- We're gonna go ahead to get Dixie and Diddy a new home.
But they're still kinda crazy so I'm sure moving 'em's
gonna be a little bit of a chore,
I'm not gonna lie to you.
Oh my gosh, this is one of the prettiest banana ball pythons
I've ever seen in my entire life.
Oh my gosh, yep, I'm in trouble.
Okay, here we go, here we go.
Ah, that one's biting me.
There are even islands that actually eat the rhino iguana.
Please don't bite me, please don't bite me.
Oh my gosh.
(dramatic music)
Hey, good morning everybody and welcome
to the vlog and I am gonna start the day out feeding
my beautiful girl Bella here a couple raspberries
and she seems to really be liking it.
And actually, the reason I wanna start with Bella
is because there's gonna be some rhino iguanas
goin' on in this vlog today.
We're actually moving Diddy and Dixie
into a brand new enclosure today so we're gonna be making
that out, see if can start habituating them a bunch more.
And then it's just gonna be an amazing day.
But for now, I'm gonna spend a little time
with my girl Bella and then we're gonna go ahead
and get Dixie and Diddy a new home.
Diddy and Dixie are getting so big.
This cage was perfect for them when they were babies,
they grew up, they love it,
they have lots of areas to climb and stuff like that
but certainly they're at that stage
where it's time to move them.
They need to get a bigger enclosure.
Diddy over here is, seems like he's like twice
the size of Dixie.
He has just gotten so huge.
But that's normal, males will always get
a little bit bigger.
But the point is, we've been working with them a lot.
And particularly Diddy will now come out
on our lap but they're still kinda crazy
so I'm sure moving 'em's gonna be a little bit
of a chore, I'm not gonna lie to you.
But they're gonna get a nice, huge habitat
and then we'll be able to redo this cage
and get an animal over here.
We don't know what it's gonna be yet
but it'll be cool that we'll have this environment
over here open for somethin' else.
For now I'm gonna take ya over to the habitat
that we're about to redo.
Give ya kinda my thought process on that
and then later on we'll go ahead
and move these guys in there.
So here's the habitat that we're looking at right now.
I mean, it's kinda the only move up that we have.
We go from their size cage
up to four foot by four foot by four foot cages.
That's the way it goes.
But, so we did a couple moving around
to free up this cage.
I think this kinda works really well
because they love to climb, so they're gonna climb up here.
They're gonna use these branches right here to kinda,
you know, just hang out.
They can get close to the light,
the basking light, the UV light, stuff like that.
But then they're gonna have some areas down here.
Now these guys are actually from kinda more rocky areas
and dry forest areas so we don't really want them
to only be able to walk on the ground here.
I'm gonna go ahead and put some kinda rocks in here.
So I've got a couple rocks that Universal Rocks
has sent up for us here
and I'm gonna see if I can't maybe put them in there,
design it to where they have a little bit of area
that they feel comfortable in
but at the same time, they'll be happy to be out
and as we work on 'em more and more coming out
for the public because they're finally
to that age where they're gonna be able to start coming out
and unlike Bella,
I'm hoping they'll be able to be handled by people.
Bella just likes to scratch up.
Trust me, my whole shoulder here is always scratched up
every single time I have her out.
So, I'm just gonna do that and I think
that this is gonna work out really good
and then they can grow a lot.
Eventually they'll have to move up even
into a larger habitat, like an eight foot plus habitat.
But for now, for the next year or so,
I think this is gonna work out good.
We'll add some features
and then we'll get this thing rockin'.
Gettin' down to the nitty gritty
when it comes to colubrids.
We've got one little baby snow Texas rat snake
that is actually het for leucistic scaleless
so that's pretty amazing.
We got one, two, three, four more eggs to hatch
in this clutch but I am absolutely amazed at that.
Again, I had mentioned before that I was really surprised
by the outcome of that
because it was a snow Texas rat bred to a leucistic,
meaning that I didn't expect to produce anything
but normal looking snakes that were het
for all the albino and snow but also het for leucistic
and we ended up producing snows het for leucistic.
It was a really weird outcome.
Regardless, we also have a big ol' swatch here
of Pueblan milk snakes.
Uh oh, one's, uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, uh oh,
oh my gosh, please don't.
Please don't, okay, all right, oh my gosh,
yep, I'm in trouble.
Okay, here we go, here we go.
Now one's biting me!
Oh my gosh.
Okay, okay, that was, that was maybe my worst outing
of the entire year.
I had that lid off for like all of about 10 seconds
and then they were all over the place.
They were biting me.
They were runnin' all over the place.
So, anyways, apricot Pueblan milk snakes, really beautiful.
Again, that's it for colubrids for the day.
So jumping into it, we have this kind of flat rock
right here which I think is gonna be really good
because Bella loves to lay on her log
as well as on that kinda rock over there
so I think this is gonna be really good.
I think I'm gonna fit it right in this back corner,
if I'm not mistaken,
I think this'll be kinda a good spot.
Plus, there's some foliage back there too.
I just have to figure out how to fit it exactly.
