive on their own better than in groups. I didn't want to hear that, because that meant another tank to buy, which meant one less spot for another species, etc. It would have been much easier if they all got along and lived together, of course. However, that wasn't in the cards. Since I've separated them, they are all thriving. Carra is having great sheds for the first time, Kayla isn't being picky with food anymore, and Cleo is being more social with me.

Not ideal using 3 3X2' tanks, or 18 SQ/FT of space for 3 leopard geckos. Would have been easy to say, this is not what I was told/expected, and re-homed at least one or two.

However, I made a commitment to the three of them. I know that few people would care for them the way I do. I also love them all and am attached to them.

So, three 3X2' tanks for 3 leopard geckos in this house. Insane? A little, but they are happy and I am happy to keep them, enjoy them, and live up to my commitment.

I think it's important for everyone who buys/acquires a reptile, or any animal, to understand what is involved (cost and space wise especially), for how long, how to properly care for that animal, etc. They are living creatures. Plus, in general, I believe people get off the hook too easy in our society. "What's next?" "Where's my paper plate? I don't want to do dishes." "I changed my mind." Commitments do not seem to matter much anymore. It saddens me, especially when living creatures, and other people are hurt by it.

Growing up I saw the damage of people not taking commitments seriously, and I see it to this day. Parents, grandparent, friends, people I meet, etc. It's all about doing what they want when they want.

I was unfortunate to have family who didn't honor their commitments to each other or to their children (who they chose to have).

I won't make the same mistakes. It's just me. Am I better or worse than anyone else? I don't know. It's certainly not for me to judge, or anyone else for that matter, here on Earth.

I do know that my friends, family, and Katie specifically, appreciate how I honor them and my commitments.

All that matters more to me than having another reptile.

Sorry to go a long way here and on a little bit of a diatribe. However, part of the purpose here is to give people food for thought regarding reptile keeping, and I guess, life.