Disgusted

stlmetalhead · Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 8:11 pm Post subject: Disgusted

I was recently at a reptile show here in St. Louis(this past sunday to be exact), and was not happy about a couple of things i saw.

First off while my g/f and I were looking at some very cute little nile monitors,lol, a young boy and his father came to the venders table. They looked around for awhile, and were seemingly drawn to the water monitor hatchlings. They asked if they could hold one and they did, well being the nosy person i can be at times i overheard the young boy tell his father that he wanted one of them. The father agreed and asked the breeder how big a water monitor got? I was disgusted that this man was going to buy a lizard that would reach close to 9 feet within a few years. And even worse was the breeders response she said "well they get big but they can be tamed down with regular handling", knowing that this guy had no clue what he was getting into i kind of motioned him to another table to tell him the truth. Hearing what i had to say the man thankfully changed his mind after the words nine feet long came up in the conversation. So he goes back to the table and starts looking at the niles, and im thinking "my god this man's head is as thick as a bowling ball, does he not remmebr 10 sec ago when i told him that a monitor was not a good choice for his 5 YEAR OLD SON!". So his kid decides he likes the niles ok too, and yet again his bone headed father agrees, I tell the man that this is not a nice lizard that his kid can hold, and tell him maybe he should start with a beardie or desert iguana. And he says "oh well we had one and it died so my son doesnt really like them anymore" At this point im about to loose my temper, so i tell him how big and mean the nile will get and his response absolutly enrages me, "Oh thats ok we'll just get rid of it then, and besides hopefully it will die before then, only with my luck it wont die" After those words came out of his mouth i lost it completely, going on a 10-20 minute rant about how irresponsible and sick he was to hope that the animal he was supposed to care for would die. I probably used some language which i shouldnt have but this was uncalled for apparently i scared him good enough that he and his son left though, dont think that the lady trying to make a sale was too happy with me though,lol.

Ok im done and very sorry i wasted your time reading me rant and rave about this.
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emma_ra7 · Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 3:02 am Post subject: Nice Job!

I think it is just terrific what you did. I prob would have done the same thing myself along with giving that breeder woman a few words also. Things like that enrage me. I am new to reptiles but I made sure I was making a well informed decision before I bought Aggee from Rick. I am so glad I did. I still hit Rick up with tons of questions to make sure she is getting the best care. People like that boy's father need to be smacked around for his lack of compassion towards animals (and that woman willing to sell it). I am usually nonviolent but some things just press my buttons. Bravo and it certainly was not a waste of my time to read that you put that uncaring moron in his place.
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~Emily~

1.1.0 Cats
0.1.0 Argentine Black & White Tegu

Rick · Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:09 am Post subject:

Sad part is there are many, many people like that. It's one of the reasons I started a reptile rescue with some friends. As far as your post, sometimes it feels better to vent off steam and I am sure we all agree with you. Good show.

Rick
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Sisco Reptiles - Proud Breeder of the Tamest & Most Social Tegus. See www.SiscoReptiles.com