GBWhite
Very Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2013
- Messages
- 1,006
- Reaction score
- 1,440
It's good to see that you've decided to hang around and seeking advice already regarding your GTP. Nor should you feel intimidated. You'll find that here, just like anywhere else, there is a mixed bag of members. Some posts may come across a bit harsh, others compassionate and some direct so can I suggest that the adage, "take criticism constructively" may be a worthwhile consideration.
I appreciate that you may have been around snakes for some time but when it comes to keeping them it's a whole new ball game. And yes we've all made rookie mistakes and a lot of the knowledge you'll to get from experienced keepers here is because they have learnt from those mistakes. Most of the older, experienced keepers "cut their teeth" catching and keeping wild snakes, some as far back as 50 or 60+ years ago, and were involved in pioneering a lot of the current husbandry techniques in use today. You'll also come to realise that a lot are also quite knowledgeable regarding snake behaviour. They'll offer the advice based from either making those mistakes themselves or knowing others who have in the hope that the can assist newbies like yourself avoid going down the same path. So a lot of advice you'll get from the older members isn't based on opinion but from either personal hands on experience, many, many discussions with other experienced long time keepers or through accessing literature related to specific subjects on keeping. If you take what's offered on board you'll lean a hell of a lot.
You might find that a lot of the advice given previously was based on your detailed explanation. I'll add that the "lol" comment in the above post relating to stress is a bit unwarranted and a bit disrespectful coming from someone so new to the hobby. Snakes do suffer from stress, it can be a result of overhandling, not being provided with the correct husbandry or simply by being disturbed unnecessarily when all they want to do is chill out. Snakes can also suffer injuries when not handled correctly. In many cases symptoms related to both stress and injury aren't displayed until many moons down the track and often with severe consequences.
In regard to anthropomorphism - FYI (and despite what someone may try and have you believe or what one may think) snakes don't have the mental capacity to bond with their keepers. They are primitive animals with a very small primitive brain that have served them with surviving for thousands of years without developing further. They don't possess the ability to display emotion or crave companionship. Being captive or wild, all they are interested in is survival.
I appreciate that you may have been around snakes for some time but when it comes to keeping them it's a whole new ball game. And yes we've all made rookie mistakes and a lot of the knowledge you'll to get from experienced keepers here is because they have learnt from those mistakes. Most of the older, experienced keepers "cut their teeth" catching and keeping wild snakes, some as far back as 50 or 60+ years ago, and were involved in pioneering a lot of the current husbandry techniques in use today. You'll also come to realise that a lot are also quite knowledgeable regarding snake behaviour. They'll offer the advice based from either making those mistakes themselves or knowing others who have in the hope that the can assist newbies like yourself avoid going down the same path. So a lot of advice you'll get from the older members isn't based on opinion but from either personal hands on experience, many, many discussions with other experienced long time keepers or through accessing literature related to specific subjects on keeping. If you take what's offered on board you'll lean a hell of a lot.
You might find that a lot of the advice given previously was based on your detailed explanation. I'll add that the "lol" comment in the above post relating to stress is a bit unwarranted and a bit disrespectful coming from someone so new to the hobby. Snakes do suffer from stress, it can be a result of overhandling, not being provided with the correct husbandry or simply by being disturbed unnecessarily when all they want to do is chill out. Snakes can also suffer injuries when not handled correctly. In many cases symptoms related to both stress and injury aren't displayed until many moons down the track and often with severe consequences.
In regard to anthropomorphism - FYI (and despite what someone may try and have you believe or what one may think) snakes don't have the mental capacity to bond with their keepers. They are primitive animals with a very small primitive brain that have served them with surviving for thousands of years without developing further. They don't possess the ability to display emotion or crave companionship. Being captive or wild, all they are interested in is survival.