#specifically on reptiles

[thedeadliestdeathtoeverdie]

I'm defending my masters thesis today

UGH

[sparrowlucero]

The greatest injustice ever faced is that I almost certainly started the still thriving "clown husbandry" tag on here, but any discussion about it (from a know your meme page to a youtube video with 500k views) says it's a joke of "unknown origin" or credited to this post, likely bouncing off of mine (which was actively circulating at the time with like 30k notes):

This is a tragedy for many reasons, most of all because it wasn't just an offhand joke but actually a direct response to some of the funniest online hate I ever got:

They're erasing the truest history of tumblr: its desperate need to seethe and argue over every obvious joke with more than 10 notes.

anyways here is the canonical pet clown. according to me

[kaijutegu]

How Do You Move A Crocodilian?

In light of a recent post, you may be wondering: just how CAN zoos move crocodilians without hitting them in the face with a shovel? I linked some good examples in the post above, but here's some more. Sometimes with small crocodilians if you want to move them, you can just... pick them up. Gently and carefully, but you can lift some smaller species without causing them much distress. Of course, there's a lot of trust that needs to be built first, but it can be done! Here's Cincinnati moving their Chinese alligators between habitats.

Great handling here. Two handlers on the gator at all times, pelvic and pectoral girdles supported, easy release into the water. This is a small species so this is safe, and look how relaxed and easy their body language is!

This is another safe way to move a crocodilian- leading them with a target! Obviously you can't pick up a fully grown American alligator very easily, but here's Brevard Zoo showing you how responsive their big boys are to this kind of training.

Zoos all over the world use different training techniques to work on their crocs. Here's a nice video from St. Augustine Alligator Farm that shows how they work their gharials to participate in their own healthcare:

Training is really important for human and animal safety. For the animals, it helps them participate in their own healthcare and know what to expect. It also helps mitigate social tensions, lets you see that every animal is getting the right amount of food, lets you easily work with them in and out of the water (you need to see them on land for an accurate body condition assessment), and provides mental and social stimulation for them.

But also: if your animals trust you and have some training, it protects both you and them in an emergency. When you work with large carnivores like crocodilians, you need to be able to predict the unpredictable, and be prepared for things to go wrong. Part of that preparation is setting the animals up for success. An animal that's scared of you isn't going to cooperate with medical care. It will be difficult to move in case of an emergency, and it will be harder to maintain control during a worst-case scenario.

If you have to evacuate your facility or something, and you need your croc to go into a carrier box, if it is trained to do that, it's not going to add yet another new, terrifying experience to a pile of new and terrifying experiences. Training is how zookeepers protect themselves and the animals, and when you compare this type of thing to more aversive techniques, it should be fairly easy to see why using the right training techniques is important!

[thereweredragonshere]

Okay but what if I just

[purplebehittindifferent]

I like it when people sit down to get to know me, and they’ll ask a question, and they realize that I know WAY too much about EVERYTHING.

“Oh- you’ve eaten raw horse?”

“Yeah it gave me E-Coli”

“What’s E-coli?”

*EXPLAINS THE ENTIRETY OF HOW YOUR BODY REACTA AND WHERE IT COMES FROM AND HOW IT WORKS*

“W-wow you know a lot about that- what else have you eaten that’s weird?”

“Uni, which- actually do you know the only edible part of a sea urchin is: *MORE EXTREMELY RANDOM INFO*”

“That’s crazy! Ew- I don’t think I’ve eaten weird things before.”

“Did you know in Japan they eat live octopuses? They started just doing the little ones that fit in your mouth but now they are FULLY eating ones that fight back- which is neat because even after you bite a limb off they- *INFO ON MARINE LIFE SYNAPSES AND THAT OCTOPUS TENTACLES SUCTION IS STRONG ENOUGH TO LEAVE A HICKEY*”

“How do you know this??”

“Uhhh- a Chuckle sandwich podcast, and a lot of experience fishing with my dad, that led to more research. ALSO DID YOU KNOW THAT DOLPHINS FEEL LIKE WET HOTDOGS??? OH AND WAIT TILL YOU HEAR ABOUT THE WAY THEY HALF SLEEP WITH THEIR BRA-“

I talked for an hour.

The way I acquired this completely random and oddly specific/complicated information was by NO NORMAL MEANS.

People have started ASKING me questions about random stuff because they KNOW I’ll know SOMETHING about it

IS THIS MY SUPERPOWER? I MEAN ITS SÚPER ANNOYING TO OTHERS BUT IM SO SMART AND SO DUMB AT THE SAME TIME??? LOL????

