Thoughts on Current Events in our Community 

Unfortunately, these campaigns can cause real damage and these people know very well how much power they have. They are deliberately trying to take other people down. So I wish I could give you the bravado that we content creators will stay the course, but there can be lasting effects of anti-social campaigns like what we saw happen. It is just part of being in the public eye. It shouldn't be, though, and it would help if the community would nip these things in the bud and not let it get to where it got. Anti-social campaigns change direction like the wind and never care what the long term effects are. Thank you for the encouragement!

I also didn't realize people were still talking about him. I unfollow and move on.

Adam's responses were probably more a reflection of what he thought of how he was approached and the people who attacked him rather than his love for animals. Although I did not see the back and forth on TikTok I would be interested to see where Adam was approached with a mature, collaborative manner and then was met with an immature response. The validity of a position on cohabitation - either way- does not justify the manner of attacking others. When I get someone in my comments section frothing at the mouth about how I don't know anything and I don't care about animals, my first response is not to consider this person a rational discussion partner and enter into a calm exchange of ideas. And I really don't know anybody that would. You can decide Adam no longer holds your respect because of how he responded to an antisocial campaign to end his livelihood, but is that how we should be handling these types of husbandry debates? Once again, I won't enter into the subject of leopard gecko cohabitation. I have my hands full with people who want to cohabitate chameleons. But social media mobs that look to destroy a person's livelihood for a disagreement on husbandry is a dangerous genie to let out of the bottle. Mobs obey the person who whips them up. They do not consider the nuances of the subject - or the possibility they are wrong.

The only value in seeing it happen was seeing how easily the community can shoot itself in the foot. It was not one of our finest moments.

Healthy debate is what keeps us sharp. But this event showed what happens when followers are whipped up to do the bidding of an influencer. That is a toxic dynamic. It will always be used so it will never go away, but we can all watch out for it and, at least, ensure we don’t get caught up being part of something like that.

@@ChameleonAcademy Excellent feedback for us all.

I will have to leave the cohab part of the debate to people in the leopard gecko community. The deeper issue is how do we handle husbandry debates? That is the part that I can weigh in on. We will never be free of people trying to weaponize their followers. Though we can recognize the attempt and not let it take hold. This kind of dynamic does no good for the reptile community.

@@ChameleonAcademy absolutely agree!

I think discussing the possibilities of co-habbing female Leo's is an option but then we need to figure out how large do we need to make this space to ensure the animals safety. The animals safety is what's super important to me. I also have animals missing limbs from co-habbing. I have a Leo and a beardie.​@@ChameleonAcademy