Why I Don’t Sell Wild Caught Skinks! [rant-ish] - Ep. 91

[@JessicasAnimalFriends]

Yes 👏🏻 I always get crap from people for stating my opinions in this community. Well-handled. Consumerism is a huge problem in this community and beyond.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Thanks Jessica! The social climate and the rate of litigation against keeping reptiles has accelerated to unprecedented levels. If we don't get a handle on ourselves the people in charge will and it won't be in the herpers favor I can guarantee. :-(

[@AnimalsatHomePodcast]

Right on the money, TC! This was a great "rant-ish" :)

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Thanks Dillon! I tried not to get too emotional...lol

[@coopsreptiles2588]

Good topic, I agree.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Thanks Coop!

[@braydenfizer6826]

I got my Indonesian blue tongue from someone who didn’t know how to take care of it and it was a 7 month old at 170 grams and now is 9 months old and 350+ grams and still gaining weight

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Great work! Sounds like you saved it’s life!

[@braydenfizer6826]

ReptileMountain.TV and wild caught or captive bred skinks are usually $400-$750 CAD or 304-570 USD where I live

[@raymondjeffrey8384]

I agree completely especially with common animals kept as pets definitely don’t need to be in the hands of private pet owners on top of it just being exploitive and detrimental to the animal but the vet bills the probably unsuspecting new owner could be in for that come with wild caught animals from parasite issues to just failing to thrive after being stolen from its natural habitat and stuck in a foreign environment.

[@TheRabidfan]

Word.

[@prepperpov5852]

Yes, sir! I hit, smacked, and pressed the “thumbs up”! Love it & thanks!

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Ha! You got all kinds of style points! 🤣👍🏼

[@riccockerham563]

Great video T.C.! Very helpful and needed to be addressed.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Thanks Ric 🙏

[@davidfreund320]

The problem I have is price, I can get a caught indo in my area for 150 to 200 dollars. A single bred northern runs 350 and up. It's hard to make that price jump when I'm spending 4 to 500 on the enclosure and nessesities

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Yeah I hear ya. It stinks when doing the right thing costs so much. Sadly people make ethical compromises to save or make money all the time. 😕

[@SavageCivilian3]

Great video as always ! Please please please do another video on pink tongues. Thanks you! Btw I'm not with wild caught if I can help it but remember we only have the species we have in captivity because of at one time having to wild catch. There is obviously a limit tho and yes it is wayyyyy over used. And its very said for species like alot of the Madagascar tortoises that are being devastated from it.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

I'm with you. I will do another on PTS sometime. I've got so many slotted and I still can't get 25 hours in my day yet...lol.

[@CringeJester]

In my opinion wild caught is bad unless it is an animal not established in captivity, and is going to be used for educational purposes (like shows). I'd love a Peters banded skink but it would be for my personal enjoyment so I'm waiting until they are available captive bred. I'd love to breed fire skinks and Mexican abronia lizards. They aren't monitored in the wild much and are mostly wild caught. Not the most popular pets but I don't want them to be gone forever. Super cool lizards. Also super against breeding disabilities. Like people intentionally breeding spider ball pythons knowing they have neurological issues. Basically agree with everything you said. I just got my skink last week (northern) and your vids were super helpful during my research btw, thanks dude

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Excellent! Congrats on the new bub! If you do breed the other species I wish you lots of luck.

[@CringeJester]

@@ReptileMountainTV thanks! I've got plenty more research to do before I start, but I'm still excited

[@JSPADED81]

Good point,i am not a fan of selling wild caught , example is when a overwhelmed owner is fed up they put it in the wild, we found a blue tongue at a river in southern California.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

How cow! Yeah letting em go is so not good

[@tinaleighton6390]

J&J 81 Wow! It is amazing to even think that you would find one that has been released. Somebody here in my town swears to God that they found a blue tongue skink here in a park. That’s insane as far as I’m concerned. But the minute they saw mine they said they had found one. They gave it to a local reptile rescue. I’m not sure I actually believe them but I am at least glad that whatever lizard they did find was rescued. I do know for a fact that there have been at least three box turtles found at a local lake, and they are not native to this area.

