Animals at Home Network

Rex Colubra is a long-time reptile keeper and the creator of the YouTube Channel, Rex Colurba’s All-Animal Channel. In this episode, Rex walks us through how to bond and connect with your reptiles, including how to tame an aggressive snake. Rex treats each animal as an individual, sentient being, which is the key to building trusting relationships with the animals you interact with. We discuss rep...

Brandon Millichamp is the currently President of The Alberta Reptile and Amphibian Society (TARAS). In this episode, Brandon tells us about his collection including an interesting breeding project he is working on with the 3 species in the Leioheterodon genus (Madagascar hognose). The majority of this conversation is focused on the importance of having a well-function herpetological society in you...

Darcy Madsen of Crab Central Station returns to the podcast to discuss her incredible and compelling journey attempting to do something that has only been done a handful of times in history, breed hermit crabs in captivity! Darcy explains the life cycle of hermit crabs which start out in a microscopic planktonic larval stage and walks us through previous failed breeding attempts. Of course, we als...

Justin Julander PhD. is a reptile keeper and breeder out of Utah. He is also one of the authors of a few popular reptile books including The Complete Carpet Python and the Complete Children’s Python and is a co-host on the Reptile Fight Club Podcast. In this episode, we discuss reptile viruses, the importance of books in herpetoculture, Justin fills us in on some exciting details of the soon to be...

Frank Payne is a biology teacher, former AZA herpetology zookeeper, and the founder of the reptile breeding operation, Living Art by Frank Payne. In this episode, we discuss the importance of both, keeping a wide variety of species and narrowing your focus to a select few. Frank explains why he has decided to focus on small species and the main differences he sees between keepers and breeders. We...

Ricky Johnson is a reptile keeper out of the UK, an admin on the Facebook group, Advancing Herpetological Husbandry, and a content creator for the HerpHQ YouTube Channel. In this episode, Ricky breaks down two of his recent educational videos that were released on HerpHQ. The first video explores the complexities of the reptile mind including, emotional intelligence and problem-solving abilities....

Dr. Kelsey Chapman returns to the podcast to discuss reptile nutrition! In this episode, Dr. Chapman explains how to properly supplement Vitamin A to avoid deficiency and what to look for on your container of "reptile multi-vitamin" prior to using it. She also describes the dangers of over-using grocery store "greens" for herbivorous reptiles, specifically land tortoises, whether or not water shou...

Colin Cassin and Jenna White are two team members of the Invasive Species Centre out of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. In this episode, we discuss the type of work done by the ISC, and the magnitude of the invasive species problem in Canada including specific examples. Colin and Jenna also discuss the ISC's "Don't Let It Loose" campaign which aims to help educate pet owners on the dangers of releasing...

Mat Van Geothem is an absolute legend, he's a guy who spends his life looking for reptiles in the wild all over the world. Today we get to hear some of the incredible adventures Mat has been been on and we can live vicariously through him. How can we do better and increase the level of care for our animals, this episode might just give you an idea of the answer.

Marley Peifer stopped by the podcast to discuss the practice of nature journaling. Nature journaling is a unique and profound way to interact with both the natural world and the captive animals you keep at home. In this episode, Marley explains how he discovered natural journaling, how he uses it and provides tips and advice for beginners looking to start journaling themselves. SHOW NOTES: https:/...

Tyler Rugge is a popular YouTube creator and one of the early so-called "PetTubers". In this episode, we discuss how Tyler found himself in the PetTube world, we discuss the pressures of having a large audience, dealing with internet negativity, and the dangers of getting into a cycle of buying new animals to fuel content. Tyler tells us about his large group of animals, the breeding projects he a...

​ Mike Tytula of Alpha Reptile returns to the podcast to share incredible stories from his herping trip to Costa Rica with Adam Wickens from  Wickens Wicked Reptiles , Dayyan Saylany of  Reptiliatus , and videographer, Nadim. Mike tells us about their journey through the various rainforest ecosystems of Costa Rica on both the Caribbean and Pacific sides of the country as well as a short trip into...

Dr. Connor Long is a veterinarian and long-time reptile keeper out if California. In this episode, we discuss how going through vet school changed the way Connor practices herpetoculture, including how to avoid one of the most common reasons for death in captive reptiles. Dr. Long also talks about an incredible arid bioactive setup he created for his leopard gecko. He tells us about the aspects of...

