These 5 DISGUSTING People and Behaviors Will Kill The Reptile Hobby

The reptile hobby is under constant attack and we need to get these people and these things OUT of the hobby before it's too late!
#snakevideo #toxic #dobetter
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[@WickensWickedReptiles]

what do you think? Are videos like this helpful?

[@marlenjeangraulau2221]

Yes, very helpful👍

[@TJ_Loves2fish]

They are helpful in moderation, and I think you do a good job of walking the line.

[@TroyTheCatFish]

Yes, very very helpful

[@caughtafaygo]

👍 yep. People need to know and we need these oos out of our hobby before its gone for all of us

[@w1th3rh3r3xd]

👍 definitely

[@DM-ql6ps]

Fun fact: PETA does run an "animal shelter", but it has one of the highest shelter euthanasia rates in the country. Poorly funded municipal shelters generally save and adopt out a higher percentage of the animals they take it. You'd think a huge wealthy organization like them could run a better shelter, but they don't. They've actually been sued before over animal cruelty (they kidnaped a dog and killed it the same day).

[@tkmccoywv]

Yeah, PETA is a horrible organization.

[@jessicap4998]

If I recall, their kill rate is well over 95%. I could rant about PETA for hours.

[@RomainDelmaire]

Reading some datas, it seems that, in 2022, PETA received 2828 cats and dogs...they transferred 663 to other organizations and killed 2092. Only 58 of those pets got adopted. And that's not even close to being their worst year.

[@nmfitts]

Yeah... I did a Twitter thread several years ago of things with higher survival rates than being "rescued" by PETA. It literally included "getting the plague in 13th century Europe", which is a pretty stark piece of perspective.

[@LuckyStone888]

Also, less than 5% of the funding from ASPCA is used for animals If you want to help animals like you said send money and supplies to local shelters.

[@levic3276]

Years ago I was in a class and we had to report on an activist movement. Three people used PETA as an example, then I went up with my various pelts, my old leopard gecko and horrified the room with the truth on PETA. It was a good day and the gecko got many pets.

[@turtlejeepjen314]

Thank you for standing up to them…. peta (I REFUSE to capitalize it!) relies on alot of intimidation & bullying tactics to silence folks.

[@cathuff5802]

I will boop my lepord gecko in remembrance of your gecko

[@heatherssnakes]

Those brief clips of the FWC killing snakes...brought me to instant tears. My god how horrible. How can that be legal? Those people should be charged with animal cruelty.

[@ExarchGaming]

because it was done by the state. FWC is a governmental agency. Those who make the laws often are immune to them.

[@Leosloth2011]

@@ExarchGamingthey arent immune to the deaths they cause

[@ExarchGaming]

@@Leosloth2011 maybe if it were humans sure, but animals? This was ordered by the florida government, maybe it didn't come from the govenor directly, but it was by someone he appointed, and the executive branch never is held to any standard.

[@remixedcat]

Another reason Florida is a hellscape

[@Leosloth2011]

@@remixedcat i hate how you are basically associating all of Florida with a single group

[@red2341]

Thank you. Finally someone points this out. As an old school reptile handler from the Ca. alligator farm, we did alligator and snake shows hourly. Our curator, (the legendary Ken Earnest), would always tell us "if the cobra is hooding, leave it alone", " if the rattlesnake is rattling, leave it alone". We had a strict policy to NOT sensationalize.

[@JeffB-xt6xk]

1 more thing needed added to the list which is people releasing their reptiles it needs to be talked about more because it can destroy whole ecosystem like what is happening in Florida, by not releasing our reptiles we wouldn’t have to deal with so many regulations on owning certain reptiles.

[@kerseykrewzoo]

I agree, but a big part of the issues in Florida came from animals being kept in a building that couldn't stand up to a hurricane. Had they evacuated them or had them in a hurricane-resistant building, there wouldn't be such a massive problem with certain species like retics and burms.

[@desireehart8190]

I 100% understand why they want those snakes out of Florida and I don’t disagree with that piece of it. People who turn ANY pet out are horrible and irresponsible. What I have an issue with is HOW they did things and the joy they got out of it. Those men were getting off on it and it was obvious. They also couldn’t tell a BOA from a Python and it is their JOB to know the difference so they were incompetent, unnecessarily cruel and ended up killing a pet that was legal and arguably irreplaceable. If they don’t know what they are doing then they should not have the authority to euthanize ANYTHING. A licensed vet should have done that and only after the species was verified by someone who knows the difference.

[@ElleriaZer]

​@@kerseykrewzoo it was hurricane Andrew, a category 5. Even hurricane resistant buildings are only rated up to category 2, so I'm not sure how much it would have helped.

[@kerseykrewzoo]

@@ElleriaZer I didn't know about the strength of the hurricane. I just know it played more of a part in the retic/burm explosion in Florida than released pets did. Granted, releasing any animal into the wild is an abhorrent thing to do, but hundreds of animals "escaping" (for lack of a better term) would have a much larger impact than a few animals here and there. I know it's hard to decide what to do when a hurricane is heading toward you and you have animals in your care, especially to the extent of a large breeding facility, but when living in an area that has the potential for hurricanes, tornados, forest fires, flooding, etc, it's important to have evacuation procedures in place to reduce the chances of animals escaping and/or dying because of a natural disaster/occurrence. That's just my opinion, though. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I try to be prepared for any situation that could come up because I don't want to lose any of my animals to a disaster like I've seen other people have if I can help it. I just hope people will think ahead about things like that and have a plan (or 7) in place if an emergency occurs and evacuation is necessary.

