i cant fukin handle how super serious you always act in your videos but then your editing is Memetastic like the contrast is so hilarious and tbh sometimes i just watch ur videos to see what kind of editing hijinks ur gonna pull off
Noah's Ark Exotics Adrenal - The adrenal glands have a significant influence on immunity. They produce hormones that are vital to several metabolic functions, including DHEA, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, and epinephrine. Specifically, the adrenal gland’s production of cortisol is essential to maintain immunity. However, the overproduction of cortisol weakens the immune system by suppressing neutrophil function. (Neutrophil’s - white blood cells critical for immune response.) Thyroid - A strong immune system needs an active production of Natural Killer Cells (NK or NKCs - part of the immune system’s first line of defense) to fight off foreign intruders. Researchers found that NK cells were more active among individuals with optimal levels of thyroid hormones. If you are concerned about your hormone levels being balanced, see your health care provider for their professional advice concerning your individual needs. Hormone balance is something you don’t want to try to fix on your own. Low thyroid levels can hamper the body’s response to viruses, and also cause a sluggish response to inflammation. Estrogen - Extremely high or low estrogen levels affect the immunity. Excessive production of estrogen can suppress the thyroid, as well as reduce the activity levels of NK cells and interleukin 2. Interleukin 2 is produced by T-cells (a type of white blood cell) to stimulate the immune system. Furthermore, high levels of estrogen decrease the size of the thymus gland, which depresses immune activity by causing a reduction in thymus hormone levels in the blood. In contrast, postmenopausal women that are estrogen-deprived also have weakened immunity. Low estrogen levels decrease NK cell, B lymphocyte, and T helper cell activity (all essential for proper immune response), while increasing the body’s inflammatory response. Progesterone - Low levels of progesterone has been linked to some autoimmune diseases. Correct progesterone balance affects proper T-cell and NK cell activity. It has also been observed that progesterone aids immune system development in the fetus, during pregnancy. Testosterone - When testosterone levels are low, T-cell production multiplies. T-cells fight against infections, but overproduction can lead to autoimmune diseases. In contrast, testosterone levels that become too high significantly increase corticosterone levels, which suppress immune activity. Testosterone also regulates production of monocytes and lymphocytes - white blood cells that are essential to immunity.
cool! it's what we're learning in school right now, so I just wanted to know :) my original point, however, was that traditionally it's thought that your immune system does all the heavy lifting, but it is helped by other systems
Thanks for doing this video young man. My son bought a Rosy Boa today and Petco sold me birdseed/ walnut substrate. Taking it out in the morning and replacing it ASAP.
Ever since I got my bearded dragon I’ve had him in repti carpet because I had done my research and everyone said sand was bad. Kept him like that for 2 years and he would ALWAYS try and dig the carpet plus I was tired of how even after I would clean his tank and carpet it would still smell. So I finally decided to switch to sand and my beardie loves it. My beardie loves it BUT if your going to use sand you have to be smart about it. My dragon has bricks above the sand which he uses as his basking spot and whenever I feed him I never let the crickets run wild for him to try and catch and possibly get sand in his mouth. I always feed him live crickets but I kill them but pinching them with feeder Tonga that way they don’t run away and I leave them in his bowl. He has a huge water dish and a basking spot with the right temperature in case he ever does get impaction he’ll be able to pass it through with a healthy digestive system.
Walnut shell is very abrasive, it's actually used in ammunition reloading case cleaners, you fill the bowl of your tumbler, drop in the brass to be cleaned, turn on the tumbler and in a couple days the cases come out gleaming and spotless
'Breeders put their snakes on pine and leos on sand, it's okay!' Number one most breeders shove their animals in tiny ass bins to live out their lives to breed them, so I wouldn't even listen to a big breeder who does this. Reptile care has evolved and I don't understand why someone wouldn't want the best for their animal?? If we were talking about dog care and rawhides being dangerous, people would be throwing out their chews. But because they're reptiles, most people don't seem to give a shit and its wrong. You are the owner, you took this animal, it's YOUR responsibility to make sure they have the best care. Being ignorant and ignoring better options just makes you seem stupid and it harms the animal. 'But in the wild-' Beardies are native to Australia and live on hard packed dirt. They might get into some sand or smaller fine crushed medium but they do not live on 100% sand. Snakes that do live near pine are just near or on the trees, not shredded pine that is more of an irritant than a solid log. It's inhaling the shredded material that makes them sick. They're forced to be on it 24/7 unlike wild snakes who just keep moving.
