This bothers me on a different level than the run of the mill lolcow.
The way some of the forum users here seem to be with reptiles and invertebrates is the way I am with birds. They're easily my favorite kind of pet, and I'd own a whole aviary in a second.
That is, if I thought I could take proper care of a whole aviary.
Primarily because of money I've been limited to budgies my whole life (the $20 parakeets everyone likes to think are worthless) but even properly raising one of those can be very time consuming, yet rewarding. Now that I'm older I could easily save up and buy myself a larger bird, but between school and work I just won't have the time to give it the attention it needs. Hell, once my 'keet goes I'm going to put down birds until I'm able to settle down on my own.
Heck, I remember when I was younger I really wanted a pet rat. (They are actually one of the better rodents to keep as a pet) I did an absolutely autistic amount of research on them before my mom finally broke and said I could get one. I dropped the entire thing because everything I read said that rats need to have a companion, and so I would NEED two in order for them to be comfortable.
While all of that may seem really off-topic to you, I was actually trying to make a point. As a pet owner, nothing bothers me more than the idea that my animal is unhappy because of the way I keep it. I was raised to treat all living things with respect. I fucking HATE how this kids parents have neglected to teach this him that; he doesn't seem to realize that his reptiles are more than toys for his entertainment. It's not really his fault. If his parents had just said "No, you can't have every single exotic reptile you want" and taught him to properly care for one, I'm sure of a couple things:
- That one Reptile would have a way better quality of lie than any of his ten current ones
- He would be able to find fulfillment in building/maintaining the ideal habitat for said one reptile
- He might realize that reptiles are hugely time consuming and that owning as many as he does is a recipe for disaster.