- Hey, good morning, everybody and welcome to the vlog!
Today's gonna be absolutely incredible.
Of course there was Tinley Park, the big reptile show
so a bunch of people are coming to visit
including my friends from South Africa!
They are absolutely amazing.
They do a lot of venomous snakes.
They do a bunch of cool stuff.
It's gonna be really cool.
Some of Kevin McCurley's crew from NERD are gonna be here
J.P. Reptiles.
It's gonna be an absolutely amazing day showing stuff off
So, what do you say we just jump right into it
and have an amazing day together.
I am super excited, like I had mentioned.
My friends here from South Africa are in town.
This is Arno and Heidi.
They put on the most awesome reptile expo in South Africa
and are just great people.
So whenever I go over there they take care of us.
So, you know the thing I love about South Africans is
they are... they're crazy. (laughs)
They're pretty much crazy.
So we figured, hey, you know what, the fact that
you guys work with snake bites, with black mambas,
and all kinds of stuff, you actually aid
with the medical side and plus you have this
unbelievable amount of experience.
I figure what better way than to go ahead and
just have you hold some venomous snakes today.
How's that sound? - Sure, yeah.
- So, this is actually Bruce's leucistic monocled cobra.
This is Jasmine. And let's have at it.
And this is truly the mastery of handling venomous snakes.
The thing is is that Arno is definitely very, very confident
when it comes to venomous snakes.
I always tell people I've handled venomous snakes a ton,
but I wouldn't call myself an expert.
I would just say that I've got experience.
You know, I don't know if anyone's an expert.
So, you know, tell me a little bit like
I mean you guys are working with black mambas
which are so different than something like this.
- They are a lot different.
They're larger. They are far more flighty.
And they're actually more scared of you.
So they bite a lot more easily than what the cobras do.
But when they strike, they strike and let go,
where the cobras hang on and chew.
And once they start chewing you get more venom in you.
- Oh, okay.
So either one is not fun to get bitten by.
- No.
But if you're careful with them
and you don't really mess with them too much
they should be fine.
- And I think the thing that I always kind of marvel at
when I'm working with guys like you, Arno,
is just the calmness that they have around venomous snakes.
And that's what's important, right?
You never wanna not be calm, you know?
You always wanna pay attention.
You wanna let the snake kinda feel that comfort level.
And you can see how close his hand is,
yet he's in complete control because again
he's got the vent over here, he's working with the snake,
he's knowing exactly what it's gonna do.
So, in Africa, what snake is kind of the one that is
really responsible for the most bites?
- The serious bites are black mambas.
The ones with the most bites are Mozambique spitters.
- Spitters, yep.
- So the spitters bite, but they don't kill that many people
but they cause a lot of problems because you have
necrosis and the kidney problems
and all there is that goes with it.
And as a result of that,
those are the ones that we worry about the most.
And funny enough those are the ones that the
anti-venom works the worst on.
- Wow.
- Where the neurotoxins are actually quite easy to work with
The cape cobra's obviously got a filthy nerotoxin
that kills quickly, so does mambas.
But if you get to a hospital you're fine.
Where with a spitting cobra even if you get to a hospital
quite soon, doesn't mean you're gonna survive that well.
A lot of them don't do well after spitting cobra bites.
- Bruce, have at it.
What did you bring for Arno?
- So I actually brought our timber rattle snake.
This is Burt Reynolds right here.
- [Arno] Oh wow.
- Isn't it beautiful?
- This is dark.
I've seen the pinkish ones, but
the thing's they're protected here in the U.S.
so you can't export them.
So we don't ever get to see these.
We get to see Western diamondbacks, Eastern diamondbacks,
but I've never actually seen a live male,
a black one like this. It's very very nice.
- I'm super excited I got a chance to show you.
- Yeah he seems quite chilled.
Timber rattlers, are they,
are they normally very aggressive like that?
- So he actually has always been pretty aggressive with me.
There have been times where I usually keep
to the side of the cage all the time because he just,
like I said, like a jack-in-the-box,
he'll come springing right out on me.
But most of the time he doesn't rattle.
