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Minkness
12-27-15, 07:25 PM
Something I am in desperate need of!!! Uhg! I thought putting a boa on hold and making payments would slake my addiction, if inly until I got the house....but no. My addiction is too great and my self control is running in the negatives!

I love ging into my local store. It's my zen...my happy place, that one place Ilook forward to going all week on a sunday (when I get to leave work early). They always have unique, interesting, and beautiful animals. And some that usually you can only get online. And most of their stock are procured from local hobby breeders and other enthusiasts. I have even been known to bring my baby geckos to this place if I can't sell them.

Well....I have been abstaining for quite some time as most of you have known. But every time I go in there i see aomething else that just makes my heart flutter. The last several times I have been intriged by several beautiful snakes. One of which happens to be a tiny rough scaled sand boa. He's been there for weeks (I know because I always pester the little angryworm when I visit).

Well, tonight I was in there, just looking around when the lady who works there approached and started talking with me. She showe me a new hypo boa that came in who was gorgous, as well as her own albino applegate gopher who was gorgous! (She is in the middle of a tough move and the store is letting her board her animals there). We walk over to the smaller snake section and I'm looking at them seeing that since last week, they have actually been just about cleaned out of snakes. All that's really left are several baby-juvie hoggies, a 15 year old gray banded, the apricot hondo I like but refuse to buy, and then...the little, angry rough scale. I open it up and get a teeny little murder worm out and keep talking to the lady about how I really liked the snake and found the extremely agressive nature so cute on such a tiny snake. Then she tells me there's actually 2 in there. Sure enough, she unburries a very unhappy 2nd one that just looks ready for murder. Awww....

So we keep talking and she tells me that they have been there for a very long time and no one wants them because they are so damn mean! (Takes a special person to take to biters I guess...and yes, these guys BITE!). So I look at the price (which is one of their cheapest snakes nect to a baby normal corn snake) and ask if that peice is for each, or both together. (It's a 1.1 pair). She said that it's each...but...if I will take them, she will give me the 2nd one basically free with a very minot fee to make the sale 'legit'.

Gah! The last bit of my already weak resolve has melted and washed away. And so....she rang me up, dipped into my store credit, and I still had some left over for when I need feeders next month....

I drove home, 2 snakes and a small bag of feeders that she gave me free as well, with sweaty palms, heart pounding as I pray to the heavens my mom is not in the living room when I get home ince I have to cross that room to get to my room. Deep breaths while I sit in my car...finally pulling on the last ebbs of my strength, I fiddle with their little delicups and head inside. She's in the living room...there's no way she won't see them! But, as naturally as I could, I lut my things down in the usual spot, kick my shoesoff, head to the ketchen and put the feeders in the freezer, and make a B line to my room.....I can't believe it!!! She didn't see them!! Doesn't suspect a thing!

I'm overcome with joy as I set them down, looking at the extra tubs that have been whispering to me to be filled for so ling, and go about setting them up. Sanichips for digging. Make sure it's nice and deep. No hides since they don't use them, and a water dish.

Then, there's a knock on my door! My heart jumps again. It's my mom! I feel like I'm a 12 year old trying to sneak a wild baby corn snake into my room all over again! I had just finished thwir set ups, they are still in their delicups sittin on my bedside table...and my door opens. She asked how I was and let me know that I had laundry in the dryer. ..She's the best mom ever! But again I'm screaming to the heavens thatshe doesn't see them! She's done talking to me at last...feels like it was an hour, but really it was maybe all of 2 minute. How did she not see the guilt and panick on my face? I don't know, and I don't care! But she's gone, and I can breath again!

I go out and get a coke over ice, telling her I'm just going to hang out with my snakes tonight. She's cool with this, not knowing that I meant new snakes. So, I shuffle back to my room, glass of iced coke in hand, and breath another sigh of relief.

At last, I can take my new babies out, snap a few pics, and tuck them away in their individual tubs. Shakily I take the pucs. Still neevous about being sneaky, but also because the female is a total pisser who unhinges her jaw to tag me several times!

But I prevail and take some pretty nice pics, drop them in their new digs, and flop on my bed to tell you all this sad ywt very happy little story. For any who are wondering.....yes...I am almost 30...no...I don't want my 'own' place lol. I love my mom, and want to be there for her as she has been for me....sadly, her limitations on my snakes will never be part of that it seems....

Anyway, if you have ready that whole bit of rambled story tellong, thanks! And as a reward, some pics of my new additions!!! Names have yet to be decided, but I want some really killer oriented names. A friend already suggested Sweeny Todd and Ms. Lovett, which are awesome, but I'm open to other ideas as well!.

The male is smaller and more 'grey' because he's in blue. He's also the more laid back one.

EL Ziggy
12-27-15, 08:19 PM
You are soo bad Mink! I thought you had satisfied your cravings for a while. I'm not a big fan of little snakes but they are cute :). Good luck when your mom finds out :).

