I (15M), would like to convince my parents to allow me to get ANOTHER reptile (fire skink)

Hey people, this is a 15 year old kid you're being an asshole to. I don't think he sounds all that snobby, he is a KID interested in reptiles. Keeping reptiles from the wild is generally bad practice, but tons of reptile owners have wild caught or imported animals in their collection. Providing quality care to a small number of wild caught animals is honestly not a big deal. All the animals you own are decendents of wild caught animals, and all animals new to the hobby entered the hobby through wild caught specimen. As I said, not a good habit to catch and keep a ton, but if they are given good care and properly quaranteened and inspected for parasites it is not really a huge deal. Certainly no need to shit on a kid who is excited to take part in this hobby, and sounds eager to learn and provide quality care.

To the OP, I agree with others it is generally not a good habit to capture many wild animals to keep for pets. The decision to take an animal from the wild should be thoroughly thought out. The animal should be closely observed for the first few days, and released if not responding well to captive care. This community seems to be deeply against wild caught pets, but the reality is that it is quite common in the hobby. Stay educated, and try to avoid keeping wild animals going forward. If you remain interested in this hobby, do your research before taking in any new animals. Many available in the pet trade are wild caught imports, and it's important to inform yourself and make wise decisions on whether or not certain pet imports are something you wish to support. There are many many captive bred animals these days that will almost always do much better in captivity then a wild caught animal. I have quite a few animals and all of my captive bred animals are thriving under my care. I have a single animal I caught from the wild, and chose to keep due to his incredibly calm nature and total absence of stress response. He began eating within minutes of me bringing him home, and I waited several days before committing to keeping him. He is the exception to the rule. The other wild caught animals I have were imports that I got early in my interest in the hobby. I did not know they were wild caught when I bought them. They have done absolutely terrible in captivity despite all my best efforts to perfect their husbandry. They are terrified of me and will barely eat most of the time. They are only active at night when the house is totally silent. This is the risk of taking in a wild caught animal. They are supposed to be scared of you for their own survival, and often can not thrive in captivity. I feel such sadness these animals are so poorly adapted to my care, and they are the only pet I regret getting. All of my captive bred animals are thriving under my care. So I reiterate, it is very important to educate yourself on the source of any animal you choose to get.

In response to your desire for a new lizard, perhaps it would be wise to wait a bit. I totally understand the addictive nature of this hobby, but many reptiles can live 20-30 years. You are 15 and will likely be moving and trying to go to school or get your life started in the next 4-5 years. Reptile keeping is an expensive commitment, and not something you can just get bored of and move on in the way you can with other hobbies. I don't doubt your knowledge and passion, but now is a good time to work on perfecting your husbandry for the animals you do have. Get involved in reptile communities and expand your knowledge. Practice with your current creatures and give your passion time to develop before you buy more animals. You seem very interested and committed already, so don't give up on that passion.

Don't take these people shitting on you too seriously. They are concerned for the well being of your animals, but they are also being very unkind in the way they are addressing you. We all have to start somewhere, and no one walks into this hobby knowing all the correct information. Continue striving to be better, and make sure your decision to bring in a new animal is always deeply and thoroughly thought out. Happy helping! :)

/r/reptiles Thread