[@lordofcows13]

I fully agree with you. However, i will admit to being a hypocrite on this. My first reptile is a Halmahera. Harley, was a long term Petco resident. I was initially preparing to buy from a breeder, but had some reservations as I’m in Alaska and it is winter. I still believe this would have been a far better route from what I learned with Harley, but I do not regret getting him only paying into the system. I am telling this story, because there were many red flags and it is probably the case for most petco skinks. 6 months ago Harley and 2 other baby skinks arrived at my local petco. One skink was euthanized, and the second was failing to thrive. This skink survived when a reptile familiar family stepped in, brought him and sought vet care. Harley remained at store for 6 months. Then i started considering him more and more. Before i purchased him at 40%, I asked many questions hoping and praying he wasn’t Halmahera though at the time I was very very certain. I asked “what type of skink is he” they said “honestly we dont know”. I asked which vendor supplied him and received three different answers. And most importantly i asked “was he wormed”. They told me he did not need dewormer as he is not wild caught and the stores policy is to not sell these animals. The day before i picked him up I called the vet and scheduled an appointment. I went 3 days ago with some poo for a fecal float and for a wellness exam. Thankfully the vet found him to be healthy otherwise. He had parasites and started treatment. At the store (unless the meters were broken) his humidity was below 50% and the temp was 70F. At the very least the staff at my local petco seem reluctant to get blue tongue skinks again after all this. He now has a temp gradient and an auto mister. And i plan on only purchasing northerns after this.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

I’m glad he is in good hands. You clearly are an informed keeper. Its nice to hear stories like this even though it wasn’t ideal it was full of good.

[@joelh6514]

100% agree

[@joelh6514]

You mentioned not taking wild animals from endangered populations but I with you had stressed it more.

[@delaneybyfield1764]

I know this is an old video but I got my skink from underground reptiles and I believe he was wild caught or bred from a wild caught and I feel really bad everyday I give him the best home and care but I would have never bought from them if I would've known I should've dove a lot deeper then I did

[@raelonewolf]

I totally agree. I feel like it is very irresponsible to purchase an animal as a pet without knowing where that animal came from. To be fair to many of these pet owners, a lot of them just don't know -- they assume a "vendor" is the same thing as a breeder, and they've heard from other reptile enthusiasts that expos are a good place to purchase animals, so why would they assume the cute, personable lizard was just shipped in hours ago from a land where it roamed free, contributed to its population, and has a full parasite load? To be completely honest, until just a couple years ago, I didn't know that blue tongue skinks were available captive-bred -- I didn't really know the difference between Indonesian and Australian species, and I just knew a lot of them were imported, so I assumed they all were. I used to volunteer with my local zoo, and we had an Eastern Blue-tongued skink that was in her 20s, and all I knew about her was that she was a surrendered pet that they suspected was wild-collected (would have been right before Australia changed their laws about exports). She was the coolest lizard I ever got to interact with -- before meeting her, my favorite lizard was the bearded dragon, and while I still love bearded dragons, I found the blue tongue skink to be even more enjoyable to handle and interact with. However, I never even thought about getting one as a pet because I didn't feel right about having an animal taken out of the wild solely for my enjoyment. Now that I know blue tongue skinks are available captive bred (as long as you know where to look and what to look for), they are definitely on my wish list! I honestly can't tell you how excited I was to find out getting one captive bred was even a possibility!

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Thanks for sharing! Great to hear how people learn about these animals and grow to be excited about these guys more and more.

[@LonghornInOmaha]

Great video and topic, TC! We're definitely on board with avoiding wild caught specimens, especially if there are no plans to captive breed that particular reptile. Deforestation and loss of habitat for certain reptiles (like the Abronia genus) can definitely create even more ethical conundrums. 🦎👍

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Thanks Cole! Have you seen Wicked Wildlife's video on keeping native animals as pets? He talks a bit about the "ark" idea which your comment reminded me of it.

[@LonghornInOmaha]

@@ReptileMountainTV No, I haven't. I will definitely look for it though. 👍 I've read (whether the sources are accurate or not) about species of animals losing far more through habitat loss than the pet trade. But, I can also see the part where wild caught specimens going through hellish conditions to end up in retail pet shops or online classifieds. Maybe some day humans will figure things out before it's too late (not gonna hold my breath on that though). The almighty dollar seems to drive so many ecologically affected decisions.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Yeah check it out its a good video. Yeah habitat loss is (for the most part) the number one cause of population decline. There are a few exceptions like tortoises being harvested for food and pets. The hard part is to get folks to think sustainability in all aspects of human life I guess. But like you said, holding our breath won't go very well for us...lol.

