The lack of thermostats in general is one of the worst things; they're in no starter kits, commercial care guides, etc... Sometimes they're not even brought up, other times they're listed as "optional" and a way to "make things easier" instead of a necessity
How can you feel comfortable about keeping a reptile without a thermostat?? They require specific temperatures, humidity levels, etc... I might also be a bit OCD about stuff like that though 🤷🏻♀️ I've had one since day 1. I also don't use heat mats, heat rocks, etc...I just rely on my bulbs 🤷🏻♀️ that's just me though lol
@@adriannabcustomfurniture Some people say use a thermometer and a dimmer and experiment until you get the right temperature; that would only work if the room temperature never fluctuates and even then I'd never recommend it, too risky
"Rehoming and trading reptiles like they're playing cards" was a great way to state that. Personally, I name all my reptiles and treat them as family. Wouldn't give up my beardie for a Croc Monitor (and I don't think I'd ever want to own another beardie). I can see reasons to trade and rehome but it should not be a usual occurrence. Just my opinion (feel like I always have to put this disclaimer now haha).
Part of the reason I find people referring to their reptiles as "my collection" rather distasteful. It sounds so impersonal, like you're describing a set of action figures or what have you, not living, breathing beings. Not saying if you call them as such I'm accusing you of not caring about your animals, many high quality people refer to their animals as collections, but on a personal level it just doesn't sound right to me.
This.drives.me.crazy. To look at ads and it says trades. I tried to get a tegu (yes I am fully aware of what it takes and the dollars. I had the money and everything for the full setup) and the guy said oh I got so many emails I cranked up the price. Said the tegu took up too much space, then traded.it.for.a.retic. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! But winnipeg is bad for trading. I would NEVER even sell my babies, and Ive been offered 500 of my calico spot nose ball python and a grand for my northern bts. NOOOOOOOPE! (cue Lana from Archer) We also have one guy steve remple that people keep giving reptiles and other exotics to like sugars, chinchillas or monkeys. In my experience, my parents took 2 mbd leos, I have a ball python that was in a bin of 20 others that someone gave to him and did not bother putting in anything but a small tub. Put it down and said pick one. He has had so much mouth rot, mites, whatever and not separated. ARG and this is the only reptile rescue in our province. FML Id do it if I had more time. But he keeps most of them. Cant even care for them all. Anyways thats all
To add on about ceder/pine - those are horrible for small mammals too. There are no animals I know of that can be safely kept on ceder and pine. It's one of those things like heat rocks that should not be sold anymore really. I've always wondered how that carefresh stuff would be for reptiles that don't need much humidity though, since I've found it's really good for things like hamsters/gerbils/rats/mice. Not so much for guinea pigs and rabbits though, since you'd need a ton for their giant enclosures.
Yup. I used to keep pet mice and rats and I immediately said “pine and cedar isn’t good for small mammals either, man!” When I go to the pet store and see people getting their first hamster or guinea pig, I try to talk them out of getting pine/cedar and encourage them to get CareFresh. (Plus, the kids are usually on board with getting CareFresh because it comes in lots of colors, lol.) Pine and cedar can also be bad for humans because we can be allergic to it without realizing it until they have those shavings in a small room. I’m allergic to pine and cedar and the shavings of both aggravate my asthma something awful if I’m in a small enclosed room with them. So even if I had a pet that does well with pine/cedar, I’d have to avoid it.
The care fresh paper bedding is wonderful for guinea pigs. Plus, I'm allergic to wood shavings so it's a miracle bedding lmao Walmart has some awesome off brand paper bedding that's cheaper than Care fresh if you can find it. It just doesn't have the colors to it.
I just have to say, my almost 7-year-old reptile-obsessed son has his first leopard gecko and he LOVES your videos. Thanks for keeping the content entertaining and kid-friendly. He loves your reptile room tour video and has watched it more than once.
Yeah, everytime I see people keeping like 3 or 4 ball pythons in a 40 gallon enclosure I just think, "For the love of all that is holy! If you don't want to spend the money on the 3 or 4 enclosures then only get 1 ball python!"
Yes true... thats the reason that I don't have snakes. I can buy them, but can't afford the enclosure, nor I have the place to give the animals a good life... so I don't...
Dude! I’ve had my ball python on aspen since I got him 2 months ago as a juvenile. I changed him out to moist coconut husk about an hour ago after watching this video and he couldn’t be happier! He can’t stop checking it out and he’s even burrowing! Thanks for this vid!
I used to keep my leos on the reptile carpet for YEARS! (I know, shame on me). But now I have flat basking rocks over a layer of paper towel in my leos tank. Of course the years of my negligence have already taken its toll and my girl Nessie is missing a few nails. But now she can live her golden years in gecko luxury. Also, so glad you put trading/rehoming in here. I had a ball python that went on a feeding strike. I figured no big deal. I'd heard a million times from fb groups and youtube videos that this happens, and that it could be a month or 2 or 5 til he eats again. Except I think it was more than a feeding strike for him. It was like over night I had an entirely different snake. For a year I had a great bp that ate almost every week and didn't mind me handling him. And suddenly I had a huffy hissy snake that hated me, out of nowhere. Nothing changed. Not his husbandry, not his food, nothing. He just all of a sudden acted like he'd been through the worst trauma of his life and now wanted nothing to do with the world. He just wanted to hide in the darkest corner of his enclosure and stay there. Soon he started losing weight, so I brought him to the vet and nothing. Blood work came back fine, and nothing on x-rays. So after wasting that $500 I felt obligated to force feed him. This made him even more stressed, and trying to force feed a full grown bp that is already afraid of you is the most emotionally draining thing ever. Long story short, I found a reptile rescue that was willing to take in my problem child and I surrendered him to them. I follow them on social media and recently saw that a month after striking at them and refusing food, he finally took his first feeder in almost a year, completely on his own. So they must have been able to do something I couldn't, and hopefully they can find him a good home. In the meantime, I had an empty enclosure staring me in the face, so I filled it with a new snake. lol.
Crazy thing on cohabitation; I have a male/female pair of hognose. They REFUSE to be separated. When separated, they are always on the side of their tanks trying to get to each other. They are only content together. So, we keep them together and only separate for feeding. They are seemingly content with each other and do better together than they do apart. I certainly agree, cohabitation is dependent on observation of your animals. These two do not do well apart.
What size is your environment I breed hognose and am just curious would imagine if enclosure is large enough and set up right wouldn't have a problem but I have not done this. When I was breading leopard geckos I kept 1 male and 2 females in a large enclosure as long as they have enough room for there own areas but I thonk this is really cool
@@johnreeves6854 I don't know the dimensions off hand. I would say floor space is equivalent to a 40 gallon breeder but only about 10 inches tall. They have cohabed great for 6 years now
Thank you the "loose"substrate segment! The whole substrate debate is ridiculous IMO. I have used either Coconut Coir, Play Sand, or Soil/Coir/Sand mix for years and never had issues. In the wild reptiles live on soil or sand! They don't live on newspaper, or Aspen shavings. Get a hamster if you want something that lives on Aspen shavings!
My roommate lost his shit when he found a spare thermostat in a local pet store. He could never find them at the ones by his parents' house, and always got them online.
I was shocked one time when the owner of this well known and respected reptile shop told me a thermostat was optional...I later found out he did that because it was April fools day...but that scared me it sounded like he wasn't joking.
I love this channel, he clearly expresses his love for Reptile’s, and gives information, and admits when he is wrong. He even tells you to go to other places and websites to do further information searching. Not a lot of people are like this.