[@prickly_procyonids]

Love your point about the FWC. The amount of people in the hobby who support special interest groups like PETA or the HSUS (and even the AZA) which openly despise and advocate against our choice of pets has always shocked me. People are always very eager to make excuses and defend those who would pass legislation banning your exotic pets in a heartbeat.

[@blarfblarfson]

This is why we've got to get people to learn about and support USARK.

[@ExarchGaming]

FWC isn't a special interest group, it's a governmental agency. with over 2100 employees. I don't think that 3 absolute incompetent monsters is really an indictment of the entire agency, which the entire reptile community in Florida has to deal with. The lack of regulation is what caused the irreverible harm to Florida's Ecosystem when a hurricane destroyed a breeding facility for burms and unleashed a horrificly bad invasive species that took to Florida's climate like it was made for them. They, like every government agency to ever exist can be at times overhanded, but their mandate is to protect the people of florida and it's ecosystem from irresponsible people. What those 3 did during the "Holy Thursday Massacre" is a tragedy but it's entirely different than PETA or special interest groups. Edit: Okay I see the confusion going on, It's the weird name that FWFOF uses Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida is what most people are thinking is the FWC.

[@JoJo-re8jy]

​@blarfblarfson what is that??

[@haveyouhuggedyourreptiletoday]

@@JoJo-re8jy The U.S. based reptile rights support organization.

[@ChloroformHM]

That part of the video made me feel so fucking mad and sick, I wish I could beat their faces in claiming that they’re a dangerous subspecies of toad and see how they like it

[@marquendra]

One thing I can’t stand are people that bash others for showing the gentle and positive interactions with giant snakes. Especially when it’s always done correctly and safely supervised. When your own “community” is out here throwing speculative situations that likely won’t ever happen, it makes it very easy for bans to occur. Especially if they use ignorant comments by those who keep them against us to prove their point.

[@tripleb2581]

I know. And most of these people who are showing gentle interaction do have a person nearby. Burmese pythons are literally the gentle giants of the snake world. It’s sad that they’re vilified like this.

[@MotherTruckinReptiles]

This x9000!

[@redfailhawk]

For sure. When I was very young, a selling point at shows for my dad was to have me in a playpen, at age two, and put one of our snakes in with me to prove how docile they were. I'd handle anything from very serene ball pythons to a few larger Burmese. It was to showcase how we bred for the right temperament and for the snakes to not see humans as food or a threat. Oh, you'd get torn apart for that today. But at the time, it was definitely a way to showcase that almost any species with the correct breeding could be a safe pet around kids. Until we lost her to old age, I was the only person who could safely handle our 14ft blind burmese without getting bitten. She was super sweet. Snake would just sleep on my shoulders, doubled over so she didn't drag on the floor. She bit everyone else at least once, but never me. A giant snake, raised right, will not be the threat they are often portrayed as. I'm not going to advocate that they are the right choice for everyone, because they aren't. But they aren't a bad choice for those with the space and resources to care for such wonderful creatures.

[@enophonyx8370]

one of the worst things for me is the mob mentality some people have with piling the same knowledge onto people in an "attacking" manor, it can scare people off enjoying the hobby and ruin the reputation for the community as a whole

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

oh absolutely

[@musician200X]

My mom has a year old sulcata tortoise that I got her and have helped her care for, and is in a Facebook group for their care. I worried about that at first but luckily she found a good one where people aren't attacking each other constantly over small details in their care. It's sad I have to worry about my mom on the internet because of toxic people in the hobby. She stinkin loves that tortoise too. Most spoiled little boy.

[@clistiarobinson34]

I agree 100 percent, that's why I only watch certain youtubers and the ones who have so much passion and who is trying to teach everyone that reptiles are not bad and have so much love for them and know how to take care of them

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

you're the best!

[@plaguedoctortrainmansnscal3721]

There are no bad exotics, only bad people. -Emmett 2023 Edit: after reading a comment I have decided that there are some exceptions.

[@UltimateKirby1]

FACTS

[@D54375]

"There are no bad pokemon, only bad trainers"

[@chrystpick7741]

The dog world been have been having this argument since before I was born.....

[@lilbrave7603]

You thought you slayed with that one

[@HammboneBob]

Nah, there are some animals people shouldn't keep. Mambas are insane.

[@Gking1971]

What gets me are the people who. Keep, say, 8ft boa in an enclosure with just some newspaper and a bowl. Of water with no enrichment and then just trow food at it. No cleaning up and you can see the poor animal just looks miserable. Thanks for the rant, well deserved and needed

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

My thoughts exactly

[@remixedcat]

Jay prehistoric pets does just that w the sneks that aren't the lucky few that live in the zoo zoo part. Huge retics which are very smart snakes w nothing but newspapers and a water bowl in tiny shelves w glass fronts. No enrichment or anything

[@viking4683]

Used to work at an aquarium where there was a reptile keeper who was a know it all. She ended up causing half of our tanks to crash from messing with them while we werent around and then blamed it on us. Also fried an entire hatch of high quality panther chameleons and a gaboon viper in her own department

[@starlightangel1990]

Wish there was more we could do to rid the channels/people you speak of. They just come back under a different name. It's sickening.