[@GogeeReptileCuddles]

Lol - rant-ish , I agree BUT I do love Francisco💚🦎💚

[@rep.kingdom6851]

Hello tc houston could you please make a starter video on morphs on blue tounge what morphs you would recommend and what line would you recommend for a bigginer thinking about breeding

[@ReptileMountainTV]

I may do something like this in the future. It depends on what country you are in as well.

[@dougross2700]

I used to buy from importers you get good deals the more you buy some farm them that way they can say captive hatch captive breed . Captive breed and born are best ,you should show how bad importers are the babies come in wood create in burlap bags they pitch dead or dying ones in trash , I used to get 100 ball pythons for $4.00 each , most of my friends treat there pets like part of family

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Two separate worlds aren’t they!

[@indacoma]

Good to see u putting videos up again :)

[@Sananjalka]

What ways are there for owners of pet-only skinks to contribute to the well-being of wild populations and management of a healthy captive breeding population, other than breeding their skinks? My rehomed Indo isn't breeding material and I'm not comfortable with the idea of owning a whole lot of animals in the first place, but I'd like to "give back" somehow. The situation is pretty dire in my country when it comes to the availability of blueys: as far as I know, there isn't a single person here currently producing captive-bred ones so pretty much all new additions are imports, either wild-caught or bred within the EU.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Good question. First I would say abstain from buying wild caught for pet-only in the future. Second, be encouraging to fellow keepers who wish to try to breed. Last, be vocal within your community for the need for a captive bred population to grow and wild caught to cease.

[@proud_newf9561]

Well after making a 1242 word care guide for a blue tongue skink it is a total no from both parents kinda sucky but it is truly their choice

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Im sorry it didn’t work out. 😕

[@NYC_Goody]

Sorry for the dumb question. I'm just beginning to do a little more research into skinks. Early on in the video you mention you do have wild caught to eventually make captive breds. From what I read, a baby born from a wild caught is captive born which can still carry the temperament and health issues. Big difference from bred. So when exactly do they become "captive bred" I'm sure I'm wording this poorly but how many generations usually?

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Its a great question actually. Captive Bred is usually reserved for animals whose parents copulated in captivity and then were birthed in captivity. The general idea is that even if the parents were wild collected they had been in captivity and doing well enough (aka wormed, acclimated, etc) to cycle and breed producing healthier offspring. Animals born from wild parents are called F1 generation. And their offspring would be F2 .... and so on. Most folks say that F2 is the sweet spot where its closest to the wild while being fully captive bred from captive bred parents.

[@kristinvera5828]

I have a wild caught Rescue (Indonesian Blue tongue). I’ve done the best I can for her and I think she’s thriving. ❤️ enjoy your channel!!

[@Kimmaline]

My 2.5mo old Northern little bub (which we got from TC) is such a doll! He is super easy to handle, eats like a champ, has never tried to bite anyone and is an absolute dream pet. I have a million less worries than if he was WC, and I can just enjoy the experience of watching him grow up!!! His personality cracks me up - the only time he gets huffy at all is if we disturb him when he is sleeping. He does not like us even taking a dish out or changing his water when he is sleeping - he will give a very annoyed hiss if we disturb him when he is crashed out. So, basically, he is me. If I am entirely honest, I like the colors and markings better on Irian Jaya or Meruke BTS's more - but have not even one tiny smidge of regret about my little boo. No marking or coloring is worth the guilt I would have at taking a wild animal out of it's natural habitat (and the ripples it would cause in a formerly balanced ecosystem) simply for my own wants. Not to mention that any money I would have saved by going WC would then go to a vet to get rid of parasites and other health issues. Every single question I've had, TC can answer. I have access to my bub's lineage, I know everything he has ever eaten, I know who his parents are. Just for shits and giggles I had spoken with some other sellers about other baby BTS's who were CB (not CBB) and they basically said, "uh....I got him from this other dude, so.....idk?" when I asked them questions. Nope. If nothing else, I have a 6yo who doesn't need to have some random preventable thing happen to the pet she is so in love with....I am glad to have access to info about my skink's history and health which will allow me a far better chance at keeping this little nummer happy and healthy and thriving as he grows to adulthood. I have never heard a single reason that non-breeders give about WC animals that I haven't instantly thought was complete BS. I am crazy in love with my CBB Northern, not to mention I can't recommend TC enough as someone to buy from!!!!!

