- Good morning everybody, and welcome to the vlog.
I hope the start of your day is absolutely amazing.
I'm not gonna lie, I have something pretty heavy
I need to talk to you guys about,
but I know a lot of you guys
want to start your day positively with me.
So I'm gonna go ahead and start something
that's pretty amazing.
And that's another clutch of baby snakes
that has hatched out.
Remember the clutch that we actually hatched?
Well these are the babies, and here's the mom.
Of course, this is a Pastel Yellow-Belly,
but also has that so-called Sahara gene in it.
And she was bred to this beautiful monkey right here,
which is a Super-Enchi Pinstripe,
and he is fresh out of shed, and is looking fantastic.
And so obviously because the dad was a Super-Enchi,
everything is Enchi.
Now the interesting thing about this entire clutch
is really weird, because the female, of course,
was a Pastel Yellow-Belly and a potential Sahara,
whatever that means,
but yet there's not even one Pastel
in the entire clutch, not one.
So these are all Enchis right here,
and interestingly enough,
this is just a Pinstripe Enchi right here
that's absolutely gorgeous,
but we didn't hit the Pastel
and we didn't hit the Yellow-Belly,
and I'm not sure about the Sahara.
Now, this is actually definitely an Enchi Yellow-Belly,
and this is the one that I thought
could potentially carry that Sahara gene, whatever that is.
And that's just that crazy kind of blushing
in the side right there.
That is kind of that Sahara gene.
Again, I don't know if there's something more to it or not,
but other than that, we've got an Enchi.
This is definitely an Enchi Yellow-Belly here.
Doesn't look like it's got the Sahara, although it does have
a little kind of interesting little marking right here.
This looks like just a normal Enchi here,
a normal Enchi here,
and then finally, a little baby normal Enchi here.
So really, it was kind of a really bad, odd clutch,
to be totally honest with you.
Don't get me wrong, absolutely gorgeous babies.
Love 'em to death.
This Pinstripe Enchi is to die for right here.
And the other animals are amazing too,
but we definitely whiffed on the majority, the Sahara stuff.
We definitely whiffed on all the Pastel stuff.
But in the meantime, that's the thing that's nice
about producing from a Super-Enchi, right?
Is that at least everything in the clutch is Enchi,
and there's no guessing with it.
But, nevertheless, wanted to start our day
with something positive,
and I can't think of anything more positive
than baby snakes.
Guess what time it is guys!
♪ Egg time, egg time, egg time, egg time ♪
♪ Colubrid egg time ♪
So let's go ahead and just take a look
and see what we got going on.
To starters, oh my goodness.
I love this girl right here.
This, of course, is a Tangerine-Albino Honduran Milksnake.
And these guys really have a special place in my heart
because we had the first ever Albino-Tangerine Hondurans
in the country, so we are really super, super excited.
And I've said this a bunch of times,
that, to be honest with you,
if it wasn't for the Albino Honduran Milksnakes,
BHB may never have taken off,
because that was kind of our first kind of claim to fame,
and it really opened the doors for a bunch of stuff.
And hoo-doggy, that is a beautiful clutch
of eggs right there.
Looks like we got one little infertile, unfortunately,
but the thing I love about Hondurans too,
is how big the eggs are because the babies hatch out huge,
eat fuzzies right off the rip.
So we've got two, four, six beautiful eggs.
Again, that's a Tangerine-Albino Honduran
bred to a Tangerine-Albino Honduran.
So all these babies should just be absolute little rippers.
This next clutch is actually pretty interesting
because it's a Butter-Motley Corn Snake.
I'll show you this girl in one second,
but she's bred to this Butter Tessera,
which I've showed you guys before.
Of course, everything's gonna be Butter.
The Tessera is an incomplete dominant,
so that striping will come through the first generation.
Whereas the Motley is actually a recessive mutation.
It'll be really cool
to mix the two kind of pattern mutations
that we see in corn snakes like this together
to see what we can get, but everything's gonna be Butter.
Of course, there's gonna be some Butter Tessera,
and it'll be interesting to see where the Motley influence
actually plays into it.
Nevertheless, a beautiful clutch of eggs right here.
And we'll just go ahead, get these guys right in here
and count 'em up.
We've got two, four, six, eight, 10, 12, 14 eggs.
So the colubrid season's continuing on.
We're still on mainly first clutches right now.
I think we've got two second clutches.
And then a lot of these females
are gonna lay their second clutches.
So, we still have a long way to go.
And it's gonna be an amazing year again.
All these eggs up top here
are gonna be hatching here in the next few weeks.
(relaxing guitar music)
And guess what.
We actually have some more baby snakes here.
These, of course, are little Children's Eye right here.
Now remember I had that one
that was T-positive that hatched out.
Looks really good, should be shedding any day.
I'll give you guys the update.
And we have another nice little light one here,
but this falls in the parameters
of just a really light Children's Python right here.
Whereas you see the polymorphism from dark to light,
to all that type of stuff.