He doesn't start rattling til I really start
messing with him, like if I start getting to move and rock.
- So then you know to stay out of his way.
But he seems quite cool, like you're doing real good.
(snake rattling)
- [Bruce] There he goes. That's more like him.
- [Arno] It's just when he gets upset, yeah.
- Bruce, that thing is changing much -
it's even way darker now than the last time I seen it.
I mean it's getting those winter colors.
- He actually just shed, too, like three weeks ago.
- Yeah, he's getting those winter blacks
and wow, that thing is gorgeous.
- Is he from this area?
- No. He is not.
My understanding is that this is a mountainous locality
so he's a lot closer to Virginia type area
or something like that, more closer to that.
- Do they have a lot of bites from them?
Because I haven't read of many bites from timber rattlers.
- My knowledge is sort of limited on it, but
to be entirely honest with you though what I understand is
more or less they're the ones you don't really see
mess with people too much.
It's more like a water moccasin or a copper head
or something like that.
- Yeah I think the range that these guys are in
aren't really close to populated areas as much
so you don't get as much.
Most of the time when you do see bites it's usually
from hikers, stuff like that.
People that are out in the bush.
Now one of the problems with these guys
that they're facing right now is that fungal issue.
So they're having a massive fungal issue and it's
wiping out a tremendous amount of timbers,
especially in the Northeast of the country.
- Have they not found any cure?
- No cure. And there's even now been some of that fungus
that has been found here in Michigan in massasauga rattlers.
- Wow.
- So the fungus is kind of spreading.
I think a lot of times it might be about the climate change,
the fact that we're not getting as deep a cold weather
and these animals aren't hibernating for as long.
- And the fungus isn't dying.
- Right. The fungus isn't dying.
So maybe the fungus has been around for a long, long time,
but it's always dead in the winter
because of long, harsh winters.
Now that the winters are more mild,
the fungus is really growing.
And in some areas like New Hampshire,
sometimes 70 or 80 percent of the population of timbers
are dying off.
- Wow.
So it's becoming a major issue.
- And people talk about climate change and they say
it's not really happening and I've always said
the herpas are the guys that know about it the most.
Because my lipid tortoises didn't hibernate this year
and we're finding snakes in winter that
we would normally only find in summer
and like you just said, the fungus isn't going away
and we're seeing some of the populations are not producing
as well as what they used to.
The males aren't getting cold enough.
And I think the reptiles and amphibians
are gonna feel it first and everyone else is going,
"Oh it's not really that hot."
And, yeah, things have changed.
- And I think it's like you said,
I think even amphibians more so.
you know, I mean because they feel that change immediately
Chytrid viruses become a huge issue with them.
And it's a very similar thing here with the rattlesnake.
But this thing is gorgeous and so well behaved, Bruce.
- Amazing. Amazing. Yeah.
- I just have a way with him I guess. I don't know.
They hate me but love everyone else.
- [Brian] How was Tinley, man?
- Oh, man. It was so cool. We had such a good time.
It was our first time going, so it was just so much fun.
So many cool animals, so many cool people.
Met a lot of cool people there, so.
- [Brian] So what's the best story of the trip?
- Dude, best story of the trip, I got to meet Kevin.
He's pretty cool.
But no, I was really touched, you know, my heart was touched
I wanted to get an aquatic turtle.
We had 20 minutes left before we had to leave,
so me and Mary split up to kinda look for animals.
Mary said no turtle, okay.
What do I do when I come around the corner?
She's looking at aquatic turtles.
- [Brian] What?
- Can you believe that?
I just, I knew that was the one for me, man,
right when I seen that. You know what I mean?
- [Brian] That's love.
- That's love!
But I didn't buy it, so, you know, it's okay.
- [Brian] It still is a great story up til the end.
- Exactly, yeah. (chuckles)
- [Brian] We've got a lot of company from Tinley today
so we're gonna have a good time, right?
- Yeah. I can't wait. Can't wait to see em.
So, bring it on.
- You know it's so good to have Heidi and Arno here.
They are such good friends of mine.
And it's nice that I didn't have to travel all around
the world to go see you guys but I apologize.