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

absolutely true

[@dakotabulter9523]

Tyler noalan? Right? Like the king cobra and all?

[@thefrankyg]

​@dakotabulter9523 maybe I am thinking of a different person, but Tyler seems to be respectful and not as intense as another venomous KZbinr in Florida.

[@aaakooon]

Report the channels.

[@peytonboydz4268]

@@thefrankygprobably jays prehistoric pets

[@jujuchonk]

Always hard when the good people get lumped into the whole because of awful people. It always sucks when i tell people i keep reptiles and they go "oh.... you're one of those, you're crazy".

[@LaunchPadMcQuack4Hire]

I have issues with anyone who keep venomous snakes for pets, just for bragging rights.

[@FroggySpace]

Hey bro ur one of the people keeping this hobbies alive 😊

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

I appreciate it!

[@WyattHall-mx8ir]

@@WickensWickedReptiles True Adam, very true

[@chloetremblett3869]

The last one 💯 makes me so mad. “They’ve lived like this for years” okay, surviving and thriving are 2 different things. I hate when people aren’t willing to take advice and let their ego get in the way of caring for their reptile properly

[@brendapatterson7123]

Know it all's make me crazy! I got banned from a tortoise page for saying I had to feed store bought produce in the winter. I was informed that if I put in enough effort, I could find weeds all year. I nicely explained that I live in Canada and our climate is different than the UK. They continuedto insist weeds can be found all year, so I posted a photo of a ruler stuck 80 cm deep into the snow with a thermometer showing -18C. I got kicked off the page. 😂

[@GilraenTook]

Ah, but don't you know! If you REALLY cared about your tortoise, you'd build a greenhouse the size of your house to grow his food in all year round! And if you don't have a house with a yard, well, you're just abusive because you haven't bought one yet! (KIDDING! I swear! Though it wouldn't surprise me to see it said.)

[@BertSurl]

That is insane

[@w1th3rh3r3xd]

You're like the top reason I got into the repltile hobby, you're keeping the hobby alive 😁! Love your content 💚

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

I appreciate that!

[@Katielomax7]

The fighting in a box reminds me of the sick people that bait small animals like kittens etc to dogs. Lowest of the low, hurts to think about

[@hazelgrunts]

I really appreciate how you do a healthy balance of positivity and negativity (helpful negativity, not drama or non constructive criticism) on this channel, that’s something that other reptile channels have a hard time doing

[@haveyouhuggedyourreptiletoday]

I have been breeding and keeping reptiles as pets for 30 years. I no longer breed as I have health problems, but I still rescue a small amount of reptiles and keep them as pets. The most toxic people I have found in the herping business as a whole are the pet stores. 90% of them supply bad info to prospective owners, do not keep the reptiles they are selling in a proper enclosure, do not even have the proper humidity and UV-B for the reptiles. Breeders generally have a wealth of knowledge about the specific species that they breed, but none of this seems to be taken and passed on by the pet stores. I personally purchased a red tail boa because she was so infested with mites all she would do is lay in her water bowl and not eat. You could see her spine and ribs, because she was so underweight. It took me 6 months to get her to a healthy weight and I do not know if she will ever recover from the malnutrition she suffered. I bought a green iguana at a different pet store because I could see the black flesh eating bacteria growth covering 50% of her body. I nursed her back to health and although she is scarred she now leads a very happy and healthy life. This is the kind of stuff I see at the big chain stores and the little mom and pop stores. Pet stores just want to turn a buck and do not really care about the reptiles they are selling. EDIT: I did tell the pet store they had a mite infestation when I found my red tail boa, the response was "Oh, well that is not really a problem. " and the flesh eating bacteria had me so upset I was shaking. My wife had to purchase the Iguana so that I did not lose my cool and start yelling at people. It is animal abuse. Speaking of animal abuse ASPCA will never see a dime from me or my family due to their policy to euthanize ALL reptiles they find.

[@Lylaris_or_Garuk]

Wait what? Does ASPCA actually do that??? Dude that’s just straight abuse

[@haveyouhuggedyourreptiletoday]

@@Lylaris_or_Garuk Yes, they do.

[@haveyouhuggedyourreptiletoday]

@strangepetscmty I would agree with you if it were not for the misinformation on the pamphlets and the blatant lack of instruction for the employees. Like you said the new employees should have been given some kind of instruction on the animals they are taking care of.

[@luvlost03]

While I'm happy you rescued those animals it will only continue if people are buying them.

[@haveyouhuggedyourreptiletoday]

@@luvlost03 OH, I completely agree with you. I have a bleeding heart problem when it comes to reptiles.

[@louisenielsen7106]

This types aren't just exclusive to the reptile hobby. Its within any kind of pet/hobby animal community! If people want to see true Karen know it alls the bunny and hamster communities is particularly filled with them! Animals sparks debates, and there is still so much outdated, inaccurate and myth based information about husbandry out there!

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

for sure!

[@thefrankyg]

Randomly got a hamster video calling out another one for cohabitation them. I didn't realize they were cannibals and territorial like that

[@chb5628]

I joined a group for Boxers thinking I would see fun pictures and maybe get to set up play dates with dogs of the same energy level as mine. I was off that page within a few days due to the amount hate filled commentary. I had about 100 people telling me I was an animal abuser and should be arrested because I didn't euthanize my dog

[@tripleb2581]

Hey. Is somebody who’s really interested in either getting rodents or birds. Do you know any go to Pages maybe similar to reptifiles what are good places to get actual reliable guides on taking care of these things?

