I want captive bred emerald tree skinks, a monitor (rock, maybe?) And a Baron Racer snake. All for the fun, intelligence and ability to interact well with people. I have the time and energy to work with them and train them.
I will still never forget working in a big box store and somehow getting a female monkey tailed skink. We had her in our store for almost two years. I could never afford her even after her price had been dropped to almost half of what it was originally, considering her enclosure costs. She was unusually sweet and loved to hitch a ride and generally hang out with the staff while we did our rounds. I imagine it was great enrichment and socialization for her. Reptiles definitely express themselves differently, but it always made me feel special when she could see me from across the store and go to her enclosure door to beg to be held. The feeling was akin to being chosen by a grumpy cat. We did end up having to restrict her out of cage time significantly after she was mishandled by a karen and was given four stitches. I'm not sure if she ever got a home, sadly, I left that job after about a year and a half. She would have been about 4-5 years old last I saw her, poor thing.
Monitor lizards also have a slightly different heart than other lizards, which allows them to be more active. Like all lizards, they have a three chambered heart with two atria and one ventricle, but they also have a partial septum in the one ventricle - which allows it to somewhat function like two ventricles. This adds to their ability to maintain high activity levels compared to other lizards.
@@lexslate2476 Argus monitors in particular lol. We used to call them energizer bunnies at the reptile shop. They'd be crawling upside-down and were super twitchy. The tripodding thing they do is pretty dang cool though. Nile monitors like mine are similarly hyper, but argus monitors are a more continuous kind of hyper if that makes sense. They just keep going and going lol.
@@alexcrowder1673 They have an edge over other lizards where activity level is concerned, as they can both breathe and run at the same time. Most lizards can't.
CLINTTTT, MY HEART IS BURSTING SEEING YOUR HAPPY LITTLE GREEN GUYS! My mom had always wanted a "happy little green guy" after seeing your ETS video, and I got the chance to get one in April! He's a subadult male, the most engaging, active, wonderful little reptile I've ever seen, and he simply ADORES people. When I walk by his enclosure from noon to three, he is all over that glass and BEGGING to be let out and held. I'm trying to find him some friends, but it's really hard, and even harder to fine one he won't fight with, aka a female. Until then I keep him engaged and interact with him daily so he doesn't get lonely~!
Hearing that breeders have been focusing on emerald tree skinks (probably entirely) because of you brought tears to my eyes. Animals lovers everywhere should be rejoicing and hailing this channel for your great work and enthusiasm. This channel RULES!!!
While they're not top 5, I'd make an honourable mention of corn snakes. Mine always watches me when I'm doing something, very curious snakes. Plus they're kinda underrated as far as snakes go.
My two juveniles sleep in a little tree house together and it is the CUTEST THING. Emerald tree skinks are THE best pet LIZARD. So thank you Clint, we watched your videos and then amazingly had someone rehome some to us!
"You're a good boy, but not in a friendly way" is such a good line. Will have to use that on my tegu when he's being a stinker :P What an awesome video!! All of these are amazing and I hope I get a chance to interact with all five some day. Reptiles are just perfect. You have rad dudes like these, and then you have the less active ones that give you more time to just gaze and admire how beautiful and adorable they are ^_^
I can't wait for the future of emerald tree skinks in the hobby. Imagine if one day someone discover a morph (their wild types already very beautiful though)
@@vulekv93 most of reptiles "morphs" are different with dog's selective breeding. Most of the morphs involve recessive, dominant, etc genes which makes certain pigments (or something else) disappear or appear a lot more (I don't really understand, pretty sure Clint got videos about that). Dog's selective breeding select dogs with a certain characteristics so that the offspring got more of that characteristics. But with reptiles you can breed a completely normal couple to get really different offspring (breeding "Hets", example : Albino) Selective breeding also presents in reptile hobby, but not as much. What I mean in that comment was that I hope that some day someone unknowingly breed two skinks that carried a recessive gene (het), and a new morphs is discovered (I think that's how a new morph usually discovered).
@@asrig3880 that's a great distinction. Dogs were polygenically and line bred, so bred back to immediate family and extensively, small gene pools etc. And with other things we wouldn't even consider doing now. That said, many Island populations, like say Island Boas (Hog Island, Corn Island, Crawl Cay etc) and SD Retics are already limited gene pools in the wild that manage to be fine through extensive process, seems like reptiles are very good at adapting to that.
So my biggest concern about emerald tree skinks is what they're going to do when they inevitably get released into the wild here in Florida. We've got enough problems with the raining frozen iguanas in the north, pythons in the everglades, lionfish off our coasts, and geriatrics on every road.
@@SmartassEyebrows They could also upset the balance in the ecosystem. For example there are multiple types of mosquitos, some carry human diseases. So if they had an appetite for the non-dangerous mosquitos specifically, then the dangerous ones would flourish.
@@k.l.manring2083 LOL, I just had the image of them being introduced in Florida and a bunch of bonkers people trying to keep them as pets - because they are just like 'gators, right??? 😅
Awesome list! What is it with 'big' lizards insisting on sitting on our heads when they very clearly can't fit? My tegu pulls the same trick as Raptor did at the end. Nonchalantly climbing up onto the shoulders..... and mad dash to the top of the head! Every time! I've got a dedicated hat for filming with Jub-Jub. Every little bit helps.
@@smonke4377 Trick question, when you are checking another person's temperature where do you check it when you do not have a thermometer? Yep, their forehead.
Also Clint, a few years ago I saw you at one of the reptile shows near SLC. We talked about bioactive enclosures for ball pythons. Mine is doing well! The lone surviving plant is a philodendron I think mostly because of where it's planted (between rocks and branches). But Lucille is thriving in it, humidity levels are easy to keep, the enclosure is easy to keep and everyone is happy.
Thanks to you I now have the best overall snake buddy ever. And I've been keeping reptiles over 60 years. My hatchling African House Snake is calm,friendly and adorably curious. He will entertain himself crawling around my hand for hours. I have the brown variety and his markings are beautiful. This would be a perfect beginners snake for a child, imo. Extremely affordable too!
