In this episode, I’m joined by Mariah Healey from ReptiFiles to break down how to properly calculate reptile enclosure size, and we also discuss how to provide proper heating for your reptiles. We discuss how to move beyond outdated “minimums,” focusing instead on usable space, thermal gradients, and species-appropriate behavior. Topics include:

• How to calculate the minimum enclosure size
• Why enclosure dimensions matter for heat gradients
• Common heating and enclosure mistakes
• How size impacts thermoregulation and welfare

🎧 Listen to the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/243-reptifiles/SPONSORS: Visit The BioDude: https://www.thebiodude.com/ Visit Zoo Med Labs here: https://zoomed.com/JOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/animalsathomeLINKS FROM THE EPISODE:https://reptifiles.com/https://www.instagram.com/reptifiles/?hl=enhttps://www.facebook.com/reptifiles/https://www.youtube.com/@UCwWGfVChrix8yuL0BmMjxSw Photos and Video in Episode:https://www.instagram.com/reptifiles/?hl=en0:00 Intro

2:50 Welcome Mariah

8:46 Reptile Room Update

22:58 ReptiFiles - What is it? & Update

34:53 Zoo Med - Jumping Spider Kit

36:00 Where next for ReptiFiles?

1:01:51 Calculating Reptile Minimum Enclosure Size

1:54:40 Reptile Heating - How to heat a reptile tank?

2:27:23 Best Reptile Basking Surface?

2:47:40 Creating a perfect warm hide

2:51:27 Closing Thoughts

Indo joins in this episode to talk all about his various species of crustaceans, including the incredibly interesting Coconut Crab species. Indo dives into al of the care requirements on Coconut Crabs and Vampire Crabs specifically, while also talking about naturalistic enclosures, cohabitation, and various diet needs of crustaceans. We also discuss Indo’s upcoming plans to begin breeding Coconut Crabs, something that nobody thus far has been able to do in captivity. He shares details of his extensive knowledge of the breeding process, the various growth stages of crustaceans, and how he plans on replicating the ocean in order for the breeding project to succeed.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/242-coconut-crabs/

SPONSORS:

Visit The BioDude: https://www.thebiodude.com/

Visit Zoo Med Labs here: https://zoomed.com/JOIN US ON

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/animalsathomeLINKS

FROM THE EPISODE:

Indo’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indo_and_plants

Indo’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/@indoplants7040

00:00 Introducing Indo

1:23 Coming Up: The Bio Dude

1:58 Coming Up: Zoo Med Jumping Spider Kit

2:19 Welcome Indo + Starting Out With Exotic Animals and Crabs

6:46 Animal Keeping Community in Italy

19:19 What Indo Is Keeping Currently

12:45 Indo’s Passion for Crustaceans

15:00 Recommended and Types of Crab Species

17:00 Basic Vampire Crab Care Requirements

19:10 Scavenger Crabs + Naturalistic Enclosures

22:00 Terrestrial Crabs and Water Needs

23:27 Cohabitation With Other Crabs or Species

24:30 The Bio Dude Substrates + Bug Grub

25:31 Discovering Coconut Crabs

31:07 What Is A Coconut Crab?

34:59 Keeping Coconut Crabs

41:45 Enclosure Needs For Adults + More Care Requirements

46:13 Coconut Crab Diets

47:53 Zoo Med Jumping Spider Kit

48:58 Breeding Coconut Crabs

1:02:18 Replicating Flow of The Ocean + Filters

1:05:08 Growing Phases

1:07:27 Indo’s Future Plans for Breeding Crabs

1:12:13 Future Projects + Closing Thoughts

Dr. A. Z. Andis Arietta is a scientist whose work spans the intersection of AI, conservation, and herpetoculture (azandisresearch.com). He earned his PhD from Yale School of the Environment, where his research areas included ecological genomics, amphibian ecophysiology and development, and the ethics of conservation. That scientific and philosophical grounding now informs how he thinks about evidence-based animal care, conservation policy, and the impacts of data infrastructure.

Professionally, Andis is a Senior Data Scientist working in machine learning, causal inference, and applied AI. He also teaches graduate courses on Practical AI, research methods, and data visualization, with an emphasis on application in the environmental field.

Andis is an active herpetoculturist who runs Holotypica (holotypica.com), a small husbandry-focused venture centered on ethically bred amphibians and reptiles, primarily focused on dart frogs and emerald tree skinks. His work in the hobby prioritizes animal welfare, transparent methods, and helping keepers succeed through education and evidence-based guidance.

Across all of his work, Andis is interested in how AI can support conservation and environmental outcomes, including improving decision systems, extracting insight from unstructured data, and strengthening science communication, while remaining clear-eyed about the limitations and risks of these tools.