Most reptiles don't belong in fish tanks. They're fish tanks. The majority of people surrendering ball pythons to rescues with stuck shed, low weight, and RIs are kept in fish tanks.
I really like this video busting myths and informing but I gotta say one thing. One of my beardies is a rescue. He's my third one, had two previous owners and tbh it seems that he has needed a settling in period to adjust to me. Most of the 9 months I've had him he's been sulking in his dig box and barely comes out even for food. He has improved, but it's been slow. Granted, he had a rough start with his first owner who kept him in a 2 footer all of his life, didn't handle him and only interacted during feeding, but it really looks like he bonded with his last one that rescued him from there and he hasn't gotten over that separation. Not stating all reptiles are the same way, but I wouldn't be surprised, especially with some species like tegus, that reptiles do develop a bond with an owner over time. For the longest time people thought cats didn't care until we started knowing what to look for when cats get upset. Reptiles are harder to read than cats. But maybe somebody will eventually do a study on the whole thing.
Growing up I had a lot of pets, and as a big animal lover I wanted every creature in sight. As I got older though and became an adult, I realized that keeping a lot of animals didn't suit me and I wasn't adoring some of them like I used to. Recently I rehomed my two leopard geckos that I had since I was a kid, and I gave them to two close friends of mine and they're doing great, and they really love them too! Now I have just a few pets including my one snake that I can focus my attention on better. Some people aren't suited to have multiple animals and it's okay :)
Good list. 2 things missing in my opinion is don’t power feed and no free roaming large reptiles. My eyes actually rolled when you said cohabbing. Makes me crazy when people who don’t know reptiles ask me why I don’t keep my snakes together so they can have “friends” 😣
Just want to say, pine and cedar shavings are also not suitable for small mammals like hamsters! Moral of the story? Avoid soft wood shavings at all costs.
10:36 Yo, those little thermometer/hygrometer things are what I use for general monitoring in my rosy boa's enclosure! I find they're not always 100% on temp, but they've always been within about 1-2 degrees fahrenheit and pretty spot on for the humidity so they're definitely good enough for just a quick glance to see if anything's way out of line in between more accurate temp gun checks. Like you said, thermostats almost never malfunction but I'd rather still have a quick indicator if something's suddenly gone sideways.
So I really like you touching on the right way to do loose substrate. There’s so much info out there and a TON that basically scares the shit outta people to not use a single thing other than tile. Thanks for being awesome!
Our bearded dragon was an adult regime situation and he seemed depressed for about 2 weeks after we brought him home. He's better now, but he seemed to miss his old owner.
I was literally browsing PVC cages in another tab while listening to this video, and then you mentioned the ReptileKages promo. it was such oddly perfect timing that I'll definitely check them out 😂
This isn’t the exact same kind of tub you’re talking about but I keep both my ball pythons in clear plastic tubs. I think they’re equivalent in size to a like 55 or 60 gallon tank. I love them! They’re so easy to customize and buying tubs allowed me to get a larger size home for my snakes than I could have offered them if I bought glass tanks.
Adam, I hope you don't mind me saying this. In my view you are the best reptile content creator. To the point, honest, amusing, and never boring, so keep them coming buddy. Regards from independent England.
Keeping tubs without any enrichment, or sufficient caves/water bowls is a big issue. I have all three of my ball pythons in large 40 gallon tubs (they are hopefully getting nice tanks one by one once I have money) but providing good enrichment and a nice set up really can work! I think another obvious thing with tubs is making sure you drill or melt in air holes (and sand them if there are sharp pieces). I know a lot of people are against tubs but for me they are really a life saver.
Dude you just helped resolve one of my biggest problems! Finding a good and pleasing enclosure that won't literally cost my arm to get, I also am not crazy about glass enclosures for various reasons. I WILL be getting one of these cages for my Beardie now THANK YOU so much you are a lifesaver! I also loved your video and you content you are so underrated! One of these days your channel is really going to explode I can feel it! Keep up the good work!
I am not sure if you'll see it (judging by the most recent comment below this you may), but I cannot stress enough how helpful your videos have been for me. It has been about 7 years since I last had a snake and I am looking at getting one again. In the process of doing better research you have helped me learn an immense amount - from what I didn't know I was doing wrong, new products, bioactive info, species specific information, do's / don'ts, other creator channel mentions, and so much more. So, thank you and keep up with the good work; it is very clear you love the hobby and have a passion for these animals.
I will say I have avery humid house so keeping my bp on Aspen has been a godsend I went from 90% humidity to 60% and I change it out frequently enough to where it doesn't mold. Just throwing my two cents in I love your channel man!
Solid points! I will say about aspen though, I feel like you can't say "It is a bad choice for every ball python in every situation". I have tried other substrates and they have each not really worked for my ball python, for one reason or another. I keep coming back to aspen and she sheds in one piece, she has no respiratory issues, she eats like a champ, and I have only personally had mold once (I was lazy and it'd been a min since I cleaned), but I spot clean my snakes' enclosures often. So, I don't think it is fair to say 'it is okay, but other things are better'. This fits all of my snake's needs, so I see the reason why some people might not use it but to put down the use of aspen for BPs entirely seems hasty.
Personally I think he is just kinda saying aspen is like an old ass gassy truck that does still work that ur using but I could be using some newer hybrid car or sum thats over all just better in general, not that the truck doesnt work or that its bad its just most people would prefer the newer nicer car :) just another perspective
@@janeerhart1341 That would make sense, but that could be worded better if that is in fact what he means. People making statements like aspen is absolutely not okay for ball pythons led me to a lot of panic and wasting a lot of money at one point completely redoing my cage and then I switched it back because the recommended beddings actually hurt my snake (she got some in her mouth and injured herself). So I don't believe in most places in the hobby should we use absolutes and freak out newer keepers, like I was, who are not confident or who don't know enough to evaluate the claims for themselves.
Similar with me. I’ve tried every substrate ever: bark scratched him up (don’t know why, lots of people use it with no issue), he refused to leave his hide on soil, paper towel was fine but he seemed bored and spit cleaning was kind of a pain. He’s on aspen now with a shed box full of sphagnum moss and his sheds are complete. I agree it’s not ideal most of the time, but with a shed box or if the humidity where you live is already high there are usually no problems
@@WickensWickedReptiles I HATE Facebook groups. I miss forum days. You get a consensus based on what is best for the animals, not like the Facebook group based on what is best for the keeper. Looking at you, every single ball python group. I have been kicked out of one for saying that someone could keep a BP in a 75 (I did mention having the right heat, humidity, and clutter level would be hard, but of course it's possible). I got kicked out of another for suggesting enrichment and told that BPs don't benefit from enrichment. Uhhhhh???
I had to rehome all my reptiles (except my beardie Toothless) after my car accident. I couldn’t care for them properly any of them on my own. They weren’t my family’s pets they where mine. So I made the decision to rehome my animals in their best interest. I kept the beardie and made my son hold Toothless when I cleaned her tank out, all he had to do was hold her. She’d sit on his head or shoulder, he played video games and I 1 arm cleaned her tank out. He did help me with preparing her food until I could do it on my own again, but he liked using the magic chopper too. Since I have limitations now due to that car accident I don’t get reptiles I know can’t handle on my own, like my favorite snake a red tail, they just get too big for me to handle and I can’t shoulder them anymore so I won’t have one. :( Yes this is a very different than I am bored I don’t want this animal anymore. It killed me to give them up, all my snakes, frogs, lizards and turtles, but neglecting them wasn’t fair either and I could’ve force my family to take care of my animals for me. Took a year before I could care for anything properly on my own again. Just made me think of it. Now I have 2 snakes again a corn and a ball python, sadly my beardie passed away earlier this year.
