Isn't it just the way of the world these days, there is a group of people who not only waist their limited time on this planet worrying about what someone else is doing and for some odd reason feel they need to deem themselves the unelected regulatory committee when in fact nobody asked for their opinion and certainly not their advice. Just be happy that we get to keep these absolutely incredible animals, instead of spending time trying to cancel or call out keepers you disagree with, put that valuable time and energy into your own animals and education and we'll all be much better for it. Love this channel, you guys have some of the best content I've seen here on UA-cam. Keep up the great work!
I started keeping snakes with the support and guidance of Chaz, spent many a weekend popping in for one thing and staying for hours having these very chats. Good to see that there are still people pushing common sense and always there to support others if they are willing to listen. Keep up the good work, mate. Hope you're well in these weird times and when it's all over looking forward to being able to visit again. Best shop in the country
You explained this issue really well. "Lead by example" can be the only way forward. I was 14 when started keeping reptiles. No one helped me, I had very little money, made lots of mistakes. But got into the hobby, stayed in the hobby and become a zoologist because of the hobby. Of course now I know how to take better care of my animals, but if at the beginning I could only keep animals if I bought the best equipment, I couldn't have kept anything and my life would be completely different...
Im more than an advanced keeper if I may say so myself. But I absolutely love your content and watch every video! Keep doing what you are doing, you guys are golden! If I’m ever around I’ll make sure to visit you guys! Cheers!
I'm new to the hobby mate. I'm 53 & my 14 year old wanted a snake for years. I was into fish keeping for years but packed up 15 years ago. The snake thing didn't go away so last year we bought Thayers Kingsnake & small snake minimal kit. The whole family family have fallen in love with this creature & he has been a superb starter for us all. We've no upgraded the enclosure & just got another snake last Wednesday. It's a 2 month old Trinket snake & all seems going well so far. Your channel has been an absolute goldmine of info & just want to thank you for your no nonsense common sense approach to everything reptile & beyond. If we had to go top of the range to start it would never have happened but now we improve our setups as we go & all four of us me probably the worst are obsessed. Thanks again guys & keep up the good work.
Great video and well put. I think, great as it is as a learning tool, the Internet seem to make people get a bit more tribalistic and as you said, it’s all about understanding both sides and finding the best middle ground. Love the content and love your guys’ attitude towards reptile keeping!
I just found your channel today and subscribed. Very informative. And I like the fact that you cover a lot of snakes that many people don’t and that you are very thorough in your descriptions. And I like the topics you cover. I have a variety of snakes. A corn snake, a Mexican black king snake, a children’s python, a male and female western hognose, A mandarin rat snake and a Thai bamboo rat snake. I also have a Russian tortoise and a northern blue tongue skink. And an eastern box turtle I started my reptile journey with a Russian tortoise about eight years ago.
Thanks for going through my question so thoroughly, wasn't expecting a whole video response lol. Relevant not only to the reptile hobby but pretty much any other hobby/thought process/ideology. There's always going to be those 2 extremes in which often seem to be the most vocal. If you wholeheartedly believe you are doing something 100% the right way and any other way is inferior then yes you are probably going to vocal about it with a passion like that. Luckily the majority of us seem to be in the middle, maybe leaning more left or right, but looking for the best of both worlds. It's interesting to hear why shops still sell products that are outdated or not completely ideal compared to newer equipment available. I never thought about how much money these things must be bringing in and to get rid of these would be cutting profits massively. And I completely agree, any shop that goes straight to the £100+ thermostats, T5s, 8ft enclosures for a 4ft snake, etc will never make any money. We all knew that one guy before we had reptiles who had a corn snake and all he had was a shoebox and a heatmat...My cousin actually kept an adult corn snake in a 45x45x60 tall exo terra. He was confused why I keep my cali king in a 4x2x2 lol
Absolutely right Chaz. I get the impression that online communication has a lot to do with the intolerance; people say things via the web that they wouldn’t in the presence of whoever they are “talking to”. Stuff like “you must heat from above” merely betrays a woeful lack of thought: for example, in the wild, a puff adder might emerge from a shady spot under some bushes to bask and warm up; it might well crawl onto a rock. That rock will be very warm if it’s exposed to the sun, and the snake will obtain far more heat from below than from above. In one book I read about what the writer called “thermal mass”: incorporating a large rock under an overhead heat source. I have some large rock slabs under the ceramic in my boa constrictor’s viv:she often lays part of her body on this, and, being a heavy bodied snake, she can raise her temperature more quickly if she feels the need. Also, using large rocks which retain heat can be very handy if there’s a power cut. And I reckon anyone who thinks they can’t learn throughout life if a do-do.