[@lurji]

@@tripleb2581for hamsters, the best bet is forums like hamster hideout or hamster central

[@caughtafaygo]

Also the fact that FWC is run by developers. Its literally a front so they can build and develop where they want

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

sounds right

[@alexisthinking]

Yeah, nailed it.

[@markr1580]

What? No it’s not. It’s run by the state of Florida and they don’t develop anything. I mean they have a couple offices but that’s about it. And this is coming from a floridian.

[@alexisthinking]

@@markr1580 They’re referring to their board of directors. No biologists, herpetologists or anything. Capital investment managers and real estate developers make up the bulk.

[@ExarchGaming]

@@alexisthinking Okay there is some confusion going on here, what you're referencing is the florida fish and wildlife foundation of florida, which isn't the fish and wildlife comission. they're two separate entities. The FWC is a govermental agency that has 7 commissioners appointed by the governor, the FWFOF is a 501 nonprofit which is a special lobby group They're not the same thing though. (and there are new commissioners that the wikipedia hasn't updated yet that took office mostly in 2022 and 2023)

[@fkrgebs6773]

Every time I see you playing with your Burmese python, I am getting more and more jealous. Just to have the opportunity to do that once in my life would be wonderful.

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

I love em

[@edwardmcintyre3708]

I raise tarantulas and scorpions and the one question I get asked a lot is. Who would win if I put them together. It annoys me so much that I get asked that.

[@AhstTraotee]

I feel your pain; I get asked that about my arachnids too.

[@edwardmcintyre3708]

@@AhstTraotee right I always ask people why don't you make your dogs fight? They don't like the question. Only thing is I don't mean it and they get mad

[@jgfishing27]

I HATE the fight channels! I would love to put those creators in a prison cell with 2 inmates 😂

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

so true

[@missymk444]

My dad used to breed working dogs. One neighbor kept complaining that they were a nuisance, and eventually cops came to confiscate them all. And they didn’t just take the dogs, they took all the animals - horses, cats, everything. Our little red bone coonhound was running away from them & they couldn’t catch her - so they just shot her right in front of my dad. Traumatizing. The animals were taken to “Best Friends Animal Sanctuary” where they will remain locked up for the rest of their lives - used as pons to get donations.

[@moonyfruit]

🤮Gross! Some human beings are just horrid.

[@wheezyvettech8781]

That neighbor would have suffered greatly if I was those babies parents.

[@brookelynn3282]

we went through something similar with my old dog. our neighbors were scared of my dad's boxer and they were renting the mayor's house so they got away with stalking my mom knowing her entire schedule just so they'd know when she let the dog out and calling the police numerous times and the police finally said we had to get rid of him (mind you he never went in her yard or anything she was just scared of him) and so we took him to a nearby vet clinic for him to get adopted out and the lady called every place in the area trying to find out where we took him just so she could kill him herself.

[@ingeniouspixie]

I love how we can always trust you to say what needs to be said with no extra fanfare. 👍👍

[@evileve6068]

Well said. Hate those unnecessary cruel feeding videos don't know why they keep popping up on my KZbin feed .

[@carabencivenga8713]

These people really tick me off. I saw a video on facebook of a women deliberately waving her hand in front of her snake (unsure what kind, maybe a burm or a retic) and then acting so surprised that it bit her. Like c'mon. I believe it was a "sensationalist" video like how you described in the beginning. I hope we can continue to help decrease those videos by educating more. Thanks Adam for the video, my blood pressure is up now. 😂❤

[@kesna8]

PETA make my teeth itch🤬🤬 I was hoping they were meeting their end when they went after Irwin on his birthday

[@jak852971]

I hope people don't get the wrong idea about videos like this. All your fans know you really don't like having to put videos like these out but someone has to have to the courage to say what needs to be said about the few in this hobby that are ruining it for everyone. Thank you sir, thank you

[@aurochf1]

I am from Spain and it did went through. We are waiting for the "positive list" to know what can be kept or not.

[@gerrimilner9448]

i had someones parrot rescued by the rspca, they were feeding it crisps (chips west of the pond) i said that his system could not process salt and it would kill him slowly and painfully and i was not listened to and was told "but he likes them" (probibly the interaction as he was also severly understimulated), i was so angry, the parrot was re-homed quickly and im not wellcome at his old home, they are not allowed to have pets now

[@Dragonemperess]

Thanks

[@TJ_Loves2fish]

To me the worst is what they ban in the name of conservation while doing nothing to address the cat problem. If they really care about ground dwelling birds so much, how about some anti-cat legislation rather than or at least in addition to anti-tegu legislation. I'm looking at you SCDNR.

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

for sure

[@YochevedDesigns]

Catch, spay/neuter, and release! Where I live feral cats are everywhere, approx 20 or more per city block. It's a constant battle between the people who feed them and the people who want them rounded up and killed.

[@StLMikie]

@@YochevedDesignsreleasing them to continue killing the native wildlife?

[@sreace723]

We have a fairly large group of "community cats." My family and I had caught/neuter/spayed everyone that comes into our yard. Our local Humane Society does clinics that allow people to bring in up to 4 at a time. It costs $35 per cat and they get all the normal tests and vaccines. And my neighborhood gets well behaving mouse catchers!!! 😆😆😆 We live near a small wooded area and large grassland park.

