Animals at Home Network

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77: Everything Wrong with Chain Pet Stores and How to Fix Them Feb 07, 2021

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Chain pet stores typically have a bad reputation within the reptile hobby. In this episode, I chat with an employee of a chain pet store to discuss what working there is like from the perspective of a hobbyist. We discuss the many mistakes chain pet stores make that lead to misinformation and my guest provides solutions that retailers could implement to improve.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/77-chain-pet-stores/

BONUS: RACKS vs. VIVS DEBATE | Is Rack Keeping Ethical? Feb 02, 2021

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Is rack keeping ethical? On today's bonus episode of the podcast, Liam Sinclair of Reptiles & Research and long time keeper/breeder Michelle Verheyden debate this question. Does rack keeping sacrifice reptile welfare? Is rack keeping ever okay? Is rack keeping gold standard husbandry for some species? Is it a necessary evil in order to produce reptiles at a competitive price? Listen now to hear how each of those questions (and more) are addressed by today's guests!

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/rack-debate/

76: Australian Herpetoculture w/ Coop's Reptiles | Cooper Van Der Wal Jan 31, 2021

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Cooper Van Der Wal is a biologist, zookeeper, and the creator behind the popular YouTube Channel, Coop's Reptiles. In this episode, we discuss his role at the Australian Reptile Park and University lizard lab. Cooper also discusses the strict rules that regulate the Australian reptile hobby and whether or not they are effective. Plus we chat about his private collection, breeding projects, and YouTube Channel.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/76-coops-reptiles/

75: Keeping Reptiles Humanely | Tom Crutchfield Jan 24, 2021

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Tom Crutchfield is undoubtedly one of the most well-known names in American Herpetoculture. As one of my previous guests put it, "what Tom hasn't done in the hobby, isn't worth doing". The most fascinating thing about Tom is despite his vast amount of experience in the hobby, he still continues to remain open-minded and allow the reptiles to teach him new things daily. In the episode, we discuss how/why reptiles should be kept humanely.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/75-tom-crutchfield/

74: Breeding Croc Monitors in Huge Private Facility | Cory Aymar Jan 17, 2021

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Cory Aymar of Toothless Reptiles is back! In this episode, Cory fills us in on the massive monitor breeding facility he built in his front yard. He discusses the challenges and successes he has had with the building and of course, we chat about his success breeding various (Lace), salvator (Water), and the elusive salvadorii (Crocodile).

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/74-cory-aymar/

BONUS: Reptiles are a Dangerous Addiction Jan 10, 2021

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In this short bonus episode, I discuss the hedonic treadmill, how it negatively impacts keepers, and how we can overcome it.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/bonus-hedonic-treadmill/

73: Using Natural History to Develop Evidence Based Husbandry | Zac Loughman, PhD Dec 27, 2020

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Zac Loughman, Ph.D. is a professor of biology at West Liberty University. In this episode, Zac breaks down his most recent paper: "Utilization of Natural History Information in Evidence based Herpetoculture". We discuss how reptile natural history can be used to develop husbandry practices, where folklore husbandry came from as well as how to bridge the gap between academics and hobbyists.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/73-zac-loughman/

2: Round Table | Are All Natural Behaviors Necessary in Captivity? Dec 23, 2020

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In this Round Table discussion, we cover the topic of accessing natural reptile behavior in captivity. Of course, seeing our captive reptiles display natural behavior is the foundation of good husbandry, but the question is which behaviors do we want to see? Surely we do not want every possible natural behavior to be present in a captive setting. Wild-type behaviors do not always equal to higher welfare. Guests: JTB Reptiles, Reptile Mountain, Reptifiles, Lori Torrini.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/rt-2/

72: Cage Size and Food Cycling for Anacondas & other Constrictors | Nick Bella & Troy Bumgardner Dec 20, 2020

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In this episode of the podcast, I chat with Nick Bella a private anaconda keeper, as well as Troy Bumgardner a Zookeeper out of the Denver Zoo. The main focus of our discussion is two-fold: 1) appropriate enclosure size for large constrictors and 2) appropriate feeding, including fasting and food cycling for large constrictors.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/72-anaconda/

71: The Next Generation of Reptile Lighting | Sam Perrett Dec 12, 2020

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Sam Perrett of Herp HQ returns to the podcast to discuss the development of an advanced lighting system that he has been working on for the past several months. This system allows for a completely automated light cycle including sunrise/sunset, day length, solar noon, light intensity and temperature, and more! It is an incredible device, Sam walks us through how it works and how he developed it!

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/71-sam-perrett/

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