Introducing Myself- New MM Team Member

[brittni-admin]

Scale-o there!

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself…My name is Brittni; how the heck are ya?

Aside from being a pun aficionado, I am a fellow keeper who is passionate about the animals we all love. I am also a new member of the MorphMarket team! This is going to be a long-winded introduction, as I enjoy rambling. Please feel free to skip to the good part (aka the end).

Here’s the long story:

Animals have always been the thing I have been most passionate about. My parents used to laugh because I would tell EVERYONE that I wanted to be a dog catcher when I grew up…poor little Brittni had NO IDEA what that actually meant.

I guess I am pretty glad not all dreams come true. I grew up with a menagerie of pets, but the only reptiles we had were tortoises. It wasn’t until my adult years that reptiles became the thing I was most passionate about… Although, thinking back on it…I did love to find snakes in the yard and use them to terrorize my older brothers and dad… Just picture it…a tiny little blonde girl chasing three 6’ men around with a garter snake.

I officially started keeping in 2016 when I purchased my first snake- a California Kingsnake named Thorn; my collection now consists of 8 snakes, 4 lizards, 1 tortoise, 1 turtle, and 4 dogs… One of which is hairless, so he pretty much counts as another reptile. I find that I prefer keeping colubrids as well as boas and larger-sized lizards… so yes, watch out…she’s a colubrid person. You’ve been warned.

Although I am not a breeder, ball python genetics is what originally piqued my interest in the hobby. I also enjoy the science and research side of things, so don’t be afraid to talk NERDY to me!

Throughout the years, I have worked with many animals, including bears, big cats, and primates, but reptiles have always held a special place in my heart. I’ve been very thankful to have opportunities to work with many different species, from retics and Nile monitors to crested geckos and worm snakes.

Anyway…

At the end of 2022, I connected with Darien Drollinger about some part-time positions posted by Dubia. Little did I know that would lead me to a dream career.

Here’s the Short Story:

With a background in almost every industry imaginable, combined with my experience and knowledge of our cold-blooded friends, I started my career with Dubia in early 2023. I have been working behind the scenes on projects to help with the MM transition process. As a MorphMarket buyer and an everyday “browser,” I can not describe how excited I am to be here.

Now, as I am sure some of you have noticed, things have been a bit… chaotic… since MM was purchased. Let me first start off by saying thank you to everyone who is reading this and has continued to support the platform. I am confident that things are headed in a positive direction, and the planned changes will be a great thing for us all. I am in this for the animals, but I am also in it for this crazy and wonderful community. I value the lifelong friendships I have created through our mutual love of our scaly, crawly, and/or slimy friends.

Change can be scary, and with change, there are usually a few bumps along the way.

I am here to say that we see you, and WE HEAR YOU!

I understand that the communication has not been meeting your expectations. I also understand that social media can sometimes be a scary place. That’s why I am here.

I am here to serve as the direct communication point between you and the MorphMarket team. My mission is to ensure you are updated with important news and changes and to listen to your feedback. We all have strong thoughts and opinions on how this platform should operate, and yours are important. I understand that you all would likely prefer to hear from Darien or John directly, but with them being pulled in so many different directions, I volunteered to ensure that this forum is not forgotten. After all, the members on this page ARE the heart and soul of the entire MM platform.

Please bare with me as I learn the ropes of MorphMarket and how this online community forum works. If you would like to speak with me directly or have questions/concerns, the quickest way to reach me is by emailing support@morphmarket.com. You can ask for me directly, or you can speak to one of our other fabulous team members. We are all here to help!

If you have made it this far…Congratulations! You have a much longer attention span than me. I want to thank you all again for being here and for your support. I hope I can provide you all with the level of service that you expect and deserve.

Have a turtley good day!

Facebook: /BrittnisZoo
Instagram: @BrittnisZoo
Please note that my social media content does not necessarily reflect the thoughts and/or opinions of MorphMarket .

Some photos:

Me, with my L. alterna, Zero.

Here are just a few of the scale babies

A small portion of my reptile room

Here is a photo of my beautiful mother before she passed, rocking this special “Garden” Snake shirt I made… I don’t think she ever understood the joke.