[@humanname99]

@@sreace723 your neighborhood also gets well behaving native bird killers lol.

[@calvinnickoloff1015]

You are one of the reasons that I know how to keep my reptiles, thanks

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

this is so cool!

[@anabella4166]

“It’s just Silly Goose stuff..” LMAO Adam is so damn wholesome😂😂😂

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

I do try!

[@1mrcow143]

As someone who has been part of many different non-animal groups, I think that most of the animal keeping community is pretty good in comparison. I have been part of communities that send death threats, shout racial slurs, and get no punishment and are kept because they are entertaining. This community is only getting punished despite the people being 99.99% good.

[@trashyink2132]

I guess generally, people who keep pets need a semblance of compassion and knowledge to do so.

[@moonyfruit]

Diamond's cuteness being my emotional support during this video. So adorable. 💕

[@louisnivelle7448]

you are my source of inspiration because of you, I started collecting reptiles. Thank you for your good advice

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

Happy to hear that!

[@ReptilesRule16]

I feel like my dad kinda abuses my leopard gecko I’ve told him at least 60 times that he can’t live in a 10 gallon enclose and he need at least 20 but he won’t listen and says no it’s fine. (I’m 13 so I can’t buy him my own enclosure)

[@ReeseasaurusRex]

My mom does the same thing so I’m trying to rehome my gecko. It makes me feel awful.

[@tomsgreengallery]

Well said, my friend. Im in California, the animal restrictions here are pretty crazy. I can’t even have an axolotl. 😢 hopefully more attention is brought to these kinds of issues, it’s definitely needed. Thanks for making the video!

[@reissval]

Not in the community, but adjacent to it. Veterinary colleges that discourage students from going into exotics because "reptile owners don't care about their animals" or "they are all tattooed freaks with crazy colored hair". I strongly believe that the community needs to foster a better relationship with veterinary colleges so they don't get rid of their exotics classes/tracks or to encourage them to expand to include exotics in their program. Veterinary students learn almost nothing about exotics in some programs. Another are men in the hobby who discourage or belittle female reptile keepers just because they are women.

[@wheezyvettech8781]

Agreed! I've been in the veterinary field for 17 years and have seen that majority of vets don't take reptiles seriously. Things are getting better, but it's just disappointing how reptiles and tarantulas are seen of little importance.

[@reissval]

@@wheezyvettech8781 Even small animals! You have no idea how many times I listened to supervising veterinarians say things like "It's just a rat/mouse/bunny." or "What's the point of learning how to spay/neuter that if it's going to die in 3 years anyway?"

[@wheezyvettech8781]

@@reissval that's so disappointing!!!!

[@BrianGundy]

Adam, This was a much needed video. Thanks for spreading the wisdom!

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Stien58_]

Another one is close minded people who can't take constructive criticism and are using outdated care info

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

absolutely!

[@tripleb2581]

There’s another version of this with people who haven’t taken care of reptiles. Where they think that giving reptiles or any pet for that matter extra space and a better enclosure is excessive because they were just a reptile. There are also the people that think. “Well, since the pet store is saying/doing it, it must be OK. “No, it’s not.

[@cybercon98]

I agree 100% man.. stuff like what you talked about is why I dont really talk about my animals just to avoid people like know it alls and stuff like that, and I work at a pet COmpany and see abuse all the time man it is hard.

[@yandelgonzalez4526]

Something bad is keeping leopard geckos in 10 gallon tanks

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

I agree

[@yandelgonzalez4526]

@@WickensWickedReptiles a lady told me at a reptile expo “ you can keep a leopard gecko in a 10 gallon tank “ I was like I keep mine in a 75 gallon tank personally

[@yandelgonzalez4526]

@@WickensWickedReptilesshe said it was probably stressing out and doesn’t need all that spa

[@jurassicroom7673]

I've kept my blizzard in a 10 gl for years and he's done okay. But any tank fewer than 10 gallons is a no go.

[@tarreonnaperson2059]

@@jurassicroom7673 absolutely wrong!

[@vanessavieux7283]

You are the best KZbin ever have a super day have a great day have a nice day Wicked wickens reptile

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

You rock!

[@tori9047]

i had nooo idea about what the FWC does.. and those brief clip’s brought me straight to tears.. i wish there was a way to really get rid of these people and organisations :(

[@ravagerdogz]

People who give incorrect information or out dated information are the worst, especially pet stores! Please, do research!!!

[@thisislargemouth5566]

People harming animals intentionally other than hunting or defending their livestock/crops are just crazy to me. I stopped feeding live after a rat but a nice hole in one of my pythons. Just a small chunk but I felt so terribly guilty my whole feeding program changed.

[@desireehart8190]

I don’t understand how those FWC officers have not been charged with animal cruelty much less still have jobs. They smiled while killing those animals and that is disgusting.

[@ericaallisonc]

Because they were doing their jobs and that's all the government cares about. Most government jobs are not fast to replace people with and oftentimes job postings will sit for a year before being filled. And keep in mind not everyone likes snakes. I hate spiders and certain insects and if I took a job that involved killing them I would probably be smiling too. :/

[@fuzzylittlespider]

It because they were killing reptiles law enforcement doesn’t care about reptiles. If they were killing cats or dogs with a nail all HELL would break loose! Which is sad, all animals feel fear and pain. If they euthanized the snakes properly it would be way less cruel but what they did was barbaric! Absolutely disgusting and heartbreaking, I’m not really into snakes but that video really disturbed me.