I’ve been working at an exotic veterinary clinic for over 2 years. And in that time I’ve never seen a healthy chameleon come in. They always have some health issue going on.
Chameleons are quite smart - they have excellent memories, and its awesome watching them investigate feeder insects they've never eaten before. When I first got one, I spent hours just watching him explore his enclosure, hunt food, etc. Grumpy as they are, they are tamable, but it takes a long time and a lot of knowledge regarding their instincts and natural behaviour. Keeping chameleons is so rewarding, and while their care is very involved - with small details that are very important not to overlook, they and their enclosures are beautiful centerpieces to any reptile collection.
Loved this! Although your lack of enthusiasm for other aquatic turtles hurts lol. We have a stinkpot that I love interacting with. Sure she’s not super active out of water, but the above world is a scary place when you are a scaly egg that can barely crawl. In the water though she’s basically a puppy. I find myself playing with her and ignoring whatever is on the tv all the time.
I got a ball python for the first time recently and I just completely disagree with everyone saying how boring they are. Maybe im just lucky and I got a super curious and entertaining individual, but I stay up late to see him when he's awake and I literally fall asleep watching him climb around and explore his tank every night. He sleeps during the day but at night he is simply delightful. He does cute funny stuff and he comes out reliably at the same time every night.
Ball pythons are one of those species that nobody really takes care of correctly, so they get the reputation of being lazy. Other "beginner" animals like betta fish and leopard geckos are the same way. Give the animal proper husbandry and an enclosure they can actually interact with, and they'll be super busy. But people like to keep them in dinky, sterile, or just incorrect enclosures.
You probably have a complex enclosure for him: with hides and climbs and stuff to explore, and he probably came from a breeder who did the same, or you bought him young enough he didn’t get brain damage from being in a sparse environment.
@@jendubay3782 yes that's true! I got him as a hatchling before he had had his first meal. I had him in a ten gallon for about two weeks that had some enrichment. I put him in the ten gallon first because he had come from a rack. Then after those two weeks, I was seeing him all the time, he was eating, he was active, so I moved him into a five by three by three with tons of enrichment. I also started target training him from his second meal. But yeah that's kinda my point. If you take care of these snakes the way they're supposed to be cared for you won't have a pet a rock.
I have a tarantula that acts like an emerald tree skink. Every time I open its enclosure it wants to climb on me. Before I had it, I considered tarantulas non-handling pets. It's an A. hentzi for anyone interested.
These Emeralds are tugging at my heart. But I do hear Schneider's, Berber's and African banded skinks are also quite friendly and inquisitive. Would you consider a video on several friendly skink species?
Common snapping turtles are hard to top. Mine is friendly, and behaves like a dog. Aside from the increasing size of the enclosure, he's pretty easy to care for, and genuinely enjoys interaction.
I moved from Alberta to Toronto a year ago, and ever since a guide on a boat tour told us there are snapping turtles living around the Toronto Islands, I've been wanting to see one in the wild. It's already too late in the year now, but next summer I need to go out there more often and walk around the water front. I looked them up just now, and the snappers in Ontario don't reach sexual maturity until they're about 16 or 17 years old, and on average they live about 70 years in the wild! They are capable of living much longer, though, and a turtle named Grace, who lives in Haliburton, is thought to be about 125 years old. They're such cool animals.
Adorably grumpy is perfect for chameleons! I named my panther chameleon Merlin after the cartoon movie Sword in the Stone movie character who was hysterically grumpy! 😂 Retics are amazing to work with, I have seven dwarf and super dwarf retics from Garrett at Reach Out Reptiles! They’re the best reptiles I’ve ever worked with by far!!!
The only one of these that really appeals to me is the emerald tree skinks. Those are amazing. I haven't seen any sign of them in Canada yet, but I'm hoping once they start being bred in large numbers we'll get some of them up here too. They seem too good to be true. When it comes to reptiles I've met in-person, I find day geckos and anoles really engaging to watch, and corn snakes, young boa constrictors (I find the adults intimidating), hognose snakes and crested geckos really engaging to handle. Leopard geckos, ball pythons and Bearded dragons are pretty fun to handle too, but in a lower-key and less exciting way. My pictus geckos were not especially good for handling. They mostly just sit there, until they suddenly zoom and they aren't arboreal and the risk of them injuring themselves in a fall is a constant worry. Also losing them under furniture. And they just don't seem to like being handled. My crested gecko is happy enough to climb all over me once I've gotten her out of the tank, and she can hold on just fine.
Actually many more lizards are somewhat able to breathe and run at the same time, monitors are just the best at it. Many iguanians like uromastix and other dragons can do gular pumping. Chameleons move quite imperceptibly and hide so much, I wouldn’t put them on the list, I would put the common bearded dragons instead. I would put an indigo or a false water cobra for a snake. Large constrictors are more about wrestling rather than engaging with you. Also tegus could fit somewhere.
Clint, it's probably worth adding that feeding chameleons from tongs is a horrible idea. iv bred and kept chameleons for over 12 years now and the number of tongue injuries i see in the forums and FB groups from this is alarming the problem with tongs is you can't release fast enough. the chameleons tongue muscles for retracting are relatively weak (kind of like the principle behind a gators jaws opening and closing) any resistance can cause damage. I've seen this in my personal collection years ago when feeding katydids that held to tightly to screen. luckily that particular animal's tongue was able to be saved but that's rarely the case. also on the case of emerald tree skinks I love your videos but can't forgive you for making them popular I have a really nice enclosure that had spent months working on and doing bonsai on the plants to have them just how i want them for a pair of green tree skinks from a breeder friend who you named in one of your videos or live streams and someone bought his entire collection to start their own breeding program and now I can't even get a WC pair through my friends that import. GRRRR! lol also, you mention chameleons as being grumpy and difficult to keep and although that does describe many species, I can show you a handful of less common species that thrive like crested geckos if you give them the basics of chameleon care. one MAJOR issue is that most species kept in the hobby today are kept way to warm most species thrive at household temps with a minor basking spot. people seem to think that they all come from rainforests and neat massive amounts of heat and humidity, when some like a few of the bradypodion species of south Africa actually survive being frozen for weeks at a time.