I also feel like if beginner keepers go straight to the advanced keeping methods, they miss out on a lot of the lessons that come with starting with the basics which can be very important in the long run.
Love just hearing you being so down to earth and realistic. No shame in making a profit. I think we all change and improve as we go. Everyone starts somwhere.
I've felt one of the hardest steps in graduating from a novice to intermediate keeper is getting past all the noise on forums and biased content and figuring out what works to facilitate the animals needs as it continues to grow. astounding rhetoric on the topic mate!
Would you be able to do more videos on panther chameleons? I’m torn between a chameleon or a peters banded skink. I like a challenge. What’s your thoughts?
I genuinely believe that bioactive is the best way to go if possible, but that’s not to say that more “minimalist” advice should be completely disregarded. Some species just simply aren’t suitable for bioactive enclosures and beyond that, minimalist care does not automatically=animal abuse.
You are absolutely correct! Once again amazing content as per usual! Keep up the amazing work you keep making them I’ll keep watching them. From beginner to whatever.... This channel is wicked Great!👏
Not related to this video but asking here since latest, how would you define an intermediate keeper? And would you say someone who's an intermediate lizard keeper but never had snakes would fare well with intermediate snakes and vice versa? Cheers.
Glad to say that here it's quite this way really. Been keeping reptiles in vivariums for exactly 20 years. Back in the day we keepers made so many bloody mistakes such as changing water bowls every week or even fortnight. No thermostats. Bedding that started to mold or dry out. Now we wanna change for the better thus giving our animals a better life. At the same time we need to distinguish between breeders and keepers meaning cutting the former some slag bc they simply cannot keep animals the same way we do at home. Space, loads of enrichment. Therefore finding some sort of middle ground we can all adhere to would be a dream come true that's achievable we're sure. Cheers again mate for this wicked episode that quite literally hit home like probably no other before...
Isn't it just the way of the world these days, there is a group of people who not only waist their limited time on this planet worrying about what someone else is doing and for some odd reason feel they need to deem themselves the unelected regulatory committee when in fact nobody asked for their opinion and certainly not their advice. Just be happy that we get to keep these absolutely incredible animals, instead of spending time trying to cancel or call out keepers you disagree with, put that valuable time and energy into your own animals and education and we'll all be much better for it. Love this channel, you guys have some of the best content I've seen here on UA-cam. Keep up the great work!
I started keeping snakes with the support and guidance of Chaz, spent many a weekend popping in for one thing and staying for hours having these very chats.
Good to see that there are still people pushing common sense and always there to support others if they are willing to listen.
Keep up the good work, mate. Hope you're well in these weird times and when it's all over looking forward to being able to visit again.
Best shop in the country
You explained this issue really well. "Lead by example" can be the only way forward.
I was 14 when started keeping reptiles. No one helped me, I had very little money, made lots of mistakes. But got into the hobby, stayed in the hobby and become a zoologist because of the hobby. Of course now I know how to take better care of my animals, but if at the beginning I could only keep animals if I bought the best equipment, I couldn't have kept anything and my life would be completely different...
Great video. I think I'll subscribe. Thank you.
Im more than an advanced keeper if I may say so myself.
But I absolutely love your content and watch every video!
Keep doing what you are doing, you guys are golden!
If I’m ever around I’ll make sure to visit you guys!
Cheers!
I'm new to the hobby mate. I'm 53 & my 14 year old wanted a snake for years. I was into fish keeping for years but packed up 15 years ago. The snake thing didn't go away so last year we bought Thayers Kingsnake & small snake minimal kit. The whole family family have fallen in love with this creature & he has been a superb starter for us all. We've no upgraded the enclosure & just got another snake last Wednesday. It's a 2 month old Trinket snake & all seems going well so far.
Your channel has been an absolute goldmine of info & just want to thank you for your no nonsense common sense approach to everything reptile & beyond.
If we had to go top of the range to start it would never have happened but now we improve our setups as we go & all four of us me probably the worst are obsessed.
Thanks again guys & keep up the good work.
