Are All Natural Behaviors Necessary in Captivity? | Round Table 2

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thanks for tuning in to the second ROUND TABLE! Please join the discussion in the comment section 👇😎

[@alexkelso]

This was fantastic, I wanted to jump right in to the discussion so many times! Observing and allowing behaviours led to me keeping Duke my P. grandis free range in my large sun filled bedroom/studio for close to ten years. I never set out to have a free range day gecko, and it was quite the undertaking, but the behaviours I got to witness were incredible. Once I had the space optimized to his needs (yeah, that was a LOT of work and sacrifice) there wasn't an inch he didn't use, nor a thing he didn't get into. After a couple years he started just walking around on the ground, right out in the open, chill as could be. He definitely exhibited behaviour I would classify as play (small crinkly paper bags were his favourite, he'd stomp around on them for hours), as well as ones that seemed to be just for the physical or mental challenge, he would tease my pixie frog through the glass, he was ALWAYS using that mischievous little brain (especially to try to steal my food, it was an ongoing game of strategy, there's some unconventional feeding enrichment for you lol), I could go on and on. It's really wonderful to see people starting to talk about this, in working with Duke it became so obvious to me that these animals have so much more to them than we've been allowing, and it's great to see others encouraging more behaviours with their own animals and coming to the same conclusions

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thank you for listening and sharing that excellent story! 😁

[@kated3165]

I've heard people call Blue tongue skinks ''boring'' or ''overrated'' reptiles and it blows my mind! Slinky, our northern, is used to being daily let out of his tank (which he asks for) and he constantly surprises us with how much personality and intelligence he has. He's learned to beg me for food, and he's learned that this is more likely to work if I'm in the kitchen... so sometimes he sees me there, asks to be let out. I'll oblige, and he will follow me into the kitchen and start his begging mannerism. There have been times where he's out roaming and my bf walks by him with a plate of warm meat just out of the oven. Slinky would pick up the delicious smell right away, raise his head and starts tongue flicking like mad. He would watch my bf for a moment while he sits down and starts to eat.... but instead of going towards my bf (and where the food smell is coming from) he will turn completely around and come right to ME to start begging me for food! He knows my bf never shares, but that he'll often get a (skink-safe) morsel out of me. He also had a weird (territorial??) feud going on with our roomba, which has led to absolutely hilarious situations... including a period where he became obsessed with surveilling the poor robot when it would be docked and immobile. His obsession with the roomba suddenly ended after he managed to ''kill it'' one day (he had just began attacking it and it ran out of battery and just stopped in its track). He knows how to ask for the bathroom heater to be turned on, and ever since he discovered a way to climb on our bed (using the tight gap behind the night-stand as a vertical space he can climb) it has def become his favorite burrowing spot! We see new behaviors out of him constantly, and he never ceases to make us laugh as he tries out new things.

[@LoriTorrini]

Dillon you do such a great job managing and guiding the conversation, summarizing everyone’s points, and making sure everyone gets a chance to express their thoughts. Until I watched this from the perspective of a viewer, I didn’t realize how skilled you are as a host.

[@JTBReptiles]

He’s boss, isn’t he?!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Haha thank you guys! I’ll tell you my secret… But don’t tell anybody: invite brilliant guests!

[@JTBReptiles]

@@AnimalsatHomePodcast Let’s halt this conversation here, we’re getting soppy! 😜😆

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Great discussion. Just scratching the surface. Pleasure to speak with y’all.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thanks for thinking up such a great topic, and as you say, we're just scratching the surface!

[@LoriTorrini]

Great suggestion to do it.

[@nogames8982]

Hello TC! This is a great channel, thank you for letting us know that it exists.

[@JTBReptiles]

Thanks for having me back on the podcast, Dillon - another great conversation! Oh, and Merry Christmas, everyone!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thanks for the awesome conversation, Joseph! Merry Christmas!

