Animals at Home Network

Latest Episodes:

101: Two 18-yr-old's Start an Outdoor Herp Conservation | Celtic Reptile & Amphibian Sep 05, 2021

Show notes

Harvey Tweats and Tom Whitehurst return to the podcast to update us on their brand new, outdoor herp breeding facility. Tom and Harvey explain the layout of their facility including information about their outdoor enclosures, greenhouses, and pond as well as the species they work with. We discuss conservation and the importance of re-introducing animals to the UK landscape including reptiles, amphibians, and large mammals. We wrap up the conversation by discussing the intricacies of practicing good bio-security in an outdoor facility.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/101-celtic-ra/

100: Insane Stories About Importing Reptiles! | Dan Mulleary Aug 29, 2021

Show notes

Dan Mulleary is the owner and founder of DM Exotics. Dan's company focuses on reptile imports from mainly Asian countries and he currently lives in Thailand with his wife, Apple. In this episode, Dan tells us some incredible stories ranging from what life is like in Thailand (including eating snakes, frogs, and tadpoles), a close call he had with a sketchy reptile exporter, issues he had during his maiden reptile import, and his thoughts on the direction herpetoculture is headed!

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/100-dan-mulleary

99: Australian Pythons and Maternal Incubation | Lucas Lee Aug 22, 2021

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Lucas Lee is the owner and operator of Centralian Exotics and one of the hosts on the Carpets and Coffee Podcast on the MPR Network. In this episode, we discuss Lucas' background with reptiles, his current role as a field biologist, and his healthy obsession with Australian python species including Woma, Blackhead, and Centralian Carpet pythons. Lucas also tells us about the Master's Degree study he is currently working on which investigates the difference between maternal and artificial incubation.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/99-lucas-lee/

98: Complete Uromastyx Care | Phillip Lietz Aug 15, 2021

Show notes

We discuss uromastyx lizard care and answer the following: Are uromastyx are easy to take care of? What uromastyx lizards eat and how often they need to be fed, the best uromastyx species to keep as a pet and much more!

Phillip Lietz owns Arids Only, a Uromastyx breeding facility in the US. Uromastyx are simultaneously one of the most beautiful and underrated genera in herpetoculture and in this episode, Phil explains why that is. Throughout the conversation we discuss, the different Uro species, why they are a challenge to breed, issues with the wild-caught market, how to have success as a reptile breeder, and much more! This episode is packed with valuable information!

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/98-phil-lietz/

0:00 Coming Up 1:12 Guest Introduction 3:38 Housekeeping 4:44 Welcome Phil 5:51 What got you started breeding? 9:45 Becoming a Full-Time Breeder 19:28 The stress of being a breeder 21:58 Working with a niche species 28:45 Uromastyx Species Overview 35:36 Competing with WC Market 40:50 How much do uromastyx cost? 42:52 The best uromastyx species? 50:51 Natural landscape for each species 57:57 Why are they difficult to breed? 1:07:49 Weekend warrior breeders 1:11:40 Making money with an enriched operation 1:18:29 What are we missing in herpetoculture? 1:30:45 Uromastyx Care 1:49:02 A day in the life of a Uro breeder 1:56:10 Closing Thoughts 2:01:08 Outro

97: Saving the Sungazer Lizard | Fraser Gilchrist Aug 08, 2021

Show notes

Fraser Gilchrist is a long-time reptile keeper out of Scotland. Currently, he is focused on 3 species of python (Royal, Angolan, and Sumatran), Egyptian Tortoises, and Widemouthed Agamas. Fraser is the administrator of the studbooks for the Armadillo and Sungazer lizards and also the founder of the Save Our Sungazer (S.O.S) initiative. Fraser walks us through the aims of S.O.S, why Sungazers are endangered, why they are so challenging to breed in captivity as well as the results of a long-term climate data collection study. Fraser also explains how he assists the Scottish Government in creating reptile welfare and industry regulation.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/97-fraser-gilchrist/