You guys do.
Obviously we have Salt out.
Is this the first albino alligator you've held?
- [Heidi] It is.
- First one we've seen.
- [Brian] Have you guys got any in South Africa?
- Nothing.
- We've had one or two the leucistic nile crocs, not many.
And the people have these yellow ones they go,
"look, it must be his hate for albino."
And I'm going that's not how it works.
Once you see this you realize no, it's something else.
- [Heidi] It's gorgeous.
- [Brian] Yeah, I love her to death.
And she's just such a sweetheart, right?
I mean she's so well behaved and so trained good.
So we love her to death.
I can't wait til she gets big.
Of course I'm gonna show my friends Ben and Jerry.
I know that you guys have seen just about every cool animal
on the planet, but a two headed Cal king,
probably haven't seen one of these guys before.
- No. Never seen one before. And not an adult.
I've seen photos of babies but never raised to adulthood.
They always die.
- [Brian] Yeah, very few of them make it.
That's why we're so lucky to have Ben and Jerry.
What do you think the rarest thing that you guys have seen
over there like what's crazy that like oh my gosh?
- Albino gabooon vipers.
- [Brian] Oh, yeah.
- Those are nice.
Albino egg eaters. They've been cool.
- [Brian] Oh, yeah. That's another one.
- Albino boomslang.
- Yeah albino boomslang, adult.
It was caught as an adult.
Yellow with red eyes. Beautiful snake.
Not even aggressive or anything, very nice.
We have a lot of stuff which is really nice and fairly rare.
Things like sungazers.
- [Brian] Yeah. Sungazers are big.
- So when you stop there and you stop the vehicle
and you get out there's five of them
sitting there looking at you.
And you go, "They're probably gonna trash this place
and start growing wheat.
And that's the sad part.
You try to get into conservation side as well.
It's not just a pet trade or not just saving people's lives.
These animals need a bit of protection sometimes as well.
- I think when you're an animal person
you do these kinds of things because you love the animals,
but I'm not gonna lie to you.
Being able to share this kind of experience with like-minded
people is really special.
So having all these people in today
has just been absolutely amazing.
I love Arno and Heidi for sure.
And I'm so excited to get a chance to spend some
time with the NERD folks.
So this is just, I tell ya,
I live for days like today.
(dance music)
Okay so I am here with the NERD crew.
You guys know the crazy man, Kevin McCurley.
Well this is his guys, Jeremy. We've been friends forever.
- What's going on.
You old time guys that watched Snakebites TV
might remember we did a scene with him in my dumpster once.
He had a really good mustache, by the way.
I'll put a link in the description.
- No, no, no! Don't bring that back up, dude!
(laughs)
- So we have a bunch of the NERD crew here.
You guys are amazing.
We have a bunch of animals.
You guys may not know this but NERD is a place
that I get a lot of my stuff.
I really respect these guys.
Of course we have Casper over here.
We have Night Fury.
And of course we have Toothless all here.
So you guys, who worked with Casper before?
You guys actually worked with him? That is awesome.
I really appreciate, you guys did an amazing job.
Dead serious.
So tell me what it's like to work with the Evil Morph God.
- Well, I mean, you got the ponytail, bro.
- Look at this. Look at this.
- It's all about fabulous hair.
That's what we're doing.
(laughs)
No, it's awesome.
We get the chance to work with some incredible animals
on a daily basis, and, I mean,
you can't get much better than that.
- It is amazing.
And of course these guys were at Tinley Park as well
so they kinda came to pay me a visit and
I really do appreciate it.
I've had a good time with you guys.
Of course, do you remember Toothless?
This guy, when he was a baby or were you around?
- Unfortunately I wasn't around yet.
- [Brian] Oh okay. You remember him?
- I remember Toothless.
- [Brian] We actually had our name was written on the egg.
It said BHB so I better have gotten the right animal.
(laughs)
But no, you guys are awesome.
So tell me some of the highlights.
I mean what's the best part and the worst part?
The worst part's Kevin.
(laughs)
No, no, no. Kevin's great. I mean he's the mastermind.