[@philiprussell3492]

This was great! I really do appreciate you putting these group discussions together as they really highlight the strengths of each keeper and elevate their accessibility to viewers that would otherwise gravitate towards only a single member of this group. Kudos to you for keeping the discussion running so smoothly, despite Joe rambling. Although Joe rambling is becoming my favorite part of these round tables to be honest. Cheers!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Glad you enjoyed it, Phillip! Thanks for listening!

[@ReptiFiles]

Yaaaaaas this was so good! Looking forward to the next one. 😁 By the way, for those watching, the red-eared slider care guide is now published and can be accessed at reptifiles.com/red-eared-slider-care/.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

It was a lot of fun! Also here’s a fun fact… Yesterday I was looking through the original podcast you and I recorded together, and on that podcast you mentioned that you were working on the red ear slider care guide. That was back in the spring of 2019, proof of how much time you spent on it!

[@ReptiFiles]

@@AnimalsatHomePodcast Oh wow.... 😅

[@monsterkajiu1912]

@@ReptiFiles hi mariah can you do make ackie monitor care guide if you want to?!

[@ReptiFiles]

@@monsterkajiu1912 Don't worry - an ackie monitor care guide is definitely in the plans for 2021 👍

[@monsterkajiu1912]

@@ReptiFiles thanks a lots and can you also do a african fat tailed gecko guide as well because I like to get one but I been researching but nothing but misformation.

[@WhoTheHellIsHarvy]

Just catching another half hour of this awesome round table show. Absolutely love it. Can't even describe how much I'm looking forward to binging on all the other content once my thesis is out the way haha (and also very conscious of how much I will likely plan to change after getting through it all!) And I also can't express enough how appreciative and grateful I am for the amount of time, effort and work you all put into these projects! It is truly amazing and it just seems to get better and better.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thanks for the continued support, Harvy! The appreciation and gratitude flows both ways 🙂

[@xc1971pp]

Hi. I congratulate you for another great discussion looking for the very best for all captive kept reptiles and amphibians. I would like to start by saying, about the main topic, that, in my experience of keeping reptiles and amphibians since 1985, there are five mindsets, in my opinion, that should be guiding all we do in the way we keep our herps: 1. animal behaviour is one of the best accurate free tools at the disposal of us all to learn about our pet's needs, as long as we are humble enough to accept that we never know everything and prioritize and respect our pet and be competent enough to learn and understand its behaviour, bearing in mind that will not behave and communicate as we do. 2. we have the moral obligation to replicate the species natural environment as best as possible ( so that our efforts will be on providing the best conditions possible and because there still will always be something in the environment that the species depends on for living or will have a positive influence on the animal well being overall and we still do know about ). 3. even the best terrarium won't be the same as a unlimited wild area ( so, depending on the interaction between the species' requirements and the space provided for them , that will have, usually, a noticeable impact on its behaviour and we must have that in mind when trying to observe its behaviour and learn about its needs ). 4. we must try all we can to learn, observe and understand the natural behaviour of the species in question ( otherwise, one will never be able to meet the species requirements ). 5. oposite to what usually people think, each reptile and amphibian has its own temper and personality, so we must care for our pet's pschological well being has much as the physical one ( so, some behaviours will indicate a psichological stress cause and others will indicate a physical stress cause and for each one the solutions will be necessarily different ). Why these five? Because ( if you are competent enough ), those mindsets will allow you to understand the overall animal's behaviour and make the necessary changes in order to aproach optimal captive conditions the best as possible and, consequently, improve your pet's welfare. That is why I truly find revolting to find a lot of people, nowadays, starting a KZbin channel about teaching others how to keep your herp when they have just kept one pet or two and are still starting or, even worse, right after buying their first Crocodile Gecko, setting up a humid terrarium for this mediterranean fairly dry species and hosting a video ( as I have seen in a lot of KZbinrs from the U.S. ) teatching everyone that this species - Tarentola mauritanica - likes humid environments when, actually, high humidity is extremely detrimental to this gecko's health and can even cause death, for example. It's revolting to see how many people think they know everything instead of being humble enough to make themselves available to observe, do research, test and learn. After all, that is what true science is all about and everyone should be doing it in their everyday lives instead of killing their herps by the thousands worldwide every month or so or causing unnecessary pain and suffering to other beings. I mean: it's easy to tell the difference between an animal that is running after its prey item than one that is moving obcessively back and forth, rubbing its nose against the terrarium's glass and why it behaves like that! In the end, in my opinion it's all about OUR behaviour, in the first place: it's all about being open enough to understand the behaviour of the animal we have before us. Animal behaviour is a great free tool for understanding a pet's needs at the disposal of us all if we behave in the right humble and respectfull way towards our pets. My regards to you all and a shout out to everybody to respect your pets. P.S.: I will be lauching my own website and related social media, soon, in order to give the best knowledge about reptiles and amphibians with particular emphazis on the mediterranean species.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Yes, very well said. I think your five points are crucial. I’m not sure if you listened to the first round table, but in that episode, we discuss the responsibility of KZbinrs. It was a pretty interesting chat as well! Many of us echoed your thoughts on the amount of misinformation that’s on this platform

