Animals at Home Network

Dr. Kevin Arbuckle joins us to talk about folklore husbandry. How he came up with the term, the issues faced within herpetoculture, and how we can move more towards evidence-based husbandry. SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/14-dr-kevin-arbuckle/   LINKS FROM THE EPISODE: Support, Subscribe  & Follow: CHECK OUT Custom Reptile Habitats CLICK HERE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST NETWORK: SPO...

Jessica Fennen is the content creator behind the YouTube channel, Jessica’s Animal Friends . Jessica runs a reptile sanctuary that's catered to reptiles with physical and/or neurological disorders. Jessica cares for 30+ leopard geckos, many with lifelong disabilities, most of which related to morph breeding. We discuss the leopard gecko morphs which cause the most issues (enigma, white & yellow, l...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Chris Sharp of Sharpshooter Reptiles! We briefly discuss Chris’ background in herpetoculture, before discussing his collection of beetles, his thoughts on herpetoculture as a whole, and a lot more. This one is a bit goofier and more lighthearted than usual, but has its fair share of deeper terrain covered! Have a listen! And please like, subscri...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Matt Tietgen of Bloody Goannas and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo! We briefly discuss Matt's origins in herpetoculture, before getting into the nitty gritty of his life and work as a dedicated zookeeper and private herpetoculturist. This one has Inland taipans and perenties - enough said! Have a listen! And please like, subscribe, and share this episo...

Jennifer Cook of Snake Arts specializes in hyper-realistic snake and lizard sculptures. She is well known in the industry for producing stunning, life-like sculptures and uses her work to create appreciation, and promote conservation and education for the animals we love. She sculpted the beautiful door handles for both IguanaLand and The Chiricahua Desert Museum and her work has also been feature...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Heather Moye of Fairytail Dragons LLC! We briefly discuss Heather's origins in herpetoculture, before diving into her perspective of customer service, and her methods as a breeder of exceptional bearded dragons and other lizards. Have a listen! And please like, subscribe, and share this episode, if you feel so inclined. To offer direct support t...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Dan Mulleary of the DM Exotics! We briefly discuss Dan’s beginnings in the trade, before diving into his role as an importer, exporter, and breeder of obscure Southeast Asian herpetofauna. Have a listen! And please like, subscribe, and share this episode, if you feel so inclined. To offer direct support to the show, please consider subscribing t...

In this episode, Rus Wilson of Aquarimax Pets gives us a full masterclass on isopods. We discuss which species would make the best display pets, how to set them up, which species work best in both arid and tropical bio-active setups as well as which species might work best as a feeder. Rus walks us through basic care, how to raise successful colonies and their evolutionary history. We warp the epi...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Kamiel Hamers of the Hammerhead Reptiles! We discuss Kamiel's humble beginnings in the trade, what ignited his passion for Uromastyx, why he focuses on desert species, how he has changed and progressed his husbandry over time, and a lot more. Have a listen! And please like, subscribe, and share this episode, if you feel so inclined. To offer dir...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Jeremy Thompson of the Kinixys Cooperative! We discuss Jeremy’s early influences in the trade, how he discovered a passion for the genus Kinixys (hingeback tortoises, the role of herpetoculture in conservation, refining and focusing a collection, and a lot more. Jeremy is truly one of a kind and this is an episode with considerable depth. Have a...

Jonathan Hill is the founder of iPardalis, a chameleon breeding operation out of the USA that specializes in producing yellow and red-bodied Ambilobe panther chameleons (Furcifer pardalis). In this episode, Jonathan talks us through some incredibly important topics that are crucial when aiming to ethically produce animals. The topics include selling fertilized chameleon eggs, keeping babies in gro...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Allen Repashy - a man who truly needs no introduction in herpetoculture! We discuss Allen's origins in the trade, how we went from having a modest home scale collection to a large scale reptile breeding facility, the important of community in herpetoculture, how the trade has changed over the years, and a lot more. This discussion is full of gem...