[tj-crochets]

Throwback to the first quilt I made for myself! Now, years later and having made a lot more quilts, there are some things I’d change but I still love it

[omg-snakes]

Snestion: what's your favorite Corn Snek Behavior?

I genuinely don't even begin to know how to answer this, I'm sorry.

You may as well have asked which aspect of the leaf twisting in the light breeze is your favorite? Which color band of the rainbow on a late summer day after the first rain of the season? Which stage of a flower's bloom? Which dimple on an orange's skin?

They are all part of the whole and must be appreciated in equal measure. To dissect them apart and identify one as superior is a disservice to the organism these parts comprise.

Every behavior that defines a corn snake is my favorite.

[drawingdragonfly]

Hey, just letting you know, October 21st is Reptile Awareness day. I am aware that you love reptiles and have a pet chameleon, so I thought I'd give you advance warning so you can celebrate. Also:

snek.

THERES A REPTILE HOLIDAY?!? AND NOBODY TOLD ME?!????! this is absolutely outrageous. Reptile day needs to be recognized by the world.

Also this beautiful Snek has awakened some deep instinct in me

I must draw

May eternal glory be to the scaly boys!!!!!!! ✊✊✊

[scoriarose]

Meet the newest member of the family, Sakura! I'm giving her the first name Sakura as her coloration reminds me of a cherry blossom, and when she gets older her adult habitat will be Japanese garden themed.

I wanted to give her a middle name that sounds nice together, and represents her well- but it's hard to choose! Maybe a vote can help me pick. Kurīmu is what I've been calling her, but not sure if that is her final name. She's white like cream! And the words creamsicle, cloud, and star didn't have quite the right ring to them in Japanese. Sakura Kurosawa is a fun play on names but I'm not sure it really fits her. She is extremely fast and nimble, and while most other snakes freeze she runs faster than a creature without external legs should be capable- Haia would describe that aspect of her.

Shinju means pearl, which can be considered a rock/gem which would let her name be the inverse of her sister's name (Scoria Rose = Rock Flower, Sakura Shinju = Flower Rock)

Himari means light and love. I'd been thinking of calling her either light or love and this name means both. She is white like light, and pink with love. And her life with me I only wish to let her know love.

[violet-moonstone]

"It's an occupational hazard!"

"You just gestured to all of me."

"That’s...for everything else."

And

"Don't you know the trapper's trap can trap the trapper?"

Are some of my favourite httyd quotes and gods be damned if I don't shoehorn them into my fics whenever the opportunity arises.

[fixaidea]

Okay, poll: what's your gender identity and how do you feel about frogs.

[spinnysocks]

kiburi x ushari but specifically doomed kiburi x ushari. more than anyone else in the army they believe with full sincerity that scar's plan HAS to work because they can't succeed without him

[vixymix101]

Cutter from Antz my beloved <3

[maranull]

lil baby is scared but I'm sure he's (don't actually know its sex yet, praying it's male cause they grow much smaller than the females) gonna get used to his new tank in no time.

he was the bravest baby in the store, he's gonna rule this tank in time, I know it

anywho. buddy's a Golden Thread toortle and he's the new baby of the house :)

[cxpperhead]

What are your favorite non-snake reptiles to keep or look after?

"Hmm, it's difficult to say. There are just as many different species to take into consideration as there are ones with varying levels of temperament, needs and care requirements. In my personal experience, if I could only pick one set species to care for, it would probably be the monitor lizard. They are some of the most intelligent reptiles out there and come in a great variety from Ackie Monitors to the Australian Goanna." Savannah monitors, water monitors, he had a little experience with them all, even the odd Komodo here and there. Copperhead preferred snakes for obvious reasons, but he couldn't deny these particular lizards had their own unique charm. "The trouble with keeping them is that they require a lot more money and attention than most people think they need. They see a cute little baby lizard and can't imagine it needing anything more than a 4x2x2 enclosure once they grow up. I've seen too many monitors receiving subpar care, whether from poorly-maintain diets or too-small enclosures. I like them, but could not keep one long term due to the nature of my, ahh... employment."

[moeblob]

I'm very glad someone adopted Tom Paris and Captain Janeway's salamander children from Emmy-award winning Star Trek Voyager episode Threshold, it wasn't fair to leave them on that planet

(The reptile kinda reminds me of them)

Im going to pretend like I know more words than "reptile" and say yeah! Agreed!