One more of her, because it is priceless!

[dsed]

Thank you for the introduction and thank you for taking on this endeavor. I’ve personally enjoyed my time here and look forward to many more years. I look forward to the future of MorphMarket .

[t_h_wyman]

Well I already know you from our many interactions over on Slack, but I am glad to have you aboard over here as well and it is great to know more about you now too!

[brittni-admin]

I am so glad to hear that! I look forward to learning more about you all!

[brittni-admin]

Who are you again? Only joking! Thank you for having me aboard!

[spottedbull]

Well anyone that posts a grey banded kingsnake is awesome in my book!! Thanks for com8ng by and introducing yourself and welcome to the family here in the community!

[brittni-admin]

I knew I would win points with the alterna! Thank you! I look forward to working with everyone.

[caron]

Great to have you join the team and community! I am addicted to this family and MM in general so you will see my chatter a lot! This forum is unique because there are so many caring people here and I love it!

Best regards,

Caron Ludan

[lumpy]

Nice to meet you! Hope that you like it here and get involved as much as possible. Can’t wait to get to work along side you.

[brittni-admin]

Thank you so much!

[brittni-admin]

Thank YOU for everything you do!

[chancesconstrictors]

I would love to work for MM , how does one apply?

[auriea]

Tell me about it! I’ve actually been trying to find contacts for a volunteering job with USARK, and i have one possible lead, but any job in the hobby paid or volunteered is a good job to me!

[auriea]

Hi Brittni! We are so stoked to have you here! I thinking you’ll happily come to find that the community here is full of positivity, nerdiness, a whole lot of expertise, and open arms.

I must say, your pvc’s look awesome! I can’t imagine how many cool experiences you must have with all of that exotics experience. How did you come about such amazing opportunities? Did you work/volunteer at a zoo?

[brittni-admin]

Funny enough, I connected through Darien because I was buying a ton of Dubia enclosures, and I had some photos that got pretty popular. I was just a really annoying fan, haha. At some point, I got a friend request and just liked his posts for a few months. He posted a search on his Facebook looking for people to help out with expos, and that is when I contacted him! I love doing shows, and I thought it would be a fun way to make extra money while working with a company that I was spending all my money at anyway. After a phone chat telling him about my experience and my goals and the things I am passionate about, somehow I got offered a totally different position here. It was honestly just a stream of very lucky events! I highly suggest just keeping an eye out on social media!

[brittni-admin]

Thank you for the warm welcome! My dad was actually a Fish and Game officer in California, before he began working for the Highway Patrol. He had a lot of connections, and I got to work with a lot of really cool animals at the age of like 13…probably not totally legal. When he retired he moved to Colorado and strangely became a campground host, and again, he befriended the wildlife people- and I spent the summer of my Junior year of High School working with the rangers tracking and studying the bears. I am very lucky that he was able to help me get so many cool experiences, because I wasn’t able to afford college. When I moved out on my own I really missed it, so I started volunteering with a wildlife center. I also volunteered with a zoo. When I moved out to North Carolina, I was a board member for a large well-known reptile rescue, and I got the opportunity to work with all sorts of creatures there. I started getting my wildlife rehab license a year ago, but unfortunately my mentor retired so that fell through! So it was just a hodge podge of random experience. My “if I get eaten, I get eaten” attitude seems to play a big role in my ability to work directly with animals, hahahaha

[dsed]

Now that’s awesome!

[braincheese]

Welcome! Thank you for supporting this amazing community. Everyone here truly wants what is best for the animals, each other, and the reptile hobby as a whole.
You seem to have had every experience with animals I wanted as a kid (though tiny blonde girl scaring adults with garter snakes was most of mh childhood, haha), which is so cool!

[brittni-admin]

I am beyond lucky to have had the opportunity to work with so many cool animals since schooling for the career path wasn’t an option! Part of life’s mission (outside of MM) is to have some sort of facility where people can come and learn about the animals, as well as have some hands on experience- that is in the very distant future though. Thank you so much for the kind welcome!