For those of you with large (30+) collections

ChaosCat · 10-13-03, 02:26 PM

How do you do it?

I'm on 39 snakes right now (13 different species) and can't imagine getting anymore! They can be a handful, but they're all so beautiful (and most are friendly, aside from my adult female sonoran and the nippy babies) I also can't imagine selling any of them.

How do those of you with 30+ snakes/herps manage your collections when you go on vacations? Do you hire someone to feed and water your snakes-or just water them, depending on how long you are gone? We're leaving on vacation here in 6 weeks and trying to figure everything out.

-cat

fatboy · 10-13-03, 02:48 PM

Do you do it by yourself? SCR has 50+ in venomous alone (need to get an exact count) but we have 2-3 of us taking care of them. We don't take vacations at the same time so one of is always there to take up the slack.

Linds · 10-13-03, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ChaosCat
How do those of you with 30+ snakes/herps manage your collections when you go on vacations?

What's a vacation???

I'm tied down to the house pretty much. I can manage to leave for a weekend here or there because for the most part all my animals are low maintenance and can handle a day or two without me. I get my sister to feed and water the cat and look after the tortoise.

Lisa · 10-13-03, 03:58 PM

we're not quite at 30, but we're getting close, the snakes are low maintenance feed once every week or so, the gecko gets hand fed every night and the skink gets food left for him. when we go away we just give extra food to the cats, gecko and skink. We take the dog with us (I don't think the poor guy is with out human companionship ever). but having just bought a house we don't have the $ to go away often.

chas*e · 10-13-03, 03:59 PM

Spent too much on snakes to take a vacation.....

unBOAlievable · 10-13-03, 04:32 PM

Vacation, that must be what my wife does when she is gone for a weak with the kids. Always wondered where they went.

At a little over seventy reptiles right now my life is somewhat managable not as bad as when I was close to 200 though. Vacation is something that most of us herpers only hear about.

By the way, my wife is fixen to go on a cruise to some where, I can't wait to see the pics.

lilyskip · 10-13-03, 04:39 PM

wow, amazing...!

Classic · 10-13-03, 04:40 PM

The buddy system works well. I was able to go away for awhile this summer and a fellow herper (thx Jim)looked after my collection for me. It helps alot when other herpers as well as your self team up together and make it sort of a collective effort. Sharing better prices at different stores for herps, feeders, knowledge, products and services and providing help when needed. Goes a long way.

BrandonVeenstra · 10-13-03, 05:12 PM

Yea, Having Siblings helps also =D

NewLineReptile · 10-13-03, 05:23 PM

I have a friend or my family take care of them when i go away.
But since i have got up in the hight numbers of snakes i don't go away to much.

Brandon

BoidKeeper · 10-13-03, 05:33 PM

I'm at 28 now but I've been over 30 at one time or another, spring time especially. My biggest challange is food. I have to raise my own and that is a lot more work then the snakes.
Cheers,
Trevor

Wuntu Menny · 10-13-03, 05:54 PM

I wouldn't know. I haven't had a vacation since 1983.

WM

Jayson · 10-13-03, 06:01 PM

We keep many diffrent types of animals from rats and rabbits to snakes and lizards to turtles, exotic birds, fish and two dogs. We dont get vacation. we do get weekend get aways though.
I figure i would have to hire a zoo keeper to get away any longer then that. Or make one out of one of my kids. LOL

MouseKilla · 10-13-03, 06:23 PM

I figure if you have 39 snakes and can still afford a vacation you will have to look a long time before you find any sympathizers! LOL! Right now I can't afford either let alone both. As far as all the work goes, 39 is almost 5 times more than I have and I sometimes struggle to keep up so I don't know how it's done day-to-day on that scale let alone how you fit a vacation in there. It's the food, I find that is the problem. You have to have the money to buy the prey or to feed it if you raise it yourself. Then you need the time to maintain prey or go out and buy it then more time to actually do the feedings. Thirty plus snakes sounds like many hours of work each week so unless you can buddy up with someone who may need you to return the favour later on, as someone had suggested, it has to be really hard to get away even for a week. These problems must be even bigger still for those with large hot collections. You can ask your neighbor or sister to feed your cat while you're away but it may be harder to find someone to change the water in the gaboon viper enclosure, I'd do it, but I've been told I'm a little different(that's what people say when they're being nice anyway...). Maybe there could be a forum for snake sitting, done on the barter system...

Corey Woods · 10-13-03, 06:24 PM

I'm not sure on the exact numbers but my collection peaked at about 350 pythons back in the sumer (which includes hatchlings as I produced in around 175 pythons this year). Snakes are fairly low maintenance and everything is all computer controlled as far as heating and lighting go. So, when I'm gone I make sure everyone is clean and have lots of water.....then all the family has to do is make sure all the temps are good and they are fine until I get back.

Corey