Suspsy's Collection

[Gwangi]

You just have to ease her in slowly. The face of a leopard gecko begging for food will melt anyone's heart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frBT8qMFTfA

Sorry for sorta hijacking your thread BTW. 

[suspsy]

Oh, you're preaching to the choir here, mate. I've lost track of how much money I spent as a kid at Gatorland Zoo in Florida during March Break, buying bag after bag of frozen fish to feed to the alligators and the crocodiles. And to the wood storks and the blue herons, which were constantly trying to snatch the fish from my hands. Darn dinosaurs. Another one of my treasured childhood memories is when I was nine years old and I got to see a garter snake devour two leopard frogs in my grandparents' window well.

But when it comes to my beloved wife and live reptiles, well, I reckon there's a much better chance of Battat announcing tomorrow that they're releasing the rest of the repaints and all of the 2015 moulds, and that Greg Wenzel is coming out of retirement to make new dinosaur toys for the next decade, than there is of her ever placing a finger on the skin of a live lizard, let alone a snake.

Your video makes me jealous. What is the rest of your menagerie?

[Gwangi]

Well, that's not actually my video. Just a cute gecko I pulled off of Youtube. I don't actually have any leopard geckos. As for what I do have...

2 Crested Geckos (and babies)
3 African Fat-tailed geckos
2 Giant Day Geckos (and babies)
3 Bearded Dragons (and babies)
1 Russian Legless Lizard
1 Chuckwalla
1 Mountain Horned Dragon

1 Western Hognose Snake
1 Ball Python
1 Everglades Rat Snake
1 Gray-Banded Kingsnake
2 California Kingsnakes
1 Eastern Kingsnake
1 Pueblan Milksnake

2 African Bullfrogs
9 Southern Leopard Frogs
1 Cane Toad
2 Green Treefrogs

1 Red-eared Slider
1 Russian Tortoise
1 Eastern Mud turtle

3 Aquariums; a 100 gallon, 75 gallon, and 55 gallon

And to round it all off; 1 tarantula, 2 parakeets, 1 hamster, 2 cats, 2 dogs, a colony of feeder roaches, and one human infant. And all that's bound to change on Saturday when I go to the local reptile show, sell my babies, and no doubt bring something else home. This hobby is the reason I typically put toy collecting on the back burner.

[Halichoeres]

Good lord, hope that basement has good ventilation!

[suspsy]

It sounds like you could open up your own little reptile zoo, Gwangi. I read aloud your pet list to my wife: she said your basement sounds terrible. Please don't take it personally. On top of being averse to reptiles, she works in epidemiology, so she's wary of salmonella and other such diseases.

Ever try feeding mice to your African bullfrogs?

[Gwangi]

Good lord, hope that basement has good ventilation!

It's a nice basement, even has a couple windows. If it wasn't full of reptiles you could live in it. The basement is the reason we bought the house. Most of the animals don't produce much odor. The worst offenders are the bearded dragons, especially when you have 14 babies. The adults only poop a few times a week but you know it when they do. Crickets in a large enough quantity stink pretty bad too.

It sounds like you could open up your own little reptile zoo, Gwangi. I read aloud your pet list to my wife: she said your basement sounds terrible. Please don't take it personally. On top of being averse to reptiles, she works in epidemiology, so she's wary of salmonella and other such diseases.

My own little zoo would be a great long term goal, the short term goal is educational presentations of which I've already done a few. I don't take it personally when people respond negatively to my hobby, reptiles are greatly misunderstood and being who I am I'm fully aware of it. Hence the educational presentations. As for salmonella and other diseases the risk is overblown (as most things are with exotic animals). Just wash your hands before and after handling, maintain clean habitats, and you're good to go.

Ever try feeding mice to your African bullfrogs?

No, not yet. They're still too small. I've tried with the cane toad but it refuses to eat in front of me. I should probably start a thread for my animals. I know Doug Watson appreciates my snakes, haven't posted much on them in awhile.

[Tony92]

And all that's bound to change on Saturday when I go to the local reptile show, sell my babies, and no doubt bring something else home.

This sounds like you treat those critters like collectibles rather than animals.

[Gwangi]

And all that's bound to change on Saturday when I go to the local reptile show, sell my babies, and no doubt bring something else home.

This sounds like you treat those critters like collectibles rather than animals.

It might sound that way, but it's not, and you don't know me so I won't bother being offended by the comment. Those who know me know that I take good care of my animals. I never take on more than I can handle. It's a hobby, like any other, and I'm passionate about it.

EDIT: And when I say "sell my babies" I mean the actual animals I produced through breeding projects. Babies that I hatched from eggs that took 3 months to hatch. Babies that I've watched grow over the last 6 months. Babies I've spent countless dollars on feeding (more money than I will ever make back). Babies that I refuse to sell to a pet store and will instead take them to a reptile expo full of like-minded people that will take care of them the way I do. 