And look at the pattern on this one right here.
I mean, that is just unbelievably gorgeous.
So we're having a really cool Children's Python year.
By the way, look at this one.
Oh doggy, that thing's got a cool pattern too.
Almost looks a little Stimson Python-like.
And that's what's so cool about the Antaresias.
You get a lot of polymorphism, got a lot of differences.
I mean, this clutch is really, really beautiful.
This from a first-time female,
and she did not disappoint me.
These animals are ridiculous.
And again, with having a good year,
we've got a bunch of Children's Spotteds and Stimson's
that are gonna be set up.
They're a perfect little python pet.
So, we're really excited that we had a good year.
So now we just have to get 'em eating,
and they'll eventually get on the website.
But these guys are adorable.
(relaxing guitar music)
Down in the dungeon, you know what that means.
♪ Egg time ♪
And I am excited about this.
This is a big female right here.
This is actually a Champin,
which of course is a Champagne Pinstripe,
and she was bred to a Banana-Cinny Pin,
so there could be some crazy cool stuff.
Looks like she's got a few eggs out right now.
So let's just go ahead, get these eggs in the incubator box
before we even mess with Mama.
I tell you what, this is a lot of eggs.
This may be 12 eggs.
If nothing else, the mass of the eggs are incredible.
I mean, they're big eggs.
They're gonna weigh a lot.
So let's just get Mama off her eggs real quick.
Yeah, it doesn't look like quite as many eggs
as I expected from it when I looked at it,
but they are big, beautiful eggs.
Hoo-doggy, I tell you what, let's just go ahead,
we'll get this egg out here,
'cause it's already kinda a little bit off,
then we'll just kinda see if we can't make sure
we can get the rest of the eggs.
Oh, this one's off too.
One thing I don't want to do is lose any eggs.
And here we go.
We'll go ahead, put these down there.
Holy cow, that is a bunch of eggs.
That's two, four, six, eight, 10, 12.
Oh my gosh, I thought it wasn't as many eggs as it was.
12 eggs, that's the second 12-egg clutch of the year.
Hoo-doggy, I tell you what.
Mama, you did so good.
That is a heater of a clutch, for sure.
And we have one more clutch to pull.
This next one is actually just a Het-Ghost,
but it was bred to a Banana-Enchi Pinstripe
and a Black-Pewter Cyprus.
So not sure exactly who the daddy is here.
Not a really big girl, but a beautiful clutch right here.
I mean, that is absolutely gorgeous.
Mama, you did so good.
Just get her over here out of the way,
and we'll pull these eggs out.
Get these over here.
These last four eggs right over here.
Looks like we've got two, four, six,
seven good eggs, not bad.
I tell you what, the last few days
have been some really nice, beautiful clutches.
Fertility has been incredible.
So, it's heating up.
And with that said, we have 80 clutches
of Ball Pythons already on the ground,
and almost 100 more to go.
(chuckling) So we still have a long way to go.
We're not even halfway there yet, but I'm loving this year.
This has been absolutely so much fun.
(upbeat music)
Hey guys, how you doing?
I want to talk to you about something
that's really important to me.
And, it's a little bit hard to talk about
because you feel vulnerable talking about it.
You may wonder why I always talk about trying to be happy,
and positive, and be motivated, and to achieve your dreams.
The truth is, is that the reason I have this philosophy
in life is because I've dealt with anxiety my whole life,
a mental-health issue.
And about 15 years ago,
I had a really bad bout with anxiety,
to the point where it incapacitated me
for the better part of six months and almost an entire year
before I started feeling better.
When I recovered from that, I still dealt with anxiety,
but it was still so nice to live life.
And I was so blessed for every moment of every day
that I wanted to get that message across,
a message I believe in,
a message that meant everything to me.
I woke up in the morning and I just was so happy
that I didn't have that oppressive anxiety
that I went through.
And I wanted to bring this up to you for a couple reasons.
One is the fact that,
I know a lot of you deal with mental health.
And I always wanted to be that beacon, saying that,
"Hey, even if you deal with mental health,
"you can achieve your dreams, and you can live,
"and you can get past things, and things can get better."
And that's the way I've lived for many years.
And over the last couple months,
I talked about it on our podcast last week,
my anxiety has come back pretty hard.
There are some days that it is,
it's unbearable, and it's painful.
It's hard to get out of bed because the anxiety is so tough.
I don't know if it's because of this whole virus thing.
I don't know, I'm so happy.
I have so many great things in life, guys.
I do what I love, I have the zoo, I have BHB,
I have a great family, I have a great crew.
I should be the happiest person in the world,
and I want to be.
And it's, the anxiety has come back and I don't know why,
and it's been bad.
And I know some of you may be thinking,
"Brian, you need to step back,
"maybe reduce the vlog or something like that."
The truth is, is I want to keep the vlog going
as long as I possibly can, because I love it.
I love sharing my life with you guys
and trying to inspire you,
but I also want to be honest with you guys.