[@desireehart8190]

That video gave me nightmares and I am a 21 year veteran ER nurse. There is not much that I haven’t seen and very few things shock me. What those men did and the callousness with which they did it is disturbing. I have already written a letter to Gov Desantis saying as much and calling for them and the FCW to be held accountable. He is trying to run for president and I basically said “if you can’t get your own state in order how can you run the country”. It probably wont make a difference but at least I tried.

[@FellsApprentice]

Because the only way to hold a cop accountable is [REDACTED]

[@Dr.Phil_MM]

The worst ones r the animal fight videos like pacman frog vs centipede vs lizard vs baby leopard gecko or something like that its absolutely horrible they should be banned forever

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

for sure

[@sherryhall2587]

You go Adan! About time these evil pukes were called out. I know your not the only one but it's still good that more of us stand up and talk about this shit.

[@staceychafin3457]

I am scared to death of reptiles but I love watching your channel 😂😂😂 you and snake discovery!!

[@rhyami]

I’m in the same boat as you. I am working on the idea of touching one soon.

[@Inverts4Introverts]

Made the mistake of getting into a leopard gecko Facebook group.. so damn toxic. I refuse to post anything but stay willing to help who ever needs it through privet messages.

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

oh for sure

[@ing3666]

Thank you Adam for addressing this. I call the ones who don’t care hobbyists, you can’t be all enthusiastic with it for a week and then let it sit, it’s not a plastic model or a Lego set. It takes work! I am struggling with keeping crickets alive :( but happy to report that I have one beetle and a pupae in my mealworm colony :)

[@marahphilomena97]

Thank you for mentioning the know it alls on Facebook. I'm on a crested gecko Facebook group and they stressed me out so much and made me feel like a bad gecko owner to my baby.

[@dawnanimations8010]

When I saw that video where those people shot the boa with a nail gun, I was so mad. They call themselves animal lovers yet they one, kill the wrong animal, and two, don’t do anything about it after the snake is dead. Terrible.

[@jurassicroom7673]

While its not in the hobby we seriously need to get platforms to crackdown on "live" feedings where pacman frogs,snapping turtles,rodents, etc are ripped apart for views.

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

for sure

[@nicoleperkins3384]

We live feed, never ever make a video of it or post it online. Now, I will post photos AFTER the rodent is dead.

[@jurassicroom7673]

@nicoleperkins3384 Live feeding a mouse is generally okay, we're talking about channels that force animals to fight and rip eachother apart for the delight of sadistic people.

[@nicoleperkins3384]

@jurassicroom7673 shouldn't really live feed on video. It just shines a negative light, people have somehow separated themselves from what animals ear and seem to think we can just go to the grocery store and no animal is harmed. Whether you feed F/T or live an animal still has to die. In my opinion live feeding is ok, because well thats what they were designed to eat. It also works best for us. What works for us, may not work for someone else. I digress, but it just shouldn't be on video.

[@candykkhorsesngp925]

I just saw about the FWC thing yesterday, made me feel sick and really really angry. I can’t begin to imagine how I’d feel if someone walked onto my property and did that to any of my animals. I’m a new reptile owner, I got my first snake, a BP , channels like yours and Green Room pythons have been so helpful in gathering information about snakes before I got one myself, along with the reptile store and friends who are experienced reptile owners themselves. Since getting a snake I’ve realised how much misinformation there is out there and how the public image of snakes is really tainted especially with the amount of viral videos from creators that antagonise snakes. It’s pretty sad actually.

[@Wysdrem]

OMG that exact FB group has been such a problem for me, they are so volatile sometimes :/ I miss reptile addict UK, that group used to be SO good. Peta also spends more money on their displays events then they do on their animals. I WISH people would stop funding them.

[@reptiliancain32]

So we'll said for all of it! Also good on you for calling PETA out, It's upsetting how many people unknowingly still donate money to them🤯..

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

crazy right!!

[@dominicflorio5708]

I'm not happy about breeders of giant snakes, who sell them as cute babies. Many people are not equipped, nor will they ever be, in order to handle them and house them as adults. Also, the cost of feeding them is prohibitive for many.

[@creacher00]

I run the herpetology club at my university and I believe we were discussing the first person who you were referring to in our discord. It’s absolutely disgusting behavior

[@chuckyoung4706]

One of the things I hate is venomous owners that free handle. It’s only a matter of time that they will get bitten, but they also make responsible venomous owners look bad.

[@BlueCollarCombat94]

There's a guy who lives not far from me that I went to school with that has cobras, gaboon vipers, rattlers, ECT and constantly post him free handling cobras while in bare feet and then in the next video he's "advocating against poor handling and care practices and talking about how they give the community a bad name". Like bro you're literally what you're advocating against. I understand sometimes they have to be handled but like c'mon man. Be intelligent about it.

[@ashersamphibiansandreptiles]

100% know-it-alls grind my gears. People that dont upgrade an animal that needs an upgrade definitely make me mad! Great video Adam and this one was well needed

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

Right on!

