# memories?? the good old/bad old days??



## jonodrama (May 7, 2009)

seen a few threads lately about people who have kept exotics since the 70's & 80's. The lack of specialist anything(equipment, advice, shops etc etc)

I kept a huge range of herps and inverts when i was a kid 87-94.
just got back into the hobby in the last 2 years. Its only lack of funds and the missus that stops me adding to the collect!!

so what are peoples memories from the old days?

I remember when heat mats first came out!! it was like they were from another world.
what species did people keep? that aren't available these days??


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## E.Crassus (Jul 20, 2006)

Well not quite the 70's! but the "good old days" for me were the early 2000's when it seemed royal and corn morphs were coming out by the day! they still are! but just remember seeing some amazing new things and being a 15 year old being very excited by the prospect of creating some of my own! and wishing I had more money! 
Its amazing once the bug bites its so hard to shake off! and equally amazing how quickly things change in the herp world!


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## jasper1 (Apr 15, 2007)

It was about 79 when I purchased my first snake, a _Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis._ I've kept all sorts since, but even to this day, I still get a little yearning everytime I see a Red-sided Garter Snake. That little fellow will always have a special place on my list of herps.

The whole buzz was different back then. Everything was weird and wonderful, you felt like a kid in a sweet shop, even in the little shops with limited choice. But the choice was much different, with many things you don't see nowadays in a lot of places. You would call into the shops on a weekly basis to review the latest list and place your order for whatever took your fancy. It seemed you could order anything and nothing was overly expensive.

There was no equipment to speak of. Vivs were converted fish tanks or you built them yourself. To me, that was part of the fun. A bit too easy now in a way. Plus, the pleasure you got from bonding with your Dad as you built the lastest viv was priceless. 

Caresheets. Pah! You had to make it up as you went along. Books covered the basics but it was still hit and miss. You also swapped tips with your new circle of friends that grew within the hobby; by going to meets, held by the local herp society.

Heating was done via lightbulbs, unstatted. If the snake spent too much time in the cool end, then you inserted a higher wattge bulb. Similarly, if it was always in the hot end, you inserted a lower wattage one until you found a happy medium.

Stats were something you read about in the American books but no one ever saw one. They were like the holy grail. To make things easier we wired dimming light switches to the bulbs so that we could control the heat a little better. Then one day my Dad came home with a handful of household central heating stats which we wired up to the bulbs instead. They worked a treat.

Nowadays, visiting some rep shops is like going to the supermarket, everything there at your disposal, sometimes feels a little too easy and convenient. It's good to see/use the greatly improved products and have so much info at the click of a button, but although the hobby has come on leaps and bounds, sometimes I feel it's not as exciting as back then.....until you come home with a new herp and once again you are transported back in time by becoming the excited, little boy from days gone by.

Ah, the good old days  For sale: One pair of rose-tinted glasses...


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## xxstaggyxx (Oct 22, 2008)

jasper1 said:


> It was about 79 when I purchased my first snake, a _Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis._ I've kept all sorts since, but even to this day, I still get a little yearning everytime I see a Red-sided Garter Snake. That little fellow will always have a special place in my list of herps.
> 
> The whole buzz was different back then. Everything was weird and wonderful, you felt like a kid in a sweet shop, even in the little shops with limited choice. But the choice was much different, with many things you don't see nowadays in a lot of places. You would call into the shops on a weekly basis to review the latest list and place your order for whatever took your fancy. It seemed you could order anything and nothing was overly expensive.
> 
> ...


 
Showing your age there buddy hope you are well


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## jasper1 (Apr 15, 2007)

xxstaggyxx said:


> Showing your age there buddy hope you are well


 Ah, but I never admitted how old I was in '79 

All good this end mate. The little boy in me wants to know if there's any news on the goodies? :2thumb:


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## jasper1 (Apr 15, 2007)

jasper1 said:


> If the snake spent too much time in the cool end, then you inserted a higher wattge bulb. Similarly, if it was always in the hot end, you inserted a lower wattage one until you found a happy medium.


Oops!