This was a really interesting video but I was honestly expecting you to address hybrid species! (Which I've seen your top 5 coolest hybrids video :)). Do you think you could do a video where you talk about the top 5 controversial breeding habits? I'd like to see what you think about stuff like temporary rack systems that don't have a lot of enrichment, breeding snakes for money, breeding certain morphs like spider balls, etc etc. I love your content btw I found you in the recommended section on a snake discovery video ☺️
Thank you for bringing up Cohabbing. Some people hold this belief that reptiles get "lonely" and "need a friend" and I could not stress it enough to a former co-worker of mine to NOT house a WILD CAUGHT ( I know, horrible) blue belly with her juvenile bearded dragon in a 20 gal tank. I warned her of everything wrong with it, including the likelihood of aggression, the risk of parasites from a wild caught reptile, and how generally unethical this plan was. Every day she looooved mentioning to me how they're "getting along great" and are "sharing" and that I was just so silly for suggesting it was a bad idea. Less than a week into the co-hab, she came home to the bottom half of the blue belly hanging out of her beardie's mouth, both of them dead. I wasn't even shocked, but extremely frustrated with her for putting her own baby beardie and an innocent blue belly in harm's way for no reason other than to try and prove me wrong. Her own arrogance killed her pet and that poor blue belly who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.. I don't work with her anymore, but from what I know, she never did get another bearded dragon.
Yes to all of these!! 👍 Thank you for sharing all your knowledge with everyone. Sometimes we feel like everything is just common sense, but to a new reptile person (or even a person getting into furniture building - like I do), it's not. So I appreciate you sharing your knowledge so people can grow and learn. You're the best!
I do agree that tubs are fine for reptiles if they are done correctly. For example, I looked up what size tub a ball Python would do best in, and it said we keep our adult ball pythons in 41 qt. There was a picture to go along with it and the only thing in the enclosure besides the snake was a water bowl and some substrate! No hides or enrichment whatsoever. I was appalled that people actually do this. P.S. assuming you are talking about Maizee I hope they have a good home
I’ve had my leopard geckos for 17 years. They cohabitated from they day I got them. I got them from someone else that way, and I didn’t know any better. They stayed that way for 17 years. Then this year there started to be aggression issues. I separated them, and they’re happy again. Go figure. 🤷♂️
I use high accuracy sensors and adjust the height of my CHE to control heat. I can check hot and cold on either side, I could set up a PWM outlet but it's pretty constant and allows a nice gradient/hot spot. Arduino is awesome lol.
Hi, rabbit keeper here! Use paper bedding like Carefresh for your guinea pigs/cavies, hamsters, rabbits, etc. Aspen is okay, but paper is better if you can swing it. You can even go reusable with polar fleece, but my preference is paper bedding because I already have to much laundry to do. I get the store-brand, but Carefresh has a bunch of colours if that's your thing. The oils in cedar and pine that Adam's talking about are hard on our warm-blooded friends' bodies too.
Not to mention pine shavings tend to be really dusty, too. I grew up with rabbits and I'm pretty sure I used paper bedding too. I still cringe whenever I see wood shavings in pet stores.
my mom uses those heat rocks at her pet store but she doesn't plug them in she always cuts the cord off of the heat rock and just uses them as a another rock for decor because a lot of times people bring in enclosures that they trade and they don't know how bad heat rocks are and they use them so she just ends up with a bunch of them and she like many others hates them but still finds a use out of them by cutting the cord off and using it as a regular piece of decor
Soo I was watching this, and my brother (who has no interest in reptiles) comes in and says ”Oh I know this guy.” I ask how, and he apparently knows you from your comedy! What are the odds.
@@WickensWickedReptiles He’s a gamer and lover of comedy, so he’s seen your comedy videos on CZcams. Otherwise, I don’t think you’d know who he is since we live halfway across the world 😊
My new gecko was on half carpet half small ROCKS for years. (Still unsure of his age). I immediately did paper towels and fixed his heating situation to heal up until his bioactive is ready. This was a great list!
I def. think that tubs should be used more for animals that prefer to burrow or be under logs than those who'll climb on occasion, because then you're matching their behavior with the environment that they would typically consider safe, or letting them out/putting them back in periods that make the tub simulate a burrow. No shame in keeping animals in a properly set-up tub if it simulates a secure, safe area for them
We had our hognose on aspen for awhile. At some point, he just stopped eating and we tried about everything to get him to eat again. As soon as we switched him to a coconut mixture, he ate.
Hopefully people will listen because I see the lack of thermostats and/or the question about are they needed all the time. The other is cohabing reptiles that clearly should never be together. The big thing with this whole list is that proper research and putting in the time and/or money would solve all of them. Great video!
When I was a kid we co-habbed three wild caught toads, and 3 wild caught fence lizards. They loved it and would run around with each other (definitely not aggressively). The only issue was that we definitely did not do enough research and they were in way too small of tanks and while we did take substrate from where they were caught, we didn't quarantine them or their substrate. Lots of lessons learned (they did all live their full lifespans surprisingly)
Side note from a keeper of small animals: if you are going to use wood bedding only use aspen. Pine and cedar are dangerous. I do not know why pet stores sell pine and cedar bedding.
I just got my leo off of carpet. my mom didn't realize it was irresponsible and I don't even care that getting them off of reptile carpet takes up like half my xmas, they're safe
I run a 8 watt heater on just a timer, I did monitor the first 48hrs tank stays between 75 and 79. 2 off cycles a day. Side mounted on a 10 gallon, works fine.
Our second bearded dragon is a rehomed, the person who we got it from could no longer take care of it so she picked us because she trusted us and have experience with reptiles.
I wanted to add on to what he was saying about cedar and pine substrates and say that it's not so much about the respiratory infection, tho yes that can happen if they are exposed for a brief amount of time. The bigger and i feel, far more important reason to NEVER expose your reptiles to anything containing cedar or pine (watch what candles you burn and air fresheners you use) is because long term exposure can cause seizures. Similarly to what happens when you feed a snake strictly thiaminase carrying fish (like goldfish) and accidently cause a thiamine deficiency. So be careful guys!
I immediately thought of heat rocks when clicking this video 😆 no surprise it’s the first thing haha. When I first planned on getting a ball python I got too excited and bought a heat rock cause I read they needed belly heat. I continued reading the next few days and quickly found out how bad they were 😭😆 It never got used of course and I bought a proper heat mat.
Yeah I have 3 leopard geckos living together and they've been absolutely fine for a few years now. They're in a huge enclosure with tons of hides and I never get any "cuddling" or nipping. Sometimes they seem to forget that the other two exist and go "oh hello" whenever they see each other before moving along lol
I usually let my customers know that female leopard geckos have been successfully kept together, but I still prefer to house separately to monitor food intake and feces/urates. I have two juvies together but they will be separated when they're a bit bigger. Same with two female hognose that were clutch mates. Though in their case, I had a divider in their bin and they kept escaping into their sisters side. Once they hit the 10-12 month mark I separated them.
I use a “carpet” but it’s not really a carpet as much as a loosely woven coconut fiber mat, the gaps are so big the nails won’t get caught and it’s natural fiber instead of fabric, but still a solid mat that can be reused. Always looking for new substrate options, but I would prefer a non-loose substrate and newspaper and paper towel look so bad
I used tubs for my snakes when they were babies. It helped keep humidity to make sure they had good sheds, and I found it easier to locate them, especially my corn snake when I first got her. And I’ve never had a snake escape a bin (one with the lockable lids), but I have had snakes escape from glass enclosures.
