Hello, my name is Aaron, and I’m a reptile nut. Lots of you know me, and I think even more don’t. I wasn’t going to do an “about me” section, but for those of you wondering who the heck built this, well, here’s my story.
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At the Lakewood High School
AP science class |
It all started back when I was about 10. A buddy of mine caught a garter snake, and his mom wouldn’t let him keep it. He asked if I wanted it, and I begged and pleaded with my mom to let me keep it. Reluctantly, she did. I don’t believe she had any idea what that would lead to.
When I was 12, I got my first computer. An Apple ][+. My brother upgraded his I think, and I was the benefactor. I started programming little blocks to move around the screen in Apple Basic or whatever it was called. And the programming addiction started.
In 1996 I started doing Internet development. Programming database driven applications, eCommerce sites, major campaign and retail sites, as well as building server farms in our colo facilities. So I guess by definition I’m a computer dork who loves reptiles.
2002 brought about two major changes. First, I ended up quitting the “rat race” and working for myself as an independent Internet programmer. And potentially even more life changing, I got my first pair of chondros.
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What started it all..
Mom and #1, who is doing well :) |
In 2005 I had my first clutch of eggs, and I was not prepared for them… no incubator, but mommy decided to take care of that for me. Not having done this before, I reached out to the Chondro community at the ChondroForum. Thankfully, they were able to tell me to settle down, and help me through the interminable wait. 45 days later (!) I had a clutch of 8 beautiful baby chondros, 3 red and 5 yellow. And the addiction took hold.
For the next clutch, being the tech dork, I decided to do the worlds first ever Internet broadcast of Chondros hatching. It was absolutely amazing. I was limited to 7 streams with the provider, and most of the people that came into the room to watch were not snake people. It was great fun to educate and entertain them, and I met a lot of really great people through it. The following year, I worked with the admin and we got 100 streams going, and people were still waiting in line to see it. Some of the non snake people printed out the pictures and framegrabs, and gave them to their kids for show and tell. It totally floored me that something so simple could have such an impact. What an awesome, awesome experience.
The web has brought so much together, and I wanted to use my web talents in the reptile community in a big way. Thus began the actual beginnings of iHerp. There was nowhere I could manage my animals, photos, galleries, and share my passion online in one place. So what you see here is the result of an overactive imagination, countless nights of programming into the wee hours of the day, and enough caffeine to wake the dead.
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A visit with Mr. Blue, an amazing
green tree python
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I’m an Administrator on
ChondroForum and a regular over at
MVF, so swing by there if you’re interested in Chondros and have questions. They’re both very helpful and open communities. Many of them helped with the testing of this site to make it what it is, and I can’t thank them enough.
So that’s a bit about me. Feel free to drop me a line any time if you have any input, questions, see any errors, or just want to say ‘hey’. This is only the beginning, and if you have ideas to make the site work better for YOU, let me know.