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Once you’ve launched your website/ social media, you’ll have to comment on a video with the name so I can check it out

[@xc1971pp]

@@AnimalsatHomePodcast I will. It's taking long enough because I want it to be the most accurate and user friendly possible. I wish to bring quality and accuracy to everyone and, with that, saving as much captive herp lives as I can against the spreaded deadly ignorance that is still around many times and make both pets and their owners happier and, the latter, more conscious. Thank you. My regards and Merry Xmas and a lot Happier New Year. My regards, Paulo Pombal

[@ReptilesandResearch]

This was a brilliant episode!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

It was a fun one!

[@LoriTorrini]

Thanks! We missed you.

[@ReptilesandResearch]

@@LoriTorrini I'll be there for the next one!

[@caryelizabeth624]

Thank you, Dillon and everyone in this round discussion, for such a lovely Christmas present to the entire reptile community. I truly believe that there will come a time when we'll all look back at discussions like these and really see just how vast of a positive ripple effect conversations such as this will have had on the way people perceive and interact with reptiles. It is time we start seeing these sentient beings not as expensive, pretty jewelry kept in a drawn but as companions. When TC said he had all the feels, I was totally feeling that too. Again, thank you for all that you do. And merry Christmas!!!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thank you, Cary! We really enjoyed recording this one, and it’s just the beginning! 😁 merry Christmas to you as well!

[@harrynewton9045]

Loved this! This was truly one of my favourite discussions/ episodes thus far!! Amazing.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thanks, Harry! Glad you enjoyed it. We had a blast recording it!

[@Paintopia_VR]

Nice episode! I found Lori especially interesting. Would be cool to see a round table on different types of pray you can use and methods for feeding reptiles. Peace

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Yeah Lori is awesome! You’ll have to check out her channel, it’s great

[@nataliaprado2337]

Amazing round table again Dillon. I appreciate the discussion but also that you featured two brilliant women! The reptile industry/hobby is so male dominated that the contribution by women is often overlooked. I also wonder if there is away/system to certify breeders for their progressive care. Just like the livestock industry can be certified organic, cage free, free range, etc. And they have built a whole market around these terms. As a buyer it's really hard to distinguish between breeders based on care to their animals. In the dog world it's not crazy for me to ask to see the parents and the home the puppy is coming from, but in the reptile world I don't get my emails returned or I'm labeled "animal rights", but in either case I'm adding a family member and I don't take that lighly. I want to support the best to get the best babies and to promote their business. We need to build a market around these breeders that have a progressive care philosophy. My two cents anyway. Thanks again!