Emily (Snake Discovery) said you SHOULD use Aspen for ball pythons because not only is the substrate dryer (similar to that of Africa), but it also works effectively when compensating it with a humidity hide Is this alright or not? Does anyone know?
I usually agree with most of what she says, but that was something I wasn't 100% okay with. A lot of it depends on where you live. They're in a very humid area, which influences how they care for their animals. I live in Nevada and it's far too dry here to do something like that. Another part of that is that we have this notion that all of Africa is hot and dry, but there are videos showing people collecting ball pythons from the wild, and they're digging them out of the ground that is slightly damp and surrounded by lush vegetation. I don't have the video link right now, but if you check my channel I have a video on making a bioactive ball python tank and the link to a good collection video is located in the description. Ball pythons like to live on the edges of irrigated farmland, which tells me they like it more humid than we traditionally believe. I keep my boy in a covered Exo-Terra (to keep in humidity), on a bed of coconut coir and cypress mulch over a drainage layer with a humid hide (which he still used) and a dry hide. It was the best thing I ever did for him.
A few months back I was at a pet store and they sold heat rocks and I was so pissed but being the non confrontational person I am I didn’t say anything (and I didn’t think they would do anything about it). I still regret it. My point is if you see someone whether its a store or a person with dangerous or unhealthy care...SAY SOMETHING. Even if you think it won’t make a difference, you never know.
Garter snakes tend to do better in groups, egg-eating snakes don’t have teeth so they can’t harm each other (however you should still ensure they do not cause one another stress, because stress alone can be detrimental), and I think Dekay’s Brown Snakes although I’m not entirely sure. Snake Discovery has a video covering the topic
Using any kind of adhesive in a snake tank is a big one for me. Previous owner had an analog thermometer in the tank that I didn't think was a big deal, but then I had to unstick the poor girl's tail. Luckily there wasn't any skin pulled off with it.
My beardie is on a top soil/sand mix and she loooves it. Digs a little spot every night to sleep in! If you’re nervous about using loose substrate try something smaller, like a dig box. Or half loose substrate/half tile etc You never know what they might be missing out on!
I have my leo on a heat mat without a thermostat I have a heat gun and monitor the temps and use paper towels under bud carpet to get the right temp it’s been working for two years for me now
So I'm guilty of using aspen for my bearded dragon for months. I did have soil and sand underneath for plants. I just didn't want it to look so dirty. Then I was told that aspen can MOLD. I know that it was like 2 years ago this video was posted. But I wanted to tell about it, cause it might help someone. 😊
I have 2 male garter snakes that I cohab and am CONSTANTLY told what a terrible owner I am! I've gotten to the point where I just send people to a recent study that came out about how garter snakes form bonds and seek out other snakes they are familiar with. Yeah I've done my research. These guys actually NEED others of their species to feel content. I'm a good mom. Leave my boys alone.
1:00 Never kept reptiles but I have grown hydro. Even in a hundred thousand dollar set-up I’ve lost entire crops because shit breaks. When you have things that get hot like lights bulbs or heat rocks… When said shit breaks things can get very hot very fast.
I don't have a reptile yet, I have been watching videos to give me some info on all of these reptiles. I want a sand boa in a bioactive cage, but since I am on a low fixed income for being disabled it is taking me awhile to get all the things needed. So I just keep getting as much info as possible would love to have a crested gecko one day as well!! I really enjoy your videos!
Also, people who underestimate the lifespan of a pet. If you get a tortoise, you’re making a 50-100 year lifelong commitment. You shouldn’t get one for your kid’s birthday as an impulse buy because it’s the day of, you don’t have anything yet, and (our shop) is on the route home from work. You shouldn’t get one with your freshmen year roommate in college because it could fit under the bed. You shouldn’t get one because you can just let it loose when you’re bored with it. (These are all real stories about real people who have tried to buy tortoises from me)
Honestly the only reason I use carpet for my leopard geckos is because: 1. I am diligent about washing and changing it out every week 2. They are both very old rescues, and when I got them they had already lost all of their claws to bad sheds LOL I totally agree with your points here though. I wouldn't really use it in another situation unless I had no choice.
My biggest issue is when people confuse semi-aquatic with fully aquatic. Ie, they keep their red eared sliders in a fish tank with no land. It happens far more than you would think.
With bulbs I’ve found that thermostats don’t really help much, a lot of the time you end up finding a bulb and lamp set up and whatever the normal output is gives you a good temperature. For my bearded dragon at least, I just keep an eye on the temperature of her basking spot and then I have digital thermometers for ambient temperature. The bulb and lamp I use keep her basking spot around 101 degrees which is literally perfect and it never really deviates so I don’t use a thermostat.
If you ask the reptiles, one questionable practice is “Not letting me bite ears”
He's brutal eh
@@WickensWickedReptiles i think you put stuff on it so he goes for it. lol
Same, but eyelashes
@@Bloody_RedQueen LOL
The lack of thermostats in general is one of the worst things; they're in no starter kits, commercial care guides, etc... Sometimes they're not even brought up, other times they're listed as "optional" and a way to "make things easier" instead of a necessity
100% it's so silly not to use one
I got a starter kit and it included a thermostat
It might be hard to find because it’s only available in a reptile store in Wales
How can you feel comfortable about keeping a reptile without a thermostat?? They require specific temperatures, humidity levels, etc... I might also be a bit OCD about stuff like that though 🤷🏻♀️ I've had one since day 1. I also don't use heat mats, heat rocks, etc...I just rely on my bulbs 🤷🏻♀️ that's just me though lol
@@meganpinnington3166 I'm in the US so unfortunately that isn't the case here :( Unless there's an obscure one I haven't seen
@@adriannabcustomfurniture Some people say use a thermometer and a dimmer and experiment until you get the right temperature; that would only work if the room temperature never fluctuates and even then I'd never recommend it, too risky
"Rehoming and trading reptiles like they're playing cards" was a great way to state that. Personally, I name all my reptiles and treat them as family. Wouldn't give up my beardie for a Croc Monitor (and I don't think I'd ever want to own another beardie). I can see reasons to trade and rehome but it should not be a usual occurrence. Just my opinion (feel like I always have to put this disclaimer now haha).
totally agree man! Your beardie is so good looking too
Part of the reason I find people referring to their reptiles as "my collection" rather distasteful. It sounds so impersonal, like you're describing a set of action figures or what have you, not living, breathing beings. Not saying if you call them as such I'm accusing you of not caring about your animals, many high quality people refer to their animals as collections, but on a personal level it just doesn't sound right to me.
This.drives.me.crazy. To look at ads and it says trades. I tried to get a tegu (yes I am fully aware of what it takes and the dollars. I had the money and everything for the full setup) and the guy said oh I got so many emails I cranked up the price. Said the tegu took up too much space, then traded.it.for.a.retic. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! But winnipeg is bad for trading. I would NEVER even sell my babies, and Ive been offered 500 of my calico spot nose ball python and a grand for my northern bts. NOOOOOOOPE! (cue Lana from Archer) We also have one guy steve remple that people keep giving reptiles and other exotics to like sugars, chinchillas or monkeys. In my experience, my parents took 2 mbd leos, I have a ball python that was in a bin of 20 others that someone gave to him and did not bother putting in anything but a small tub. Put it down and said pick one. He has had so much mouth rot, mites, whatever and not separated. ARG and this is the only reptile rescue in our province. FML Id do it if I had more time. But he keeps most of them. Cant even care for them all. Anyways thats all
Trading in my opinion isn’t bad, neither is rehoming. It’s not as black and white as everyone’s making it out to be
Would I do it? No
@@WingedFish66 IMO it doesn’t sound distasteful in my opinion but once again it my opinion
To add on about ceder/pine - those are horrible for small mammals too. There are no animals I know of that can be safely kept on ceder and pine. It's one of those things like heat rocks that should not be sold anymore really. I've always wondered how that carefresh stuff would be for reptiles that don't need much humidity though, since I've found it's really good for things like hamsters/gerbils/rats/mice. Not so much for guinea pigs and rabbits though, since you'd need a ton for their giant enclosures.
agreed
Pine can be safely used for ferrets.