I want you to understand the struggle
that even people like me go through,
because it's important for you to understand
that sometimes it looks great to people on the outside,
but on the inside, it's not.
And I believe the message I preach every day,
and I try to be as happy as I can,
but I know you guys sometimes struggle
with the same thing I'm struggling with now.
I'm trying to get better, I'm going to counseling.
I can't take medication, unfortunately,
because of a genetic issue that I have.
So I can't go the medication route.
So I have no choice but to go to therapy,
try my hardest to get better,
deal with all the things that are bothering me.
And I don't even know what they are,
but I wake up in the morning sometimes,
like today for instance,
and it, every second is difficult.
I feel like I'm spinning, and I'm lightheaded,
and my brain doesn't quite work the way it's supposed to.
And I want you guys to understand, number one,
that we're in it together.
I know some of you suffer with the same things,
and I need you guys to help me get through it too.
You're my support staff too, sending prayers,
and good thoughts, and positive energy.
And I'm trying to do the same for you.
So I'm sorry that I gotta get heavy with you,
but, you guys mean so much to me.
You, your support has allowed me to live my dreams,
and there's no reason in the world
why I should feel the way I feel right now,
because I should be the happiest guy in the world,
because, because of you and because of our hard work,
we've achieved the things that we've wanted to,
and I'm in the best spot I've ever been in
in my entire life.
But I also know that mental health
doesn't sometimes make sense.
And, sometimes you should be happy and you're not.
And sometimes you should be happy and you're not.
And sometimes you shouldn't be anxious, but you are.
And that's where I'm at.
And I wanted to tell you guys this,
and I want to open the conversation,
and I want you guys to let me know
if you want me to continue to tell you how things are going,
and maybe together we can get through this.
And, I want to be there for you,
'cause again, when I started this mission
of sharing my life, I had that past experience,
and I wanted to show the world that life was so good
because I had gotten through it.
And, I never thought I'd be back here.
I never, ever in my wildest dreams
thought this would happen.
And while you're in it, it's hard,
because it feels like it's never gonna end.
But I know it's gonna end.
I know I'm gonna get through this, guys.
I know I will.
And, I'm gonna take it every day at a time.
And is there a chance
that I may skip a vlog or two, it's possible.
I'm gonna try not to, because this is my therapy.
This is what I love to do.
I don't know what triggered this again.
I think maybe the stress of all the change,
the sheltering in place, and the business closing down,
and just life changing and being so scared.
I think maybe that's what triggered it.
We did fine, our businesses survived.
I mean, we were never in jeopardy, we're very blessed,
but the pain was still there, the difference,
the fact that you couldn't go to a restaurant,
you couldn't go to a movie, you couldn't watch sports on TV,
you couldn't do anything,
just like you guys had to deal with.
It was overwhelming.
And the fact that it's so bizarre,
because missing seeing those smiling faces
when they came into the reptarium was so hard for me.
And now that people are back, it should be so amazing,
but it's changed too.
And the change is difficult, and it's hard to deal with.
And I'm trying to find my way
and navigate my way through this.
And I just want you guys to know the truth,
because I feel you need to know,
and that it's not, I can't be fake to you guys.
What you see me preaching is what I believe.
It's what I believe in my heart, to my core.
I believe in loving animals,
I believe in getting you guys to be inspired.
But I can't preach that if you guys don't know the truth
about my anxiety and the struggles that I'm going through,
because I know a lot of you go through it too.
And maybe through this process,
if you see me getting better, it'll help you get better,
and we can get better together.
I'm so sorry that I'm ending this vlog in this way,
but it's been heavy on my mind,
and you guys are part of my life.
And much like my family knows what I'm going through,
you guys need to know.
(sighs) I really,
I believe I will get better.
Today it doesn't feel like it.
Doesn't feel like I'm gonna get better.
And I'm sure that a lot of people
that don't think highly of me
are probably gonna be happy to see me suffer.
And that's hard on my heart too,
because I don't believe I'm a person that deserves that.
And it's tough to think
that maybe people might think it's good.
But you know what,
if just one person out there sees this and it helps them,
and just one person feels the strength
to know that we can get through it,
I don't care if people think I should be humiliated
'cause I'm gonna cry on camera, and that I'm gonna tell you
that I'm mentally ill with anxiety.
I have to live with the consequences
because I believe in being genuine and truthful
and letting you guys know the truth.
So please guys, if you pray, keep me in your prayers.
If you believe in positive vibes, please send them my way.
I will do the same for you.
I don't say it lightly, I love you guys.
I love you with all my heart, each and every one of you,
'cause it changed my life.
And I know one day we'll be happy again.
And I would go the rest of my life showing people
that mental health doesn't need to hold you down,
that we can get past this.
So, that's it guys.
I just wanted to come clean and tell you, okay?
I love you all, and I hope you have an amazing day.
I really do, I really, really do, I promise.
(chuckling) I think I promise.
I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay, that's it.
(somber piano music)