AcmePet Clone

I may have to send my snakes to new homes. Now, I said I may have to. That is IF we have to move in with a roommate, because let's face it not everyone is as comfortable with snakes and mice as I am. I have to accept that. So, last night when my sis and I made the decision that we are moving to Bozeman next month, I said I would make the sacrifice and find new homes for my snakes. But I don't want to just give them away. I want the person who gets them to really appreciate them, and care does not really last long to someone who gets something like that simply handed to them. I want to know the person who gets my snakes are serious about loving them and caring for them as much as I do. So I am charging a rehoming fee, which basically is the same amount I paid for the snakes. I am not at all looking to make any kind of profit.

Well, I posted a listing on craigslist, as a rehoming situation. I looked at the TOS, and I wanted to know why pet ads are prohibited. I was just curious. I never heard of pet ads being prohibited anywhere. Only on craigslist. So I turned to the forum. Most people don't realize craigslist has a pet forum. Well, within the first minute, I got like 5 responses. Well, as you know, every forum has it's resident asshole. Someone who calls herself SmartDumbDog is that forum's asshole, and she seems to be proud of it. Every forum has to have at least one. That one was the first one that responded to my question. She wrote:

"just no pet sales. As stated in Terms Of Use, learn to read........"


My response to her was:

"I read plenty well. I was just wondering. :P"

Then her response was:

"Obviously not, you would know better and not whine. NO PET SALES ON CL!"

I then responded with:

"Obviously you cannot {read} or You would have been able to see in my post I did not ask IS it prohibited or not, but WHY it is prohibited. Thank you for your opinion anyway. :P"

Warped as her opinion is, I thanked her for it anyway. LOL! I swear I thought she was like 12 years old!! But she's not, she said she's 30 years old and married for 10 years. I saw that and I was like "What??? That's really weird!" If she is like that, then her husband must be either very tolerant or just like her in character! As the night wore on, I found out that her husband is just like her. Only he scorns a place called Quake, while she scorns Craigslist. As I stayed in there and went on, I found out that first of all the reason Craigslist does not allow pet ads is because it is illegal in California (where Craigslist is stationed) for an individual to have more than 2 ads per year selling pets. Which I think is DUMB!!!! But then that would not be the first dumb law that California has passed. They have all kinds of wacky laws in California. I personally think PETA is behind this stupid law!

The second thing I found out is that this forum does not just have one asshole, but just about everybody there are assholes! Most other forums have it the other way around, you can go in and most people there are nice, with maybe one or two fart-wits. This forum is the opposite, most of these people are assholes, with maybe one or two nice people. One person, who called herself FishingPhantom, was interested in my snakes. I told her to e-mail me, but as of yet I have not heard from her. But she was the nicest one there besides me. Even she didn't like the no-life people on that forum. FishingPhantom told me how she grew up living in wooded areas, and she loved snakes. Someone, who calls himself AspiringLawyer (I hope to GOD he's not a lawyer) responded with this statement:

"You grew up in the woods? Parents couldn't afford a house?"

I thought that was a stupid statement. In fact, the longer I stayed there, the more I got this vibe like I was back at the AcmePet site. It got very uncomfortable there! Yet you're drawn into it because it is entertaining. Well, one person really helped me out, in an offbeat kind of way. She called herself SeriesOfTubes. She told me to go to kingsnake.com. She seemed OK, but she also was the one who, out of all these assholes, gave me the deepest indication that this forum must be a clone of the AcmePet site. But by this time, I had already felt like I was out of place. I know pet people, all too well! I endured their BS on both the AcmePet site as well as Pluba. That's why I do not go into pet forums anymore. But I was looking for an alternative to craigslist. Well, when SeriesOfTubes referred me to kingsnake.com, she added:

"You will reach real snake people anyway. Plus....you NEVER "make back" what you paid for a snake.....unless you are a Barker or something "

I was not familiar with what a "barker" is, but I told her I didn't want to get rid of my snakes at all, except now, we might be moving sooner than expected. It probably cannot be helped. Well, she told me what a "barker" is. Or rather, THE Barkers.