I held a baby mainland retic at an expo months ago. It was an absolutely amazing experience. I looked right at him and said, "I wish you didn't grow into a 20 foot monster." Now I'm hooked on getting a Superdwarf.
There were giant snapping turtles at the college I went to, and there was a walking bridge that went over the spot where the pond they were in turned into a creek. There were some wooden planks there that helped to keep the border of the pond in place, and it kept the snapping turtles back far enough that you were just out of there reach standing on the bridge. We fed them apples. If they were close by and they saw someone with an apple, or sometimes anything round and bright that looked like fruit, they would hurry over like little puppies running up to a baby greet to greet you. They were so cool. I'm not sure which kind of snappers they were. They did pretty much sit around like bear traps like Clint said.
Maybe I'm easily entertained but I find even the bold jumping spider I caught off my wall engaging. Could watch that little dude run around and snack on meal worms all day. If I got one from this list I'd probably never do anything aside from staring at reptiles lol
I’d have to say leopard gecko. Waking up in the middle of the night to a lizard staring at you with a massive grin as it begs for food, or watching them walk directly off your hands without any regard for safety is very engaging
You with the ET skinks and Adam Wickens with his Schneider's Skinks.. You should do a Skink Captive Breeding Promotion collab together, and talk about your favorites, and the other lesser known skinks like the fire skink.
I just found your channel from comment on Ryan George video and so far I love it! I always wanted to own a reptile but it was either too inconvenient or too expensive, now might be the time I change that.
As someone who took care of baby geckos at a reptile breeder/lab, I would say they are *too* engaging. As in, "constantly trying to escape and jump to their deaths and you can't take your eyes off them for a second" engaging. Adults can be pretty active too (at night), so definitely another one for folks to consider. Plus they're super cute.
Oh i loved my white throated monitor! She lived to be nearly 20, was filthy, needed a lot of time out to exercise. She was also personable, intelligent, gracious (when not eating). She followed me like a puppy (hoping for skritches or that I'd scare out a mouse). Every week a guy delivered a whole, killed, chicken or rabbit, and she ran to the door whenever someone knocked, hoping it was for "door dash". She came outside with me, and went to herp classes with me. I also have had several retics over decades. I believe they are the most intelligent snakes (my buddy argues his cobras are). Mine are generally good natured, and follow, explore, and pile into my lap to share my warmth. Of course I don't handle them alone, and they are l labor intensive and expensive to keep. I'd love to try the emerald tree skink! My buddy has a wonderful blue tongued skink, also very social and patient.
Buddy of mine found a frog in a box. He swears up and down that the damn thing sings showtunes, and ragtime. I ain't never seen it do anything, but it sounds pretty entertaining.
Any monitor in curiosity mode! Turtles can be fun to watch. Really any reptile that is socialized to people and do their thing in front of you. Exploring, hunting what ever!
Panther chameleons are a favorite of mine. They are the sloths of the reptile world. I have two: Captain Clump and Peony. They are high maintenance for certain, but I think they’re worth the cost and care.
My favorite monitor is the komodo dragon. They are so amazing and absolutely fascinate me, but I wouldn't have one as a pet. Though I would LOVE to see one in person one day and be able to watch them in the wild. I would geek out and be in love!
Definitely my fav format! Love all of these! I need a friend who has amazing monitors and tegus and turtles and tortoises I can play with and vacation sit!! I love watching Clint handle the animals with his arm Malformation! My husband has the same thing and it’s endearing to me! The best is when he gets change in coins and how he holds his fork! The only bummer is how much he wants to play guitar!!
If he can't rotate his arm around enough to finger a fretboard the traditional way, he might want to look into steel or lap guitar. Technically there's no rules that say there's only one way to hold a guitar either, so you could lay any backpacker guitar over your lap and work out your own ways to finger the strings against the fretboard! Music should be as accessible as possible. Best wishes and happy shredding, from a disabled folk-musician.
You should look into garter snakes! They’re actually really inquisitive, quirky, personable, and fun! They can even be cohabbed with certain species, which is not common with snakes.
Not super experienced but large colubrid snakes like bull snakes are super cool if socialized well , even wild caught ones are pretty chill when they realize you're not gonna eat them. They seem pretty smart for a snake and will definitely communicate on some level , mostly getting huffy puffy when they want left alone.
Awesome list! These are all fantastic if you want the animal to be a playmate (assuming you know what you're doing.) Asian Water Monitors in particular are definitely a buddy type animal if you have the space and resources to actually properly house and care for them. Are you planning on doing a video on Dwarf Retics? I know you've done Mainland and Super Dwarf Retics and you've been talking a ton about Retics in general over the last year. But I think a Dwarf video would be really cool. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how realistic they are as pets. They're sort of in that Yellow Anaconda or large Red Tailed Boa range where things start to become a bit more complicated but not in the "it might kill me" range.
Reticulated pythons are by far my favorite snake. I handled one when I was very young and have absolutely loved seeing and handling them since. They have always been so gentle with me even though they are massively long
I think as far as engaging snakes go, a lot of colubrids do pretty well. Garters, rat/corn snakes, and kingsnakes are active and will dig, climb, and explore. I've been considering making a folding cardboard pen so I don't have to supervise my king quite as closely during his outside time.
They have bad reputations regarding their personalities. Granted you might get a sweet one here or there but taking that chance...not for me. I wanted a Jungle Carpet until I saw so many different keepers/breeders with carpets and they would all say how crappy the disposition is. One guy has lots and he would check their mood before getting them out and that would help, but he only had one that was sweet all the time.
Both peach throated and savannah monitors make amazing pets once they get used to you. Nile monitors can be.. different at times. After years of having them I've had them come to names hang out with me and actually show joy in wanting to be around me where alot of reptiles kinda of tolerate us. However you are correct they absolutely are not for everyone. They take a lot of attention for one hours and hours of working with them while they are young. Still absolutely one of my favorite animals ever though. Great video brother!
