Yes, yes, yes to all of the above. Couldn't have expressed it all better myself.
I've run through the same mental exercise as you, Snagrio, and have come to the same conclusions. There are dozens of species and localities I'd really like to keep. I don't think I'd be happy keeping all of them at the same time, though. It can be very hard to resist running out and buying them all when they come up for sale, and doubly hard to turn away a cheap-to-free rehome when offered one by a friend. That being said, it's the best way to stay personally sustainable and enjoy reptiles in the long term. If anything, it makes finally getting that reptile I've been wanting for a while all the sweeter.
For what it's worth: pursuing proper vet care/health screening, building fancy adult enclosures (or at least setting aside the money to do so in the future), and spending a lot of one-on-one time with your herps is definitely helps keep the headcount from getting too large. At least on my end.![]()