[Takama]

I am always wary of giant snakes like that Ball Python you have Gwangi.

If that thing grows too big what are you going to do with it?   Has he ever escaped his pin?

My local pet store has seven different Pythons for sale and they said that one of them got out of his pin one night. Keep in mind they have three cats and a Dog that roams freely around the store, and there are plenty of birds in cages as well as two rooms full of rodents for the snake to eat, Luckily nothing was killed that night, but its issues like these that make me think that these kind of reptiles should never be kept as pets.

I never really saw a Ball python as something a man should keep as a pet. There just too dangerous for the owners, and other pets in the house.

[suspsy]

Ball pythons rarely grow longer than three feet. The worst thing they can possibly do to a human being is inflict a painful bite. Perhaps you're confusing them with Burmese pythons, which do grow large enough to be dangerous.

[Gwangi]

Ball pythons are absolutely harmless. And this is why educational presentations are important. Although they are pythons, they don't grow large. Males max out between 3-4', females slightly larger at 4-5'. That might sound large but it isn't, it's about 4-5 lbs. My chihuahua weighs 10 lbs! Ball pythons are among the most popular, easiest to keep, and easiest to handle snakes. Bites are almost unheard of and only ever happen when the snake is scared or accidentally bites during feeding. A ball python is incapable of killing a human being and would only attempt to kill something that is prey; in this case, rodents. A ball python wouldn't attempt to kill a dog or cat, their defense mechanism is to roll up into a ball and hide their head in the coils, that's why they're called ball pythons. When "balled" up, a ball python can fit in one hand and a kitten is more capable of inflicting damage than an adult ball python.

Now that's not to say there aren't potentially dangerous snakes that people keep as pets. Reticulated pythons, Burmese pythons, rock pythons, and anacondas all grow quite large (and are illegal in New York state) but even they only pose a minimal risk when treated with respect and knowledge. Keep in mind that there are over 350,000 dog bites and over 30 people killed by dogs per year.

[Tony92]

I'm the kind of person who thinks that wild animals shouldn't be constricted to live in captivity, I even think that we could easily live without zoos in our modern world, leaving animals to their natural enviroments. We, as human beings, have already stolen more than enough space to nature.

I could never keep a snake as a pet, for the aforementioned reasons and also because I wouldn't feel comfortable with it. Feeding it with rodents would be impossible for me, for example. I know that is something that happens in nature, but if I had to give the mice alive myself to the snake, well that would be painful. I knew a girl who had a snake and did it, when I discovered that thing I kinda changed the way I saw her.

I always had domestic animals such as dogs and cats, and I consider them just like people, to the point that I feel devastated any time I lose one of them. It is also very difficult when I'm forced to give away kittens, I'm always concerned that the person who take them might not treat them with enough love and respect.

[Kovu]

Suspsy, your Papo collection looks lovely! I don't normally collect non-dinosaurs, but that Kaprosuchus is tempting. I'd be curious to hear your opinions of the figure. Btw, if you don't mind me asking, have you gotten any of the 2016 CollectA's yet?

[Gwangi]

I'm the kind of person who thinks that wild animals shouldn't be constricted to live in captivity, I even think that we could easily live without zoos in our modern world, leaving animals to their natural enviroments. We, as human beings, have already stolen more than enough space to nature.

Well, we disagree greatly on this. I don't want to derail this thread any further so this is the last time I'll talk about it here, we can take it elsewhere if need be. In an ideal world I might agree with you but unfortunately the fate of many species is uncertain and it will ultimately be up to zoos and educational institutions to ensure their survival. It's already happening, and breeding programs in these places have brought many species back from the brink. I could think of many success stories. A good one being the axolotl (an aquatic salamander) which is nearly extinct if not extinct already in the wild. But it lives on, through captive breeding programs. They're one of the most popular pet amphibians in the world. Their habitat is gone, plowed over by Mexico City, but they're are probably more of them alive than there ever have been.

Furthermore, people aren't going to want to save what they don't care about, or have never seen. Zoos and even collections like my own help to educate the public. In the case of snakes specifically (and other misunderstood and feared animals) their value in the pet hobby cannot be understated. If I can educate just one kid, and prevent one wild snake from having its head chopped off with a shovel then I've done my job. The only way that can happen is if people (especially children) can have one-on-one safe interactions with these animals. The welfare of the animal is important. I don't support orca shows or circuses. That's just pure exploitation. Captive animals should be made as comfortable as possible, with artificial environments designed to suit their needs.

I could never keep a snake as a pet, for the aforementioned reasons and also because I wouldn't feel comfortable with it. Feeding it with rodents would be impossible for me, for example. I know that is something that happens in nature, but if I had to give the mice alive myself to the snake, well that would be painful. I knew a girl who had a snake and did it, when I discovered that thing I kinda changed the way I saw her.

