# Thieves steal 35 snakes from home



## shellfisch (Jun 22, 2010)

*Published On:* -
*Source:* Queensland Times

THIEVES have broken into the home of an Ipswich snake breeder and slipped away with more than half his prized pythons.

*Go to Original Article*


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## scutatus (Jun 22, 2010)

That just sucks!!!!

THIEVES have broken into the home of an Ipswich snake breeder and slipped away with more than half his prized pythons.

*Go to Original Article*[/QUOTE]


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## shellfisch (Jun 22, 2010)

scutatus said:


> that just sucks!!!!



Yeah it does  
He says he has no idea who did it, but the sad fact is, they most likely knew him....


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## bpb02 (Jun 22, 2010)

You hear about this more and more these days


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## Jungletrans (Jun 22, 2010)

Hope they think the pillow cases contain harmless pythons .


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## FAY (Jun 22, 2010)

This is the second lot of snakes stolen as someone is in the process of moving!!
Hope Kris gets his snakes back, I think people forget that they are pets and are loved just as much as a cat or a dog.


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## shellfisch (Jun 22, 2010)

FAY said:


> This is the second lot of snakes stolen as someone is in the process of moving!!



I noticed that too, just don't know if it's significant or not. The other one was at the Gold Coast I think...not that far away... :?


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## Kenshin (Jun 22, 2010)

i wonder if someone gets admitted to hospital with a red belly or eastern brown bite in the next few days would the police follow it up? doubt it


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## IgotFrogs (Jun 22, 2010)

all we can hope is they get a nasty bloody shock when they dive their hands into the pollow cases in hopes of pulling a python and come up with a ven attached ..... I hope very much that the snakes get recovered and returned to their rightful owner .... its shocking makes you start to think your snakes shouldn't be kept at home addresses and kept in a secure hidden location ..


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## Chris1 (Jun 22, 2010)

poor guy, thats just rotten.

yeah, im also hoping someone opens the browns pillowcase expecting a python,...


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## [email protected] (Jun 22, 2010)

People need to have there set up more secure......dont mix with dhs.........dont bring attention to your home be professional about your hobby..... just be careful who you mix with.....dont leave yourself open.....make a baririer....eg...locks bolts alarms time management ...cause time is what it takes...so if some one can break enter to your home and get a way with such items in a small amount of time then you dont have the right deterrent from stopping some one entering your home..... Reptiles cant be replaced.


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## Troy K. (Jun 22, 2010)

Another sad day for the hobby.


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## Mudimans (Jun 22, 2010)

You should talk to the guy who had his snakes stolen from the goldy and see is if there are any people who you both know and know where you both live


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## redbellybite (Jun 22, 2010)

that is terrible ...and as was said ,it seems like it was done by people that knew Kris and his doings ,which makes it a good chance that these tools were so called mates untill this ...


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## the jungle guy (Jun 22, 2010)

thats just (deleted)up, no qestion about it i only have a small collection at the moment but still run infra red cameras and alarm after seeing all the weirdos that would hang around my mates after posting reps for sale and they get his address guess need to make a mutual meeting place to sell the reps i hope they get a lovely suprise when they open that pillow case 

i hope he gets his snakes back and gets to have a quiet few words with who ever done this to him


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## voodoo (Jun 22, 2010)

Man thats terriable, I hope you find a hole!. And hope the brown bites them.


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## Ozzie Python (Jun 22, 2010)

not good, hope you get your snakes back kris.

should serve as a good warning for anyone selling hatchlings this year not to do business at home.


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## moosenoose (Jun 22, 2010)

It'll be treated like any other break-in and robbery sadly. The difference is a TV and DVD player can be easily replaced and ARE covered by insurance. This isn't! I think with larger collections you really do have to get better security. Bars on windows, deadlocks on doors and at the very least a monitored security system that either rings your own mobile, or a security company. It's really appauling that there are people out there who are willing to commit this sort of act and target a hobbyist, and reality there is very little you can do to protect yourself other than the fore-mentioned. I do hope they get caught, but I wouldn't hold your breath. Sorry to hear.


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## dale1988 (Jun 22, 2010)

this sickens me how could someone do something like that it makes it alot harder for people who want to find reptiles in there area im in ipswich to! and can not ever find anythign in the are as osme one else said they are pets how would they like it if i jumped there fence and took there dog its rediculous that its come to this but its the times we live in these days i guess


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## Pythons Rule (Jun 22, 2010)

hmm this seams very femilar from the other one which happened just as he was all packed up for a move and had all his snakes in containers and bags ready to go. yet these turds would for sure know them and pretended to be there mates till they thought time was right to strike. also its interesting to know they picked 2 large BREEDERS not just the odd small hobbiest and doing the Huist in breeding season when all females would be producing eggs or close to it. bloody irritating that there are so many *** holes out there that pray on others fortune and destroy so many lives at the same time.