[@ReptileMountainTV]

I love this idea. Ive literally tried to model my whole business around that very idea. Showing the progression. Directly stating how I keep my breeders so people know and see via video and photos. Im hoping someday there will be a certificate or something that sets breeders and keepers on a path of progression not in number, or how many color variations of the same species they produce but the quality of the lived experience is for their breeding stock.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thank you for listening, Natalia! Like TC, I love that idea as well! I honestly do see the reptile hobby heading that direction in the next few years 🤞🏼

[@nataliaprado2337]

@@AnimalsatHomePodcast I think so too. Coming from the zoo world I know that zoos had to undertake an evolution over the last 10-15 years, mostly driven by the market, how visitors wanted to see animals displayed drove this evolution forward, for the better. In order to accommodate this zoos had to decide what species to focus on. I see similar parallels in the reptile industry/hobby coming, hopefully sooner rather then later.

[@danielwilliams4574]

I absolutely love these round table episodes, and you have all raised some excellent subjects. I could probably write an essay, but I'll keep it short. I was thinking about behaviours, and what sprung to mind was this. Think about your daily life, your routine, work, etc. Now imagine you suddenly had to live in the wild. Of course your behaviour would change, you'd have to adapt to a different life. Would all those behaviours be desirable? Probably not. The key is to look at each pet as an individual, I know I always refer to Drago, my starred agama, but he was (I suspect) wild caught and when we first got him he would get incredibly stressed about any change. This was not limited to his Viv, but simply a new cushion on the sofa, a different lamp, or even moving said lamp a few feet and it would take days, or longer for him to settle down again. For this reason we kept him in a very basic environment, and have gradually added more and more to his Viv over the past 7 years. It's been so rewarding, the addition of grasses was amazing, he loves hiding and jumping around in it. He is incredibly demanding, and takes a lot of time and attention. So when deciding on other species to keep we factored this in, so that it didn't have a negative impact on the amount of attention he gets. I do wonder how people with massive collections of reptiles differ, and what impact that has on their relationship with their pets, or are they merely care givers?

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thanks for listening, Daniel! Great points. So true, each animal needs to have husbandry catered to it, not merely husbandry catered towards its species. Personally, I think it would be very tough to do that with a huge collection!

[@mikem602]

I am so glad I found this chanel. This is one of the best things I have ever seen on youtube for reptiles. Brilliant guests . Would love to see some future stuff maybe with Emily or clint or adam? That would be awesome as well! Keep up the great work!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Glad you’re enjoying the content! I’ve actually done an episode with both Emily and Adam. Emily‘s episode was early on, I think episode number 14 or 15 and Adams episode was somewhere in the 45-50 range I think 👍🏼

[@Gottalovecarpetpythons]

This was an amazing round table and so many key points made for people to think about. Sitting on the threshold rang so true to my snakes at times, choice to be able to, choice to not be ablet too, this is certainly my take on it. Offering more, why not, been doing this for years l live with the no regret theory, times are changing all the time with the care of animals, l want to always be a few steps ahead all the time. l just wish people were more upto par with the emitional side to them, then what they are.

[@LoriTorrini]

You do a fantastic job with your snakes (and rats)!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thanks for listening! I second what Lori says, you do an amazing job with your animals 😊 tapping into emotional intelligence is not anthropomorphizing, unfortunately that is what many keepers believe

[@speedymadr6]

And I did watch with several glasses of wine and Dominoes 👍🏼. Really enjoyable round table and what I love is that it gets me thinking about what we’re doing right, what we’re doing wrong and how can we make our scaley family members lives a better one. We are working on target training our snakes thanks to Lori and taking small steps. Hope you all have a great Christmas and look forward to seeing more content in 2021

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Excellent 😎 Sounds like a pretty great birthday! I hope you and your family have an awesome Christmas as well!