I know leopard geckos arent as exciting to some people. But I love mine so much, and I think they are super engaging. All of my geckos will come out when i open their tanks or when I just walk into the room. They all enjoy being handled or going outside. One of them has an intense feeding response and will run and jump chasing the tongs. He's a little scary since he's like 11inches long lol. They're probably basking or actively climbing around their tanks like 4-6 hours a day at least. Probably more since I can't watch them all the time. But it really depends on if you have correct husbandry. I use halogen bulbs and UV. Plus they all have their own bioactive 40. Heat mats lead to unhappy and stagnant geckos
If you are looking for an emerald tree skink that likes to move about and climb and be friendly, I suggest the berber skink. Cheap as hell, small, likes to climb and friendly right out of the gates.
I'm grateful that you have these videos to help us Choose The Right reptile. In fact, something about the enerald tree skinks running over your fingers brought home the need to Choose The Right reptile. It's almost as if there were something on your finger telling us that we should Choose The Right one.
Wow what a great video! I asked about this video a long time ago. Growing up I always had the passion and patience for Keeping all types of animals regardless their entertainment value, And whenever I showed my friends Any of my pet reptiles they would be interested in it and about three minutes later if they would be completely bored with the animal because it wasn’t constantly doing something. I thought just my small circle of friends felt that way, but as I got older I noticed more and more people Felt that way, and then realized I was the weird animal freak that could spend hours watching my pets do absolutely nothing and be happy with it ha ha. But this is great especially for people who are interested in getting a pet reptile but don’t know their wide range of activity levels between different species. I would love to see your volume two/three/four of this. Sorry for the long comment on a sidenote I have a uromastyx and he’s actually pretty engaging an active when he’s not in burmation.
Always been obsessed with boas and short tail pythons... but man oh man, I started working with dwarf retics and they are some of the most fun I have ever had just hanging out handling a snake
I have absolutely no interest in owning a pet reptile, or any other pet for that matter. Yet I find myself completely obsessed with your videos. Lol. Interesting content!
Clearly we need to create a super-reptile, combining traits from other active, super-cool pet reptiles. I say we start with the chameleon and the common snapping turtle, to produce an armoured colour-changing hulk that can hang out at the bottom of a pond or climb up a tree, has weird independent eyeballs, lives for upwards of a century, and snipes out rodents and small birds with a two-foot springloaded tongue when it isn't ambushing fish or gorging itself on fresh vegetables..
Be sure not to miss today's IMPORTANT live stream: ua-cam.com/video/yPGh0ktB8vo/v-deo.html
There is still time to save the reptile hobby!
Won't miss it
is something happening 2 it?
I want captive bred emerald tree skinks, a monitor (rock, maybe?) And a Baron Racer snake. All for the fun, intelligence and ability to interact well with people. I have the time and energy to work with them and train them.
I'd add garter snakes to the list! They're so inquisitive and active even in the wild, and their lil faces are some of the cutest among snakes!
And they like to go fishing.
Agreed! They have such personality, and are easy to humanize. I love them as a first snake to ease people into them for that reason
I love them as well but they're like a cross between a skynk and and a snake because they stink. I guess they're skanks
My garter was my fave snake ever of all the species we’ve ever kept!
Until they musk and pee all over you
I will still never forget working in a big box store and somehow getting a female monkey tailed skink. We had her in our store for almost two years. I could never afford her even after her price had been dropped to almost half of what it was originally, considering her enclosure costs. She was unusually sweet and loved to hitch a ride and generally hang out with the staff while we did our rounds. I imagine it was great enrichment and socialization for her. Reptiles definitely express themselves differently, but it always made me feel special when she could see me from across the store and go to her enclosure door to beg to be held. The feeling was akin to being chosen by a grumpy cat. We did end up having to restrict her out of cage time significantly after she was mishandled by a karen and was given four stitches. I'm not sure if she ever got a home, sadly, I left that job after about a year and a half. She would have been about 4-5 years old last I saw her, poor thing.
Monitor lizards also have a slightly different heart than other lizards, which allows them to be more active. Like all lizards, they have a three chambered heart with two atria and one ventricle, but they also have a partial septum in the one ventricle - which allows it to somewhat function like two ventricles. This adds to their ability to maintain high activity levels compared to other lizards.
Monitors are the overclocked, turbo version of lizards. Like birds are the overclocked version of dinosaurs.
@@lexslate2476 Argus monitors in particular lol. We used to call them energizer bunnies at the reptile shop. They'd be crawling upside-down and were super twitchy. The tripodding thing they do is pretty dang cool though. Nile monitors like mine are similarly hyper, but argus monitors are a more continuous kind of hyper if that makes sense. They just keep going and going lol.
@@alexcrowder1673 They have an edge over other lizards where activity level is concerned, as they can both breathe and run at the same time. Most lizards can't.
CLINTTTT, MY HEART IS BURSTING SEEING YOUR HAPPY LITTLE GREEN GUYS! My mom had always wanted a "happy little green guy" after seeing your ETS video, and I got the chance to get one in April! He's a subadult male, the most engaging, active, wonderful little reptile I've ever seen, and he simply ADORES people. When I walk by his enclosure from noon to three, he is all over that glass and BEGGING to be let out and held. I'm trying to find him some friends, but it's really hard, and even harder to fine one he won't fight with, aka a female. Until then I keep him engaged and interact with him daily so he doesn't get lonely~!
Hearing that breeders have been focusing on emerald tree skinks (probably entirely) because of you brought tears to my eyes. Animals lovers everywhere should be rejoicing and hailing this channel for your great work and enthusiasm. This channel RULES!!!
While they're not top 5, I'd make an honourable mention of corn snakes. Mine always watches me when I'm doing something, very curious snakes. Plus they're kinda underrated as far as snakes go.
What are you talking about? Corn snakes are like the most common pet snake.