Pine is fine for poultry. Cedar is good for closets...
Yup. I used to keep pet mice and rats and I immediately said “pine and cedar isn’t good for small mammals either, man!”
When I go to the pet store and see people getting their first hamster or guinea pig, I try to talk them out of getting pine/cedar and encourage them to get CareFresh. (Plus, the kids are usually on board with getting CareFresh because it comes in lots of colors, lol.)
Pine and cedar can also be bad for humans because we can be allergic to it without realizing it until they have those shavings in a small room. I’m allergic to pine and cedar and the shavings of both aggravate my asthma something awful if I’m in a small enclosed room with them. So even if I had a pet that does well with pine/cedar, I’d have to avoid it.
The care fresh paper bedding is wonderful for guinea pigs. Plus, I'm allergic to wood shavings so it's a miracle bedding lmao
Walmart has some awesome off brand paper bedding that's cheaper than Care fresh if you can find it. It just doesn't have the colors to it.
I just have to say, my almost 7-year-old reptile-obsessed son has his first leopard gecko and he LOVES your videos. Thanks for keeping the content entertaining and kid-friendly. He loves your reptile room tour video and has watched it more than once.
Wow, thank you!
Yeah, everytime I see people keeping like 3 or 4 ball pythons in a 40 gallon enclosure I just think, "For the love of all that is holy! If you don't want to spend the money on the 3 or 4 enclosures then only get 1 ball python!"
agreed
(－‸ლ)
Yes true... thats the reason that I don't have snakes. I can buy them, but can't afford the enclosure, nor I have the place to give the animals a good life... so I don't...
Dude! I’ve had my ball python on aspen since I got him 2 months ago as a juvenile. I changed him out to moist coconut husk about an hour ago after watching this video and he couldn’t be happier! He can’t stop checking it out and he’s even burrowing! Thanks for this vid!
Everytime someone talks about Emily
Me: ❤
she's the best!
I used to keep my leos on the reptile carpet for YEARS! (I know, shame on me). But now I have flat basking rocks over a layer of paper towel in my leos tank. Of course the years of my negligence have already taken its toll and my girl Nessie is missing a few nails. But now she can live her golden years in gecko luxury.
Also, so glad you put trading/rehoming in here. I had a ball python that went on a feeding strike. I figured no big deal. I'd heard a million times from fb groups and youtube videos that this happens, and that it could be a month or 2 or 5 til he eats again. Except I think it was more than a feeding strike for him. It was like over night I had an entirely different snake. For a year I had a great bp that ate almost every week and didn't mind me handling him. And suddenly I had a huffy hissy snake that hated me, out of nowhere. Nothing changed. Not his husbandry, not his food, nothing. He just all of a sudden acted like he'd been through the worst trauma of his life and now wanted nothing to do with the world. He just wanted to hide in the darkest corner of his enclosure and stay there. Soon he started losing weight, so I brought him to the vet and nothing. Blood work came back fine, and nothing on x-rays. So after wasting that $500 I felt obligated to force feed him. This made him even more stressed, and trying to force feed a full grown bp that is already afraid of you is the most emotionally draining thing ever.
Long story short, I found a reptile rescue that was willing to take in my problem child and I surrendered him to them. I follow them on social media and recently saw that a month after striking at them and refusing food, he finally took his first feeder in almost a year, completely on his own. So they must have been able to do something I couldn't, and hopefully they can find him a good home. In the meantime, I had an empty enclosure staring me in the face, so I filled it with a new snake. lol.
Crazy thing on cohabitation; I have a male/female pair of hognose. They REFUSE to be separated. When separated, they are always on the side of their tanks trying to get to each other. They are only content together. So, we keep them together and only separate for feeding. They are seemingly content with each other and do better together than they do apart. I certainly agree, cohabitation is dependent on observation of your animals. These two do not do well apart.
Awwww they in love 💕
Wow that's crazy I've never heard anything like that before! How cool!
What size is your environment I breed hognose and am just curious would imagine if enclosure is large enough and set up right wouldn't have a problem but I have not done this. When I was breading leopard geckos I kept 1 male and 2 females in a large enclosure as long as they have enough room for there own areas but I thonk this is really cool
@@johnreeves6854 I don't know the dimensions off hand. I would say floor space is equivalent to a 40 gallon breeder but only about 10 inches tall.
They have cohabed great for 6 years now
Thank you the "loose"substrate segment!
The whole substrate debate is ridiculous IMO. I have used either Coconut Coir, Play Sand, or Soil/Coir/Sand mix for years and never had issues. In the wild reptiles live on soil or sand! They don't live on newspaper, or Aspen shavings. Get a hamster if you want something that lives on Aspen shavings!
Excited for this one. People don't really address things like this on camera too often they just say what they like instead of what they dislike.
trying to offer both sides :)
Con-sub on snake discovery does this kinda stuff
@@skirk248 yeah but it's been like 2 years since snake discovery did one of those.
@@Repti-verse ya got me there
More like
“(Insert thing) is bad and if you disagree KYS”
I got that from reptile amino and every exposed video
My roommate lost his shit when he found a spare thermostat in a local pet store. He could never find them at the ones by his parents' house, and always got them online.
I was shocked one time when the owner of this well known and respected reptile shop told me a thermostat was optional...I later found out he did that because it was April fools day...but that scared me it sounded like he wasn't joking.
Wait it isn't? Can you explain this to me?
@@kingexplosionmurderfuckoff9376 I mean....technically it’s all optional. You might cook or freeze your reptile to death but hey it’s your choice 👁👄👁
@@202cardline I know. I just got a thermostat last month
I love this channel, he clearly expresses his love for Reptile’s, and gives information, and admits when he is wrong. He even tells you to go to other places and websites to do further information searching. Not a lot of people are like this.
well thank you,. I really do love these animals
For me it's seeing tortoises in fish tanks I just can't understand why
Most reptiles don't belong in fish tanks. They're fish tanks. The majority of people surrendering ball pythons to rescues with stuck shed, low weight, and RIs are kept in fish tanks.
Wait, so you're saying the Australian bush isn't made up of ceramic tiles???
no, it's made of paper towels... duh!
@@WickensWickedReptiles I always tell my customers "Last I checked, tile and carpet are for people."
I really like this video busting myths and informing but I gotta say one thing.
One of my beardies is a rescue. He's my third one, had two previous owners and tbh it seems that he has needed a settling in period to adjust to me. Most of the 9 months I've had him he's been sulking in his dig box and barely comes out even for food. He has improved, but it's been slow.
Granted, he had a rough start with his first owner who kept him in a 2 footer all of his life, didn't handle him and only interacted during feeding, but it really looks like he bonded with his last one that rescued him from there and he hasn't gotten over that separation.
Not stating all reptiles are the same way, but I wouldn't be surprised, especially with some species like tegus, that reptiles do develop a bond with an owner over time.
For the longest time people thought cats didn't care until we started knowing what to look for when cats get upset. Reptiles are harder to read than cats. But maybe somebody will eventually do a study on the whole thing.
