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 your community. Brandon talks about how TARAS has been successful in, helping government bodies reverse anti-reptile keeping bylaws, raising large grants for reptile conservation research, creating emergency action plans, and more. This episode will motivate you to get involved with your local herp society today!

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/127-brandon-millichamp/

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 also discuss the recent successful breeding that saw Darcy and her two daughters, Brooke and Faith, bring more than 30 captive breed crabs to land.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/126-ccs-2/

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 released 2nd Edition of The Complete Carpet Python, and we also chat about some of the interesting topics he has covered on his podcast including power-feeding and species classification.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/125-justin-julander-phd/

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 also discuss some incredibly underrated species in herpetoculture, the ethical issues with keeping medium to large species, and we learn specifics about a few of his breeding projects, including the genus Draco, i.e. flying lizards. SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/124-frank-payne/

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. The second video investigates the true natural habitat of leopard geckos and how wrong many of the common assumptions about their native range are. We wrap the discussion up with a quick review of the 2022 Advancing Herpetological Husbandry Conference.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/123-ricky-johnson/

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 should be offered to arid species and if spinach is safe to feed to your reptile or feeder insects. We wrap up the episode with rapid-fire questions that were submitted via Instagram.

SHOW NOTES: hhttps://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/122-dr-chapman/

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 pets into the wild.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/121-invasive-species-centre/

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://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/120-marley-peifer/

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 and his girlfriend Maddie are working on, how he found a Sulcuta tortoise wandering the suburbs of Michigan, and much more!

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/119-tyler-rugge/