My two juveniles sleep in a little tree house together and it is the CUTEST THING.
Emerald tree skinks are THE best pet LIZARD. So thank you Clint, we watched your videos and then amazingly had someone rehome some to us!
Ye
Lucky!
"You're a good boy, but not in a friendly way" is such a good line. Will have to use that on my tegu when he's being a stinker :P
What an awesome video!! All of these are amazing and I hope I get a chance to interact with all five some day. Reptiles are just perfect. You have rad dudes like these, and then you have the less active ones that give you more time to just gaze and admire how beautiful and adorable they are ^_^
5:37 is the time!
You have a tegu? You're so lucky! One day I will have one too😉
I'm so happy you have promoted those tree skinks for captive breeding and keeping. They seem so well-suited for the reptile-pet hobby. Great episode.
Raptor is looking incredible. Maybe slightly heavy, but very strong and happy. I'm so glad you ended up with her
Ended up with? Is that the mink guy's monitor?
@@xymist5605 yes
I can't wait for the future of emerald tree skinks in the hobby. Imagine if one day someone discover a morph (their wild types already very beautiful though)
Well selective breeding got us all kinds of dog types, I guess there is some potential within lizards as well.
@@vulekv93 most of reptiles "morphs" are different with dog's selective breeding. Most of the morphs involve recessive, dominant, etc genes which makes certain pigments (or something else) disappear or appear a lot more (I don't really understand, pretty sure Clint got videos about that). Dog's selective breeding select dogs with a certain characteristics so that the offspring got more of that characteristics. But with reptiles you can breed a completely normal couple to get really different offspring (breeding "Hets", example : Albino)
Selective breeding also presents in reptile hobby, but not as much. What I mean in that comment was that I hope that some day someone unknowingly breed two skinks that carried a recessive gene (het), and a new morphs is discovered (I think that's how a new morph usually discovered).
Axanthism would turn them BLUE. IMAGINE lol (I agree they are gorgeous little dudes already tho)
@@asrig3880 that's a great distinction. Dogs were polygenically and line bred, so bred back to immediate family and extensively, small gene pools etc. And with other things we wouldn't even consider doing now. That said, many Island populations, like say Island Boas (Hog Island, Corn Island, Crawl Cay etc) and SD Retics are already limited gene pools in the wild that manage to be fine through extensive process, seems like reptiles are very good at adapting to that.
wait super giant emerald tree skinks
Emerald tree skinks sound like the coolest lizards one could possibly have. 💚💚💚
So my biggest concern about emerald tree skinks is what they're going to do when they inevitably get released into the wild here in Florida. We've got enough problems with the raining frozen iguanas in the north, pythons in the everglades, lionfish off our coasts, and geriatrics on every road.
What are they gunna do, eat some bugs?
@@SmartassEyebrows That is actually a major issue. They can outcompete native species and cause even further issues in the environment.
@@SmartassEyebrows They could also upset the balance in the ecosystem. For example there are multiple types of mosquitos, some carry human diseases. So if they had an appetite for the non-dangerous mosquitos specifically, then the dangerous ones would flourish.
Introduce Komodo dragons, problems solved! Joking
@@k.l.manring2083 LOL, I just had the image of them being introduced in Florida and a bunch of bonkers people trying to keep them as pets - because they are just like 'gators, right??? 😅
Awesome list! What is it with 'big' lizards insisting on sitting on our heads when they very clearly can't fit? My tegu pulls the same trick as Raptor did at the end. Nonchalantly climbing up onto the shoulders..... and mad dash to the top of the head! Every time! I've got a dedicated hat for filming with Jub-Jub. Every little bit helps.
The head is generally the warmest part of the body so that probably has something to do with it.
@@sampagano205 the head is not the warmest part of the body, I'm guessing that they like climbing trees and be on top.
The same reason humans climb mountains - because it's there!
It's fun to say Jub-Jub...lol.
@@smonke4377 Trick question, when you are checking another person's temperature where do you check it when you do not have a thermometer? Yep, their forehead.
Chamaeleons are just so fascinating, I love the way their eyes move in all directions.
Also Clint, a few years ago I saw you at one of the reptile shows near SLC. We talked about bioactive enclosures for ball pythons. Mine is doing well! The lone surviving plant is a philodendron I think mostly because of where it's planted (between rocks and branches). But Lucille is thriving in it, humidity levels are easy to keep, the enclosure is easy to keep and everyone is happy.
That's great! Reptiles sure do tend to destroy whatever plants they can get to.
It's obvious that emerald tree skinks are in this video. Clint just loves them.
I wish they were available in europe.
Thanks to you I now have the best overall snake buddy ever. And I've been keeping reptiles over 60 years. My hatchling African House Snake is calm,friendly and adorably curious. He will entertain himself crawling around my hand for hours. I have the brown variety and his markings are beautiful. This would be a perfect beginners snake for a child, imo. Extremely affordable too!
Aren't they the best? I can thank Clint for mine, too and I adore the lil noodle, fussy eating habits and all.
I’ve been working at an exotic veterinary clinic for over 2 years. And in that time I’ve never seen a healthy chameleon come in. They always have some health issue going on.
Chameleons are quite smart - they have excellent memories, and its awesome watching them investigate feeder insects they've never eaten before. When I first got one, I spent hours just watching him explore his enclosure, hunt food, etc. Grumpy as they are, they are tamable, but it takes a long time and a lot of knowledge regarding their instincts and natural behaviour. Keeping chameleons is so rewarding, and while their care is very involved - with small details that are very important not to overlook, they and their enclosures are beautiful centerpieces to any reptile collection.
Loved this! Although your lack of enthusiasm for other aquatic turtles hurts lol. We have a stinkpot that I love interacting with. Sure she’s not super active out of water, but the above world is a scary place when you are a scaly egg that can barely crawl. In the water though she’s basically a puppy. I find myself playing with her and ignoring whatever is on the tv all the time.
Those dark griptaped deck like shapes in the thumbnails made me first think it might be an episode of Clint's Skateboards!