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## dale1988 (Jun 22, 2010)

different mind set to normal people mate no emotion praying on friendly people who allow people to view there collection because they are proud of what they have and get walked over for it it really ruins the hobby for everyone


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## Pythons Rule (Jun 22, 2010)

don't think they ever cought the others from the gold coast theft and wouldn't suprise me if there the same people, maybe buyup should get in contact with kris and work out if they new the same people, also kris should talk to the gold coast police to see if they had any leads that might match up to anyone they new.


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## Scleropages (Jun 22, 2010)

They stole the black brown snake!!!!!
Someone must know who did it

Just makes you want to give up keeping herps


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## Pythons Rule (Jun 22, 2010)

or not show or trust anyone anymore especially living down there in the brisbane/goldcoast/ipswitch region. people if you must entertain friends go out and do it don't bring them to your home...best be safe then sorry


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## pythrulz (Jun 22, 2010)

this happens a lot now a days unfornatly this why some people wont let people veiw there collections.Then know one knows what you keep as you all know some pythons are thousands of dollars and we love them as well so money is not the main consideration but terrible having your pets stolen


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## Nicole74 (Jun 22, 2010)

Fingers crossed for a safe return


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## Retic (Jun 22, 2010)

Yes indeed Troy and something that seems to be getting more common. Very sad indeed. 



Troy K. said:


> Another sad day for the hobby.


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## CodeRed (Jun 22, 2010)

This is getting ridiculous, the number of reptile thefts is growing out of control. It seems that its easier to steal or smuggle someone else's hard work than breed your own. It was obviously done by someone in the know so hopefully that narrows it down a bit. They're probably the same culprits that were involved in the previous thefts.

I hope anyone else that has valuable animals takes the appropriate precautions. Keeping your animals at an unknown location is the only way to ensure their safety.


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## Sock Puppet (Jun 22, 2010)

CodeRed said:


> It seems that its easier to steal someone else's hard work than breed your own.


Exactly, it shows they're in it for the money, not for the enjoyment of being involved in the hobby (whether it's themselves or the people they sell the stolen reptiles to). Unfortunately you'll get this in all aspects of life, it's easier for someone to pinch stuff than to earn an honest quid themselves. Thieves are dead set one of the lowest of the low-breeds. 
Sorry to hear it Kris (& Troy).


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## PhilK (Jun 22, 2010)

Wow Minden is only 10 or 15 minutes from my place out near Gatton.. I can't believe this sort of thing happens even out here, Minden is such a small little hamlet.

These people are bloody germs and I hope they get what's coming to them. It sucks so much that we have dregs like this in the hobby, but I suppose you can't escape all the crumbs in the world can you.

I certainly hope Kris gets all his stuff back.. so young too at only 21! Poor bloke.

EDIT: is it possible the thieves won't be able to sell the snakes seeing as they had no movement advice, licence details etc or will they just sell to unlicenced people?


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## moosenoose (Jun 22, 2010)

CodeRed said:


> It was obviously done by someone in the know so hopefully that narrows it down a bit.


 Being that it happened in Ipswich, it'd pretty much place the entire area under a suspision cloud!


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## GeckoJosh (Jun 22, 2010)

> EDIT: is it possible the thieves won't be able to sell the snakes seeing as they had no movement advice, licence details etc or will they just sell to unlicenced people?


Most likely they already keep those species or know someone who does so they can put them onto license for them, this is where they may slip up and ask the wrong person

Really sorry to heart about this, indeed as said before it is a very sad day for our hobby.

Good luck Gex


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## Kenshin (Jun 22, 2010)

very true they most likely have the species already and will just throw them on theyre licence as a "natural increase" or to replace dead animals, the only thing you can really hope for is the knob jockeys accidently got the vens and have no idea on handling them....... if all goes well one will get tagged and you can watch news reports id be going to visit whoever gets tagged by a black or brown snake in the next few months i hope your brown that got stolen was a grumpy snappy [email protected]

its a pitty our movement advices have to list our address's.... makes it all to easy if you deal with one unsavoury person


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## GeckoJosh (Jun 22, 2010)

Kenshin said:


> its a pitty our movement advices have to list our address's.... makes it all to easy if you deal with one unsavoury person


 Thats a ridiculous rule, can you just put a postal address?