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## jonodrama (May 7, 2009)

jasper1 said:


> It was about 79 when I purchased my first snake, a _Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis._ I've kept all sorts since, but even to this day, I still get a little yearning everytime I see a Red-sided Garter Snake. That little fellow will always have a special place on my list of herps.
> 
> The whole buzz was different back then. Everything was weird and wonderful, you felt like a kid in a sweet shop, even in the little shops with limited choice. But the choice was much different, with many things you don't see nowadays in a lot of places. You would call into the shops on a weekly basis to review the latest list and place your order for whatever took your fancy. It seemed you could order anything and nothing was overly expensive.
> 
> ...



Nice one thats what I wanted!:no1:

I started with garters..well after a couple of different stick insects. 

It was all very different back then before all the morphs


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## chandelierman (Apr 13, 2010)

I had my first experience with reps back in the mid 90's...my then wife wanted an iguana so i got her a baby one.....i wouldn't touch it :blush: after a while i got used to it then trundled off to the shop and came back with a 2ft long male plumed basilisk for myself :2thumb: this was quickly followed by:
8 bearded dragons - 1 blue tounge skink - 1 Uromastyx - then i started looking a BIGGER THINGS :gasp:.......i ended up with a 2ft Bosc - 3ft nile .... (i still hear the voice of mr shop man said "yes of course it will tame down" :devil: ) ...i also had a golden tegu - 2 monkey tail skinks - 2 mangrove monitors - 2 argus monitors - 2 frilled lizards - 2 water dragons - 3 dwarf caimens
As the other guy said it was sort of make it up as you go along,i don't think many shops had true knowledge of husbandry skillls,more just interested in a quick buck.
I had to sell them all when me and the mrs split up in 97,although i did get the 2 fillys and 2 argus when i bought my own place,i sold them in 99 when i bought a flat...........i've not kept anything since........that was untill i found this site 3 months ago! now i have 2 Timor monitors - 1 Kimberly monitor ( i am getting another 2 this week ) and i have 2 ackies reserved from Paul P for collection at the end of the month.......i have cleared my spare room to make room for lots more :mf_dribble:
One thing i have noticed,It looks like Since the 90's prices of reps has gone through the roof....a lot of rep shops have been and gone,i use to live in London and would always be out looking for new shops ( that was before we had internet ).....Regents reptiles up edgeware Rd used to good for getting something quite rare ( they are gone now )........Crews hill in Enfield was another haunt for me ( was 2 or 3 rep shops up there ).....and what about Reptile Masters down the A127,are they still there?


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## jonodrama (May 7, 2009)

chandelierman said:


> I had my first experience with reps back in the mid 90's...my then wife wanted an iguana so i got her a baby one.....i wouldn't touch it :blush: after a while i got used to it then trundled off to the shop and came back with a 2ft long male plumed basilisk for myself :2thumb: this was quickly followed by:
> 8 bearded dragons - 1 blue tounge skink - 1 Uromastyx - then i started looking a BIGGER THINGS :gasp:.......i ended up with a 2ft Bosc - 3ft nile .... (i still hear the voice of mr shop man said "yes of course it will tame down" :devil: ) ...i also had a golden tegu - 2 monkey tail skinks - 2 mangrove monitors - 2 argus monitors - 2 frilled lizards - 2 water dragons - 3 dwarf caimens
> As the other guy said it was sort of make it up as you go along,i don't think many shops had true knowledge of husbandry skillls,more just interested in a quick buck.
> I had to sell them all when me and the mrs split up in 97,although i did get the 2 fillys and 2 argus when i bought my own place,i sold them in 99 when i bought a flat...........i've not kept anything since........that was untill i found this site 3 months ago! now i have 2 Timor monitors - 1 Kimberly monitor ( i am getting another 2 this week ) and i have 2 ackies reserved from Paul P for collection at the end of the month.......i have cleared my spare room to make room for lots more :mf_dribble:
> One thing i have noticed,It looks like Since the 90's prices of reps has gone through the roof....a lot of rep shops have been and gone,i use to live in London and would always be out looking for new shops ( that was before we had internet ).....Regents reptiles up edgeware Rd used to good for getting something quite rare ( they are gone now )........Crews hill in Enfield was another haunt for me ( was 2 or 3 rep shops up there ).....and what about Reptile Masters down the A127,are they still there?