But seriously what is your favorite parts?
- I would honestly say just like the genetics
behind everything Kevin does.
Just, like, what it takes to make these animals.
- [Brian] Yeah people don't realize there's that much.
- Yeah, you know, it's not just putting two and two together
it's a lot of critical thinking and knowing, you know,
what the breed and what -
- [Brian] Some of these projects can take, what,
five, six, seven, eight years!
- Oh yeah!
- [Brian] So the foresight to think that down the road.
You know, Kevin's amazing.
He really is literally the Evil Morph God.
His cerebral thought of animals
has really changed the industry.
Including behavior, I mean the bahavior side of monitors.
I think monitor keeping got completely changed
because of Kevin.
I mean you couldn't do this with a monitor
ten years ago before Kevin did his thing.
So what's the big thing that you guys are the most excited
about going forward in 2020?
- I'm really excited to see
what we're able to do with the cow stuff.
We've just kind of broken the surface
of what's possible with cows.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can start
doing with that over the next couple of years.
- [Brian] Oh my gosh. I can imagine, man.
You guys are killing it over there and cows are amazing.
So that's awesome, guys.
Well thank you guys for coming. I really appreciate it.
- Thank you for having us.
- [Brian] Make America snake again.
(laughs)
- That part you can keep in there.
(laughs)
- And the visitors continue today.
Of course my buddy Jordan over here from J.P. Reptiles.
I'm gonna put a link in the description to his stuff,
his Instagram, his YouTube and stuff like that.
He's up in Canada.
Really cool newcomer to this trade and doing amazing work.
So, regardless, thank you for coming.
- Thank you for having me.
- [Brian] Yeah. How was Tinley, man?
- Tinley was amazing.
I mean this show was absolutely massive.
I couldn't believe it.
They've blown out walls. It's getting bigger every year.
It's just unbelievable.
- Oh my god. That is awesome.
Well, welcome to my world.
And I'm gonna just show you around a little bit, okay?
- Let's do it. - [Brian] Let's do it.
A little Bella time for you. What do you think?
- That is crazy.
- [Brian] Isn't she amazing?
- It's like a puppy dog.
- [Brian] It is. It literally is like a dog.
I always say she's more like a cat because it's her world.
She decides when she wants pets.
- [Jordan] She's actually arching her back,
putting her head up, wanting to get pet.
- [Brian] Exactly. You don't need a dog if you have a Bella.
(laughs)
- So obviously, man, you've been doing this now for a while,
but you're a newcomer.
But you've now bread ball pythons
so you are officially a breeder.
- First year, four clutches. Next year, even more.
- [Brian] I know you're killing it.
So what advice for someone that is getting into the game
whether it's ball pythons or anything?
You've had to endure kind of building your brand quickly
and you've done a really good job of it.
So what's the advice that you would give people?
- I would say do a lot of research and surround yourselves
with professionals and experts who are willing to
give you guys as many advices possible.
I mean, learning from the experts, their mistakes,
their trials, tribulations.
I've had so much guidance that had helped me get
to this point today.
And it's been really amazing to see
how the community comes together when
you surround yourself with actual professionals
and they teach you everything.
- [Brian] So like a mentor, mentorship.
- Mentorship, yeah. Exactly.
- [Brian] Never get discouraged.
- That's the hardest part is getting discouraged.
Patience.
What I have learned, is the biggest thing is patience.
You gotta be patient. You gotta keep going at it.
Even today I get anxious.
The clutches, the feedings, all that stuff.
But the patience pays off.
Everything works out in the end.
And just never get down on yourself.
Just keep going. That's it.
- [Brian] Awesome. Love it, dude.
Absolutely amazing to have so much awesome company.
And hey, whenever I get an excuse to play with some
venomous snakes, I'm gonna go ahead and do it.
If you like this video,
here's another video of me playing with venomous snakes.
Here's an entire playlist
I think you guys are gonna absolutely enjoy.
Over here you can hit that subscribe button.
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Have a wonderful day
and remember to be kind and so on.
I promise, I'm gonna see you guys tomorrow.