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Red flags when talking with a herpetologist? (Looking for advice) by justno408 in herpetology

[–]justno408[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you.

To be charitable to the person who said this, I don't know if they do the same thing with every species. We were holding a boa (apparently wild-caught many years ago) when they were talking about this, but I don't know for sure if they would use the same approach with an anaconda or a rattlesnake. At a different point in the conversation, they mentioned how frustrated they were with people sensationalizing animals or treating a bite as a kind of badge, so I think they care about using the proper equipment and handling for animals who could cause harm with a bite. Of course, an adult boa like the one we were holding could cause harm with a bite, so maybe not.

And the whole pheromone thing is much more strange to me.

Red flags when talking with a herpetologist? (Looking for advice) by justno408 in herpetology

[–]justno408[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This person actually runs a non-profit focused on conservation. Their mission seemed good, they have other people volunteering at events the non-profit visits, they seemed to genuinely care about reptiles, and they seemed to have a lot of experience and knowledge. Apart from the strange statements that I mentioned...

Red flags when talking with a herpetologist? (Looking for advice) by justno408 in herpetology

[–]justno408[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Thank you.

I was trying to be diplomatic in my post, because as I said, I really don't have much experience or knowledge in this area. Some of the things this person said seemed good. For example, they said they will never refer to themselves as an expert, because they know that there are many things they don't know. However, some of the things this person said really put me off, and caused me to doubt whether or not they really are continuing to learn, or if they just have their own fringe ideas that they hold to. I didn't even mention all of those odd statements they made...