Minkness
12-27-15, 08:29 PM
Honestly, if the lady in the store hadn't offered both for the price of 1 basically (and cheap to begin with) I could have survived. But....I knew they were little pissers, and the quickest way to make me melt is to give me a good 'deal'. So, between the fact they had been thwre forever, their adorable anger, and the unbeatable price tag....the last of my walls fell crumbling down. I really had no plans on getting 1, let alone 2. =/

And thanks....if you don't hear from me again.....it's because I'm dead....

trailblazer295
12-27-15, 08:37 PM
For the record I call dibs on a female crestie lol

EL Ziggy
12-27-15, 08:38 PM
She won't kill you but she might break a finger on the credit card hand ;).

Minkness
12-27-15, 09:01 PM
I paid with store credit. Basically...the store owed me, so they were almost like getting them free.and I still have credit for feeders next month!

bigsnakegirl785
12-27-15, 09:14 PM
I am so glad I don't venture into pet stores much, I'd probably be in the same boat as you. lol I generally have a strong resolve unless a particular individual perks my interest, but being surrounded by all those sweet deals, especially if I just had enclosures lying around...

They're a couple of cuties, and I think their bitiness adds to it, too! :D

Minkness
12-27-15, 09:28 PM
Yeah. All their other snakes are well over 100$ even an adult normal corn snake is like 150$.

Not to say I 'only' buy cheap snakes...but other than Treasure who I won't be getting for several more months, wvery snake I have gotten has been a steal. >_>

Makes even harder to resist!

toddnbecka
12-28-15, 12:54 AM
I don't have that problem with the local pet stores. Only 2 of them, and they typically want $80 minimum for a hatchling corn snake, same general deal with BP's. I'll drive the 2-3 hours for a good reptile show to find wider variety, even a relatively small show has better options than the local shops, not to mention much lower prices even before you start haggling.
On the good side, the bitey little buggers will most likely grow out of their antisocial behavior. Odds are they're a sibling pair, not the best for breeding, but you'll have a couple years before the male will be mature enough and a couple more for the female. With any luck you should be able to swap one or the other off for an unrelated mate if you do want to breed them eventually. Good luck finding homes for the bitey offspring though... lol.

dannybgoode
12-28-15, 04:50 AM
I wish I could sneak snakes passed Mrs Danny like got can your mum!

I think a costly divorce would follow! Still stunned I managed to get the boa!

At least I can get ham radio snuck safely in the attic so one hobby is safe!

Beautiful snakes by the way. Real character. Bet you can't wait for Treasure to arrive...

Tsubaki
12-28-15, 05:18 AM
Well... already told you before, they are definitely awesome! I can see why you melted, but you could indeed use some self control! :P I only go to my 'local' reptile store every few weeks to stock up on feeders (it's over an hour drive away) They often have atleast some kind of awesome animal, their stock is very diverse.. Spiders, insects, venomous and venomoid snakes, lizards.. every 'standard' animal you can think of in a variety of morphs, and also some more rare animals... all bred by enthusiast. Last week several caught my eye, Tricolor hognose pair, Madagascariensis boa pair, Sunfire Supertiger het albino retic.. I can resist buying them but for some it does take effort.. The only reason i am not the proud owner of a couple of tricolor hogs right now... They are non-eating neonates, that are being forcefed. Which is not my favourite thing to do as they're the size of a piece of shoestring (Very expensive shoestrings too), so i convinced myself 'i aint got time for that!'.. however if i go there again in a couple of weeks and they're still for sale eating on their own, all bets are off. .... :D

RAD House
12-28-15, 07:55 AM
Minkness, you are funny. Should my wife ever dare call my interest an addiction, I will definitely show her yours threads.

Minkness
12-28-15, 08:06 AM
I will be limiting visits to when I need feeders only instead of every sinday. Also, it's a 5 minute drive from where I work....temptation is boundless!

I may not even breed them, I only took the lair because the store was desperate and I'm a softie. Though the woman said Ibwas welcome to bring them back if I found I couldn't handle their feistiness. I was told they were eating f/t fuzzies weekly. I'll see if they take anytjing in a few days.

PsychoSnake
12-28-15, 06:59 PM
Soooo that's why you asked me about rough scales a while back. Naughty! Naughty! :P

Minkness
12-28-15, 07:26 PM
^_^;;

Maybe?
They do honestly interest me, and I really wasn't expecting to bring any home any time soon lol.