And it doesn't fit real good that way
so we'll go ahead, turn it around this way
see if we can fit it in here like this.
Oh yeah, that's perfect.
That is absolutely perfect.
And the thing I like about this right now
is that you'll see that they can get up here
but there's also some foliage in back
that they can kinda hide a little bit.
Because when rhino iguanas are a little bit smaller,
they're actually a little bit timid,
so we want 'em to have some secure spots
so I think that they'll spend a lot of time over here
but also kinda go in the back over there.
Again, I envision them climbing up here
and spending time up here as well,
so I'm gonna goa head, take this big piece here
and give 'em an option at the front of the cage too
and I think it'll fit right over here,
if I'm not mistake.
See what we got.
Oh yeah, that is absolutely perfect.
And this is a weighted rock.
It's pretty heavy so they're not gonna be able
to push it around and I think what's gonna happen here
is this is give them an opportunity, climb up here,
they can perch up here, perch up here,
but they can also get to this vine
to kinda crawl around.
Give 'em lots of options.
And then they even have a little area back here
that they can if they wanna get on the ground
and really have some privacy.
Again, lots of options for them,
heat, light, kinda getting away, some kinda secluded spots
on like that.
That gives 'em that confidence that they're gonna have
so that they're not afraid because they know
they always have places to go.
So, I think this literally is about it.
You know, I think that we're
just do a couple little touches.
I have another little rock here
but I'm a little bit worried if I start to add more,
I'm not sure, not sure if they,
yeah, maybe that works.
Just giving them another option right there.
I mean, why not, right?
You know, they can jump up here,
they can perch up here, and that's what I'm kinda thinkin'
in my head is that where are they gonna actually sit?
Just like Bella always sits right on that same spot,
I wanna give them a lotta options.
So, I think this is good.
So, I'm gonna go ahead
just give a little bit more spruce up here,
see if I wanna add anything else
and then later on in the vlog,
we'll go ahead and put 'em in there
and see how they like it.
I had to take a quick break to show you this.
I remember when these guys actually pipped out
and we cut the clutch.
This is ridiculous.
This is actually a banana sini enchi pinstripe
and oh my gosh.
This is one of the prettiest banana ball pythons
I've ever seen in my entire life.
That thing is just on fire.
And the contrast, oh doggy,
that is incredible and its sibling is pretty awesome too.
And this one is crazy, too.
This is actually a banana sini Woma pinstripe,
so it doesn't have the enchi in it but oh my gosh.
These two are just the oranges and yellows
and pinks that come through
are ridiculous and then the white up the sides,
just really tops it off.
So I had to take a quick break from everything
'cause when I saw these guys shed out,
I was blown away.
They are incredible.
That's how we're lookin' down here.
There are a ton of insane snakes now that they've shed
and had a meal or two.
Let me know in the comments if you guys want me
to do like a ball python morph update in the vlog.
I'll do that for ya guys 'cause there's some crazy stuff.
But only if you guys want it.
Let me know in the comments.
I know, I keep reminding you guys,
but anniversary is coming here at the Reptarium,
the 22nd of this month, 22nd of September,
we have a 12 to eight party happening here.
Gonna have outside stuff.
It's gonna be amazing.
We're gonna try to make it amazing.
Again, you can come meet everyone in the crew,
12 to eight, have a good time,
so definitely try to make it there.
Again, I'm sorry I keep reminding you.
I just want this to be an awesome, awesome celebration.
Little species spotlight on my girl Bella
or rhino iguanas that is.
These are actually a Cyclura cornuta.
Now, the cornuta is actually Latin for horn
and of course these guys have that bony ridge,
that basically looks like a horn,
hence their name rhino iguanas.
They're actually from the islands of the Hispaniolas.
Into Haiti and even the Dominica.
Now, they are endangered down there
and there's a couple reasons for that.
Certainly destruction of the habitat.
Also people moving into the area
and there are even islands that actually eat
the rhino iguana.
These guys are herbivores so the majority
of their diet is gonna be vegetation
although they are opportunistic hunters
and they will eat like snakes and lizards
and certainly a bunch of insects.
We all know Bella loves her super worms.
She loved hornworms and stuff like that
but the majority of her diet is gonna be fruits
and vegetables without over doing it
on the fruit side.
But, interestingly enough, when they do eat fruit,
they actually help in the germation
of the seed so it's interesting is that a seed
will actually germinate quicker
once it's passed through the system of an iguana
and it looks like my girl Bella here
is wantin' to go back in her cage.
But not only will it germinate quicker
when it moves through the body of an iguana
but they actually help in distributing the seeds
along the island which is pretty interesting.
They eat the fruit, the seeds are in 'em
and then the move around and then after
they go to the bathroom, those seeds
will actually germinate wherever they're laid.
So they're actually helping in growing
kinda like bees do with pollinating things
which is pretty interesting.
Bella is three and a half years old
which means she's actually just getting
to the point where she's reproductively able to lay eggs.
We're probably not gonna breed Bella,
but a typical female will lay anywhere from three
to 35 eggs, believe it or not,
and typically it takes about three months
for them to hatch.
