Newbie

[catawhat]

Zack, was not offended by what Blotch had to say and I even understand it to a degree, but I do appreciate you watching out for a newbie as that is refreshing to see in a site. Everyday there are newbies who get a new animal be it a BTS, a Ball Python, or a dog etc. Some people fall in love with the animals, some see them as nothing more than dollar signs. I see it from a snake hybrid point, I myself would rather not combine say a ball python with an angolian. I would rather the lines stay pure, however I see nothing wrong with morphs. Granted I know nothing about BTS but what little I have read so far so I can't have a true opinion on that yet. I'm not scared off by far, nor will I let anyone bully me into their thoughts. I do love to see another persons views as long as they treat me with the respect that I show them. How else can we expect to learn from eachother?

[russman]

I am going to go out and buy a couple apple snails to start a colony with.

Just curious.. how do you plan on starting your colony, and how big is your colony going to be? Im asking because I may think of doing the same, but have no idea how.

[catawhat]

With apple snails, you get a couple and they multiply like rabbits (or guppies, lol) just have a couple in a small tank with water and in no time you will have more than you know what to do with.

[wilsoncc]

The ONLY reason people would care about breeding Pure lines is if they are in it for the money. I don't believe that anyone that breeds does it for the love of it - especially with the rediculous prices they charge.
I'm not being fooled by that stupid argument. If it was for the love of it - the price wouldn't matter. I'll probably cop a beating over this post - but i'm not fussed, it's the truth.

WOW. This is pretty much the most backwards and ridiculous statement you have ever made on this forum, my friend. Yep, a lot of us around here breed BTS and built this free site because WE JUST WANT MONEY!!!!

I didn't quote this to pile on, but simply to say my eyebrows went up when I read this as well. The reason bluey babies are expensive is that breeding them is expensive. Blueys don't have huge clutches, they only breed once a year, they have to be housed singly in a fairly large cage, they are slow to mature, breeding stock is expensive. They're better than prehensile tail skinks from a life history perspective, but captive bred skinks will never be cheap to produce. The price reflects the high costs.

There may be some profit in rare skinks, but breeding stock is so expensive that limits the market to people who are going to put in effort to breed the animals. This is actually a good thing for the species in the long run since the rare species will be more intensively propagated rather than scattered out as pets.

The influx of relatively cheap import skinks means that people who are strictly price driven will buy imports. Breeders don't want to sell to cheapskates, but not because they are greedy. Cheapskates won't take as good of care of their animals as someone who isn't completely price driven. Price matters, especially when you love the animals.

Colin

[Blotch]

hehehe bash bash bash bash - Told ya I'd get bashed for that.

Must've struck a nerve.

And breeding Blueys is NOT expensive!!! Buying them is!

You put a male and a female together and they do the work. The only reason it may be considered expensive is cuz Everyone over there charges rediculous prices! raising a pair of blueys is actually cheaper than having a dog, and a lot less time consuming. Granted Hours can be spent on blueys - but the essential time needed for them is a lot less than a dog.

Go through the forums posts - and you'll see numerous posts of how peoples Blueys have given birth and the owners didn't even know! If breeding was that expensive - don't you think the owners would've realised the money disappearing from their pockets? The truth is that breeding costs the owner NOTHING, 'cept maybe a scratched up female bluey. Sure once the babies are born more food is needed, but if you are saying that buying 80c tins of quality cat food for the first month or so and going outside to pick wild growing dandelions validates prices in excess of $1000 - $2000 for 1 skink, There is something seriously wrong.

I do believe people here breed blueys for the love of it, But I also believe that alot of breeders are charging rediculous prices.

[Lucifer_Spades]

catawhat-
regardless of all the hooha and random side shows that occasionally flies around here, I'm sure you've noticed that there are a lot of people who love bts around (c'mon people, no one comes here cuz they hate 'em) and are more than willing to share their experience and opinions on them. I think the best way to give YOUR lovely skinker a good life is to listen to all sides and draw your own conclusions, I have found EVERYONE on this site helpful on more than one occasion and all of them will expecially pull together in a bluey crisis so don't be scared off by the heat, if you stay far enough away it seems no more than what it really is, the warm glow of the bluey flame.


NOW, enough of the sappy love your neighbor crap I WANT MORE PICS OF THAT SKINK!


GOT IT. NOW GO, Clicky Clicky Posty Posty.

[Leigh]

Ditto what Luce said, hooray for opinions