i helped out/hang out at a reptile shop in Cornwall called Jungle Herbert's when i was young. 
really sad I lost interest when I hit 14

looks like your building up a collection again. the wife has said I'm allowed 1 more large viv, so looking into ackies:2thumb:


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## jasper1 (Apr 15, 2007)

chandelierman said:


> ,i use to live in London and would always be out looking for new shops ( that was before we had internet )


I still do that, always pop in to a new place if I'm passing or make a mental note to visit if I haven't time right then. You never know what little treasure is lurking in a viv at the back of the shop. Usually a bloody morph of some kind these days though  


chandelierman said:


> Crews hill in Enfield was another haunt for me ( was 2 or 3 rep shops up there


Last time I went to Crews Hill (couple of years ago) there were still 2 0r 3 shops dotted about in the various garden centres. If I remember correctly though, it was mainly equipment & food, no reps.

Is Palmers still there in Camden? I got my first Dart Frogs from there in the 90's.


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## loxocemus (Sep 2, 2006)

snakes sold by the foot

stamped addressed envelopes for price lists

neon green price lists

dave lester and the serpentarium

gavin murray

geoff clarke

looking on lists for anything with CB next to it

cleaning the cages (fishtanks)

bulbs for heat

house stats for stats

mairs and willie jenkins in glasgow

blk and white pueblans for £20 because they had no red

the excitement of the unknown i used to have, i miss that the most

rgds
ed



jonodrama said:


> seen a few threads lately about people who have kept exotics since the 70's & 80's. The lack of specialist anything(equipment, advice, shops etc etc)
> 
> I kept a huge range of herps and inverts when i was a kid 87-94.
> just got back into the hobby in the last 2 years. Its only lack of funds and the missus that stops me adding to the collect!!
> ...


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## jonodrama (May 7, 2009)

loxocemus said:


> *snakes sold by the foot*
> 
> stamped addressed envelopes for price lists
> 
> ...


jesus really??? how much per foot and for what???


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## loxocemus (Sep 2, 2006)

by the ft was almost all wild caught stuff, rats like blk's greys yellows everglades, texas (they often have a vicious grade too ) chain kings, floridas, bullsnakes, asian rats including gonyosoma etc etc etc

i always tried for the smaller and therefore the younger, the older they are the more set in their wild ways they were, the real gems were anything with CB next to it, it wasn't like now where almost everything is cb, back then it was really only corns and cali's that were bred in any numbers.

rgds
ed



jonodrama said:


> jesus really??? how much per foot and for what???


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## jonodrama (May 7, 2009)

loxocemus said:


> by the ft was almost all wild caught stuff, rats like blk's greys yellows everglades, texas (they often have a vicious grade too ) chain kings, floridas, bullsnakes, asian rats including gonyosoma etc etc etc
> 
> i always tried for the smaller and therefore the younger, the older they are the more set in their wild ways they were, the real gems were anything with CB next to it, it wasn't like now where almost everything is cb, back then it was really only corns and cali's that were bred in any numbers.
> 
> ...


yeah i remember the WC days. you'd get the odd LTC:gasp:


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

i remember 1975... reptile keeping was a do it yourself hobby...

the fish department had some useful stuff that could be adapted for herps.


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## colinm (Sep 20, 2008)

In the mid to late 70s.
Being a member of the Young Zoologists Club at London Zoo.Never catching the number 74 bus from Camden Town Tube Station to te zoo so I could walk by Palmers in The Parkway.
This was after they sold Lions but I always liked to save my pocket money up to buy a Wall Lizard or Green Lizard on the way home.Seeing animals in there that I had only dreamt about like Iguanas and Red Eyed Treefrogs and vowing one day I would have some.
Keeping them in aquariums with lightbulbs and feeding thm on mealworms,this was before crickets.Ironically these would have been better kept outside but little was known abouy ultraviolet and vitamin D3.
Joining the I.H.S. and waiting eagerly for the monthly newsletter or quartarly bulletin.Reading about Leopard Geckos as a new species to keep!!
How the hobby has moved on and how much it is a big business now.