[@sammansfield21]

It's important to address serious issues aswell as your usual upbeat videos. Keep up the amazing work ❤

[@HoggiesWithAttitude]

The name calling and backstabbing i have seen in the last couple months on KZbin videos. Instead of reporting facts they report their opinions as facts and nothing to back it up. In the end it makes all parties involved look bad and has made me doubt the honesty in one KZbinr that i had once thought honest. It makes the reptile community from the outside look bad . Keep spreading positivity thank you for a great video

[@tipping_scales]

I agree on all fronts. I've got someone arguing on my last video that intentionally stunting crocodillians is perfectly fine. There's all kinds of levels to the bad in the hobby but I do think we're growing as a community and the folks with all the bs, bad keeping and all the other nonsense will end up on the wrong side of history in the very near future. I like the direction were going, to add a postive to it all

[@bazamere]

My big pet peeve is sensational live feeders. Honestly even live feeding bugs if they are all like "oooh listen to the crunch" or "look at the guts" as a bug or worm gets shaken or fanged I dont like it. Im not against live feeding at all and know for some animals that is 100% needed. But filming it explicitly for the gore and posting it is in bad taste imo. There are some youtubers that I generally like, butI skip their feeding videos. I love animals (including invertebrates) and while I know some animals die so that our pets can live, I dont think watching it happen is necessary. Pre killed feeding is fine because then you can make sure the animal being killed is dying in a humane way. I have a dog, if I took a video of my dog killing and eating a cat, Id probably get canceled. It shouldnt be any different for our scaly pets.

[@jamiesmith5391]

The box, and peta!WHAT! Made me sick and I cried.

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

gross eh

[@pjenestratsienatie1876]

As a European venomous keeper in a country where it's legal the one thing I hate the most are people that free handle venomous snakes. People see this and think no one should have this. Me and a friend that also studied reptile care always make fun of Chandlers wildlife for example especially when he got bit by a Cuban croc after getting into the water with it. And the people around him were noticably not amused.

[@brain_rot_man]

I love your videos you make my week 100 times better I can't wait for a hognose snake video!❤❤❤❤❤

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

Happy to hear that!

[@jpslizards]

I had a guy smirk when I pronounced the Latin name of a lizard and he proceeded to say "its pronounced this way" then I said "Latin is much closer to Spanish than it is to English so I'll stick to reading it like if I was reading Spanish" I don't think he was a fun of me pronouncing the name with a heavier Mexican accent 🤣

[@fry3072]

I used to be terrified of snakes an thought they were super aggressive but your videos have opened my eyes, keep up the great videos always so interesting and informative

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

Glad to hear it!

[@TychanDK]

Saw a clip of a toad with a hamster's head sticking out of its mouth. A LIVE hamster. Haven't been able to get it out of my head D:

[@therealshino4607]

I think a big problem is the community is incredibly toxic full of know it alls and jerks. There are some who pile on but do it out of csre for the aninals, but sonetines I think some people get an ego boost out of it. Lots of hubris Everyone wants to crucify someone for making a small mistake and its why I left the community. I keep reptiles but I dont commubicate with it. Reptile amino had people telling others to kys and encouraged brigadiny

[@MrRandom29]

Hi Wickens I love your videos I'm thinking about getting a leopard gecko

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

Go for it!

[@Bunnys_Oasis]

I agree 100%, it’s only a small percentage of keepers making us all look bad!

[@ryanosborne4943]

How have I only just found you on KZbin. Your attitude is brilliant, your animals are brilliant, your advice is brilliant and your content is spot on. Another subscriber standing by. Good job!

[@alexisthinking]

Dude, I felt the Latin name thing in my core. Anytime I say the Latin name of something in a video I say something like “Just a reminder, mispronouncing things in Latin is my thing” or “Latin is not one of my areas of expertise.” Even still, I’ll get the know it alls correcting me. 😂

[@ElecManEXE]

I'm not sure I see the issue with people offering you knowledge you admit you don't have. Seems like a pretty normal response for someone with that knowledge to provide it. If someone mentions during a conversation "I don't know what X word means" and another person there does know, then is it not normal for that person to give that knowledge to the person lacking it? I get that many people couldn't care less about pronunciation in general, much less for a language like Latin that isn't an everyday thing. I don't really get it personally, I find it kind of interesting to hear how different languages work, but to each their own. If you don't care then fair enough. Maybe make it more clear you don't care and don't want that information though. Say up front you aren't interested in how it's actually pronounced instead of just saying "I don't know, I'm not an expert". You'll probably still get some people telling you anyway, but it'll curtail some of it and give you more of a leg to stand on when you get annoyed at it because you made it clear you don't want to know.

[@alexisthinking]

@@ElecManEXE At this point, I’ve mispronounced things in Latin for so long, that unless I start legit needing it for stuff, which very well may happen at some point, I’m pretty content having it be a running joke with the folks that watch my videos regularly. That said, the know it alls don’t bother me that much, they increase engagement. Lol. I had a video about corvids and TikTok’s captions put it as “Corvettes” and I didn’t catch it before uploading. Pretty sure a good number of the views on that video are from the algorithm pushing it because it saw so many comments. 😂

[@LandoFishing]

Also on the peta note, they had a kill all pit bull petition a while back, pit bulls are some of the sweetest dogs I know

[@TheFunGuyJustin]

Great video as always, your awesome, reminds me of the know-it-alls talking about leos right now, like ppl who had for a couple years thinks they know better than someone who has had for 1.5 decades! your experience is master level and these clowns out here are younger than how many years you've OWNED leos! ridiculous silly gooses, keep being you man! love your vids!

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

Well said!