But at the same time, reptiles are NOT like dogs or rodents. They have less awareness. One of the main problems in reptile hobby, is that people are starting to treat reptiles like they are full of feelings. I prefer to house reptiles in terrariums myself, but that is something which is ONLY for our viewing pleasure! If you look at all those rack systems, the floorspace in these boxes are as big as a 10 gallon terrarium, which is minimum for Leopard Geckos. In the wild, snakes prefer to stay inside caves or branches for their entire lives. The only times where they leave, is when they need to find food. But since this is being provided for them in captivity, they thrive in a rack system as well. I understand that some do not follow all the guidelines, but people in the other end of the spectrum are part of the problem also...
@@MichaelHolmgaard Super late reply. Not dissing good sized rack systems. My geckos are in bins but have more than enough room to move around. Just give the snakes plenty of space. Snakes don't just chill in burrows. Ive seen plenty of snakes who love to move and explore their enclosure. But if you don't give them enough room or enrichment, of course they aren't going to do much. And yes I agree, people do humanize reptiles and that is bad. I'm not gonna say any are sad, but some do perk up when given better options.
i agree i keep my leopard gecko on sand for 3 reasons 1. its soft and doesnt make the leopard gecko constantly pulls their toes. 2. its soft and doesnt cause irritation so it falls through their toes. and 3.its a great excellent conductor so it conducts and is safe for the the leopard gecko. and my gecko is just fine on sand he seems for most part fairly healthy
You are the only serious kid I found on YT that's keeping reptiles. You have great knowledge and the way you share it is brilliant and I think a lot of much older people will watch your videos and treat you seriously because of that. Most young people on YT just looking for attention and are showing their parents reptiles often handling them in a rough way and stressing them out. I watched several of your videos and you are completely different, I can see reptiles are your passion and you take real interest in them. No fooling around, always very good advices and very good presence in front of camera. Let me tell you, you are one very impressive young man and you have great future ahead of you. Follow your dream and I'm sure you will become a really big personality in reptile keepers world one day because your dedication, knowledge and love for animals is clearly obvious and worth admiring.
for some reason since you mention that your turtle's name is Franklin that for some reason reminds me of the kids TV show cause I think when were kids we used to watch it
Great video , Little suggest maybe for a up coming video now that winter months are effecting most people and their reptiles due to home heat drying out the air , this can lead to humidity issues and cause the start of R.I . maybe a video on tips and tricks to help with humidity , and or what bedding would be best to use for say a boa vs ball python during winter months . like Eco earth is great for animals that call for a 65% or higher humidity ( like a boa ) , where cypress or fir bark is great for things that need a 45-55% humidity . ( then there is even a little sub topic off this , things like aspen and sandi-chips are not the best to use for a high humidity animal , because these when they get wet tend to mold very fast and easy ) Just some idea if you have not covered some of this stuff yet .
Nice ideas, I do have a video on increasing and decreasing humidity but I don't talk about substrate at all so I may do that sometime. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UsIHV6CnEnE.html
I got rid of my calcium sand a few months ago and I think that was the best decision I’ve made (When we got my lizards I forgot to tell my dad not to get calcium sand so he accidentally got it and I wasn’t able to get another substrate so I had to wait a while to get a different one but now I use coconut fiber) (They are geckos)
Cali Sand is probably what we call Agri sand in the horse industry. It's crushed limestone (limestone is a natural source of calcium). Didn't realize it's so dangerous for reptiles! It's absolutely perfect for arena footing (what we use it for). If I ever get a reptile, I'll keep the danger in mind. Thanks for the information!
I love your videos! I have a few reptiles and arachnids myself and am always educating people on substrates for reptiles. Mainly, impaction is what I run across but i have removed several seminal plugs from gecko hemipenes cause by sand too. If only they all knew :-( anyways great video and thanks for the info.
You're providing a great public service. While I agree that sand should be avoided with any reptile, when it comes to the crushed walnut shells my 3 foot Madagascar Plated lizards do great with it. I've never had a bag with hard granules, but it could have something to do with how it was stored before they bought it. If they were any smaller I wouldn't use it, but they were miserable when I took their sand away and added ecoearth. I sprayed it down daily but it would still dry out to the point to where they couldn't open their eyes, they would be stuck together. They are noticeably more active with the walnut shells, although I'm not sure any of the actual hard shell makes it into the bag, in my experience it has been the soft inside under the shell. My leopard gecko will be on reptile carpet his entire life though.
The best idea for substrates is to offer a variety of textures so your animal can move around based on what it wants at moment. My Bearded Dragon loves resting on his driftwood and on basking rocks. But he sleeps on the floor of his vivarium and that's a rubber mat. He has the ability to move to whatever he's feeling like. I also have a small area with crushed walnut shells and he will rub himself in them during a shed.
Really awesome video I was born and raised around Charlotte North Carolina and we always had tons of different species of snakes roaming around in our yard. Thus my love for snakes since I was 14 :) Cedar and pine are definitely a HUGE NO for snakes glad to hear someone discussing this topic !!