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## Kenshin (Jun 22, 2010)

na mate you have to list the address that the wildlife is kept at...... no ways around it legally


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## Ozzie Python (Jun 22, 2010)

i've bought/sold plenty of snakes with just the suburb or "as per licence" written into the MA. Never had an issue with it and have had epa do a few audits on my books and never been mentioned when they check out the MA's. 

I really don't see a need for the address to be recorded, you have their phone number, and in most cases email. if something goes wrong or someone has a question they don't need to come knocking on your door.


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## Snakeluvver2 (Jun 22, 2010)

is there a way that we can insure our reptiles. Surely there's enough people with large and medium sized collections to a be a variable market.
Not saying that money will replace all the hard work


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## CodeRed (Jun 22, 2010)

Kenshin said:


> na mate you have to list the address that the wildlife is kept at...... no ways around it legally


 
sure legally there isnt any way, but you shouldnt keep anything of value at your license address or any other address that is easily traced. Personally I wouldnt even want parks staff to know where anything valuable is kept (not that I am accusing them of any wrong doing)


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## Pythons Rule (Jun 22, 2010)

PhilK said:


> EDIT: is it possible the thieves won't be able to sell the snakes seeing as they had no movement advice, licence details etc or will they just sell to unlicenced people?


 
most probably the black market to other countries and through petlink :S unless they have a licence already to cover there asses


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## Jungletrans (Jun 22, 2010)

lt is a fact of life that there are people out there that will steal anything , for profit , for fun or just because they can . All you can do is be vigilant and dont make it too easy for them .


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## waydematthews (Jun 22, 2010)

what a low life act!! heres to hoping they get bitten!!!


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## dale1988 (Jun 22, 2010)

thats why i keep locks on alol my enclosures


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## PhilK (Jun 22, 2010)

dale1988 said:


> thats why i keep locks on alol my enclosures


 I'm sure thieves wouldn't mind putting a hammer through the glass of you enclosure. If people want something bad enough they will take it..

Should have a shotgun rigged up to the door so when it is opened it goes off haha

Hopefully one of them does get bitten and caught as a result.. if they are bitten and die then the snakes will just die eventually too.


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## The Reptile Outlet (Jun 22, 2010)

Ozzie Python said:


> i've bought/sold plenty of snakes with just the suburb or "as per licence" written into the MA. Never had an issue with it and have had epa do a few audits on my books and never been mentioned when they check out the MA's.
> 
> I really don't see a need for the address to be recorded, you have their phone number, and in most cases email. if something goes wrong or someone has a question they don't need to come knocking on your door.


 
I like the 'as per licence' idea. Good thinking!
cheers
Joy


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## python_dan89 (Jun 22, 2010)

thats no good, these people will have there day of a nasty bite =) i hope or a catch from the blues.


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## ammers (Jun 22, 2010)

one of the problems of posting collection pics on public forums and doing sales from home


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## percey39 (Jun 22, 2010)

I cant believe this is only getting more common. It just proves how desperate and deceiteful our society is becoming. The worst part is it always happens to the nice guys, i feel really bad for kris as i know he had some great projects on the go.


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## Kenshin (Jun 22, 2010)

i like the as per licence idea also i think ill be doing that as people whome i dont care knowing about my address and herps already know me personally...... im all for setting up mini cams and what not through out herp rooms, it easy to do i have a spare computer i could rig up about 8 cheap mini cams to...... the only problem being us people that rent cant go drilling any holes or doing anything perminant


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## nathancl (Jun 22, 2010)

not really a huge suprise its happend again. definitly a shame but to be expected in a hobby filled with so many losers. herpers are one of the worse groups of people i can think of and its rare to find ones you can trust.


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## FAY (Jun 22, 2010)

nathancl said:


> not really a huge suprise its happend again. definitly a shame but to be expected in a hobby filled with so many losers. herpers are one of the worse groups of people i can think of and its rare to find ones you can trust.


 hahaha you reckon.....I think there would be losers in any hobby. Horse hobby......cutting off horses tails so the competitor cannot show them???
Dog shows.....deliberately break a dogs tail of the competitors dog so that it cannot be shown...these are some stories that I have heard around the traps.
It is not just the herp hobby that have scum.


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## Lovemydragons (Jun 22, 2010)

FAY said:


> Dog shows.....deliberately break a dogs tail of the competitors dog so that it cannot be shown...these are some stories that I have heard around the traps.



