Hi, my name is Jim Lind and I live in Central Scotland.

I bought my first snake in 1983 but I didn’t get ‘seriously’ into herpetology until 1996. I decided to start an online group dedicated to people in the UK after finding that most of the information I was finding online was from the States.

Prices were in dollars and many of the accessories simply weren’t available in the UK. They spoke about breeders that I’d never have the chance to meet and snakes that simply hadn’t been invented over here! ;o)

I soon realised that if you posted a question on most of the newsgroups it was a matter of luck whether you ever received a reply at all!

I started Petsnakes on the 5th of June 2000. I think there were originally 3 members but this soon grew to 97 members who were scattered all across the UK. The actual Petsnakes web site didn’t appear until November 2000.

At that time I took a step back and looked at the group as a whole, considered where it was going and it’s purpose. I decided to scrap the idea of an online group as I seemed to spend most of my time talking to people who knew what they were doing, not really what I intended Petsnakes to be.

I then started rebuilding the web site, putting more emphasis on helping newcomers and giving a quick response to anybody who asked for help.

I also decided to start giving advice on other animals that I have experience of keeping. Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, Horned Frogs, Emperor Scorpions, Tarantulas, Cockroaches and Sugar Gliders.

My enthusiasm for the hobby has grown even stronger since starting Petsnakes.

I hope this enthusiasm is infectious!  :o)

For more information on what I’ve been doing to promote the hobby click here.

Jim Lind