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Thank you Kimma! I'm so glad to hear you guys love your little bug. I'm even more glad the little bug has you!!! Please send update photos whenever you want. I love seeing how the lil ones grow. :-)

[@davidzhixingfu8341]

I was wondering if a wild caught skink can transmitt disease to human, via like scratch or sth

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Well all Reptiles can carry salmonella and there are a few known zoonotic diseases that can be transferred to humans but with good hand hygiene is exceptionally rare.

[@LILBOOGsBUGCORNER]

Nailed it! Wow TC you are excellent at breaking down things well enough that a 5 year old should be able to relate!

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Thank you my friend! It helps I have a six year old!! 😁

[@ortizbrothersdiscgolf6524]

Great Video TC! I do not support wild caught animals either. When it was time for me to get my Skink. I wanted a Northern rather than all of the other wild caught species, because I like the Northerns colors and patterns rather than the others. 🦎🐍❤

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Me too! I like the earth tones they have. Still, I get why folks like the indo species as well. Just need to breed em or wait and get one from someone who has right?!

[@ortizbrothersdiscgolf6524]

Yeah I like the Merauke Blue tongue Skinks but I am not going to get a wild caught skink

[@ortizbrothersdiscgolf6524]

I really want another Northern for breeding and I have told myself that I am getting it from TC Houston

[@LanceKirkman]

Excellent TC!!

[@ReptileMountainTV]

👍🏼👍🏼🙏

[@cathleenbalboni1471]

Great job, great topic

[@jonathanlee97]

Hmm here in malaysia we get alot, alot of cb bts. Very few are wild from indo. Most of the wild caught ones from indo ae shipped overseas. In malaysia we have a few people breeding bts mostly classic and merauke. My friend has a reptile breeding facility and he was supposedly the first guy to have cbb classics here. Normally he only has captive bred ones with wild caught parents. He doesn’t sell wild caught babies. Once all his cb babies are born and sold that year, hes done. He wont import in wild ones to sell the rest of the year. I managed to get the second last one that year from his cbb one. Paid 70 bucks extra for the cbb compared to the cb. Also we supposedly get “papuan northerns” here. Wild caught northerns caught in papau. Thats what i was told. Theyre going for 9k USD each....

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Interesting indeed. What species are the “papuan northerns?” They can’t be Tiliqua scincoides intermedia since they are endemic to Australia. I wonder if they are IJs...

[@jonathanlee97]

ReptileMountain.TV i was told they are TSI. He said sometimes they stumble upon them in papua. I don’t believe him tho. I told him it have a feeling its most prob illegally smuggled from Australia to papua then from papua its shipped to other places.

[@proud_newf9561]

Does anyone know where I could purchase a skink that will ship to Canada I have had no luck finding any sellers?

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Don Patterson breeds Pure and amazing skinks in Canada. Sadly exporting from the USA has been stopped for Australian species for the foreseeable future 😕

[@proud_newf9561]

ReptileMountain.TV One more question what are the usual months of birth for skink?

[@blackbeltt8850]

A few months ago I got a halmahera from a well known pet store. He was in a 2 foot by 2 foot tank with about 45% humidity. They were feeding him bird seed, so his divisive track was all messed up. He was wild caught, after watching this video I feel bad for giving my money to that company and supporting wild collected reptiles :(

[@ReptileMountainTV]

What's done is done. You gave it a better life and have learned. There is nothing more anyone would be expected to do. I hope you enjoy your lil bub and share your story more.

[@blackbeltt8850]

ReptileMountain.TV thank you for the response! He is really a sweet guy after you hold him for a couple minutes. He likes chin scratches and bananas :)

[@raymondjeffrey8384]

I am curious to know however where do you stand on the issue when it’s a wild caught animal from and environment where it’s invasive? I personally have a green iguana caught in Florida and I know there are some programs taking wild caught burms and balls for the pet trade?

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Wild caught invasive species as pets is totally okay since they shouldn’t be in the wild in the first place.

[@jesselowe5346]

I have a wild caught blue tongue who I rescued and I think every day how much I wish the dude was still in Indonesia being a wild and free lil lizard. Happy he's in my life and also happy that I could improve his (he came from a shit home) but I feel terrible for the guy

[@45lxudmouth27]

Do you have the same belief with dogs? I rescued my dogs from the alleys in Mexicos and nuet.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Dogs are a very different story. Recuse dogs are great pets!!!