[@johnschlesinger2009]

Thanks for a most enjoyable discussion. I am delighted that you had Lori Torrini there: her input was invaluable, as I expected! There are so many issues: there is one in particular that I think is crucial; care sheets, even really good ones like those on Reptifiles, are only what I would call "minimal blueprints", and, even if these are followed with due care, they miss out the most essential aspect, which is a keeper's ability to "read" the animal - to know when it is exhibiting optimal behaviour. This is not possible unless one has observed not only the species in question, but quite a number if different species. Behaviours which characterize many colubrids will often be very different from those exhibited by boids, for example. If a boa constrictor is pacing its enclosure with uncharacteristic liveliness in the daytime, an alert keeper will ask why this is happening, whereas the keeper of a psammophis which is behaving sluggishly will ask the same question. I think anyone considering their first reptile should visit a zoo which runs a good reptile facility frequently. I did this as a boy, and learnt a lot. There are some videos on KZbin which give valuable information, but there are not many out there. Chaz of Snakes'n'Adders is a first rate resource; he has put out fifty videos, the more recent of which are especially good in terms of climatic data.

[@LoriTorrini]

Thanks!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Well said! I totally agree, care guides are just beginning. The key to success is watching and observing as you say! I love Chaz’s videos, no bs, just the facts!

[@carlscanlan4550]

Super happy I stumbled across the round table. Certainly increased my subscription list 👍

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Excellent, thank you for listening!

[@christinadavison4935]

This was an amazing video. Great food for thought. I literally NEVER comment on videos but this one really hit me and made me Re analyze the care I provide as a keeper. Thank you for what you do with your podcast and your Chanel!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thank you so much for watching, and commenting on the video! You should comment more often 😁 I love getting to know the listeners via the comment section!

[@dixongecko8018]

This was a brilliant episode! Well done guys. Love you all! 🥰

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for listening!

[@dustinman8714]

Always love the podcast on enrichment and behavior! Thanks and keep up the hard work!!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thank you for listening!

[@thomasmorris719]

Absolutely loved this with all the different viewpoints grate show keep up the good work

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thank you for listening, Thomas!

[@LanceKirkman]

Thank you

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thanks, Lance! Great meeting you the other night

[@LanceKirkman]

@@AnimalsatHomePodcast thanks for joining us! I apologize we were busy with our alumni Christmas party on Zoom so we were doing two zooms at once. but I'm not going to miss the Zoom just because of that!

[@turningcursive2255]

Great conversation! Super interesting and I love the varying viewpoints!!! Such a great slew of folks!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thanks for listening, Alyssa! 😁 I know we mentioned scaly babies again 🤷🏼 don’t worry, we’ll get to that topic at some point 😊

[@kitsune0rei]

This is such good food for thought! Part of keeping a creature is being excited about improving their conditions and enjoying their behavior and reactions! I definitely believe in seeking multiple sources of info for keeping parameters, and not being afraid to try some things on your own for further enrichment. A lot of these caresheets aren't meant to be exact to the number, they're parameters. Take some time to research where your pet actually comes from and what it's like in their original habitat. Pets are creatures for our enjoyment (and hopefully their enjoyment too) who will never be returning to the wild. I think it's possible some snakes and lizards may eventually be bred enough generations into more domesticity, where they do actually more enjoy our interaction and feel less threatened by us. We breed for unnatural things, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I really think things like FB groups and other communities, where people are sharing their ideas and observations, are great for helping push us forward to continuing to improve. It's thanks to communities I'm making enrichment areas, and thinking more about mental stimulation. I've been watching my new Childrens python behavior. He immediately changed his habits when I put in a day light. I see him exploring and climbing a lot, so I can't wait to get in some more ledges and items for him to interact with. Someone in a group suggested they like a little birds nest basket to lay in, so I'm getting something like that :) It's so much easier to try things when I see how they've been done by someone else.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thank you for watching and sharing your thoughts!

[@penguine342]

I feel really validated by Mariahs comment about just having one adored pet, because that is the situation I am in. I have one Northern Blue Tongue Skink, and he is my baby. I am constantly researching and trying to find out more information, and make his life as good as possible. I hear lots of references to people having more than one herp and/ or more than one species as being more knowledgeable and advanced, but I don't necessarily think that is true. You can keep lots of animals poorly and have little knowledge about any of them, or have one herp and a Ph.D in another species of herp that can't be kept in captivity... so I think it is important to not assume that number of animals kept (or even years keeping) is automatically an indicator of someone's knowledge or ability to be a good keeper. I know I have had Snickerdoodle for five years, and I am just now learning some things I wish I had known and implemented at the start!