Never used walnut substrate, but I do use walnut heavy duty hand cleaner. It is extremely abrasive, great for cleaning oily hands, but it's no surprise to me that it's bad for reptiles
I use the excavator clay and have made tunnels and hides for my lizard, and then the rest of the substrate that wasn’t molded is loose at the bottom and he burrows deep inside it. It’s the closest to his natural environment and it’s just all around a money saver imo
I know this video is a little older but i will put my 2 cents in. I had a lot of reptiles growing up and also live in NC. It gets warm but one particular iguana i had outside swimming and he ate a pebble that people use in flower beds, it was good size and it impacted him. He survived but cost a pretty penny in surgery. So even if you think the gravel or pebbles are too big, nope. If it fits in their mouth they can eat it like kids.
Totally agree with what e said about calci-sand, and sand made with calcium carbonate. I recently bought a Nigerian uromastyx from a pet store that kept him on the sand. They didn't use a feeding dish and he ate WAY too much sand. The day after we bought he he just died. Our setup was perfect. MVB, ceramic heat emmiter, extra light bulbs for heating, so I didn't know how I could have killed it, so we had an expert look at the corpse. Turns out, the sand had built up over time and blocked his digestive track. The poor lizard was a ticking time bomb, and the stress of the move triggered his demise. Never EVER use calcium sand.
As our understanding and knowledge grows it's important to correct or past advice. I'd suggest editing your description or removing the video you previously made two years ago recommending calcium sand as your preferred option.
Respiratory system is the system you use to breathe, for example your lungs are a huge part of your respiratory system. Immune system is the one you are looking for :). The video was very helpful though!
Although all animals can live near pine and cedar, even humans get irritated by the oils and chemicals they produce. My dad broke out in hives while making my bunk bed out of pine as a kid.
In the wild, the animals aren’t living in shredded trees and bark, especially freshly chopped up living tree. That chemical is also the reason those woods tend to burn very quick, easy, and hot. Loose substrates are highly debated but it’s purely dependent on the specific animal, not the species but the individual animal. Some animals have bad aim and may miss live food constantly, but an otherwise average individual may only miss once or twice and is apt to spitting the substrate out. Calcium carbonate sand can still be used with many reptiles and invertebrates when mixed into other substrates, as a supplement. Calcium carbonate is not a good additive to moist substrate as per its qualities it will clump together, likewise when used as a pure substrate when an animal ingests even dry “Calci sand” will cause it to glue together to one large rock inside the animal. Natural loose substrates like shredded wood, but shells, gravel, etc. are safe because they don’t cement to themselves when introduced to water. It should be noted that many species of animals purposefully ingest rocks or other small things such as bark chips to help break down food in their digestive systems in the wild. (Waste clumps would simply break down as well). Again, it’s all dependent on the animal. Walnut shell is not good for a soft skinned lizard like a gecko, however it’s perfect substrate for an avian Breeder or a sandfish (although I’d recommend just using sand); gravel may be great for many amphibians but not so much for hermit crabs. The same idea coincides with other substrates like textile carpet. Not one particular substrate is necessarily horrendous, but they certainly aren’t universal across all animal husbandry. Note: my channel doesn’t reflect my experience on animals because I don’t care to make videos; so take my advice for what it’s worth or a grain of salt, but it comes from 12 years of experience with many, many exotics.
Coco fibre depending on reptile, if you have a young crested gecko for example, it may ingest some substrate, but the husk of the coconut is so fibrous and tuff it can be very difficult for them to digest, and even cause impaction, pains, lack of appetite, and stress. But it’s perfectly fine for many other species (reptiles and other)
I will never use calcium substrate again. During our 5 month old bearded dragon's shedding, he rubbed his nose in his calcium substrate, which quickly clogged his nostrils. Calcium substrate creates a very fine powder and when wet it becomes cement like. Leaving him to only be able to get air through his mouth. Giving him his soaks, he will dip his head down and blow bubbles out his nostrils. I can see the white powder work its way out, but now his nasal tissue is inflamed which is further blocking his airway. Try handling calci-sand for a few minutes, it's like holding a mixture of salt and talc powder for days. Your hands dry up. This is what is happening if they get it into their nose..
I use crushed walnuts for my adult leopard geckos and their almost 16 years old so and I never had any issues they dedicate regularly and have never shown any impaction induced symptoms. I do agree that you shouldn't use it with babies or adolescents as they tend to miss when they are catching their pray.
A word on gravel: I highly recommend not using it at all unless you're using larger stones. For turtles I would go bare bottom, or with sand. I recently lost a turtle because he wasn't the brightest, and thought that the gravel was food. Also, going bare bottom makes water and tank/enclosure maintenance so much easier.