Growing up I had a lot of pets, and as a big animal lover I wanted every creature in sight. As I got older though and became an adult, I realized that keeping a lot of animals didn't suit me and I wasn't adoring some of them like I used to. Recently I rehomed my two leopard geckos that I had since I was a kid, and I gave them to two close friends of mine and they're doing great, and they really love them too! Now I have just a few pets including my one snake that I can focus my attention on better. Some people aren't suited to have multiple animals and it's okay :)
Good list. 2 things missing in my opinion is don’t power feed and no free roaming large reptiles. My eyes actually rolled when you said cohabbing. Makes me crazy when people who don’t know reptiles ask me why I don’t keep my snakes together so they can have “friends” 😣
hahaha right
Just want to say, pine and cedar shavings are also not suitable for small mammals like hamsters! Moral of the story? Avoid soft wood shavings at all costs.
agreed
Not true, aspen shavings are completely safe! You just need to be smart about what you buy
10:36 Yo, those little thermometer/hygrometer things are what I use for general monitoring in my rosy boa's enclosure! I find they're not always 100% on temp, but they've always been within about 1-2 degrees fahrenheit and pretty spot on for the humidity so they're definitely good enough for just a quick glance to see if anything's way out of line in between more accurate temp gun checks. Like you said, thermostats almost never malfunction but I'd rather still have a quick indicator if something's suddenly gone sideways.
always good to have a good option in there for sure
So I really like you touching on the right way to do loose substrate. There’s so much info out there and a TON that basically scares the shit outta people to not use a single thing other than tile. Thanks for being awesome!
thanks for the kind feedback :)
I'm just glad to know what these 5 things are.
:)
Our bearded dragon was an adult regime situation and he seemed depressed for about 2 weeks after we brought him home. He's better now, but he seemed to miss his old owner.
I was literally browsing PVC cages in another tab while listening to this video, and then you mentioned the ReptileKages promo. it was such oddly perfect timing that I'll definitely check them out 😂
This isn’t the exact same kind of tub you’re talking about but I keep both my ball pythons in clear plastic tubs. I think they’re equivalent in size to a like 55 or 60 gallon tank. I love them! They’re so easy to customize and buying tubs allowed me to get a larger size home for my snakes than I could have offered them if I bought glass tanks.
that's perfect
Diamond is the cutest teddy bear reptile ever.
he so is!
The BP at 3:19 is killing me!!! "Oh no, he's filming me again! HIDE!" hahahaha so cute.
Adam, I hope you don't mind me saying this. In my view you are the best reptile content creator. To the point, honest, amusing, and never boring, so keep them coming buddy. Regards from independent England.
Wow, thanks That means a lot
Keeping tubs without any enrichment, or sufficient caves/water bowls is a big issue. I have all three of my ball pythons in large 40 gallon tubs (they are hopefully getting nice tanks one by one once I have money) but providing good enrichment and a nice set up really can work! I think another obvious thing with tubs is making sure you drill or melt in air holes (and sand them if there are sharp pieces). I know a lot of people are against tubs but for me they are really a life saver.
Dude you just helped resolve one of my biggest problems! Finding a good and pleasing enclosure that won't literally cost my arm to get, I also am not crazy about glass enclosures for various reasons. I WILL be getting one of these cages for my Beardie now THANK YOU so much you are a lifesaver! I also loved your video and you content you are so underrated! One of these days your channel is really going to explode I can feel it! Keep up the good work!
well hey thank you so much!
@@WickensWickedReptiles No thank you!
I am not sure if you'll see it (judging by the most recent comment below this you may), but I cannot stress enough how helpful your videos have been for me. It has been about 7 years since I last had a snake and I am looking at getting one again. In the process of doing better research you have helped me learn an immense amount - from what I didn't know I was doing wrong, new products, bioactive info, species specific information, do's / don'ts, other creator channel mentions, and so much more. So, thank you and keep up with the good work; it is very clear you love the hobby and have a passion for these animals.
I will say I have avery humid house so keeping my bp on Aspen has been a godsend I went from 90% humidity to 60% and I change it out frequently enough to where it doesn't mold. Just throwing my two cents in I love your channel man!
clicked so fast my finger almost fell off lmao
gunna be harder to count now haha
Same shyann!
Solid points!
I will say about aspen though, I feel like you can't say "It is a bad choice for every ball python in every situation". I have tried other substrates and they have each not really worked for my ball python, for one reason or another. I keep coming back to aspen and she sheds in one piece, she has no respiratory issues, she eats like a champ, and I have only personally had mold once (I was lazy and it'd been a min since I cleaned), but I spot clean my snakes' enclosures often.
So, I don't think it is fair to say 'it is okay, but other things are better'. This fits all of my snake's needs, so I see the reason why some people might not use it but to put down the use of aspen for BPs entirely seems hasty.
Personally I think he is just kinda saying aspen is like an old ass gassy truck that does still work that ur using but I could be using some newer hybrid car or sum thats over all just better in general, not that the truck doesnt work or that its bad its just most people would prefer the newer nicer car :) just another perspective
@@janeerhart1341 That would make sense, but that could be worded better if that is in fact what he means. People making statements like aspen is absolutely not okay for ball pythons led me to a lot of panic and wasting a lot of money at one point completely redoing my cage and then I switched it back because the recommended beddings actually hurt my snake (she got some in her mouth and injured herself).
So I don't believe in most places in the hobby should we use absolutes and freak out newer keepers, like I was, who are not confident or who don't know enough to evaluate the claims for themselves.
Similar with me. I’ve tried every substrate ever: bark scratched him up (don’t know why, lots of people use it with no issue), he refused to leave his hide on soil, paper towel was fine but he seemed bored and spit cleaning was kind of a pain. He’s on aspen now with a shed box full of sphagnum moss and his sheds are complete. I agree it’s not ideal most of the time, but with a shed box or if the humidity where you live is already high there are usually no problems
Could you make a video on the reptile culture on Facebook and the groups? It’s one of the worst phenomenons ever and it confuses me
already did - czcams.com/video/ywog8D9It5Y/video.html
@@WickensWickedReptiles I HATE Facebook groups. I miss forum days. You get a consensus based on what is best for the animals, not like the Facebook group based on what is best for the keeper. Looking at you, every single ball python group. I have been kicked out of one for saying that someone could keep a BP in a 75 (I did mention having the right heat, humidity, and clutter level would be hard, but of course it's possible). I got kicked out of another for suggesting enrichment and told that BPs don't benefit from enrichment. Uhhhhh???
I had to rehome all my reptiles (except my beardie Toothless) after my car accident. I couldn’t care for them properly any of them on my own. They weren’t my family’s pets they where mine. So I made the decision to rehome my animals in their best interest. I kept the beardie and made my son hold Toothless when I cleaned her tank out, all he had to do was hold her. She’d sit on his head or shoulder, he played video games and I 1 arm cleaned her tank out. He did help me with preparing her food until I could do it on my own again, but he liked using the magic chopper too. Since I have limitations now due to that car accident I don’t get reptiles I know can’t handle on my own, like my favorite snake a red tail, they just get too big for me to handle and I can’t shoulder them anymore so I won’t have one. :( Yes this is a very different than I am bored I don’t want this animal anymore. It killed me to give them up, all my snakes, frogs, lizards and turtles, but neglecting them wasn’t fair either and I could’ve force my family to take care of my animals for me. Took a year before I could care for anything properly on my own again. Just made me think of it. Now I have 2 snakes again a corn and a ball python, sadly my beardie passed away earlier this year.