[@LonghornInOmaha]

Here we go! What a great holiday present! 🦎👍

[@LetsTalkHerps]

JTB. I think you answered my question about leopard geckos in about 1 minute better than our comments in your video. I think we got too caught up in mammalian comparisons lol. I really enjoyed this round table.

[@JTBReptiles]

That’s the problem with writing comments: you don’t have the luxuries of tone, facial expression, and flappy hands to add more emphasis to the bits that matter! This is why I’m so enthused about these round table podcasts.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thanks for listening! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@LetsTalkHerps]

@@JTBReptiles flappy hands lol.

[@LetsTalkHerps]

@@AnimalsatHomePodcast I'm sharing this. It's worth the watch!

[@jacalynhill7132]

Very interesting conversation - thank you.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thank you for watching!

[@Shhzhxjsjznxn]

Great podcast! My battery is glad that I found this on Spotify 😁

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Haha yes, good call!! I’m always surprised at how many people actually watch the podcast on KZbin rather than listen on Spotify or Apple

[@aivilonmrc]

I had no idea it was on Spotify!

[@hyeGUY25]

bravo to the lady in pink. If they didn't have feelings then they would never be scared since being scared is a feeling. Provide the best life you can.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Yes, Lori is amazing! You’ll have to check out her channel (Lori Torrini)

[@Erki750]

I love this channel. Thank you for this wonderful episode. ❤️🐍

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thank you, Erika!

[@carnivorousjellybean1599]

I'd love to read Mariah's care guide when it's out! Is there anywhere specific to purchase it? I don't have any turtles but I do have (arguably) semi-aquatic snakes and I've been struggling to find anything on how much water space would be appropriate or how water care differs from fish care (edited: Mariah, not Lori)

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Oh, I think you mean Mariah's care guide? The wonderful thing about Mariah and her brand, ReptiFiles is everything is available on her website …. FOR FREE! 😀 reptifiles.com/red-eared-slider-care

[@carnivorousjellybean1599]

@@AnimalsatHomePodcast Yes sorry my bad! I zoned out during the intros and saw "Lori" in the description so I made an assumption 😅 That's awesome everything's free - thanks for the link!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

@@carnivorousjellybean1599 Enjoy, ReptiFiles is incredible!

[@anntowle1706]

I feel the same way as Lorri about reptiles, they have feelings and intelligence. I don't care if people insist they don't. Why is it if my cat climbs onto me licks my face and naps on me, it's affection but when my snake crawls onto me, gives me flicks on my face with his tongue, curls up with his head under my chin and falls asleep, he is only looking for warmth. He wants cuddles and neck rubs. I know households that have only one reptile, including mine. I don't want my snake to share my attention, he's a kingsnake so he's not going to have a snake buddy.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Yep, I agree with Lori as well. She also happens to be one of the only people who spend a large amount of time studying this, so her comments have a lot of weight!

[@catfur9215]

This gave me a lot to think about. The snakes on the threshold reminded me of my cats, they will ask me to open the door even if they dont want to come in just to have the choice. They do it all the time. I could see it being the same with a snake.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thank you for listening!

[@monsterkajiu1912]

Merry Christmas to you, dillian!!

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Merry Christmas to you too!!