I show my dog and have never heard any stories like this. There may be some very bitchy people in the show ring, but not cruel people like that! There is verbal backstabbing, but no one who also shows.owns dogs would delibrately hurt another dog to make their chances of winning better.


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## PhilK (Jun 22, 2010)

I agree herpers are one of the worst... a LOT of people do it for the 'coo' or 'badass' factor of owning a snake, and those people are generally crumbs.


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## snakehandler (Jun 22, 2010)

Not all keepers write off the animals that die, they have room on their permit to place the snakes and then sell as legally owned snakes, lets face it, if you have a pair of snakes they bred, you are just selling snakes you bred. Some will go under the counter, but most will be sold through the books.

Listing your details when you sell makes no difference, the only people that have access to your details are those you deal with....if you suspect someone, hand over your books to the police and let them investigate each person listed. Until the privacy laws catch up with the Wildlife regulations we all will just have to suck it up and accept that there is no other legal alternative.


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## Kenshin (Jun 22, 2010)

nathancl said:


> not really a huge suprise its happend again. definitly a shame but to be expected in a hobby filled with so many losers. herpers are one of the worse groups of people i can think of and its rare to find ones you can trust.


 
i would have to say that statement is abit steep iv had good experiences so far dealing with people like colin, southern cross reptiles, Lewy from this site a breeder in ACT and the breeeder in north qld that made the obee line of jungles...... i have delt with these people recently and they have all been exeptional to deal with also i had another member on this site give me a hand by holding onto some herps for me while i moved over from WA not only that he has given me a hand with everything from putting my enclosures together to lending me thermostats when my other ones blew unexpectedly....... so i would have to say i have had positive experiences here in qld so far........ i have delt with a rather unsavory reptile dealer in WA that has charged top dollar for animals on deaths door but i wont go into that as WA is a different kettle of fish compared to the rest of australia i geuss it comes down to the fact that 25% of the population are scumbags and they arent restricted to any one hobby they exist accross the board 

its sht that your animals were stolen, even shter still that you cannot to this day insure your animals like they can overseas and still even more sht that cops in general wont give a toss about your stolen reptiles.......

all the best hope you get at least a portion of them back or better still find out who did the deed and where you can find them.........


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## RushiesReptiles (Jun 22, 2010)

Thats horrible news. But a good wake up call really. Cant trust everyone, and it especially makes it hard when your selling herps from home. Feel for anyone who has stolen off. No matter the item.


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## Specks (Jun 22, 2010)

i hope smitthy gets his stuff back. he is from this site. very sad indeed. he has some very nice snakes and has worked very hard to accurie his nice snakes. even if the ungliest one got stolen. i would be heart broken you like are attached to all of them

good luck smitty


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## Pythoninfinite (Jun 22, 2010)

There is no practical reason for the bureaucrats to insist on full addresses - all this does is save them some work. If you supply a name, licence number and suburb, they are well able to link the animal in question to the buyer/seller. The whole, pointless and disjointed system needs a shake-up Australia-wide.

Nobody seems to be able to answer why we need licensing for captive bred pet reptiles in the first place... except that that's the way it started when animals were wid-caught and licensing was considered necessary for that reason.


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## Jungletrans (Jun 22, 2010)

l have always liked the sign/tee shirt ; CAUTION WE DONT CALL THE POLICE , with a picture of a hand gun .


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## thals (Jun 22, 2010)

Very sad to hear


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## Jumala (Jun 22, 2010)

this is why I didn't tell people when or where I was moving  I already had enough problems with my ex .....


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## syeph8 (Jun 22, 2010)

PhilK said:


> Hopefully one of them does get bitten and caught as a result.. if they are bitten and die then the snakes will just die eventually too.


 
The odds of dying from a snake-bite in Australia is pretty low, with exception for very remote areas. most likely outcome is he will go to hospital instead of choose to die. If he does die, I'm sure he'll be discovered well and truly before the snakes die and all will be well or they will be destroyed as they may assume wild caught. 
Moving may just be a coincidence, but i am always suspicious of coincidence. These two people most likely haven't got any way of getting into contact with each other unfortunately, unless they already know one another or someone is willing to say they know both those people (which at this point in time would be a very risky thing to do and may lead to problems for that person.. so i don't see anyone putting their hand up for it) 
As someone else said "very sad day for the hobby"


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## -Matt- (Jun 22, 2010)

A very sad day indeed, very sorry to hear this Kris. It's sad when you can't even share your interest with others in the hobby without risking having your collection knocked off. Makes one think twice about even associating with other 'herp' people...