Chris Leone founded Garden State Tortoise in 2011 with his wife Casey. Garden State Tortoise is a breeding facility, a rescue, and a permanent home for many different species of turtle and tortoise. In this episode, Chris discusses how GST started and the type of work they do today. He tells us about Otis, the incredible Eastern Box Turtle that recently went viral on YouTube as well as a mysteriou...

Jeff and Maddox Stewart are a father and son duo who share a passion for herpetoculture. In this episode, we discuss the powerful bond that can be established between family members through herpetoculture. Jeff tells us how important it was for him to foster Maddox's interests and Maddox explains the pros and cons of sharing the hobby with his dad. of course, we also discuss how they got into rept...

Scott and Tie Eipper are a husband and wife team who run the wildlife-based business, Nature 4 You out of Queensland, Australia. Scott and Tie are also authors having written husbandry guides for keeping amphibians and venomous snakes as well as several naturalist guides for the reptile and amphibian species of Australia. In the episode we discuss, protocols for keeping venomous snakes including f...

Ryan and Erica McVeigh are the founders of the newly launched reptile brand, VivTech. In this episode, Ryan discusses why they decided to start VivTech as well as some of the issues with large corporate reptile brands. Ryan also talks about the importance of supporting both USARK and conservation initiatives and explains how he has folded that into the brand's mission. Of course, we talk about the...

Michael Starkey is the Executive Director and Founder of Save The Snakes, an organization dedicated to snake conservation and mitigating Human-Snake conflict. In the episode, Michael explains why it was The W.H.O's decision to classify snakebite as a "neglected tropical disease" that motivated him to found the organization. We discuss the work Save The Snakes does, and how it impacts snake conserv...

Eddy Garabito is a blue tree monitor (Varanus macraei) keeper and soon-to-be breeder out of Brooklyn, New York. He is also a strong DIY hobbyist and an inventor who is using 3D printers to create some incredible, new reptile products designed to promote better husbandry. In this episode, we discuss Eddy's passion for blue tree monitors, general care for the species as well as why he wants to breed...

Emma Sampson is a popular Canadian Reptile YouTuber with over 100k subscribers and an animal educator. In this episode, Emma tells us about her cross-country move from Ottawa to Nova Scotia with over 50 reptiles in tow. We discuss what life is like as a reptile-related content creator and Emma also tells us about her new animal education and virtual zoo business venture. Emma fills us in on her ca...

Matthew Shackleton is a Veterinary Physiotherapist and ex-zookeeper out of the UK who specializes in the rehabilitation of exotic animals. Matthew is highly interested in how the captive environment and management predispose animals to pathology. In the episode, Matthew explains what Vet PT is, and he breaks down his Masters Thesis which studied the gait of Komodo Dragons and how lameness presents...

Quinn Chavez is a reptile keeper, YouTube creator, and artist out of Southern California. In this episode, we discuss "Herp Corner", a YouTube web series dedicated to highlighting unusual and unknown reptile and amphibian species. Quinn shares information about species of worm lizards, blind snakes, Mexican mole lizards, and more! We discuss some bizarre facts about Charles Darwin, how to particip...

Luke Cordall is the owner of LHC Pythons, a UK based snake breeding operation. In the episode, Luke gives us his interesting background in reptile keeping, as well as what species he currently keeps. We also discuss breeding ball pythons including how to improve racks, being mindful of how addicting morph breeding can be, and whether or not greed is taking over the hobby. We also cover the importa...

Adeline Robinson is a full-time wildlife conservation artist that specializes in rare and exotic reptiles and aquatics. In this episode, Adeline tells us about her experience vending at nearly 20 reptile expos in 12 months, how she developed a passion for nature and art as well as what initially drew her to reptiles. Adeline explains in detail the process she goes through to produce near photo-rea...

Olly Wilson is a reptile keeper and zookeeper out of the UK. In this episode, we discuss a couple of the interesting species Olly keeps including a species of horned mountain dragon (Acanthosaura lepidogaster) and Dune gecko (Stenodactylus spp.). We also discuss an interesting way to re-engage with the animals you currently keep by running at-home studies. Olly also tells us about his fruit beetle...