Point of Record Keeping?

To start it off I’m not going to stop keeping records and I’m not looking for a way out of it as I will still keep records.
What is the purpose of keeping records? I understand looking for patterns, effects, keeping track of ovulation, shed, laying, etc. However I don’t understand keeping records from decades ago and if you get a new software/layout transferring them from so long ago. You’re never going to need or use them and it seems like a waste of time just to say that you have records from that long ago.

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I just recently had a reason to look up records that I made 9 years ago. I was tracking the growth of a holdback against the growth of the parents at the same age.

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For my reptiles, I keep records just in case one of my reptiles needs to be seen by a vet. I also keep them because it helps me keep track of who needs “extra” attention, vs those who dont. Since im just keeping at the moment, I dont see a need to do extensive record keeping on my collection.

On the other hand, I breed rabbits for show and pet. Because of that, I keep pretty detailed records on all my rabbits. I send a copy of my rabbits records with the new owners when rabbits go to their homes just so the owner is aware of the rabbits health and genetic history. I keep most of my records online and hard copy.

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I like to keep many generations worth of records because sometimes even information from animals I’ve previously owned years ago may lend itself to current situations. For example, maybe you note that a few snakes from a clutch of hatchlings have some weird trait, but your records show that a grandparent also had that trait, suggesting there may be a genetic link. Or someone you sold an animal to years ago resold that animal and the new owner reaches out for more information “So and so sold me this snake and told me you bred it. Can you tell you tell me what morph it is?”.
While I don’t have multiple generations of snakes at this point, I used to breed and show dairy goats for 10+ years, and having meticulous records always came in handy. Some lines consistently threw triplets, others were terrible mothers, they produced various quantities of milk, etc and so it was nice to have records of this information.
The human memory is flawed and faulty, so it’s useful to be able to go back into your notes and check on a treatment you used for a rare condition you encountered years ago but forgot how you did it, or just general lineage information.

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Life changes hit me about 15 years ago and I had to stop keeping snakes. (it can happen to anyone)
My situation and space are more stable than ever now so I recently started to build my collection again.
A 15 year gap is a long time to remember things from.
My old records helped me personally as a revision tool.

Yes, I transferred it to electronic records so I might not need to keep the old paper records.
On the other hand I would still keep the paper records as a back up.
Even with electronic back ups of digital data the data can still be lost. So can paper records,
So personally, I would probably keep both. Bit over the top, but that’s just me.
Also for me there is something nostalgic about the hard work of the written records. A bit like a paper book. (my old records were in a book form) its nice to read all the hard work I did making the records. But that’s just me

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I keep records on ALL my snakes…Food consumption, When in blue, When did it shed, Any change in behavior, When they pooped, Handling days and how long, Weight, etc.

I just think it comes in handy to know as much as you can about the animals you love. Since reptiles don’t show signs of pain or health issues outwardly we have to be in tune with their daily behavior in order to see any changes that might be an issue.

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I keep track of feeding, lock dates, when a female lays and how many, and ovulations of I see them. I use all the info for trend analysis. So I know of a male goes off feed for breeding, when to start breeding females, and rough lay dates. It helps to know how your collection has acted in the past. I keep all this info on the front of the tubs. The more documentation on each snake the better imo.

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