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## slither (Jun 22, 2010)

very very sorry to hear mate i had the same thing happen a few years ago about ten gran worth of pythons at my house on the gold coast i believe somone who had bought a snake from me or somone they told but no proof sinse then i dont trust anyone and when i breed i never ever sell from home now i live in a secured gated security controled complex and am very careful who i tell and show i never got any of mine back sorry mate i feel for you


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## PhilK (Jun 22, 2010)

It might just be an idea for somebody to post up how they go about selling their reptiles to give others an idea what they can do instead of selling from home?

I sold my snake and had the buyer come over and get it and obviously 99% of the time this will be the end of it (especially if you just own 2 or 3 herps) but what happens if you have an awesome collection? What if somebody wants to see their purchase before paying? You can't meet in public because you apparently aren't allowed to take your reptiles out in public, you can't have them come to your place in case they decide to come back later and help themselves.. Even if a seller asks for your address to post you something.. what's to stop them coming to your place? Or telling others what you own?

Anybody have ideas on the best way to do it?


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## Helikaon (Jun 22, 2010)

that is terrible, I hope they catch the scum. this is way to close to home for me and i cant believe that this is becoming more and more common. i have always had ppl come round when purchasing although i dont let them view my whole collection it makes me think twice before trusting anyone which is extremely dissapointing.


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## butters (Jun 22, 2010)

Low life. Whats even worse is they are probably on this forum as well and laughing because no one has a clue. Sooner or later they are bound to slip up though and hopefully all of these can be pinned on them. I would be very surprised given the similarity between the 2 cases if it wasn't the same people. I rarely wish ill of anyone but in these cases make an exception.
I don't have a collection worth bothering about but I still try not to deal from my house. Usually I drop off or meet somewhere. Only people I have come to mine I know very well and that is really only 2 people.

Sad part is I have had a number of people be very welcoming in showing me their collection and have learnt a lot from such visits. My herping experience would be much poorer if this hadn't happened. Its a shame that scum like this mean that this type of experience will not be possible for many as people become more paranoid (and rightly so) allowing no one to see their collections.

In many cases its our pride and joy and should be shared not hidden away and spoken of to no one. Sucks that some people ruin all of that.


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## cwtiger (Jun 22, 2010)

It is a sad state of events that has happend to fellow snake owners. To think that someone can come into your property like that and walk away with your collection. On another note (stepping back to dodge the bullets) Advertising that this has happened gives the people hero statis as they are mentioned on the news, in the papers on forums which I think encourages them to keep going. I have nothing against giving your support and sympathy for the victims of crime but the more we talk about the low life that has done this the more big headed they get.


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## PhilK (Jun 22, 2010)

cwtiger, let their heads get big.. the more this is talked about the more people know and the more eyes and ears in the herp world are looking and listening.


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## Mudimans (Jun 22, 2010)

I don't sell from home anymore. I take a selection of snakes to a local school and meet the buyers there. I don't even write my address on the movement advice anymore, I just write "as per your records" and haven't had any problems. If they wanted to see the parents i'd just bag them up and take them too. Too many people are having their pets stolen now and it scares the hell out of me. Its like quarantine... better safe than sorry


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## Renagade (Jun 23, 2010)

Far out. poor smithy. that sux hard. does anyone now if in both these high profile recent "house move" events whether documentation to DECC was given for notice address change prior? It seems suss with the bummble bee and vens taken.... but decc would know what you have, if they know what you are doing with it... well bagged snakes are the easiest way to walk in and walk out loaded.


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## sumbu (Jun 23, 2010)

That's just not good. Unfortunately, same thing happens in the rare fish hobby too. I used to arrange to meet at a local landmark to sell / trade my fish for this exact reason. Bottom line is, if you have a collection of value don't just let any willy nilly person in to take a peek and scope it all out. You don't know what sort of trouble you are inviting. I hope they left their mark and are caught and punished appropriately.


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## ingie (Jun 23, 2010)

Terrible news.... Makes me think I should have all my herps in one big room and then have a guard Perentie living in there..... That could be fun


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## smeejason (Jun 23, 2010)

very sad news I just wish for once the would get caught. 
and i Hope the dead ####'s get what is coming to them.


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## felixtherat (Jun 23, 2010)

heres hoping they end up at ipswich hosp after makin contact with the brown lol if someone ends up there with a bite to the hand maybe just maybe the snakes might end up back at home safely


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