Keys aren't supposed to give embers in the artifact hole, that was a bug earlier. There's a mechanic that rewards you for opening the stairs to level 2 though, so you can toss a key in there even if you're not planning to actually go to level 2, and 5 embers will drop when you get to the exit. But when you open the stairs to level 2, any future treasure / ember drops from your deck will spawn down there, because the game expects you to go down right after unlocking the stairs. To counteract that, just go through the door to the level 2 stairs until the doors close behind you, then go right back into level 1.
Wow i keep being suprised over how many games you played, i first watched your other channel for the lego and then i saw your binding of isaac and now this. Keep it up. Good luck to you.
i encourage you to learn more about the animals and their welfare at your specific zoo! this is not universal, so i cant guarantee anything, but most zoos nowadays put a huge amount of emphasis on animal welfare and conservation, so the likelihood is that the animals you see are either (in the case of small animals where its possible to provide a full habitat) given all the space and enrichment they need, or (in the case of large, wide-ranging animals like birds and rhinos and such) only animals that can't be released into the wild - sometimes because theyre rescues and cant be socialized into wild groups, sometimes because theyre endangered and don't have a safe place to go, sometimes because they're recovering from something, etc. its great that you care about em, and hopefully looking into your local zoo can help you feel happier about their well-being. ♥