[@bettymorgan4737]

My new skink is a captive bred northern and she was significantly more expensive than the skinks I've seen for sale at shows, she (or he) will also be healthier , better adjusted, and more likely to thrive in the hands of a beginner skink keeper (me) as well. She will be shipped to me in about a week .

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Congrats and good call on investing in not only a healthy animal but the system of captive propagation.

[@Gigiscreaturelair]

Awesome video and I completely agree!

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Thanks so much!

[@azazelthedark1]

If only the government controlled the pet trade a bit more to the point where they made any wild imports be used for breeding projects only. A license or certification of animal husbandry would be ideal but in the long run would probably hurt the pet trade overall by making it harder to start captive populations of not already popular animals.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Yeah I hear you. Regulation has it's good points and not so good points. The worst thing would be if those in charge were uninformed yet still in charge. See than happen with very sad results. Yet, if those in charge were truly informed wow it can be a great thing for the big picture.

[@Wolfprincess90]

As always awesome video. I am not for WC animals as only pets, that being said I do have a WC colombian tegu that is only a pet, but I didn't buy her. She was bought by a guy who only got her because she looked cool and the pet store didn't give him information on her. When I did get her she was a horrible mess, the vet bills weren't cheap, but about 5 years later she is healthy and is doing fine. Majority of my reptiles are CBB, I have only 2 other WC animals; a peter's banded skink and a sunbeam snake. Though I was always interested in breeding them, especially because from what I research no one is breeding them yet. That will be exciting, but first I have to figure out how to sex my skink. I think a topic like this should be view with an open mind. You can't learn anything if you only stick to what you believe in.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Agreed! I hope you get the banded skinks breeding! That’d be amazing!

[@Wolfprincess90]

@@ReptileMountainTV Thank you. I'm new to breeding but have own reptiles for a few years. I may even make a reptile channel but I'm not sure yet.

[@susiedavis6313]

....my HBT. I bought it from Pet Smart. She was so sweet and beautiful! I jumped, I’ll admit that I thought about her for 3 days and then brought her home. Watching these videos now it’s like, oooooops! I didn’t understand when PSmart said she was 2 years old and didn’t know where where she came from. Sigh! The holding tank was cold, n dry no heat... Maybe I didn’t want some little kid keeping that condition or poking her. IDK. She is a brat huffing n wagging her tongue n wanting to bite me in her house but super cool after I get her in my hand/shoulder. Thanks for all the videos they have helped. ❤️

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Its truly sad how the animals at those box stores end up getting treated before being purchased. Glad yours has a good forever home!

[@Shadowhunter995]

Finally a man of reason

[@indacoma]

When I got my halmahera (hes doing great very curious and tolerates occasional handeling well) it was listed as "farm bred beauty" by underground reptiles. I'm assuming it was bred in mass under the care of a person

[@bostonmeadhorn4897]

Farm raised is a Very broad spectrum. Considering you said it is from underground, you're better of with that wc then any bts they breed... He's pro hybrid and that's worse then wild caught for a bts in my opinion.

[@indacoma]

Perhaps, tho I doubt they breed it themselves rather imported them from a indonisan farm

[@ReptileMountainTV]

We can hope they are breeding them over there. More likely is they collect them from private land aka the farm. Or collected and kept until momma gives birth then shipped over. Either way I'm glad your lil one is doing well. I like hearing about healthy animals. :-)

[@Bloodhoundfostermom]

Agreed!

[@052367]

I am glad I found your channel, I feel you are elite for information for blue tongue skinks and I appreciate your opinions on keeping reptiles. I have an issue that I am afraid for my little skink. I bought one last month from a local pet shop that they got 2nd hand. Going through it’s first shed with me and the shed had been stuck on tail and one hind foot. I was very carefully helping with the stuck shed. It had been about 4/5 days. In helping with the tail, a part came off. It seemed like it just fell off. I was so careful about being gentle, it surprised me how easy it came apart. I had thought skinks don’t drop there tails. Is that true? Is soaking a good idea? I am looking for a vet today. I would appreciate any advice from you, thank you for all that you do.