In 1980, a single specimen of a “tree monitor” was recovered from Halmahera, Indonesia. In 2005, it was determined that the specimen had originally been misidentified and the holotype specimen was actually an unidentified species. This newly discovered species was named, Varanus zugorum, common name Zug’s Monitor. This animal has never been rediscovered in the wild and has now been listed as one o...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Colin Marshall! We discuss Colin’s background, his meandering path to becoming a husbandry professional, his personal relationship to keeping at home, how it’s changed for him over time, and a whole lot more. Have a listen! And please like, subscribe, and share this episode, if you feel so inclined. To offer direct support to the show, please co...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Stacy and Dan of Roots, Scoots, & Scales! We discuss their eclectic collection, where their interests overlap and diverge, working with rare and yet-to-be established species, curation and presentation of a collection, and a whole lot more. This was a really enjoyable conversation and we’re inspired by what Dan and Stacy are doing. Have a listen...

Tom Mellor is the creator of Eco-Logic Gecko, a YouTube channel dedicated to documenting the process of recreating the complex wild habitat of leopard geckos.  Tom talks us through how a negative experience he had early on in his reptile-keeping career propelled him to create one of the most appealing leopard gecko setups I have seen. We discuss how Tom collects data and information, including the...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Nathan Carlos Rupley, a forager and earth living devotee with a lifelong interest in herpetoculture! We discuss Nathan's background, upbringing, and winding journey with herpetoculture, his thoughts on designing a holistic collection, the similarities and differences between keeping invertebrates and herpetofauna, and a whole lot more. Have a li...

Is there an underlying reason that there are some ball pythons that struggle in a vivarium and some that do wonderfully? The Ball python has an amazing and ever-growing community of keepers surrounding it. But not all Ball python keepers see eye to eye? Why do some find they stress in vivariums when they test it and others do not? Ball python care has many layers and in this video, we try to peel...

James Graham of Top Shelf Geckos is a small-batch reptile breeder out of Canada, mainly focused on African Fat-Tailed Geckos, New Caledonian species, and Collared Lizards. In the episode, we discuss how James is able to produce a profit while providing enriching living conditions for his breeding stock. We also discuss the controversial concept of “breeding mills” and contemplate whether or not “i...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Sam Aneca, both a private keeper and zookeeper at Antwerp Zoo! We discuss the origins of Sam’s interest in herpetofauna, how he became a zookeeper, his private collection, the need for better methods of herpetoculture education, and his thoughts on the craft as a whole. Have a listen! And please like, subscribe, and share this episode, if you fe...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Morgan Palmer of Tierra Turtles! We discuss Morgan’s background and philosophy of keeping, how he provides for the turtles in his care, the value of herpetoculture in modern society, and a whole lot more. Morgan is a really thoughtful person and it was a pleasure to have this discussion. Have a listen! And please like, subscribe, and share this...

In this Round Table episode,  @MikeTytula  of Alpha Reptile & Jungle Vault and Armen Keuylian of  @HerpTime  discuss the fascinating genus, Takydromus, commonly referred to as Grass Lizards. This genus is an easy contender for the most underrated lizard genus in herpetoculture. They possess monitor-like intelligence, they are both active in their enclosure and interactive with their keeper, and th...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with Scott and Tie Eipper of Nature 4 You! We take a serious deep dive in this episode; delving into a number of topics, from the state of herpetoculture in Australia, to emergency removal services for venomous snakes, to the design and structure of Scott and Tie’s herpetoculture facility. Have a listen! And please like, subscribe, and share this epi...

In this episode, Phil and Roy have a discussion with our very own host, Dillon Perron, of the Animals at Home Podcast (and Network!). We get into the nitty gritty of a recent episode ( https://youtu.be/O54nOy8cX3o )  Dillon released sharing some of his broader philosophies and critiques of herpetoculture, where he sees potential for growth in the practice, and where herpetoculture is potentially m...

Nick Bertrand is a keeper out of Quebec, Canada who now focuses on rare and uncommon lizard species. In the episode, Nick explains how his initial passion for reptile keeping quickly became unmanageable and resulted in him needing to take a break from herpetoculture entirely. Simply put, high-quantity rack keeping killed his passion for keeping which is a very common experience among herpetocultur...