Cant lie adam diamond was killing it in this vid made it a little hard to focus on u with the overall cuteness radiating from diamond
He really is so great
Hello Adam! Really cool vid idea! I might do my own version
Go for it! thanks
Small animal owners actually dont use cedar and pine because of the oils as well. It can irritate them.
This was a really interesting video but I was honestly expecting you to address hybrid species! (Which I've seen your top 5 coolest hybrids video :)). Do you think you could do a video where you talk about the top 5 controversial breeding habits? I'd like to see what you think about stuff like temporary rack systems that don't have a lot of enrichment, breeding snakes for money, breeding certain morphs like spider balls, etc etc. I love your content btw I found you in the recommended section on a snake discovery video ☺️
It would be great to see a kingsnake care guide from you. I want to be sure I'm doing the best I can for my little Artemis 🐍
"Diamond whispered in my ear..." well, better than the usual treatment your ear gets from Diamond
Thank you for bringing up Cohabbing. Some people hold this belief that reptiles get "lonely" and "need a friend" and I could not stress it enough to a former co-worker of mine to NOT house a WILD CAUGHT ( I know, horrible) blue belly with her juvenile bearded dragon in a 20 gal tank. I warned her of everything wrong with it, including the likelihood of aggression, the risk of parasites from a wild caught reptile, and how generally unethical this plan was. Every day she looooved mentioning to me how they're "getting along great" and are "sharing" and that I was just so silly for suggesting it was a bad idea.
Less than a week into the co-hab, she came home to the bottom half of the blue belly hanging out of her beardie's mouth, both of them dead. I wasn't even shocked, but extremely frustrated with her for putting her own baby beardie and an innocent blue belly in harm's way for no reason other than to try and prove me wrong. Her own arrogance killed her pet and that poor blue belly who was in the wrong place at the wrong time..
I don't work with her anymore, but from what I know, she never did get another bearded dragon.
I had no idea Aspen shouldn't be used with Ball python's, gonna change mine out now, thank you!
Yes to all of these!! 👍 Thank you for sharing all your knowledge with everyone. Sometimes we feel like everything is just common sense, but to a new reptile person (or even a person getting into furniture building - like I do), it's not. So I appreciate you sharing your knowledge so people can grow and learn. You're the best!
I do agree that tubs are fine for reptiles if they are done correctly. For example, I looked up what size tub a ball Python would do best in, and it said we keep our adult ball pythons in 41 qt. There was a picture to go along with it and the only thing in the enclosure besides the snake was a water bowl and some substrate! No hides or enrichment whatsoever. I was appalled that people actually do this.
P.S. assuming you are talking about Maizee I hope they have a good home
I’ve had my leopard geckos for 17 years. They cohabitated from they day I got them. I got them from someone else that way, and I didn’t know any better. They stayed that way for 17 years. Then this year there started to be aggression issues. I separated them, and they’re happy again. Go figure. 🤷♂️
I use high accuracy sensors and adjust the height of my CHE to control heat. I can check hot and cold on either side, I could set up a PWM outlet but it's pretty constant and allows a nice gradient/hot spot. Arduino is awesome lol.
Can't believe how close your getting to 100k
The placement of ads really gets me 😂
NUMBER ONE..... "Kibbles n Bits ultra premium dog food is great for our pets" hahaha
Hi, rabbit keeper here! Use paper bedding like Carefresh for your guinea pigs/cavies, hamsters, rabbits, etc. Aspen is okay, but paper is better if you can swing it. You can even go reusable with polar fleece, but my preference is paper bedding because I already have to much laundry to do. I get the store-brand, but Carefresh has a bunch of colours if that's your thing.
The oils in cedar and pine that Adam's talking about are hard on our warm-blooded friends' bodies too.
Not to mention pine shavings tend to be really dusty, too. I grew up with rabbits and I'm pretty sure I used paper bedding too. I still cringe whenever I see wood shavings in pet stores.
my mom uses those heat rocks at her pet store but she doesn't plug them in she always cuts the cord off of the heat rock and just uses them as a another rock for decor because a lot of times people bring in enclosures that they trade and they don't know how bad heat rocks are and they use them so she just ends up with a bunch of them and she like many others hates them but still finds a use out of them by cutting the cord off and using it as a regular piece of decor
cool cool
Soo I was watching this, and my brother (who has no interest in reptiles) comes in and says ”Oh I know this guy.” I ask how, and he apparently knows you from your comedy! What are the odds.
No way! Who is your brother!?
@@WickensWickedReptiles wait you do comedy!? That’s awesome! Why am I not that surprised lol you’re so funny.
@@WickensWickedReptiles He’s a gamer and lover of comedy, so he’s seen your comedy videos on CZcams. Otherwise, I don’t think you’d know who he is since we live halfway across the world 😊
My new gecko was on half carpet half small ROCKS for years. (Still unsure of his age). I immediately did paper towels and fixed his heating situation to heal up until his bioactive is ready. This was a great list!
I def. think that tubs should be used more for animals that prefer to burrow or be under logs than those who'll climb on occasion, because then you're matching their behavior with the environment that they would typically consider safe, or letting them out/putting them back in periods that make the tub simulate a burrow. No shame in keeping animals in a properly set-up tub if it simulates a secure, safe area for them
Number 2 I totally agree with your opinion! I got bored of my leopard gecko which might surprise you but I got a tortoise instead and I’m much happier
We had our hognose on aspen for awhile. At some point, he just stopped eating and we tried about everything to get him to eat again. As soon as we switched him to a coconut mixture, he ate.
Him: gonna chap somebody's behind!
AD: PAMPERS!!!
bahahhaa
Hopefully people will listen because I see the lack of thermostats and/or the question about are they needed all the time. The other is cohabing reptiles that clearly should never be together. The big thing with this whole list is that proper research and putting in the time and/or money would solve all of them. Great video!
When I was a kid we co-habbed three wild caught toads, and 3 wild caught fence lizards. They loved it and would run around with each other (definitely not aggressively). The only issue was that we definitely did not do enough research and they were in way too small of tanks and while we did take substrate from where they were caught, we didn't quarantine them or their substrate. Lots of lessons learned (they did all live their full lifespans surprisingly)
I'm glad someone other than my son and myself name all their reptiles after pokemon!!
love Pokemon names bro!
Side note from a keeper of small animals: if you are going to use wood bedding only use aspen. Pine and cedar are dangerous. I do not know why pet stores sell pine and cedar bedding.
I just got my leo off of carpet. my mom didn't realize it was irresponsible and I don't even care that getting them off of reptile carpet takes up like half my xmas, they're safe
you're awesome
I run a 8 watt heater on just a timer, I did monitor the first 48hrs tank stays between 75 and 79. 2 off cycles a day. Side mounted on a 10 gallon, works fine.
Our second bearded dragon is a rehomed, the person who we got it from could no longer take care of it so she picked us because she trusted us and have experience with reptiles.
I wanted to add on to what he was saying about cedar and pine substrates and say that it's not so much about the respiratory infection, tho yes that can happen if they are exposed for a brief amount of time. The bigger and i feel, far more important reason to NEVER expose your reptiles to anything containing cedar or pine (watch what candles you burn and air fresheners you use) is because long term exposure can cause seizures. Similarly to what happens when you feed a snake strictly thiaminase carrying fish (like goldfish) and accidently cause a thiamine deficiency. So be careful guys!
I’m not the only one who has never heard of a majority of these? Thanks for bringing up all of these controversies for the uneducated (like me).