Rain joins me to dive deep into one of the most unique reptile projects you’ll ever hear about — keeping snail-eating snakes and the unexpected adventure that came with it. We discuss everything from how to care for snail-eating snakes, their specialized diet, and how to breed and collect snails as feeders… all the way to the hilarious twist that turned Rain into one of eBay’s top snail sellers. SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/241-snail-eaters/SPONSORS: Visit Fauna-Lux Here: https://fauna-lux.com/Visit The BioDude: https://www.thebiodude.com/ JOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/animalsathomePhotos and Video in Episode:Provided by Rain0:00 Intro1:48 Welcome Rain, Discovering Snail-Eaters14:35 Starting with the Snails16:45 TrueChroma by Fauna Lux18:20 Finding Wild Snails23:20 Buying & Selling Snails on eBay31:28 Parasites on Snails & Snail Worms33:25 Selling & Collecting Millipedes 36:08 How Many Snails each Snail-eater needs43:25 BioDude44:26 Raising Snails vs Raising Crickets47:34 The Benefits of Keeping & Breeding Snails55:53 The Species of Snail-Eaters Rain Keeps & Their Characteristics 1:14:54 How they eat1:28:56 A look at Rain's Snail-Eaters1:46:37 What size snail to feed?1:48:56 Feeder variety?1:51:50 Structure for Captive Keeping1:56:28 Setting up the Snail Tubs & Feeding2:02:38 Semi-Slugs2:06:28 Closing Thoughts

Phil has a conversation with Nick Sloan, owner of Sloan's Reptiles and the All American Plant and Reptile Expo. Great conversation!

Phil interivews the legendary Randy Gray. This is one you wont want to miss!

Greg Bartucca of The Reptile Studio discusses the dedicated room in his house for his Carpet Python, Daria, as well as all of the ins and outs surrounding how he made the room work. Greg dives into topics surrounding proper husbandry of snakes, offering them more space and enrichment opportunities, and his overall thoughts about advancing basic reptile care. Greg talks about how he “snake-proofed” the room, ensuring that Daria does not injure herself while free-roaming the room, as well as tidbits about surveillance, lighting setups, and tips for digestion. We also discuss in-depth about Greg’s recent mite problem in his reptile room and the very interesting method for combating it.SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/240-reptile-studio/SPONSORS:Visit Fauna-Lux Here: https://fauna-lux.com/Visit The BioDude: https://www.thebiodude.com/ JOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/animalsathomeLINKS FROM THE EPISODE:Link to Snake Mite Info: https://tomaskas.co.uk/snakemitetreatment/Greg’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereptilestudiohttps://www.youtube.com/@UCbckZXUp2OXClUHEI1_l5rA Photos and Video in Episode:Provided by Greg0:00 Introducing Greg Bartucca 1:55 The Bio Dude2:30 Welcome Greg + Getting Into The Hobby6:16 Greg’s Species Currently7:31 All About The Snake Room + Snake Proofing15:50 Daria’s Behavior + Eating Habits19:24 Dealing With Snake Poop21:10 Digestion After Feeding22:56 Losing Daria in The Room?25:31 True Chroma by Faunalux27:05 Surveillance For The Room28:08 Recommendations For Replication of Free Range Snakes36:14 The Bio Dude Substrates + Bug Grub37:15 All About Greg’s Mite Problem57:06 Enclosure Inspiration For His Other Reptiles1:01:00 Enrichment Talks in Round Table Episode1:05:00 Closing Thoughts

In this episode, I break down the spiciest debates in the reptile-keeping world — the topics that always light up comment sections and split the hobby right down the middle.

We dig into:

Rack & tub keeping — outdated or perfectly functional?

“Old school” husbandry advice — why some keepers are still spreading bad info.

Morph breeding — ethical concerns, genetic bottlenecks, and what the future looks like.

Venomous and giant species — who should be keeping them (if anyone)?

…and several more hot-button issues that the reptile community can’t stop arguing about.

Whether you’re a keeper, breeder, or brand-new hobbyist, this video will challenge the norms and get you thinking about where our community is headed.

👇 Comment your most controversial reptile opinion — I might feature it in a future video!

👍 Like the video to support the channel

🔔 Subscribe for more deep-dives on reptile care, ethics, and conservation

#Reptiles #ControversialOpinions #Herpetology #ReptileKeeping #AnimalsAtHome

JOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/animalsathome

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:

https://youtu.be/7b5QAkPq80c?si=zBWZ8eMv3Fw7xPrQ

https://www.instagram.com/neversvn/

https://www.instagram.com/aridsonly/

https://www.instagram.com/thereptilestudio_/

https://www.instagram.com/gekkotaculture/

0:00 Intro

00:37 Don't Dim Heat Lamps

2:05 The OG's are ruining the hobby

3:34 Not all racks are bad

4:37 No Co-habbing

5:48 Most keepers lose interest

7:36 It's not possible to keep ethically

9:17 No need for new species

10:49 "free rehomes"

12:25 Venomous and XL species should be banned

13:58 There is no one way to keep a species

15:26 Almost all care info is parroted without knowledge

17:46 Reptile Licenses

18:56 Captive Conservation is a Scam

20:49 Vertical Branches

21:39 Tubs mean you don't care

23:22 Most breeders are bad

24:25 Nobody respects life

25:34 If you don't love the wild-type, you don't love the animal

27:08 Lack of Height Causes obesity

29:26 It's a Privilege, not a Right

30:12 Baby Snakes don't need tubs