I actually recorded a video a while ago on gravel but never got around to posting it. Maybe I should finish it up, because I do think this is important! and sorry to hear about your turt
Something I think is worth noting about sand substrates is that with the exception of true dune dwelling reptiles, they don't really live on loose sand in the wild. If you go to the desert and wander around, it's mostly packed sand/clay/gravel material that's not going to get into their mouths as they dive for prey items. Dune dwelling species probably could be kept on loose sand, but most of the species kept as pets aren't dune dwelling reptiles, and even if they were it'd be tough to know if the sand you're using is the same type of sand they're living on in the wild.
Another tip for those in need...if your looking for proper husbandry education on a reptile never ask a retail store employee. Go online, find a reputable breeder with at least 7 yrs experience and ask them. Then after that find 3 more and get their answers as well. Then make an educated decision based on that.
We finally got the walnut shell out of our bearded dragon's tank and replaced it with a coconut husk Mat. I hated the walnut shell because it was so dusty, and after a while it starts to stink really bad, even with good husbandry. The coconut husk is really hard to clean, that's why I'm here lol
I initially used sand only when I first got my leopard geckos, and then switched to using a reptile mat. My geckos like to dig around, so I started putting some sand under their hide so I could dig to their content. What's your opinion on having a partly sand and mostly reptile mat/carpet enclosure? Also, THANK YOU SO MUCH for covering calcium sand. I had no idea about the danger it could bring to my babies. Not going to be buying those again! Thankfully, somehow, they haven't gotten impaction ;3;
@@nightinggale6470 what about Lucky Reptile desert bedding (20liter as example) as substrate for leopard gecko's? Or do you prefer a bio active one as Earth Mix Arid as example?
@Nighting Gale, i ordered Earth Mix Arid and would like to buy also Lucky Reptile Desert bedding(black) for use the combination of the two.Think it's better for moistening the plants. Don't you think? I also ordered ThermoControl II Pro thermostat for controlling the heat of the basking spot as well as the ExoTerra Heatmat. I want to create 3 zones for the gecko's; upper heat from the basking spot on the left, bottom heat from the headmat in the middle and a cool zone as well. (have a terratlantis tank 51inch).
Calcium sand also is not recommended for hermit crabs because they come from a tropical environment and they need moist substrate. They're also burrowers. This sand is also considered dangerous by serious crabbers. A lot of people who own hermit crabs recommend play sand and eco earth.
So, I've seen this in one setup, but... What if you have a tank and it has one area with sand, and one without? Now I understand why this may not be the greatest for leopard geckos, but there are some snakes that I believe do well with some sand, and even enjoy digging around in it. Is this okay to do in those cases?
Paper towels gave both my leopard geckos a skin condition which made their tails all scaly, as if they had to shed but it was 24/7 and even immediately after shedding. It became so bad that one of my geckos had their tail amputated and after switching to mats they both recovered very fast
Hello, so I was taking a look at your reptile check list. On the temps and humidity section where there were the suggestions for popular pets I saw some alarming info. The crested gecko section had false information. 55 is much to cold for a night temp. The humidity should reach 80% then drop to 50 at the lowest. Please change it. Thx
I've used walnut shells for 2 Desert Rain Frogs ( BTW They R So Cute :3 ) before, what I have noticed is that they would eat some of it each time when they ate but it passed just like normal and there where no signs of damage to the insides. They lived a long life. (They lived for 13 years, i'm 15 but my friend that i got them from had them for 9 years so I had them for 4 years.) Just my point of view and opinion. If you do or don't want to for any animal, its that is up to the owner.
Wild salamanders rarely hide under cedar in my experience, likely due to their high chemical content. I wouldn't use it as a substrate or even a piece of cedar tree as a hide. They just don't seem to like it
I bought 250 wax worms online for my beardie, he tried a few but spit them out quickly, when i looked at shipping statement it stated the extra bedding i ordered was listed as pine, i didnt have any other type of bedding so i crushed up some bran flakes from raisn bran (yes i removed the raisins) and put them in it, its been 3 days so will be trying them on him again
Something I have been confused about is coconut fiber aka eco earth... Most my sources said this was really good for the kenyan sand boa but i beg to differ.... i am wanting to switch to the aspen bedding effective immediately after using it for a few months.... the thing is this is what i saw most recommended with all the research i did before I got my two sand boas....
Hi! I wanna know if the terrarium liners are resistant to heat. Because I'm not sure if I have to put the heat mat right under the terrarium liner or outside the terrarium glass. If you could respond me it would be so helpful. Thanks! (sorry if something doesn't make sense or it's wrong spelled, I'm Spanish. Hope you understand me😊)
Also, i wouldn't let ur leopard gecko go near wood chips. See, some of the sharper chips can piece and slice there gullet or belly. Ur gecko may not be able to breath or sadly pass away ;-;
The respiratory system doesn't fight off germs and bacteria, rather its the system that allows animals, like humans and snakes, to breathe. Just a heads up🤘🏻