I immediately thought of heat rocks when clicking this video 😆 no surprise it’s the first thing haha. When I first planned on getting a ball python I got too excited and bought a heat rock cause I read they needed belly heat. I continued reading the next few days and quickly found out how bad they were 😭😆 It never got used of course and I bought a proper heat mat.
Oh wow!
Yeah I have 3 leopard geckos living together and they've been absolutely fine for a few years now. They're in a huge enclosure with tons of hides and I never get any "cuddling" or nipping. Sometimes they seem to forget that the other two exist and go "oh hello" whenever they see each other before moving along lol
very nice!
I usually let my customers know that female leopard geckos have been successfully kept together, but I still prefer to house separately to monitor food intake and feces/urates. I have two juvies together but they will be separated when they're a bit bigger. Same with two female hognose that were clutch mates. Though in their case, I had a divider in their bin and they kept escaping into their sisters side. Once they hit the 10-12 month mark I separated them.
I use a “carpet” but it’s not really a carpet as much as a loosely woven coconut fiber mat, the gaps are so big the nails won’t get caught and it’s natural fiber instead of fabric, but still a solid mat that can be reused. Always looking for new substrate options, but I would prefer a non-loose substrate and newspaper and paper towel look so bad
interesting
This is prolly my favorite vid so far I love it!
thanks so much!
I used tubs for my snakes when they were babies. It helped keep humidity to make sure they had good sheds, and I found it easier to locate them, especially my corn snake when I first got her. And I’ve never had a snake escape a bin (one with the lockable lids), but I have had snakes escape from glass enclosures.
Emily (Snake Discovery) said you SHOULD use Aspen for ball pythons because not only is the substrate dryer (similar to that of Africa), but it also works effectively when compensating it with a humidity hide
Is this alright or not? Does anyone know?
I usually agree with most of what she says, but that was something I wasn't 100% okay with.
A lot of it depends on where you live. They're in a very humid area, which influences how they care for their animals. I live in Nevada and it's far too dry here to do something like that.
Another part of that is that we have this notion that all of Africa is hot and dry, but there are videos showing people collecting ball pythons from the wild, and they're digging them out of the ground that is slightly damp and surrounded by lush vegetation. I don't have the video link right now, but if you check my channel I have a video on making a bioactive ball python tank and the link to a good collection video is located in the description. Ball pythons like to live on the edges of irrigated farmland, which tells me they like it more humid than we traditionally believe.
I keep my boy in a covered Exo-Terra (to keep in humidity), on a bed of coconut coir and cypress mulch over a drainage layer with a humid hide (which he still used) and a dry hide. It was the best thing I ever did for him.
Would love a care guide on your king snake, planning on getting my own
A few months back I was at a pet store and they sold heat rocks and I was so pissed but being the non confrontational person I am I didn’t say anything (and I didn’t think they would do anything about it). I still regret it. My point is if you see someone whether its a store or a person with dangerous or unhealthy care...SAY SOMETHING. Even if you think it won’t make a difference, you never know.
Quite frankly I don't know why heat rocks still exist. They should just stop being made, period.
I’d love to see a video about cohabiting different species. Are there any species that can work well together?
Garter snakes tend to do better in groups, egg-eating snakes don’t have teeth so they can’t harm each other (however you should still ensure they do not cause one another stress, because stress alone can be detrimental), and I think Dekay’s Brown Snakes although I’m not entirely sure. Snake Discovery has a video covering the topic
We need more videos of your northern! He's looking great
Using any kind of adhesive in a snake tank is a big one for me. Previous owner had an analog thermometer in the tank that I didn't think was a big deal, but then I had to unstick the poor girl's tail. Luckily there wasn't any skin pulled off with it.
yes so hard to get off scales
My beardie is on a top soil/sand mix and she loooves it. Digs a little spot every night to sleep in! If you’re nervous about using loose substrate try something smaller, like a dig box. Or half loose substrate/half tile etc
You never know what they might be missing out on!
I have my leo on a heat mat without a thermostat I have a heat gun and monitor the temps and use paper towels under bud carpet to get the right temp it’s been working for two years for me now
amazing!
So I'm guilty of using aspen for my bearded dragon for months. I did have soil and sand underneath for plants. I just didn't want it to look so dirty. Then I was told that aspen can MOLD. I know that it was like 2 years ago this video was posted. But I wanted to tell about it, cause it might help someone. 😊
I have 2 male garter snakes that I cohab and am CONSTANTLY told what a terrible owner I am! I've gotten to the point where I just send people to a recent study that came out about how garter snakes form bonds and seek out other snakes they are familiar with. Yeah I've done my research. These guys actually NEED others of their species to feel content. I'm a good mom. Leave my boys alone.
I need to get my two balls off aspen because I've been having issues trying to keep the humidity high enough to help them shed, thank you for the info
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Never kept reptiles but I have grown hydro. Even in a hundred thousand dollar set-up I’ve lost entire crops because shit breaks. When you have things that get hot like lights bulbs or heat rocks… When said shit breaks things can get very hot very fast.
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Speaking of which… They sell coconut coir mats you know… different thicknesses and such. Maybe instead of a synthetic carpet?
Speaking of Black Solider Fly Larva, I feed freeze dried ones to my redfoots. Good protien, and calcium too.
that's awesome
I don't have a reptile yet, I have been watching videos to give me some info on all of these reptiles. I want a sand boa in a bioactive cage, but since I am on a low fixed income for being disabled it is taking me awhile to get all the things needed. So I just keep getting as much info as possible would love to have a crested gecko one day as well!! I really enjoy your videos!
Crazy. Watching this after the whole leopard gecko thing happened and even back at this point he made a disclaimer. You were right dude b
i used carpet, my gecko kept getting his teeth stuck on the fibers once to the point where he was stuck for a whole 5 mins
so I removed it immediatly
Also, people who underestimate the lifespan of a pet. If you get a tortoise, you’re making a 50-100 year lifelong commitment.
You shouldn’t get one for your kid’s birthday as an impulse buy because it’s the day of, you don’t have anything yet, and (our shop) is on the route home from work. You shouldn’t get one with your freshmen year roommate in college because it could fit under the bed. You shouldn’t get one because you can just let it loose when you’re bored with it. (These are all real stories about real people who have tried to buy tortoises from me)
Honestly the only reason I use carpet for my leopard geckos is because:
1. I am diligent about washing and changing it out every week
2. They are both very old rescues, and when I got them they had already lost all of their claws to bad sheds LOL
I totally agree with your points here though. I wouldn't really use it in another situation unless I had no choice.
I love my 3 by 6 foot grow tent. Although It’s just a temporary enclosure until my baby Argus gets a little older!
wicked!!
Can you do a full video about substrates
I could
My biggest issue is when people confuse semi-aquatic with fully aquatic. Ie, they keep their red eared sliders in a fish tank with no land. It happens far more than you would think.
With bulbs I’ve found that thermostats don’t really help much, a lot of the time you end up finding a bulb and lamp set up and whatever the normal output is gives you a good temperature. For my bearded dragon at least, I just keep an eye on the temperature of her basking spot and then I have digital thermometers for ambient temperature. The bulb and lamp I use keep her basking spot around 101 degrees which is literally perfect and it never really deviates so I don’t use a thermostat.
Great video as always. Could you do a video on handling basics for a variety of lizards and snakes?
yes I did one last January, maybe Feb? check it out :)
@@WickensWickedReptiles oh wonderful, thank you!
I had a problem with my heatrock some years ago, the lizards escaped by climbing the cord. I caught them lil houndinis tho
crazy right!
Thank you I love your videos
I'm so glad! thanks for watching :)