[@reptikind]

Again I'm new and I don't know anything about reptiles really, but I do believe personally that they definitely have emotions My boa, ball and beardie are all very cuddly and playful. Either way I'm going to continue to believe that they know what love is just cuz it makes me feel better. 😂 Great show as always! I'm learning so much from Animals at Home. Also, I put a lot of climbing sticks in my beardie's enclosure and he's always climbing those things and he's a happy little dude. He's got plenty of space to run around also but it typically stays on the sticks Even sleeps on them. He's a baby so yeah they're basically sticks that are as wide as his belly.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

They definitely have emotions! kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3TdfJtul6edobs

[@kated3165]

Emily, from SnakeDiscovery, has an alligator that had spent the first 25 years of its life in a small barren wooden box (before she rescued it). It SURVIVED 25 years in a dark cramped box, with no water, no space to move, nothing to stimulate its brain... a sad story but also a testament to how incredibly tough these animals are! Now that Emily and her bf have offered him a new life with access to water and basking lamps and toys, that gator fully makes use of all of his new amnesties and will spend so much time death-rolling around and play attacking those toys! A 1000 times happier AND more entertaining pet then he ever could have been while living in his box... Its only once you offer a reptile some choice to do more than just sit in a barren box all of its life, that you start to see its true personality come out. Its not because they can spend a few days burrowed without doing much that they don't NEED any form of stimulation at some point. They don't live their lives at the fast speed that us mammals do, so for all we know spending 3-5 days burrowed might equate one lazy day off from their (likely very different)time perception. We have the time perception that comes with being a mammal that must run around all day in order to survive, so its easy for us to look at a cold blooded creature and label it ''lazy'' and decide that since ''it doesn't do much it doesn't need more than a cramped barren box''.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Yes! That is a great analogy, Nailed it

[@dacisky]

This is a "what if" experiment for the snake who was freaked out by the light not coming on. What if you provided an on switch and an off switch for the snake and trained it to use said switches? I feel this would benefit that snake greatly.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

That would be very interesting!

[@wolandrew]

I purchased an adult cane toad 2 years ago. It doesn't take any food from my hands. The only way to feed it is to let dusted crickets run around the terrarium. And even then she only hunts them at night. Is that a normal healthy behavior? Can i teach it to take other types of food?

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

I'm not overly familiar with cane toads although I would suspect that nocturnal hunting behavior is normal. Over time you can probably encourage her to take different types of insects, but you might have to give her a week or so off of food before offering her something new. If she's not overly hungry, she might not be interested in anything other than crickets.

[@kirstyward4932]

Have you ever thought and discussed ubv for arachnids?

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

I have definitely thought about it… But haven’t had a discussion on the podcast about it. It’s on my list of topics to cover at some point! Especially now that I keep arachnids myself.

[@bobietiner4422]

I always feed my snake in the evening when it gets dark? Is this ok?

[@LoriTorrini]

Of course. Of that your snakes natural hunting/foraging time then go for it.

[@bearsbeetsbsg8]

Listening to this while I plan enclosure upgrades lol :)

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Right on! I love planning for upgrades!

[@Leijon83]

Fact. Bearded dragons do sleep in trees in the wild. They rely on camouflage. They tuck them selves close and don’t necessarily move. No movement = hidden from ie birds. That is not to say “all bearded dragons” sleep in trees. To say they don’t though is false. About the bearded dragon tail twitching. I had bearded dragons back in the late 90’s and witnessed this often, more with my female than with my male, that cohabited in the same tank (2x1x1m). It happened when a cricket moved, seen by the female from far away she started stalking it and as soon as the cricket stoped moving she stopped, stared at it and started twitching her tail. I believe it only happened when the crickets were on the gravel side (mixed light and dark colors) of the enclosure and not on the sandy side. I deducted that the larger colored gravel blurred the shape of the cricket and the dragon needed that extra movement to determine what was cricket and what wasn’t cricket and know what to pounce. Just like any other predator hunting by sight, like cats.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Very interesting, thanks for adding to the discussion!