Little baby rhino iguanas can be a little bit temperamental
and a little bit psycho but as they get bigger,
as you can see with my girl Bella here,
she is absolutely stunning.
And the thing that's amazing is although they're endangered
in their native habitat, really,
the efforts of people like Ty Park
and other people in captivity,
there's a numerous amount of these animals being produced
and that are available into the pet trade
which is pretty awesome but hopefully
will eventually be able to repopulate the wild.
Believe it or not, there's only 10 to 16,000 rhino iguanas
in the wild and there's probably closing in a net number
in captivity so it's really a great kind
of species survival story with the captive propagation
of these guys.
Regardless, rhino iguanas are absolutely stunning.
Now, the fun part is to actually move Diddy and Dixie again.
Just like Bella, right now they're not real good
at handling, okay?
So I don't wanna get bit, I don't wanna get scratched up
too much, I don't wanna stress them out too much.
They're getting good about when we're offering food,
coming out and even sitting on our lap
but when it comes to actually taking 'em out,
I'm not sure.
So, Dixie's up front here.
I'll see if I can get her first
or if I get Diddy.
I'm not 100% sure who I'm gonna get first.
Ooh, he is mad.
Hi bud, okay.
Okay, all right, I got him, I got him,
okay, it's okay buddy, it's okay,
please don't bite me, please don't bite me.
Oh my gosh.
Okay, it's okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.
See, what I'm trying to do is not restrain him.
I definitely have to get him.
And I'm hopin' that he, okay, now he's calm.
And that's what happens
is that rhino iguanas often go into,
like, a spaz mode and then once they stop spazzing,
they're actually pretty good.
So, okay, we've got Diddy.
He's definitely just a little bit nervous.
He doesn't know what' going on
but you can see he's starting to really get good.
This is what we have to do,
we have to spend a lot of time with him
just getting him to a point where he's really
kinda understanding that he's got nothing to fear with us.
So we're gonna go ahead, release him
into his new habitat and see what he thinks.
Look at him look around.
He's just lookin' around like what's goin' on?
And this is your buddy,
you could do whatever you want in here.
So we'll goa head, we'll keep an eye on him for a little bit
and then we'll just see how it goes.
We'll go ahead and get Dixie in a second here.
I'm gonna have Diddy have just a little bit
of time on his own and then I'll go ahead and put Dixie in.
So, there ya go.
See, you have all that space, buddy.
How awesome is that?
Diddy seems to be settling in.
He kinda found a spot that he was real happy with
so I'm really excited about that.
I'm gonna go ahead and get Dixie now,
and I'll be honest with you,
she's a much more difficult animal typically.
She usually likes to fight and run.
Come on girl, it's okay girl, it's okay, it's okay,
it's okay, it's all right, baby.
It's all right, it's okay, okay,
and again I'm just trying to run her a little bit
and she's peein' on me.
And now she's gonna run.
I'm just gonna try to run her through my hands a little bit
so she doesn't wanna bite me.
Okay, she's startin' to calm down just a little bit.
See, Dixie, it's okay, I know,
you pooped all over the place.
It's okay, girl.
You're completely fine.
And it's crazy how quickly they mellow out like that,
you know, they go from bein', like,
completely outta control
but I got poop all over me now.
Thanks a lot, girl.
Let's go ahead, get her in,
and hopefully she's gonna be really happy
with her new digs for sure, so,
let's go over here.
See where Diddy is,
Diddy is exactly where we left him
and again, now I'm gonna do the exact same thing.
I'm just gonna let her crawl off my hand,
find her spot, and let her decide where she wants to go.
See, Diddy went way up there.
He's right up, I knew he was gonna spend some time up there
by the light.
I think they're gonna love that basking spot up there.
Then we'll let Dixie just kinda settle in as well,
so, I think this is gonna be great.
I'll keep an eye on 'em over the day
but let me know what you guys think
about their new digs.
I'm excited 'cause now they can grow big,
we can work with 'em a whole lot more
'cause they're right here, easy to work with.
We can come in and hand feed 'em, pet 'em.
Get that habituation and that relationship goin'
just like we did with Bella.
But like I said, Diddy in particular,
our relationship is we wanna be able to take him out
and handle him and now have him rip us up, so.
That's gonna be a work in progress
but nevertheless, now they have their new big habitat.
I think they're gonna love it.
Super cool to get Diddy and Dixie their new digs.
I am excited about them
and now we can really work with 'em.
By the way, you might notice
that there's some other inhabitant in Lucy's cage right now.
That is right, Noah is finally doin'
the Lucy 24 hour challenge,
so he's gonna be in there all day,
supervised the entire time.
Don't worry about that.
I'll put a link in the description,
you definitely wanna go check that out.
As for now, if you enjoyed today's video,
here's another cage building video,
a cool playlist over here
and if you go right here, can you subscribe
and turn those post notifications on?
Have a wonderful day.
Make sure to tune into Noah's 24 challenge,
be kind someone, and I promise I'll see ya guys tomorrow.