Python Invasion: Everyone PANIC

[Skiploder]

EVEN THOUGH I BELIEVE ALL THESE ARTICLES TO BE BULL , I ALSO THINK THAT, WHILE FACTORING IN GLOBAL WARMING, BALLS COULD LIVE IN A LOT OF AREAS THAT ARE NOT COMMONLY KNOWN FOR HAVING A PYTHON POPULATION.

EVOLUTION IS MIGHTY FORCE, AND IT IS UNSTOPPABLE.

BACK TO THE TOPIC, NOTHING CHAPS MY lips MORE THAN A WHITE COLLAR JOURNALIST CONJURING UP THIS LAME BULL JUST TO DEGRADE THE SMALL, BUT EVER GROWING, REPTILE COMMTUNITY.

THANK YOU,
I'LL BE HERE ALL NIGHT

Can you please explain for me (in lower case letters) how global warming will make such a dramatic difference? I've seen the maps - utter freaking rubbish.

As for the media swarming to reptile horror stories - well - they blow all sorts of stories out of proportion. Fear and sensationalism are their bread and butter. It's funny how some people will swallow 99% of this crap but magically discount the one story they actually know something about.........

I am amazed at how people don't see that we do have a problem in this community. I see newcomers to this hobby being encouraged to buy large herps at retail outlets and even on the web. Breeders have popped up to capitalize on selling burms, retics, large monitors, etc. People are encouraged to buy these animals without understanding their capability to harm or even the cost of providing proper husbandry. Some of these animals die, some get released into the wild and some actually harm their owners.

I don't believe that any yahoo off the street has the right to walk into a pet store and buy a green anaconda. Sorry folks, I'm a true believer in that there are some species that should definitely be restricted to being bought by financially and morally responsible people who can properly care for these animals. While a forum like this does an excellent job of advocating responsible ownership, it's reach is limited. The first contact most people have with herp husbandry is by the store interested in selling them one.

I've seen it discussed on other forums as to how people get lit up by this hobby, buy several animals and then *poof* disappear. What happens to those animals? Do all of them go to rescues? Do they die from lack of care? Or are they released into the wild?

On the surface, there are a lot of people who are furious that the federal government is sticking their nose into our hobby. There are some who think that they are only trying to get answers to the three questions that I've stated above. In the end, they will gather their information (with our help or not) and probably decide that they need to be involved in the business of large and/or dangerous herps.

I am worried that the federal government will find what some of us already know - that this hobby is laced with irresponsible ownership and that large, potentially dangerous animals are available to any one who can afford them.

So be prepared for more negative stories from the media as the government digs into their research a bit more and comes to their conclusions. The hysteria will pass - make no mistake about it. However, I predict our hobby will go through some large changes. Balls, colubrids and many herps will be unaffected - but I predict restrictions on large boids, venomous snakes and bigger potentially invasive lizards in the near future.

Remember, these stories, be they man-eating boids, bloodthirsty pit-bulls, or global warming can't begin without some basis. As a staffie bull and herp owner, I fully understand that their are plenty of idiots who have provided the spark for these stories.