96: The Ultimate Guide to Abronia | Abronia Alliance - AAH Aug 01, 2021

Show notes

If this episode doesn't inspire you to do something great in herpetoculture, nothing will! Nick Gordon is the Founder of the Abronia Alliance. In this episode, Nick explains how the Abronia Alliance works, he gives us an overview of the genus Abronia and we also discuss the Reptile Preservation Party. We also briefly touch on Nick's next project, the Cloud Forest Alliance. This project will allow keepers like yourself to be directly involved with the preservation and conservation of any species you are passionate about! Personally, I think the structure Nick has built for Abronia Alliance is a perfect template for other keepers to follow in order to make a positive change for not only herpetoculture but the natural world as well.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/96-abronia-alliance/

95: Are UV LED Reptile Bulbs Safe? | John Courteney-Smith MRSB Jul 11, 2021

Show notes

John Courteney-Smith MRSB, Head of Science and Innovation at Arcadia Reptile returns to the podcast! In this episode, John discusses the true definition of "bioactivity", common myths and mistakes that are made with bioactive setups, and whether or not bioactivity is necessary or important. The second half of the discussion revolves around UV LED lighting. John shares what the latest science says about UV-producing LED bulbs, whether or not they are safe to use and potential problems generated through their use.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/95-jcs/

94: Breeding Rare Reptiles | Reptiliatus Jul 04, 2021

Show notes

Dayyan Saylany is the creator of the popular YouTube channel, Reptiliatus! In this episode, we discuss using the term "specialty" instead of "exotic", Dayyan walks us through his Red-Eyed Crocodile Skink and Shinisaurus breeding projects and we also talk about why he chose to move away from bioactive setups for his Satanic Leaf-Tailed geckos. We wrap up the conversation with Dayyan's YouTube journey and his future plans for the channel.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/94-reptiliatus/

0:00 Coming Up 1:09 Guest Introduction 3:15 Housekeeping 4:18 Welcome Dayyan 4:38 Specialty vs Exotic 9:23 How did you get into reptiles? 13:34 The Excitement of Breeding 16:18 Keeping Unique Species 21:03 What Species do you Keep? 22:44 Importance of using WC for CB Programs 27:48 Breeding Red-Eyed Crocodile Skinks 49:18 Breeding Shinisaurus (Croc Lizard) 1:03:18 Varanus prasinus (Green Tree monitor) 1:10:55 Moving away from Bioactive for Leaf-Tail Geckos 1:27:47 Dayyan's YouTube Journey 1:50:54 Closing Thoughts 1:54:41 Outro

93: How to Care for a Hermit Crab | Crab Central Station Jun 27, 2021

Show notes

Darcy Madsen operates the YouTube Channel, Crab Central Station along with her daughters. Crab Central Station is focused on promoting ethical keeping and captive breeding of land hermit crabs. Hermit crabs are easily one of the most abused animals in the specialty pet industry. In the episode, Darcy explains how they are mistreated, how to care for them properly and she also details their incredible experience attempting the impossible, producing captive-bred hermit crabs!

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/93-crab-central-station/

0:00 Coming Up 1:22 Guest Introduction 4:00 Housekeeping 5:10 Welcome Darcy 5:57 What got you started keeping crabs? 9:16 When Did you realize something was wrong? 10:58 How Are Crabs Abused? 24:50 Finding the Proper Info 27:45 Amazing Enclosure & Basic Care! 44:03 What do hermit crabs eat? 45:23 Maintaining Temps & Molting 46:49 How do Hermit Crabs Change their Shells? 52:18 How do Hermit Crabs have Babies? 1:25:15 Why Start Crab Central Station 1:31:55 Closing Thoughts 1:34:33 Outro

92: Championing Proper Chameleon Care | Bill Strand Jun 20, 2021

Show notes

Bill Strand of the Chameleon Academy is no stranger to herpetoculture. Bill has been keeping chameleons for decades and of course founded the Chameleon Academy, a multi-media chameleon education resource. It's hard to think of a person who has done more for a group of captive species than Bill Strand. Bill's podcast, YouTube channel, website, and care guides are a staple among chameleon keepers and he has been a catalyst in the movement towards natural keeping and breeding. In this episode, we discuss Bill's history keeping chameleons, his caging company, Dragon Strand, and of course the Chameleon Academy.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/92-bill-strand/

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