How I justify my herp purchases

Captive care and husbandry.

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stlouisdude
Posts: 458
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:30 pm
Location: St Louis, MO / Hartford, CT

How I justify my herp purchases

Post by stlouisdude »

There's a saying I've heard, "If you won't agree you should've have purchased it and recall it at 80, you don't need it". Now, that last beer or bowl from any random night, ya I likely won't recall or really regret if I had passed it up. My degrees? It's a questionable use of money and perhaps I could have worked my way into the same jobs without it given a little more effort. My herps though? In over 30 years of keeping herps there are surprisingly few regret purchases and the vast majority of those were the ones I didn't make assuming the same opportunities would afford themselves later in life :P The same can really be said of every trip I've ever taken to see reptiles in their habitats.


So the regrets I have in life are spending too much on mundane things that are fleeting but thus far never regarding the things that matter deeply to me women, herps, and travel.
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Kelly Mc
Posts: 4529
Joined: October 18th, 2011, 1:03 pm

Re: How I justify my herp purchases

Post by Kelly Mc »

stlouisdude wrote:There's a saying I've heard, "If you won't agree you should've have purchased it and recall it at 80, you don't need it". Now, that last beer or bowl from any random night, ya I likely won't recall or really regret if I had passed it up. My degrees? It's a questionable use of money and perhaps I could have worked my way into the same jobs without it given a little more effort. My herps though? In over 30 years of keeping herps there are surprisingly few regret purchases and the vast majority of those were the ones I didn't make assuming the same opportunities would afford themselves later in life :P The same can really be said of every trip I've ever taken to see reptiles in their habitats.


So the regrets I have in life are spending too much on mundane things that are fleeting but thus far never regarding the things that matter deeply to me women, herps, and travel.

What a great post - Its fun when someone warms up an internet forum with personal reflection.

You know StLouisdude, nobody much bats an eye or questions people who collect/spend $$ on special cars or guitars, but its kind of the same, herps being shiny and beautiful and exquisitely engineered. And the whole being Alive thing really has an unmatchable vibe.
stlouisdude
Posts: 458
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:30 pm
Location: St Louis, MO / Hartford, CT

Re: How I justify my herp purchases

Post by stlouisdude »

I truly believe my love of reptiles has probably been one of the most beneficial things in my life. It has encouraged me to get massive amounts of exercise that has no doubt extended my life in terms on longevity and quality. I carry out dozens, if not hundreds, of boxes of substrate each week in addition to many miles logged from field herping. Ya maybe a gym pass would get me 20 minutes here or 20 minutes there, but nowhere near as much and I would absolutely hate every minute of it. One problem especially true of males is the lack of support systems. Herps have made me many additional friendships over the years vastly increasing my social support system. These are only a few of many reasons why I believe people need to interact with wildlife in a variety of ways and why I believe we absolutely must preserve reptiles and amphibians both in captivity and in the wild for future generations. They are just too cool and too important to too many people to say, o well, let's just mow it all down and build another 7/11.
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