Strength In Leos Podcast

How cool would it be if we found more undescribed species of Leopard Geckos? Villanova Biology professor Dr. Aaron Bauer, like many of us, is a huge gecko enthusiast. Dr. Bauer serves as the Gerald M. Lemole Endowed Chair in Integrative Biology at Villanova and has described more new species of reptiles than any other living scientist, including over seven percent of the more than 1,800 living geckos. In this episode of the podcast, I was able to speak with Dr. Bauer about his research, how he got interested in this field, and what’s next for gecko research in the future.  

On Session Twenty-Three of the Strength In Leos Podcast, I speak with Dillon Damuth of Gecko Labs about a few distinct reptile species, as well as the importance of conservation. He has a very strong background in Biological Sciences and is currently working on my PhD. In the last few years, he has begun to focus more heavily towards advancing husbandry, studying behavior more intricately, and now delegate a large chunk of profits to help fund conservation, specifically, Urban Ark Conservation. Dillon is a wealth of knowledge and shared some great advice in regards to specific viewpoints as keepers in the hobby. Listen in to learn more about Dillon's operation and quite a few different species that are quite rare in captive collections.

A mutation that was first discovered in 1999 out Ron Tremper's Tremper Albino project, there has been much debate over what this gene is. Is it Co-Dominant, Incomplete Dominant, Polygenic, Recessive, or does this "gene" really exist? In this episode of the podcast, I had the opportunity to speak with Kevin Baron of Mutant Geckos about his Super Giant projects. Kevin is a relatively new breeder in the hobby, but this hasn't kept him from being super knowledgeable about the genus Eublepharis. Enjoy this awesome free-flowing conversation about his experience breeding. 

On this episode of the podcast, I had the awesome opportunity to talk to Bill Strand of The Chameleon Breeders Podcast. Bill is a passionate chameleon breeder and keeper who also has his podcast geared towards the chameleon community. Bill and I discuss what makes podcasting so awesome and how fortunate we are to bring the reptile community together through audio. Listen in to hear us talk about spreading knowledge, education, the reptile community, reptile experts, and much more. 

Listen all the way through to hear some bloopers!

Chameleon Breeder Links:

https://www.instagram.com/chameleon_breeder/

https://www.facebook.com/chambreederpodcast/

https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/

This episode of the Strength In Leos podcast features two guests, Joe Phelan and Melissa Davis who are corn snake breeders who run Port City Pythons. Joe and Melissa both host the podcast From The Ground Up, which is another awesome reptile podcast that brings on a variety of different guests from scientists, conservationists, and reptile breeders. Listen in to hear a great conversation about reptiles and our goals as podcasters to get the word out about these awesome cold-blooded creatures. 

This episode of the Strength In Leos podcast features Garrett Hartle of Reach Out Reptiles. Garrett is reptile breeder who's main focus is producing amazing Dwarf and Superdwarf Reticulated Pythons. On the show Garrett and I talked about the business side of the reptile game as well as what it takes to actually "make it" in the reptile industry. 

Just as the title of this episode states, my next guest needs no introduction. John is a wealth of knowledge and a "walking eublepharis encyclopedia" at best. This episode covers a range of topics including information about what John has brewing in his lab for this season to the current state of the leopard gecko breeding hobby. Oh and how could I almost forget? Listen to hear about the new gene recessive gene that has popped out of his collection.

In this episode, Don Hamilton from Highwoods Exotics joins us on the show discuss many different topics regarding the quality of some of the amazing morphs he's developed over the years. Don is full of helpful information and advice due to his many years of being in the reptile hobby. I hope you gain some insights about what it's like to develop quality lines and selective breed for specific traits. 

Dr. Matthew Vickaryous conducts research on leopard gecko regeneration at the University of Guelph. He obtains a a BSc (Zoology) and an MSc (Vertebrate Palaeontology) at the University of Calgary, as well as a PhD (Evolutionary Developmental Biology) at Dalhousie University, Halifax. In this episode of th podcast we dive deep into the amazing powers of regeneration in leopard geckos. 

In this episode of the podcast, I was able to speak with Sage Quiggle of Q's Geckos about quality and genetics of Leopard Geckos. Not only did she discuss the subject but explained why these were important in detail with examples regarding her projects.