First post in the new forum!! (herp prejudice)

[RangerGrrl]

Hi all,
So, I thought of an appropriate under PG-13 question to ask in Off-Topic, and it is something I am really interested in hearing from others about.

Do any or all of you run across herp prejudice? It could be anything from people being afraid of Rhacs' "doinkiness" to religious people telling you you consort with evil snakes, to being denied insurance due to liability on your reptile pets, to getting those wierd looks when you tell them what you do.

What types have you experienced, and what do you do about it when it happens?? Do you larger breeders get confused responses when you tell people your career, or do they just nod and move on? How many of you make an active effort to change the public's perception on a fairly regular basis?

Just curious but I'd love to hear others' experiences.

[Sobedrummer007]

Oh good lord almighty there is herp prejudice everywhere. And i mean EVERYWHERE. Beware beware it is everywhere. My social studies teacher thinks no one should have reptiles as pets because you can get solemenella. I have lived around reptiles my entire life and have never gotten it, the reason, hygene.

How many of you make an active effort to change the public's perception on a fairly regular basis?

Everyday.

when ever somebody comes over i show them my nessie and they get so excited and they ask all sorts of questions and then you know what they do? They ask if they can hold it. But i say they only can if they wash their hands, i don't want her getting sick

I have never run into the religious thing, i am a religious person myself but assuming all reptile(ecspecially snakes) are embodying the devil is just nonsense.

It is part of our responsibility as herp owners and breeders to spread the truth and prevent herp prejustice.

[Allen Repashy]

Try being a single guy who makes his living breeding reptiles... meeting a beautiful Girl somewhere and then getting the "So, what do you do for a living?" question lol

Allen

[crestedgal]

Cresteds are the only reptiles I've ever been really interested in. I only obtained my first less than a year ago. I now have plenty and my family thinks I'm "nuts". I find being female and really into a reptile, people think it's strange. I even get comments and "I think your weird" questions from the pet store staff where I go to pick up crickets- you'd think they'd be used to it. People at my job think I'm I've "lost it" too. People in my life think I spend too much money and time on my new hobby. What's that all about? Like golf, or antique cars, or collecting coins, or boating, or like my sister buying TONS of jewlery is cheaper? I can think of lots of more expensive and time eating hobbies than this. I used to do competitive roller skating until like two years ago- expensive costumes, $30.00/hr lessons, club dues, travel, $1000.00 skates, compitition fees, hours and hours of practice time a week. No one in my life complained about that though. Now I'm "taking it too far" and "getting a little out of hand" with my cresteds. All I can hope is that they have some appreciation of my new hobby when I have my collection and enclosures the way I really want them. Right now all they see is some mess and escaped crickets all over the house. I have to sneak my new purchases into the house so I don't have to listen to anyone's opinion. As far as outsiders thinking it's stange?- well eveyone thought competitive roller skating was stange too- I'm used to it.

[Scott W]

Originally Posted by Allen Repashy

Try being a single guy who makes his living breeding reptiles... meeting a beautiful Girl somewhere and then getting the "So, what do you do for a living?" question lol

Allen

Allen, it's not the reptiles that scares the ladies away......lol

[earthpig23]

yeah the reptile prejudie of course breeds as all prejudices do through ignorance. It is either crasy and wierd or interesting. Most often its, you paid how much for that?
Do not get me started on those jerks with their "keeping a wild animal as a pet is so wrong" attitude.

I also do not like the prejudice that gets within the hobby itself. This is better than that, so and so is better than than so and so. But that might be a slightly different conversation altogether.

[NeoScales]

I also do not like the prejudice that gets within the hobby itself.

I know, thank god I keep Retics to help compensate

[Dr Alan]

Originally Posted by earthpig23

I also do not like the prejudice that gets within the hobby itself.

I never thought of it as prejudice, but more a kind of elitist snobbery sometimes.

Originally Posted by NeoScales

I know, thank god I keep Retics to help compensate

What are you compensating for, Randy?

Like I should talk . Just moved my 14' Burm to her new larger quarters last night.

[SanSkrit]

I guess I don't get a lot of people making statements about me keeping reptile and saying that I'm weird for it (I'm more like a man than a woman as far as my habits and interests go so I guess people have grown to expect that of me). What I do get is the "You paid how much for that gecko?!?" response and the other common one is "Eww" and other disgusted terms and looks. A lot of people say "Oh yeah, I used to have a gecko too." and when I ask what kind they say "An anole." Grr . I know it's part of the whole "elitist snobbery" that Dr. Alan mentioned but I just get disgruntled when people belittle a hobby that I'm very serious about. It's like a car collector saying "I have an (insert rare car)." and someone responding "Oh yeah I had a Toyota Camry once." They're both cars but the difference is that the collector cherishes that car and most likely searched high and low for it and babies it like it was alive. The person with the Camry probably never got it tuned up. Anyway, now that I'm done being a snob .

I personally haven't encountered any serpent hatred from religious individuals. It seems that general fear of all reptiles takes over any reason for disliking them . I've run into a lot of hobby-Nazis claiming that my particular hobby isn't as good as others. I think that the bottom line is that, in a practical sense, all hobbies are useless. All they do is eat up money and time. The thing that makes them worthwhile is each individuals passion for their own hobby. I wouldn't pay $1500 for a stamp or a baseball card but I'd drop that money in a half a heartbeat for a trachy or a sexed pair of leachies. Sorry for the rant . I've been practicing this same speech for my boyfriend .

[S.T.]

tree octopus?? I thought they went extinct a few yrs ago?? did they recently get rediscovered?? I remember seeing one in the northwest forests back 87' as a child. Up until then I just heard stories, but when I caught me first glimpse of one it was truly something I will never forget.