Hello from Northern VA

[LPacker79]

I'm doing this a little backwards, making a few posts and then posting an intro, but I just didn't feel like typing this much last night!

I'm Leanne, and I currently live in Sterling, VA (transplant from Mid Michigan almost 3 years ago). I bought my first, and certainly not last, Crested this past Friday.

I worked for the USPS for 5 years before moving to VA and going on a two year hiatus from employment. I've worked at PetSmart now for a little over a year and I can quite honestly say I'm having the time of my life. I may not be making much money, but I'm really enjoying myself. Luckily my BF can support the both of us LOL!

When I lived in MI I had about 125 tarantulas at my highest point. I sold/gave away the majority of them to fellow hobbyists when I moved and kept only 5. My current pets (excluding the 5 tarantulas and 20 or so scorpions) include:

Poseidon, the Siberian husky (between 12-14 years of age, rescue)
Rally the ferret-monster
2.0 White's tree frogs
1.1 Brown anoles
0.1 Leopard gecko
5 hermit crabs
1.1 Morelia spilota mcdowelli (Coastal carpet python)
1.1 Morelia bredli (Centralian python)
1.0 Morelia spilota variegata (Irian Jaya/West Papuan)
0.1 Morelia spilota cheynei (Jungle Carpet python)
0.1 Morelia spilota spilota x Morelia spilota mcdowelli (Diamond x Coastal intergrade)
0.1 Boa constrictor ssp (Hogg Isle boa)

I used to keep two species of feeder roaches too, but when I stopped keeping as many inverts I found that I really didn't need my colonies anymore. I had Discoids and Lobsters.

Needless to say I have a very understanding boyfriend. He thinks all of my animals (minus the dog and the ferret) are disgusting. That being said, he realizes that they are important to me and doesn't want anything to happen to them. He's constantly looking at them and if they're doing something "odd" in his eyes he asks me if they're okay. He also likes to watch on feeding days, I think he's more interested than he's letting on.

[firecrested]

Welcome to the forums.
That's a nice size group of Carpets, do you have pics

[Travis590]

Welcome to the forums and thats a nice sized collection you got going there. I would also really like to see pictures of your carpets.

[monster]

welcome. now if i could just convince my boy to care for the geckos too...

[LPacker79]

My BF doesn't think "Sheila" is nearly as cute as I do. He just noticed her last night (apparently he's not very observant). He told me last night "no more animals. Stop it!"

We shall see.

[justanotherfroginthepond]

My BF doesn't think "Sheila" is nearly as cute as I do. He just noticed her last night (apparently he's not very observant). He told me last night "no more animals. Stop it!"

We shall see.

My husband just found out how many geckos were in the house...he was thinking much less!  I have to hand it to him, he took it fairly well!  Just call me the "closet collector". Geckos are easy to hide...

[LPacker79]

Ya know, he should be thankful really. When I met him I had several frog tanks, a ferret, a cat, somewhere around 125 tarantulas, 7 snakes, 20 scorpions, and 2 blue crayfish.

He should be thanking his lucky stars!

He hasn't called Sheila "disgusting" like he has my other non-mammals though. Maybe he thinks she's cute and just doesn't want to admit it? I mean come on, how can you look at that face and not go "awwwwwww!"

If need be, I can be quite devious. I learned this from my mother. I grew up on a horse farm, we had Arabs and Saddlebreds. Whenever mom brought home a new horse (we had anywhere between 15 and 20) she would just tell him "Oh, you don't remember her? That's so-and-so, she just came home from being bred/training." Poor man never knew the difference, he almost never went to the barns and they had separate bank accounts.

[monster]

"Oh, you don't remember her? That's so-and-so, she just came home from being bred/training." Poor man never knew the difference, he almost never went to the barns and they had separate bank accounts.

ooohhh! ecellent tactic 

[missturpak]

Hi there :]
I live in southeastern VA (Virginia Beach area)
If you go to reptile shows, we probably go to the same ones. :]
It's funny cause my boyfriend thinks my ferret is disgusting.
he calls her a big rat.
But for SOME reason he loves the geckos.
Weirdo.

[Lauren and Hunter]

Nice to meet you.

I suppose I'm lucky. I didn't realize so many people's boyfriends/husbands had a problem with the animals. Mine is almost as into the collecting as I am. In fact my starting actually breeding something (cresties) made him want to to leopards. We're both on board for pretty large growth in the collection. Ha ha. Things we want right now are more cresties, more leos, another beardie, at least one leachie, a few satanics, and maybe a blood python and GTP or emerald tree boa.

The spiders and scorpions never really appealed to me, but I also don't know anything about them. We sold some pretty impressive ones where I used to work, some very venemous. I've always kind of wanted an orchid mantis....