Great video and well put. I think, great as it is as a learning tool, the Internet seem to make people get a bit more tribalistic and as you said, it’s all about understanding both sides and finding the best middle ground. Love the content and love your guys’ attitude towards reptile keeping!
I just found your channel today and subscribed. Very informative. And I like the fact that you cover a lot of snakes that many people don’t and that you are very thorough in your descriptions. And I like the topics you cover. I have a variety of snakes. A corn snake, a Mexican black king snake, a children’s python, a male and female western hognose, A mandarin rat snake and a Thai bamboo rat snake. I also have a Russian tortoise and a northern blue tongue skink. And an eastern box turtle I started my reptile journey with a Russian tortoise about eight years ago.
Thanks for going through my question so thoroughly, wasn't expecting a whole video response lol. Relevant not only to the reptile hobby but pretty much any other hobby/thought process/ideology. There's always going to be those 2 extremes in which often seem to be the most vocal. If you wholeheartedly believe you are doing something 100% the right way and any other way is inferior then yes you are probably going to vocal about it with a passion like that. Luckily the majority of us seem to be in the middle, maybe leaning more left or right, but looking for the best of both worlds.
It's interesting to hear why shops still sell products that are outdated or not completely ideal compared to newer equipment available. I never thought about how much money these things must be bringing in and to get rid of these would be cutting profits massively. And I completely agree, any shop that goes straight to the £100+ thermostats, T5s, 8ft enclosures for a 4ft snake, etc will never make any money. We all knew that one guy before we had reptiles who had a corn snake and all he had was a shoebox and a heatmat...My cousin actually kept an adult corn snake in a 45x45x60 tall exo terra. He was confused why I keep my cali king in a 4x2x2 lol
Absolutely right Chaz. I get the impression that online communication has a lot to do with the intolerance; people say things via the web that they wouldn’t in the presence of whoever they are “talking to”. Stuff like “you must heat from above” merely betrays a woeful lack of thought: for example, in the wild, a puff adder might emerge from a shady spot under some bushes to bask and warm up; it might well crawl onto a rock. That rock will be very warm if it’s exposed to the sun, and the snake will obtain far more heat from below than from above. In one book I read about what the writer called “thermal mass”: incorporating a large rock under an overhead heat source. I have some large rock slabs under the ceramic in my boa constrictor’s viv:she often lays part of her body on this, and, being a heavy bodied snake, she can raise her temperature more quickly if she feels the need. Also, using large rocks which retain heat can be very handy if there’s a power cut. And I reckon anyone who thinks they can’t learn throughout life if a do-do.
I also feel like if beginner keepers go straight to the advanced keeping methods, they miss out on a lot of the lessons that come with starting with the basics which can be very important in the long run.
Love just hearing you being so down to earth and realistic. No shame in making a profit. I think we all change and improve as we go. Everyone starts somwhere.
I've felt one of the hardest steps in graduating from a novice to intermediate keeper is getting past all the noise on forums and biased content and figuring out what works to facilitate the animals needs as it continues to grow. astounding rhetoric on the topic mate!
Would you be able to do more videos on panther chameleons? I’m torn between a chameleon or a peters banded skink. I like a challenge. What’s your thoughts?
I genuinely believe that bioactive is the best way to go if possible, but that’s not to say that more “minimalist” advice should be completely disregarded. Some species just simply aren’t suitable for bioactive enclosures and beyond that, minimalist care does not automatically=animal abuse.
You are absolutely correct! Once again amazing content as per usual! Keep up the amazing work you keep making them I’ll keep watching them. From beginner to whatever.... This channel is wicked Great!👏
Not related to this video but asking here since latest, how would you define an intermediate keeper? And would you say someone who's an intermediate lizard keeper but never had snakes would fare well with intermediate snakes and vice versa? Cheers.
Glad to say that here it's quite this way really. Been keeping reptiles in vivariums for exactly 20 years. Back in the day we keepers made so many bloody mistakes such as changing water bowls every week or even fortnight. No thermostats. Bedding that started to mold or dry out. Now we wanna change for the better thus giving our animals a better life. At the same time we need to distinguish between breeders and keepers meaning cutting the former some slag bc they simply cannot keep animals the same way we do at home. Space, loads of enrichment. Therefore finding some sort of middle ground we can all adhere to would be a dream come true that's achievable we're sure. Cheers again mate for this wicked episode that quite literally hit home like probably no other before...