""THE" Barkers...Blood Python breeder / experts
in the python world. You easily pay 2k for a snake from them. I bought 2......and was able to sell them for what i paid. Probably the only instance of that.

Why r u looking to break even on your common snakes anyway? Rehome them...contact local snake groups in your area.
I had to rehome a few carpet pythons and did so with a local professor who used them for class observations. Better than "getting my money back" when i HAD to rehome them. He did ME a huge favor so how could I 'charge' him?? "

From that second paragraph alone, I figured she was one of those kind of people that throws a hissy fit if someone does not live their lives the way she sees fit. I already said that I love my snakes, and I wanted to see them go to someone who would love them and care for them as much as I do. It's actually breaking my heart to think I will have to send my snakes to new homes!! But if Anna and I have to move in with a roommate, I won't have a choice! I'd have to get rid of them anyway once we got there if I found out the person we will be sharing a home with just does not like snakes. And I cannot be left out in the streets just because of that. My snakes would die anyway if I did that, and I would feel worse knowing I killed them!! Well, I answered her question anyways.

"I've only had the snakes for a little while, which is why I think I could get something back on my investment. They are healthy too. I could also use the money to help pay for the moving expenses. "


Well, SeriesOfTubes took the last sentence the wrong way, I admit I could have probably worded it a little differently. I mean, the money is not all I was after. The money would just be extra gravy, and needed at a time like this. But I am not the type that would sell my snakes to the first person who comes to me with the money, which is why I am selling them for what I paid for them. I want to know the person taking them is serious about caring for them. It will benefit the snakes, as well as us.

Well, having mentioned that, I knew right away, I was going to receive some backlash for that, because it would be so easy, if someone doesn't know me, to take that the wrong way. I waited a few minutes, and I knew what I was going to get next. Surely enough, SeriesOfTubes did not disappoint my instincts. She said:

"They are snakes....not an IPOD or a car they dont retain their value based on how long you used them! If you are talking about how much you "love" your snakes you should be motivated by that. Finding a good home

Remember we are in something called a "recession" I mean good luck trying to get your money back but you ARE selling and that is not allowed on CL. Rehoming fees ok but you are talking about 1/5th of what you "paid"
And having them for a "little while" and trying to sell them makes you look like a flipper and no one is gonna help you do that "

Well, I was prepared for that backlash, believe me! Just like in the AcmePet site, she obviously did not read how I told another poster that I was interested in looking for someone who would love the snakes as much as I did. So I decided to remind her. But first I had a burning question in my mind. I said:

Were you ever in a site called AcmePet? Just wondered. You seem to take things out of context and flip them around to mean something of your own.
(Which is something the "my shit doesn't stink"-type pet people of AcmePet were famous for doing.)
Seriously though, if you read some of my earlier posts, you would see that I am not "just interested in the money". As I told fishingphantom, I'd love *more than anything* to see these guys go to someone who loves them as I do. I was not about to send them to just anyone.
Get to know someone please, before you trash them. Thank you.

I was civil, I kept my cool, and I did not get rude with them. I was happy about that! It wasn't easy, but I was happy. Now, if I had been someone who would have said "I'm just tired of my snakes and I want to sell them. Give me the money and I will give you the snakes." Then, I would have been able to see her point about slamming me. But I am not that type! I already mentioned that I did not want to really sell my snakes, and I would love to see them go to great homes. If SeriesOfTubes could have only seen how heartbreaking it was for me to make the decision to sacrifice my snakes, she would not have even thought I was giving them to anyone who just had the money. In fact, I was thinking last night and I want to at least keep Bandit and Barney! They are the sweetest snakes!! Barney especially is my buddy! I would miss how he cuddles in my hair if I'd have to send him to live with someone else.