I got a ball python for the first time recently and I just completely disagree with everyone saying how boring they are. Maybe im just lucky and I got a super curious and entertaining individual, but I stay up late to see him when he's awake and I literally fall asleep watching him climb around and explore his tank every night. He sleeps during the day but at night he is simply delightful. He does cute funny stuff and he comes out reliably at the same time every night.
Same here! Mine pokes her head out of her cave just to see what I'm doing even during the day.
Ball pythons are one of those species that nobody really takes care of correctly, so they get the reputation of being lazy. Other "beginner" animals like betta fish and leopard geckos are the same way. Give the animal proper husbandry and an enclosure they can actually interact with, and they'll be super busy. But people like to keep them in dinky, sterile, or just incorrect enclosures.
@@short_stack I have a leopard gecko too and he isn't very handleable but he's super entertaining I adore both my scaly friends
You probably have a complex enclosure for him: with hides and climbs and stuff to explore, and he probably came from a breeder who did the same, or you bought him young enough he didn’t get brain damage from being in a sparse environment.
@@jendubay3782 yes that's true! I got him as a hatchling before he had had his first meal. I had him in a ten gallon for about two weeks that had some enrichment. I put him in the ten gallon first because he had come from a rack. Then after those two weeks, I was seeing him all the time, he was eating, he was active, so I moved him into a five by three by three with tons of enrichment. I also started target training him from his second meal. But yeah that's kinda my point. If you take care of these snakes the way they're supposed to be cared for you won't have a pet a rock.
I bought a captive bred emerald tree skink earlier this year! He's a real cutie and just so gorgeous
I have a tarantula that acts like an emerald tree skink. Every time I open its enclosure it wants to climb on me. Before I had it, I considered tarantulas non-handling pets.
It's an A. hentzi for anyone interested.
this guy really does bring Mr Rodgers to mind. this would be PBS programming 20 years ago. glad some people are using UA-cam for good stuff
These Emeralds are tugging at my heart. But I do hear Schneider's, Berber's and African banded skinks are also quite friendly and inquisitive. Would you consider a video on several friendly skink species?
can't wait for the emerald tree skinks to become much more common in the hobby, would love to get them one day 😍
Common snapping turtles are hard to top. Mine is friendly, and behaves like a dog. Aside from the increasing size of the enclosure, he's pretty easy to care for, and genuinely enjoys interaction.
I moved from Alberta to Toronto a year ago, and ever since a guide on a boat tour told us there are snapping turtles living around the Toronto Islands, I've been wanting to see one in the wild. It's already too late in the year now, but next summer I need to go out there more often and walk around the water front.
I looked them up just now, and the snappers in Ontario don't reach sexual maturity until they're about 16 or 17 years old, and on average they live about 70 years in the wild! They are capable of living much longer, though, and a turtle named Grace, who lives in Haliburton, is thought to be about 125 years old. They're such cool animals.
Every time you talk about Emerald Tree Skinks you light up like no tomorrow and it puts a stupid smile on my face.
Adorably grumpy is perfect for chameleons! I named my panther chameleon Merlin after the cartoon movie Sword in the Stone movie character who was hysterically grumpy! 😂
Retics are amazing to work with, I have seven dwarf and super dwarf retics from Garrett at Reach Out Reptiles! They’re the best reptiles I’ve ever worked with by far!!!
This could have easily been a top ten list, with garter snakes, spotted pythons, schneider's skinks, and other such critters!
Tegus for sure. 10x more personable and interactive than I was expecting.
The only one of these that really appeals to me is the emerald tree skinks. Those are amazing. I haven't seen any sign of them in Canada yet, but I'm hoping once they start being bred in large numbers we'll get some of them up here too. They seem too good to be true.
When it comes to reptiles I've met in-person, I find day geckos and anoles really engaging to watch, and corn snakes, young boa constrictors (I find the adults intimidating), hognose snakes and crested geckos really engaging to handle. Leopard geckos, ball pythons and Bearded dragons are pretty fun to handle too, but in a lower-key and less exciting way. My pictus geckos were not especially good for handling. They mostly just sit there, until they suddenly zoom and they aren't arboreal and the risk of them injuring themselves in a fall is a constant worry. Also losing them under furniture. And they just don't seem to like being handled. My crested gecko is happy enough to climb all over me once I've gotten her out of the tank, and she can hold on just fine.
Actually many more lizards are somewhat able to breathe and run at the same time, monitors are just the best at it.
Many iguanians like uromastix and other dragons can do gular pumping.
Chameleons move quite imperceptibly and hide so much, I wouldn’t put them on the list, I would put the common bearded dragons instead. I would put an indigo or a false water cobra for a snake. Large constrictors are more about wrestling rather than engaging with you. Also tegus could fit somewhere.
The curse of a top five list is excluding everyone else. Also, Tegus get around the running/breathing problem by running on two legs like T Rex!
I would have put garter snakes
Everytime I see a monitor I think of rescuers down under as a kid. Joanna the guanna. That's really a monitor. Lol
Clint, it's probably worth adding that feeding chameleons from tongs is a horrible idea. iv bred and kept chameleons for over 12 years now and the number of tongue injuries i see in the forums and FB groups from this is alarming the problem with tongs is you can't release fast enough. the chameleons tongue muscles for retracting are relatively weak (kind of like the principle behind a gators jaws opening and closing) any resistance can cause damage. I've seen this in my personal collection years ago when feeding katydids that held to tightly to screen. luckily that particular animal's tongue was able to be saved but that's rarely the case. also on the case of emerald tree skinks I love your videos but can't forgive you for making them popular I have a really nice enclosure that had spent months working on and doing bonsai on the plants to have them just how i want them for a pair of green tree skinks from a breeder friend who you named in one of your videos or live streams and someone bought his entire collection to start their own breeding program and now I can't even get a WC pair through my friends that import. GRRRR! lol
also, you mention chameleons as being grumpy and difficult to keep and although that does describe many species, I can show you a handful of less common species that thrive like crested geckos if you give them the basics of chameleon care. one MAJOR issue is that most species kept in the hobby today are kept way to warm most species thrive at household temps with a minor basking spot. people seem to think that they all come from rainforests and neat massive amounts of heat and humidity, when some like a few of the bradypodion species of south Africa actually survive being frozen for weeks at a time.