[@albertaguidetwahl469]

We see a lot of stressed and harassed animals In the tarantula hobby. To often we see KZbinrs antagonizing tarantulas into threat postures to show the “aggressive” spiders, particularly orange baboon tarantulas and other old world species. All in the name of click bait.

[@eddragereon654]

I am kinda a know-it-all but not to correct people, but because I love to learn about things like animals. When someone talks about somthing I reasurched hard-F***ing-core, I will love to join in and add facts. Mostly to show what I know and prove I'm smart to myself cause I don't belive it half the time. I also just love sharing stupid or ulsess facts about animals too. Plus educating people is super fun!!

[@ShinXyres]

I feel like Adam had some different words he would rather use on this one than "silly goose stuff".

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

I absolutely did!

[@Jobin14]

the know-it-all point has r/ballpython shaking right now

[@JudgingBooksByTheirCovers]

Ugggh. I was up all night traumatized by the FWC nail gun part. I had heard about this, but I didn’t know these particular details. Please tell me they’re being held responsible. I live in Florida and am so disgusted.

[@geckosarecute6304]

Ugh disgusting humans!! Just ugh heart breaking. 😔 I have 2 reptiles and 2 cats and I am always afraid I am not doing right or I leave them I worry and then I make vet appoinments. I also do my researched and look at people like you as a help guide. I worry for my reptiles and cats with love haha! You are a goodie and love your channel you made me join the reptile world and I am ever so grateful!! 🥰 keep doing your best!!!

[@aquaticcatfey]

Killing a tame, _pregnant,_ non-venomous, legally-kept snake for the sake of a power trip. No words. That said: I've noticed that a lot of animal fight video creators have taken to trying to create plausible deniability by calling them "educational live-feeding videos." Say what one will about live feeding, but: I somehow doubt that the people watching a tegu run down and eat live rat pups in a too-small enclosure-gloating about how "the dirty rodents deserved it" all the while-are actually looking to be "educated" on uncomfortable possibilities in herpetoculture.

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

absolutely mad eh

[@dontworrydehappy7104]

Thanks SO much for doing this video! I thought I was the only one who kept reporting those fight videos, but nothing seemed to come from it. And nobody on other channels etc ever mentioned it. Those fights are so horrible - and the reason for it is just love for blood sports.

[@graydoncarruth5044]

Dude just found you and love your perspective. I am an avid outdoorsman (hunting, fishing, etc…) but I approach my lifestyle with respect for the things that allow me to keep living. I prefer to get my own hands dirty, also a passionate but amateur gardener. But so much of what you describe is straight up wrong and I got your back!

[@elleofmusic]

Those "fight" channels and videos really are disgusting. I report them every time I run across one, but so many of them have been up for YEARS and it's so disheartening. Especially crazy because in China and Korea, that very practice was considered a black magic ritual that could create a curse so powerful that it was eventually declared a crime worthy of the death penalty. If only it would curse the people who now consider it entertainment... Another kind of video I run across all too often are sensationalized live feeding videos. They're very similar to the fight videos, but are usually just pairing a pet snake or frog with a rodent in a way that's very clearly not being done ethically, but with that same sick goal of "entertainment" in mind. I grew up watching every animal documentary I could get my hands on, I'm no stranger to the reality of natural predation, and I'm certainly not opposed to live feeding when necessary, but the people who set these videos up clearly don't regard their pets as /pets/ if they're willing to endanger and stress them out for views. And lastly, as someone relatively new to the reptile hobby, it can be quite the turn-off to see so many breeder channels that just.. kinda treat their animals like pokemon cards. Like they're pulling out all these morphs to show off while having no regard at all for the animals' obvious signs of stress and anxiety, flinching at every touch and trying to flee or hide. That combined with wall-to-wall opaque and tiny racks... to anyone outside the hobby, and particularly those coming from the mammal side of the pet industry, it gives off pretty extreme "puppy mill" vibes. To say nothing of the types who, when tragedy strikes and they lose a bunch of their animals to something or other, just talk about it as only a loss of money instead of also being a loss of the lives of animals they care about, and then go on to act cagey when questioned on what exactly even happened. It sucks because it really doesn't have to be that way, and I've seen plenty breeders, large and small alike, who aren't like that.

[@loriw2661]

If FWC cared about reptiles, they’d ask reptile keepers to help educate them about what the laws SHOULD be! I live in south Florida and can’t have a Super Dwarf Retic because FWC doesn’t understand Retics😡

[@markr1580]

So for what it’s worth. While I’m sure they have a lot of input into these decisions on what animals you can own, FWC doesn’t actually make the laws they just enforce them. If you want it changed you really need to talk to your rep in Tallahassee or the Governor.

[@gregnikitin8954]

Great video brother. Thanks for being willing to say this.

[@WickensWickedReptiles]

anytime

[@LandoFishing]

I will say the “know it alls” got on to me for actually giving my ball python an appropriate sized enclosure and not using a rack system for her, then proceeded to tell me I’m wrong for not breeding her at 6 months old and not getting more than one snake so I can breed them”, I don’t want to breed my snake and her enclosure is fine

[@wraith1320]

Animal abuse makes me so sick, I want to cry… I don’t understand how abusers can live with themselves at all, let alone enjoy financial gains made from doing such sick things… 😢 All animals are incredible, beautiful, and deserving of respect… I wish there were more empathy in the world-for all living things.