I don't feed my snakes live prey, they eat frozen/thawed pre-killed rodents. Before you say anything about that process just know it is humane. Keep in mind that dog and cat food is made from cattle, pigs, chickens, salmon, venison, duck, and if you're willing to spend the money you can even buy dog food made from alligators; "Bayou Blend" by Blue Buffalo. Also, I'm not a vegetarian (though I once was). But I don't NOT feed feed my snakes live rodents because I'm squeamish (I'm not), I do it because it's what's best for both the rodent AND the snake. I feel that any person who eats meat (as I do) should also be willing to see where it comes from.

I always had domestic animals such as dogs and cats, and I consider them just like people, to the point that I feel devastated any time I lose one of them. It is also very difficult when I'm forced to give away kittens, I'm always concerned that the person who take them might not treat them with enough love and respect.

We feel the same about that. My dogs and cats are my family. They're spayed and neutered though, so no kittens. But I am greatly concerned about where those animals I do breed end up going.

[Flaffy]

Ball pythons are one of the sweetest and friendliest snakes you can get. They are small and easy to keep.
A ball python is no were near the giants like boas and rock pythons.

[suspsy]

Suspsy, your Papo collection looks lovely! I don't normally collect non-dinosaurs, but that Kaprosuchus is tempting. I'd be curious to hear your opinions of the figure. Btw, if you don't mind me asking, have you gotten any of the 2016 CollectA's yet?

I wrote a review of the Kaprosuchus back in May:
http://dinotoyblog.com/2016/05/30/kaprosuchus-papo/

And I have all the 2016 CollectAs. I reviewed the Andrewsarchus, Deinocheirus, Struthiomimus, and thylacine. Overall, this was a fine assortment, but there was too much emphasis on theropods. It is my hope that the 2017 line will have a greater variety of figures, although I strongly suspect that we'll be seeing Dakotaraptor and at least one other dromaeosaurs.

As far as zoos are concerned, it's hopelessly naive to claim that they don't serve a very positive and crucial purpose when it comes to conservation. In an ideal world, we would have elephants and rhinos and pangolins and great apes roaming wild and free and safe, but reality isn't ideal. Far from it, sadly. We need zoos to help educate people about the extreme peril so many animals are in, how close they are to extinction, and what can be done to prevent it. In another couple of decades, rhinos may well have gone the same way as the thylacine unless we do something.

And yes, there are bad zoos here and there, but they're not representative of the whole. All the ones I've been to in North America have been superb.

[Kovu]

I wrote a review of the Kaprosuchus back in May:
http://dinotoyblog.com/2016/05/30/kaprosuchus-papo/

And I have all the 2016 CollectAs. I reviewed the Andrewsarchus, Deinocheirus, Struthiomimus, and thylacine. Overall, this was a fine assortment, but there was too much emphasis on theropods. It is my hope that the 2017 line will have a greater variety of figures, although I strongly suspect that we'll be seeing Dakotaraptor and at least one other dromaeosaurs.

Oh, wow! Silly me.   I totally remember reading some of those reviews too! Sorry about that.

I agree with the emphasis on theropods, which seems to be a slightly annoying trend with many of the major lines. I wouldn't be surprised with a Dakotaraptor out of CollectA this year, but I'd be interested to see their take on a hadrosaur. I don't recall them releasing any recently, the last one I can think of is the Parasaurolophus?

[Dilopho]

I wrote a review of the Kaprosuchus back in May:
http://dinotoyblog.com/2016/05/30/kaprosuchus-papo/

And I have all the 2016 CollectAs. I reviewed the Andrewsarchus, Deinocheirus, Struthiomimus, and thylacine. Overall, this was a fine assortment, but there was too much emphasis on theropods. It is my hope that the 2017 line will have a greater variety of figures, although I strongly suspect that we'll be seeing Dakotaraptor and at least one other dromaeosaurs.

Oh, wow! Silly me.   I totally remember reading some of those reviews too! Sorry about that.

I agree with the emphasis on theropods, which seems to be a slightly annoying trend with many of the major lines. I wouldn't be surprised with a Dakotaraptor out of CollectA this year, but I'd be interested to see their take on a hadrosaur. I don't recall them releasing any recently, the last one I can think of is the Parasaurolophus?

They have some nice...uh.....
.....well to put it simple I know lots about theropods but nothing about ornithopods so I don't really know which dinosaurs are hadrosaurs or not but they show their talent really well with "duckbills"! Look at these beauties!





I'm sure Muttaburrasaurus is not a hadrosaur but it looks lovely...

[suspsy]

There's also an Iguanodon and an Ouranosaurus. Most of these ornithopod toys, however, are outdated and not in keeping with CollectA's current standard. It would indeed be great if next year's assortment included Shantungosaurus or Saurolophus or an updated version of any of the toys shown above.

[Jose S.M.]

I'm waiting for a new big and updated Muttaburrasaurus to try and repaint the CollectA one to make it look like a juvenile for my WS Gryposaurus. They look similar to me and the differences are small given the size of the Mutaburrasaurus..