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## blood and guts (May 30, 2007)

loxocemus said:


> snakes sold by the foot
> 
> stamped addressed envelopes for price lists
> 
> ...


That brings back some good memorys, murray was always great for buying equipment from and him and clarke both sold me some real nice snakes.

I really miss the variety we used to see on a regular basis, these days its fewer spieces and more morphs. 
Used to help a local importer and in most cases felt like a kid at xmas.


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## Natrix (Dec 9, 2006)

colinm said:


> In the mid to late 70s.
> Being a member of the Young Zoologists Club at London Zoo.


I was a member of the YZC in the late sixties/early seventies. Were they still doing the big blue plastic key with an elephant top that let you listern to the recorded information boxes attached to each cage? 

Natrix


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## Natrix (Dec 9, 2006)

blood and guts said:


> That brings back some good memorys, murray was always great for buying equipment from and him and clarke both sold me some real nice snakes.
> 
> I really miss the variety we used to see on a regular basis, these days its fewer spieces and more morphs.
> Used to help a local importer and in most cases felt like a kid at xmas.


My local was Broadway pet stores in the Romford road, run by Phil Read. There was shipments arriving every week from all over the world.

You could get caiman for a tenner each and greek tortoises for £6 each. 

Some of the stuff he had for sale back then hasn't been seen for sale in the UK for decades now.

Before that there was another place near by (can't remember the name of the place) that my dad used to take me to. It used to stock lion cubs, bear cubs and young chimps. The owner had a pet bear (black bear I think) that he used to walk on a lead. When the DWA came in the place closed down.

All seems like another world now.

Natrix


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## colinm (Sep 20, 2008)

Natrix,Yes the little plastic elephant key was still there,I remember I joined after the Zoo got Ching Ching and Cha Cha the Giant Pandas.There was a hell of a hullaballoo about them.
Broadway Pets in Romford,Steve Haswells place in Clapton and a shop in the Elephant and Castle.Trying to work out how to get to these places via public transport from North London after my father refused to take me there.Although he did take me to the one at the Elephant and Caste to buy some European Firebellied Toads which I seem to remember were £2.50 each.


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## Natrix (Dec 9, 2006)

colinm said:


> Natrix,Yes the little plastic elephant key was still there,I remember I joined after the Zoo got Ching Ching and Cha Cha the Giant Pandas.There was a hell of a hullaballoo about them.
> Broadway Pets in Romford,Steve Haswells place in Clapton and a shop in the Elephant and Castle.Trying to work out how to get to these places via public transport from North London after my father refused to take me there.Although he did take me to the one at the Elephant and Caste to buy some European Firebellied Toads which I seem to remember were £2.50 each.


I seem to remember the big attraction when I joined was Pipaluk the Polar bear cub. There was also Goldie the golden eagle and guy the Gorilla. A bit later they got Chi-Chi their first panda. I still pay my regards to her when I visit the Natural history museum.

My first purchase of a non native was four terrapins for my tenth birthday in 1971. I've still got three of them in the garden pond.
I remember you could buy British stuff like frogs and toads for about a pound each and dice snakes for a couple of pounds. 

On the down side, no equipment (had to adapt everything) and hours spent catching bugs in the garden to feed to lizards. Mice came live and garters were preferable because fish was easy to get.

Happy days
Natrix


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## jonodrama (May 7, 2009)

Thanks to everyone for contributing to this thread.
Life before morphs!!:no1:


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## Chris Newman (Apr 23, 2007)

I got my first snake in 1964 [bugger that makes me feel old] an Italian grass snake, can’t remember where he came from. My second snake was a large Oriental Ratsnake _Ptyas mucosus_, that was supposes to be lunch for the king cobra at Wooburn Abby Safari Park, the king never forgave me and was always pissed when he saw me…. those were the days…..


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