Oops? XD

havoc_vulture
12-28-15, 10:20 PM
I've been doing this too Mink, but with turantula have 2 at home now (no one knows yet) and 1 on hold at the store. 2 more that I'm ordering as soon as the guy clears the slings for travel lol. I've been looking at an anery western hog too. Haven't decided yet. My 3 pythons are keeping me on my toes for now, and I have fallen in love with Sailfin dragons sooooo I'll have to wait on snakes for now while I save for the dragon. But at the moment I'm hooked on turantulas

Minkness
12-28-15, 10:46 PM
While I seriously advocate for western hogs,I'm hogged out with my 5 lol. I would really prefer more diversity in my collection, but they were rescues, so..meh, they are sticking around a while lol.

havoc_vulture
12-28-15, 11:07 PM
Lol yes I yet to have a hog. But I yet to have a monitor or lizard
I have 3 pythons including 1 retic. A red eye tree frog, a sulcata tortise and aside from that I have 4 dogs 3 birds and now at the moment the 3 turantulas lol

Minkness
12-28-15, 11:16 PM
Nice collection! I highly recommend western hognoses. Fabulous little snakes. Great for display, handling, and full of personality =)

havoc_vulture
12-29-15, 12:05 AM
So I heard lol. I'm looking into it we'll see what comes about

dave himself
12-29-15, 06:33 AM
You need to do what I did mate, OVERDOSE!!!!. I got a wee voluntary job helping out in my spare time in my mates reptile shop and it's worked. I know longer have the WANTS, nothing puts off like having to clean out countless tubs and vivs of poo and pee getting tagged chopping up veggies getting tagged, checking on new animals in quarantine, getting tagged, sorting out feeders of all shapes and sizes, and did I mention getting tagged ;)

Minkness
12-29-15, 09:08 AM
I have looked into that actually. Theres only 2 shops that are 'locally owned' and one I don't support. The other is the one I always go to. Neither are hiring though, and even if they were, I work 40-60 hrs a week and right at the times those places are open. So it's not like I can get off work and go in or go in before work. I also looked into any local rescues....nope, none x.x

Also, I guarantee that if I worked there, I would have even MORE snakes because I would snatch up any new areival that's on my want list, and take home rescues because that isthe store people dump unwanted reptoles on, most of which are past saving. =/

I might actually look into starting my own rescue depending on the house we end up with. We found one that is 4 bedrooms and has an extra, separate apartment on the side. If my mom chooses to live in the apartment instead of renting it out, I will have an EXTRA reptile room I could use for quarintine as well as a room just for my personal snakes, and my bedroom..and any other room I want to use. XD

And if we get a house where that doesn't work, I can also look into building or getting a large storage shed and use that for rescues. I love rescuing and rehoming because I enjoy the animals, seeing them get better, gaining expereince from each one, then finding a good home for them and making another person super happy with an animal I 'saved. I used to rescue and rehab horses, but after breaking my back then gaining a bunch of weight....I just cant physically or financially do that any longer....

But yeah, Ideally, I'd like to start my own rescue while also building my own personal collection.

havoc_vulture
12-29-15, 10:45 AM
You need to do what I did mate, OVERDOSE!!!!. I got a wee voluntary job helping out in my spare time in my mates reptile shop and it's worked. I know longer have the WANTS, nothing puts off like having to clean out countless tubs and vivs of poo and pee getting tagged chopping up veggies getting tagged, checking on new animals in quarantine, getting tagged, sorting out feeders of all shapes and sizes, and did I mention getting tagged ;)

I should do this too lol it'll probably help a lot

dave himself
12-29-15, 12:18 PM
You,s guys are lost causes :D

toddnbecka
12-30-15, 01:57 AM
Ha, we're all "lost causes" 'round here, and we love every minute of it, lol.

havoc_vulture
12-31-15, 11:43 AM
Guilty as charged

Minkness
12-31-15, 11:45 AM
My crime is clearly published in my tag....lol Reptiholic

Humble308
12-31-15, 12:31 PM
Kingsnake.com is a dangerious place for me as well. Like Dave said, the shelter has been great medicine for me, but I'm getting dangerously close to adopting a striped amel cal king :0.

Aaron_S
12-31-15, 02:18 PM
Rough scales! Neat species! Tons of quick energy for a small little boa.

All you people with little to no self control, can you just head over to my facebook page and buy stuff? Thanks.

P.S. Deals all around!

Minkness
12-31-15, 02:23 PM
Aaron, I'd probably buy from you, but shipping would be aweful expensive lol

trailblazer295
12-31-15, 02:38 PM
Aaron, I'd probably buy from you, but shipping would be aweful expensive lol

Road trip lol

Minkness
12-31-15, 03:35 PM
You are determined to get me up there! Lol

And I bet you want me to bring a hoggie and a crestie with me?

trailblazer295
12-31-15, 04:54 PM
You are determined to get me up there! Lol

And I bet you want me to bring a hoggie and a crestie with me?

I tell the same thing to Manslaughter lol and hog no but creastie yes :)

havoc_vulture
01-01-16, 09:57 AM
Rough scales! Neat species! Tons of quick energy for a small little boa.

All you people with little to no self control, can you just head over to my facebook page and buy stuff? Thanks.

P.S. Deals all around!

Crap why did I read your comment :D

On that note, mink I went to the store to buy food and make a payment for my Brazilian Black Turantula. I get food, a new cork hide for my male ball python, Eggsy aaaaaannnddd bought a new turantula :wacky:

Aaron_S
01-01-16, 10:43 AM
Aaron, I'd probably buy from you, but shipping would be aweful expensive lol

Get friends to buy some too. Split shipping costs ;)