Yaaay! I was so hoping retics were on this list
I held a baby mainland retic at an expo months ago. It was an absolutely amazing experience. I looked right at him and said, "I wish you didn't grow into a 20 foot monster."
Now I'm hooked on getting a Superdwarf.
The genuine excitement when Clint exclaims "common snapping turtles" ❤❤❤❤🤭🤭🤭
There were giant snapping turtles at the college I went to, and there was a walking bridge that went over the spot where the pond they were in turned into a creek. There were some wooden planks there that helped to keep the border of the pond in place, and it kept the snapping turtles back far enough that you were just out of there reach standing on the bridge. We fed them apples. If they were close by and they saw someone with an apple, or sometimes anything round and bright that looked like fruit, they would hurry over like little puppies running up to a baby greet to greet you. They were so cool. I'm not sure which kind of snappers they were. They did pretty much sit around like bear traps like Clint said.
False chameleons deserve a shoutout too very similar to chameleons without all the health problems of normal chameleons.
Brilliant list! I can't run and breath at the same time either, and I don't make such an awesome hat!!!
That has to be the cleanest snapper I've ever seen even in captivity!
I am glad monitors made the list. My Ackie is hands down my favorite reptile to interact with or watch in his enclosure.
I am traveling to Utah in September and we plan on stopping at your reptile room and I can’t wait! Hope you are there!
Maybe I'm easily entertained but I find even the bold jumping spider I caught off my wall engaging. Could watch that little dude run around and snack on meal worms all day. If I got one from this list I'd probably never do anything aside from staring at reptiles lol
I’d have to say leopard gecko. Waking up in the middle of the night to a lizard staring at you with a massive grin as it begs for food, or watching them walk directly off your hands without any regard for safety is very engaging
Emerald tree skinks literally seem like what having a pet micro-yoshi would look like.
You with the ET skinks and Adam Wickens with his Schneider's Skinks.. You should do a Skink Captive Breeding Promotion collab together, and talk about your favorites, and the other lesser known skinks like the fire skink.
I work at a petstore and omg the chameleon is def my favorite to watch! such cool guys!
I just found your channel from comment on Ryan George video and so far I love it! I always wanted to own a reptile but it was either too inconvenient or too expensive, now might be the time I change that.
As someone who took care of baby geckos at a reptile breeder/lab, I would say they are *too* engaging. As in, "constantly trying to escape and jump to their deaths and you can't take your eyes off them for a second" engaging. Adults can be pretty active too (at night), so definitely another one for folks to consider. Plus they're super cute.
Oh i loved my white throated monitor! She lived to be nearly 20, was filthy, needed a lot of time out to exercise. She was also personable, intelligent, gracious (when not eating). She followed me like a puppy (hoping for skritches or that I'd scare out a mouse). Every week a guy delivered a whole, killed, chicken or rabbit, and she ran to the door whenever someone knocked, hoping it was for "door dash". She came outside with me, and went to herp classes with me.
I also have had several retics over decades. I believe they are the most intelligent snakes (my buddy argues his cobras are). Mine are generally good natured, and follow, explore, and pile into my lap to share my warmth. Of course I don't handle them alone, and they are l labor intensive and expensive to keep.
I'd love to try the emerald tree skink! My buddy has a wonderful blue tongued skink, also very social and patient.
Goodmorning Clint! I’m very excited to watch this video!!!
Your video on the snapping turtles and how to safely handle them is now how I handle them when I rescue them from the road near me
So on point about Monitors essentially behaving like what would be warm-blooded lizards.
Buddy of mine found a frog in a box. He swears up and down that the damn thing sings showtunes, and ragtime. I ain't never seen it do anything, but it sounds pretty entertaining.
Any monitor in curiosity mode! Turtles can be fun to watch. Really any reptile that is socialized to people and do their thing in front of you. Exploring, hunting what ever!
Panther chameleons are a favorite of mine. They are the sloths of the reptile world. I have two: Captain Clump and Peony. They are high maintenance for certain, but I think they’re worth the cost and care.
My favorite monitor is the komodo dragon. They are so amazing and absolutely fascinate me, but I wouldn't have one as a pet. Though I would LOVE to see one in person one day and be able to watch them in the wild. I would geek out and be in love!
Thanks for the shout out! We definitely love the Superdwarves and (CBB) tree skinks!
Definitely my fav format! Love all of these! I need a friend who has amazing monitors and tegus and turtles and tortoises I can play with and vacation sit!! I love watching Clint handle the animals with his arm
Malformation! My husband has the same thing and it’s endearing to me! The best is when he gets change in coins and how he holds his fork! The only bummer is how much he wants to play guitar!!
If he can't rotate his arm around enough to finger a fretboard the traditional way, he might want to look into steel or lap guitar. Technically there's no rules that say there's only one way to hold a guitar either, so you could lay any backpacker guitar over your lap and work out your own ways to finger the strings against the fretboard! Music should be as accessible as possible. Best wishes and happy shredding, from a disabled folk-musician.
@@lorrainemunoa791 I had no idea and I’m sure he didn’t either! Thanks for sharing that!
This just made my morning. Love this guy! 😊
You should look into garter snakes! They’re actually really inquisitive, quirky, personable, and fun! They can even be cohabbed with certain species, which is not common with snakes.
Not super experienced but large colubrid snakes like bull snakes are super cool if socialized well , even wild caught ones are pretty chill when they realize you're not gonna eat them. They seem pretty smart for a snake and will definitely communicate on some level , mostly getting huffy puffy when they want left alone.
Good to see that Raptor is as friendly as ever
Clint. Its because of you and snake discovery that iv got a Kenyan sand boa showing up tomorrow. So excited
Awesome list! These are all fantastic if you want the animal to be a playmate (assuming you know what you're doing.) Asian Water Monitors in particular are definitely a buddy type animal if you have the space and resources to actually properly house and care for them.