[@stefanostokatlidis4861]

Very helpful insights and a change relative to dominant ideas of keeping reptiles, but on the other hand the concerns are sometimes based on just assumption and the discussion goes borderline animal rights. More like PC version of herpetoculture.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Thanks for listening! However, I completely disagree with your presumption that this conversation could be classified as a “PC version of herpetoculture”. Discussing animal welfare is crucial for the maintenance of a healthy hobby, and that is very very different from the ideologies touted by AR groups. We are in the very early days of discussing welfare in captive reptiles (in both the private sector and the academic sector), these topics must be broached from a position of speculation and assumption first. Having said that, the scientific literature is starting to show that reptiles are far more cognitively capable than previously thought, so I’m not sure anything stated in this episode was too far from what has already been proven scientifically.

[@stefanostokatlidis4861]

@@AnimalsatHomePodcast thanks for your reply. I am following the content for quite some time. The reason people don’t discuss welfare much, either for reptiles or production animals or whatever I think is because it must be balanced with realistic limitations like time and cost. Most people don’t oppose welfare though. But asking hobbyists to become like doggo doters or give a room to a bearded dragon is unrealistic. Telling that sadly they are captive now isn’t a great PR move either. Also many animal welfareists state that they oppose AR, but until now I have never seen anyone publicly confronting AR. On the other hand people that are really threatened, and obviously against AR like ranchers, lab researchers or reptile breeders won’t hesitate to denounce it publicly.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

I agree, most people don't oppose increased welfare... but I also believe people shy away from the conversation because they are worried it might bring them to a point where they can't justify keeping in captivity. Personally, I think there are enough positives in the hobby to justify keeping reptiles captive, but the individual animal welfare must be a major pillar of that discussion. It's entirely possible that a bearded dragon needs a 10' long enclosure to thrive. If that is the case, than we ought not keep them. Just as we no longer clip the flight feathers of birds or keep whales in pools, if we can't justify it, then we must stop doing it. That doesn't mean we have to stop keeping, it just means we need to be critical of the species we keep and the way we keep them. Animal Rights groups cannot be confronted, they are anti-pet to their core and typically play very dirty (cherry pick stats, inflate issues, etc.). Here are some videos we have done discussing the difference between Animal Welfare and Animal Rights: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3K3dpSQpaeMo9k kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWaql4WkiJlnmZo

[@stefanostokatlidis4861]

@@AnimalsatHomePodcast thank you for the links.

[@snakemannn1744]

Well enjoyed ... 🏋️🍺🏋️🍺🏋️🍺🏋️🍺🏋️🍺🏋️

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@oscarbuurman5229]

I’ve actually got a question I bought my leopard gecko a fake plant this day to climb on it . Now he doesn’t climb the plant. Is he ever going to do it?

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

It’s very tough to speculate without seeing your set up. However your gecko is more likely to climb branches, rock stacks, etc. i.e. things that will support its weight

[@oscarbuurman5229]

@@AnimalsatHomePodcast well it’s very strong so it can easily hold him but I don’t know if he is ever going to

[@oscarbuurman5229]

@@AnimalsatHomePodcast But I can send you a dm on insta to send you a picture of it My insta name is os_car5333

[@JTBReptiles]

I’ve found that my leopard geckos won’t really climb plants: they have short, sticky-pad-free fingers tipped with small, straight claws, so as Dillon says, they’re more able to clamber over roughly textured surfaces than leaves... but that won’t stop ‘em from trying!

[@oscarbuurman5229]

@@JTBReptiles so he will try it some time?

[@samuellamont3533]

Does anybody know about the madrean alagator lizard then what I read for them on books and the internet and the internet says there are worst pets

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

I would try Facebook, look for reptile groups. You’re more likely to find someone there 👍🏼

[@sandysizemore1828]

Now i want cake. With frosting. .....and eat it while watching Wall-E.

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

I have legitimately watched Wall-E since recording this. It’s a great movie!

[@FatherBlue]

Ayyyyyyyyyyyy yeaaaaaaahhh

[@danielwilliams4574]

Oh and as far as intelligence and emotions in reptiles go, I'll say what I say to anyone who's argued otherwise. Prove it🤨

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Precisely! 😎

[@pooaxx]

This is just What budda try to theach 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

I’m not sure what you mean?