Another show about exotic animals as pets

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

Oh man a couple of those shots are pretty scary! The animals all looks healthy and clean though. It would be interesting to see what the show was about, we don't have nat geo wild, only nat geo :( Stupid dish, I had to pay extra for Animal Planet and Nat Geo and they don't even give me all of them AND take away Walking Dead :rage:

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I have chosen not to watch Animal Planet or Nat Geo because of their support for the HSUS and for the Shows they've made that stigmatize exotc animal keeprs.

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Originally Posted by FroggyCrazy

Not to jump on you here or anyone else Kodieh we're all entitled to our own opinions, but I fail to see any difference between having a lion, tiger or bear compared to having an anaconda, reticulated python, poisonous snake or any other dangerous animal that can kill you. In my personal opinion dangerous exotics are dangerous exotics regardless of the species and if you want to own one you should be aware of the animals needs and know what you're doing before owning one. With that being said, I don't see any reason to bash exotic keepers as long as they are responsible about it.

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I completely understand your stand point on this, and I do see a difference because it's not in the nature of snakes to "graze". Being that snakes eat their meals whole, they pick and choose their meals by size. A lion, tiger, or bear DOES graze. They kill and tear pieces off, eating as they please. So size doesn't matter.

I understand I'm pretty much splitting hairs here, but it's pretty legitimate. I mean, with all due respect, you're basically saying that a snake just looks at you in a "how can I get that down my throat"/"my next meal! A hand!" every time you open the tub or tank.

So, I mean, maybe I'm romanticizing snakes compared to bears and tigers but thats what I think of when it comes to this show.

Besides, the first episode is about a magician in vegas who is a little too friendly with his cats...


Browsing on Tapatalk from my iPhone :)

Most attacks (as far as I know) aren't because the animal is hungry. It's because the animal is :cens0r: or scared. Using a magician as an example.... how would you like to be poked at and bossed around by a little man in a shiny suit? Same thing with a snake but again it's only my opinion.

I recently read an article about a show they were filming. The host the was guy from Fatal Attractions... I believe his name may have been Winston. I'm probably wrong, but he pretends to be some highly respected herpetologist. That couldnt be further from the truth. It takes place at a snake breeders home, a responsible keeper like most of us. The entire time the host keeps telling the man children that your daddy is going to die, the snakes will kill him. I believe this guy only housed ball pythons, but then again I could be wrong again. The entire time the host is there he continues to try and take the mans snakes. He even pulls a van up and tells him that he is going to load the snakes up, no ifs or buts.
I believe the title of the show was going to be " Living with Predators"
This could be a newly renamed show to try and distance it from the negative publicity the old name carried.

There was a gentleman on TV for one of these shows. I can't recall the name of the show, but they were part of the 'Venom Response Unit' or some such thing. Basically, a herp wrangling group that would come in and remove animals from public areas. Including Retics, Tegus and crocs.

The voiceover guy was the ridiculous one. If you tuned him out, you'd listen to the gentleman who was talking on the show. He spoke about an albino Retic killing a toddler back in the day. He said: "What people don't realize is that this animal had not been fed regularly, was being kept in inappropriate conditions, in an inappropriate enclosure. It was not the snakes fault. It is inrresponsible owners that neglect the fact these are powerful animals and require planning and care to keep safely."

But after he said that, the voiceover guy continues to dramatically say how wild animals are crossing paths with more and more humans, presenting more and more dangerous situations that could turn DEADLY! While this is happening, they show a ball python on a fence next to a park with children.

Honestly, the people in the shows aren't always bad. It's how they are presented. I mean, you could walk into my house on a Monday and it'll be clean and spotless. Come by on a Saturday when I decide I don't want to clean that day, and you could easily zoom in on my dirty dishes, unwashed clothes pile and dirty floor and say: "She is living in filth and poor conditions! This is her house on a good day. Can you imagine how she must live when nobody is watching?! We need an intervention for her own health."

I have written in to these shows a few times. Simply because I can't just turn the TV off without telling someone WHY I'm turning my TV off.

You know what my FREAKING FAVORITE part about it is? Has anyone noticed the huge dump of documentaries lately about people working with Great White Sharks and how they aren't the 'deadly eating machines' we once thought they were?

Does no one seen the irony in them showing these shows, followed immediately by "Fatal Attractions" and "Swamp Brothers"?

I'm saddened by the fact that animal planet sold out and abandoned education in favor of drama.
I remember seeing a pulp show on another channel (along the lines of "I Shouldn't Be Alive!") where someone got tagged by a venomous snake. They featured an experienced keeper that talked about all the protocols they had in place to not only prevent incidents, but maximize the effectiveness of treatment post-bite.
I can't remember the circumstances around the person that was bitten (irresponsible keeping/handling or if it was a freak accident in the "wild"), but overall I felt that the tone was respectful, rather than stigmatizing.
And now I turn on animal planet and see a dude in a dilapidated house overrun with "pet" rats, and pitbull puppies euthanized after being "rescued" from dog-fighting rings. :(

Hey Kat, do you mind if put "Responsible Keeper" in my sig?
I admit, I do watch these shows, but it's more of a "know thy enemy" thing, along with morbid fascination. Seriously, it's kind of funny to me to see how they hype up an animal like a BP to be big, scary, and deadly.
On a more serious note, shows like that are the bane of the average exotic keeper. I get asked what I'm going to do when my snake gets big enough to eat me, my cats, etc., or told that I'm cruel for keeping him in an enclosure with every commodity that he could ever ask for. Even my family is asking questions like that, but thankfully they're smart enough to listen to me. You want to talk about cruel, look at my neighbors, but that is a different rant for a different time.

Here's a News video about the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRFPb...&feature=g-u-u