It is time for our first Ask Jessi.
You've asked questions and now I'm going to answer 'em.
Patches wants to know the answers, too.
[ ♪ Intro ]
Our first question is from Alice Glendarroch: What type of facility do you have for the animals?
Like, was it a school, or office building?
Or is it part of your house?
I was just wondering how you figured out a place to house 80 animals.
(I realized you probably didn't start with 80.)
The animal facility has been built onto, into, around our house, I guess.
And then we do house some of the animals outside,
and some of them are partially housed inside-outside.
Most of the animals are tropical species, so they have to be inside, temperature-controlled.
But they are really small reptiles or birds,
so we started with 30 and then we've just expanded to fit the ones that need housing.
Next question from Grubslekcin.
Oh my gosh, this is hard.
Hey Jessi! We are passing through the area this summer and my kids were curious
if we were allowed to come and visit with the animals.
I would l--here. Shh.
I would love to meet all of you face-to-face.
I would love to share the animals with everybody.
We are not open to the public.
We don't have the funds to be able to make the facility big enough to house humans as well as the animals.
You can find us at a bunch of public events, as well,
and we go out and do, school presentations and other special events.
Birthday parties, even.
So, that's how we're sharing the animals, and YouTube videos right now.
Next question, Fiona @theinsanefiona, asks:
Has there been any particular animal that has majorly impacted your life or career goals?
There have been so many!
Well, I think every single animal that I have interacted with somehow has influenced my life,
but there are those that have stood out.
My first horse I got when she was 10; her name was Belle.
She was a rescue.
She made a really huge impact on me and just really reinforced my love of animals.
Buddy the raccoon has been my biggest teacher of hands-on, free-contact training and interaction.
And even though he's passed on, he continues to influence my interaction with animals today.
Savodee the spotted hyena impressed me the most on his understanding of human communication.
He knew over 300 different cues, human cues. Awesome.
Annie the vervet monkey, she taught me the most about patience and
how important clear communication is when working with a protected contact animal.
Kemosabe, the prehensile tail porcupine,
he was my biggest eye-opener to the world of YouTube videos going viral.
He has over a million views.
Kemosabe's tree fort, who knew?
Next question from Ron Jennings: Here's an animal question for you.
I just recently found out that it's legal in my area to own a spider monkey
and I'd love to have one, but I don't know if it's really ethical to do so.
So I know that the exotic pet store is a bit sketchy,
so I'm not sure if you can get one through ethical means,
but if it is, what is the best source of info on how to properly care for one?
[Sigh.] No, no, no, no, no. Please no. [Exhales.]
Monkeys do not make good pets.
They don't.
I mean, I'm not going to say that no one can properly take care of a spider monkey,
because that's just not true,
but they are so far out of the ranges of something as an appropriate pet.
Just no.
So, I really kind of feel like it'd be easier to take care of a human child than it would be to take care of a monkey.
I mean our whole society is built around being able to take care of human children.
There's just so little help out there for properly caring for monkeys.
I mean, if you think you're ready for a monkey as a pet,
you have to make sure that they have a HUGE enclosure,
that they can do natural behaviors, which spider monkeys swing and hang from branches.
And they are social, so you'll have to get a couple of them.
And then you have to get the right permits,
and socialization, and give them the right diet that they need.
Not to mention, make sure that they don't get sick and finding a vet to take care of them.
It's just...monkey's don't make good pets.
Bethany Ellerby asks: I'm just interested to know if you rehome or release your animals,
or whether, after they're in your care, they stay with your permanently.
All of our animals are non-releasable, meaning that they can't survive in the wild.
While, I wholeheartedly support rehabbers who take in animals from the wild that are injured
and rehabilitate them and put them back out into the wild.
Such wonderful, amazing, happy stories.
We're just--Animal Wonders is not a rehab facility.
So, we take in animals that have been displaced from their home.
So that means that they no longer have a home.
And then we provide them with the best possible placement.
Usually that means staying at Animal Wonders for their entire life.
But there are occasions when animals would be better in another facility, another home.
And those cases are assessed on an individual basis.
Like the recent re-homing of our brush-tailed bettong pair, which you can find that story right here.
William Turner asks: What a beautiful tortoise!
Did you mention Yucca's age and lifespan?
How did you get that pronunciation?
"Yoo-cca,"as "you," instead of "yuck."
Best of luck to you.
There is a white tuber that grows in Peru called 'yucca,' and it's absolutely delicious if you fry it and cover it in salt.
Augusto named Yucca, so I'm blaming him for that coincidence.
Yucca was born in 2008, which makes her about six years old.
They can live up to 80 years.
Happyanne515 asks: Is Yucca potty trained?
Otherwise the reptile room must get quite messy.
No, she is not potty-trained, and yes, it does get quite messy.
And, last question, Chaospotato asks: At 1:56, is that poop in a jar in the background?
What, this?! This?
This is not poop.
This is monkey biscuits, and yes they do make monkey biscuits.
However, this is poop.
If you like learning about animals and you want to learn more,
you can find me and ask me questions on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook.
Don't forget to subscribe so you can go on an adventure every week with Animal Wonders.
[ ♪ Outro ]
Hey, guys! Quick update!
Okay! So if you watched last week's video you'll know all about the bettongs