[@052367]

I just saw one of your videos on tails being dropped, I feel better about that. Still not sure about the foot. It is like its toes are stuck together.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

They do drop their tails. Its not common but does happen. It should be okay but having a vet look at it can’t hurt.

[@proud_newf9561]

Well I am shooting my shot I made up a care sheet with everything the skink needs and care plus why I want to care for one and why I think I can, I just layed it by their bed for them to read wish me luck

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Ha. I wish you the best of luck :-)

[@user-zn6ej8ou7y]

KZbin ➡ビットコインking

[@Lord_of_Snels]

and this is why aussie skinks are better

[@gdfjgkk]

And for single skink owners, a captive bred individual is going to live a longer, heather life. So if it means not getting one right away and waiting a couple of months to a year or maybe even longer for a CBB skink, you will end up with a skink with a much higher life expectancy and quality of life.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

This ^^ Very true

[@rrrrrr-ry3cn]

Just got a cbb indonisian baby one

[@feral7094]

I see way too many wild caught chinese water dragons for sale just to be put in a 20 gallon

[@ReptileMountainTV]

So do I. It stinks big time.

[@valentine126]

There's a severe lack of Indonesian breeders in the hobby. For Halmaheras specifically, there's no one breeding them :( I know myself and plenty of others prefer Indonesian skinks, so it would be great if breeders could maybe focus on a species of them along with their northerns.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

100% Agree! I hope someone will become more successful. They're not my cup of tea but I hope others will have more success. :-)

[@harlow7459]

I sadly didnt ask the seller if my latest skink is captive born.... at home i studied the documents and found out shes a wild caught girl T.T A mistake i will never ever make again. I hope she will live long and happy and i will do anything i can do. She gets medications from a vet for her parasites and i touch her just when i need. Can i do more for her?

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Sounds like you've done an awesome job already. Enjoy that lil bub and keep sharing your story.

[@ezra7708]

Hey TC! I'm currently majoring in wildlife conservation and vertebrate ecology and then from there planning on getting my masters for herpetology, if I were to have a focus in husbandry in your opinion would it be more effective to major in zoology? What is your experience getting qualifications for caring for reptiles full time? Was it exceptionally demanding?Thank you so much and i adore your videos

[@ezra7708]

Also, I recently bought a freshwater Pom Pom crab which is only wild caught, but in the future I do plan on breeding and did purchase it from a website that is well known for only buying from sustainable+responsible sources which I recognize isn't a foolproof excuse but I would like the challenge of breedinf them in the future :)

[@ReptileMountainTV]

I wish you the best on breeding your crab! As for the education part. My journey to caring for reptiles full time was mostly due to my own private keeping experiences and volunteering at first in a lab at my university. Later I was hired on after I showed my dedication and competence. Then that paid experience really made a huge difference in getting hired on at the zoo. I wouldn't worry about changing to zoology unless your program has courses in zoo biology, zoo population management, or zoo career interships which mine did. Then I'd switch for sure. A degree in what you're majoring in now is perfect for the academic part. I would get involved with your local herp society and go to all the meetings and field trips. Also, see if the zoo allows volunteers to work with the herps. The more people you know the more you will learn about how things work.

[@ezra7708]

@@ReptileMountainTV Thank you so much!! That was very informative :)) I will do my best!

[@scrunglenut6222]

thank you for another wonderful video! I hope someday i can be in a situation where i can have a breeding pair of meraukes, so i can take less pressure off the wild populations. I have a big hefty merauke that i'm sure would make wonderful pet babies, his belly is bright, bright orange and he's extremely tame. the only trouble is, i wouldn't know how to get the right sex, as I don't even know what "he" is. lol!

[@ReptileMountainTV]

Sexing these guys is certainly a challenge and one of the most difficult parts of trying to start breeding for sure. Sometimes having experienced breeders take a look at photos of your animal can allow them to make an educated guess based on visual look.

[@hayabusasun2514]

Too bad you don’t have any skink for sale on your website. If there is such a limited supply of captive bred skinks, people have no option but buying wild cought.

[@ReptileMountainTV]

No the option is to wait. And there are many for sale just not from me.

[@TheEnvy911]

Very well put as always! My Indonesian was a rescue and I know most Indonesians are normally wild caught. It makes me sad to think about her being taken from her natural habitat just to be a pet. So I just try to make sure she is happy as can be with me. Especially since her previous owner were very bad.