Are you planning on doing a video on Dwarf Retics? I know you've done Mainland and Super Dwarf Retics and you've been talking a ton about Retics in general over the last year. But I think a Dwarf video would be really cool. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how realistic they are as pets. They're sort of in that Yellow Anaconda or large Red Tailed Boa range where things start to become a bit more complicated but not in the "it might kill me" range.
well ive been wanting a lizard for a while, and those emerald skinks seem like the perfect little friends. will look into them, thanks for the vid :3
I've seen a few videos of common snappers that get excited to see their owner , practically wag their tails.
Reticulated pythons are by far my favorite snake. I handled one when I was very young and have absolutely loved seeing and handling them since. They have always been so gentle with me even though they are massively long
I think as far as engaging snakes go, a lot of colubrids do pretty well. Garters, rat/corn snakes, and kingsnakes are active and will dig, climb, and explore. I've been considering making a folding cardboard pen so I don't have to supervise my king quite as closely during his outside time.
first vid of yours ive seen, really enjoyed it
subbed :)
Carpet Pythons are a good alternative to retics too :) at least mine is. She's very active and loves to explore when out of her enclosure.
They have bad reputations regarding their personalities. Granted you might get a sweet one here or there but taking that chance...not for me. I wanted a Jungle Carpet until I saw so many different keepers/breeders with carpets and they would all say how crappy the disposition is. One guy has lots and he would check their mood before getting them out and that would help, but he only had one that was sweet all the time.
@@amandastakeonit7402 jungles tend to be the worst. I have a Bredli, everyone I know who has one says they are great
California Kingsnakes would be on my list as well! My Cali King is super alert and active. Almost as much as my garter
I have a chameleon and i can vouch for them. He is so chill when i had a second in veiw he didnt care and vibed.
Ooops, maybe spoke too soon. That yellow monster retic.... Yeeeeeeeeeeeeah!!!!! Love it!
I think I would encourage multiple emerald tree skinks. It looks like they get along pretty well.
Both peach throated and savannah monitors make amazing pets once they get used to you. Nile monitors can be.. different at times. After years of having them I've had them come to names hang out with me and actually show joy in wanting to be around me where alot of reptiles kinda of tolerate us. However you are correct they absolutely are not for everyone. They take a lot of attention for one hours and hours of working with them while they are young. Still absolutely one of my favorite animals ever though. Great video brother!
the lil skinks are so adorable!! ;-;
I know leopard geckos arent as exciting to some people. But I love mine so much, and I think they are super engaging. All of my geckos will come out when i open their tanks or when I just walk into the room. They all enjoy being handled or going outside. One of them has an intense feeding response and will run and jump chasing the tongs. He's a little scary since he's like 11inches long lol. They're probably basking or actively climbing around their tanks like 4-6 hours a day at least. Probably more since I can't watch them all the time. But it really depends on if you have correct husbandry. I use halogen bulbs and UV. Plus they all have their own bioactive 40. Heat mats lead to unhappy and stagnant geckos
If you are looking for an emerald tree skink that likes to move about and climb and be friendly, I suggest the berber skink. Cheap as hell, small, likes to climb and friendly right out of the gates.
I'm grateful that you have these videos to help us Choose The Right reptile.
In fact, something about the enerald tree skinks running over your fingers brought home the need to Choose The Right reptile. It's almost as if there were something on your finger telling us that we should Choose The Right one.
This is probably one of the first time I’ve seen the kids and Mrs and part of your home in the video. Thank you. Do more with them in!
I definitely didn't expect a snapping turtle to be on this list.
Crested geckos and tegus are both highly interactive to me
This is just the video I was hoping to see on your channel! I'm so interested in getting into the hobby now.
Wow what a great video! I asked about this video a long time ago. Growing up I always had the passion and patience for Keeping all types of animals regardless their entertainment value, And whenever I showed my friends Any of my pet reptiles they would be interested in it and about three minutes later if they would be completely bored with the animal because it wasn’t constantly doing something. I thought just my small circle of friends felt that way, but as I got older I noticed more and more people Felt that way, and then realized I was the weird animal freak that could spend hours watching my pets do absolutely nothing and be happy with it ha ha. But this is great especially for people who are interested in getting a pet reptile but don’t know their wide range of activity levels between different species. I would love to see your volume two/three/four of this.
Sorry for the long comment on a sidenote I have a uromastyx and he’s actually pretty engaging an active when he’s not in burmation.
Always been obsessed with boas and short tail pythons... but man oh man, I started working with dwarf retics and they are some of the most fun I have ever had just hanging out handling a snake
Short tails are great indeed. Aggressive personality is extremely over stated.
@@godos320 100%! My blood is an angel
I have absolutely no interest in owning a pet reptile, or any other pet for that matter. Yet I find myself completely obsessed with your videos. Lol. Interesting content!
1:20 - bahahahahaha his wife is a lucky girl indeed because this man is DELIGHTFUL lolololol
"Everything on this list is my favorite reptile." Every reptile is your favorite reptile
You’re AMAZING
Definitely the Mr. Rogers of the exotic pet world
Keep up the good work
Clearly we need to create a super-reptile, combining traits from other active, super-cool pet reptiles. I say we start with the chameleon and the common snapping turtle, to produce an armoured colour-changing hulk that can hang out at the bottom of a pond or climb up a tree, has weird independent eyeballs, lives for upwards of a century, and snipes out rodents and small birds with a two-foot springloaded tongue when it isn't ambushing fish or gorging itself on fresh vegetables..
Good thing some dude on the internet told everyone how great emerald tree skinks are. Must've been a really cool dude for Sure!
There are few things in the reptile world more entertaining than bothering a chameleon
Damn you, Clint. You're making my desire to buy an ackie or a super dwarf EVEN WORSE...and I'm going to a reptile show tomorrow.
Always the best pet of my Saturday- keep up the great work!