"Scaled"

[dakski]

My post (#16 above) has a link to watch online...and yes, already noted that dart frogs are NOT scaled...

Sadly. I am not sure the average viewer will know the difference.

Although. I showed someone Solana, who is scaleless (corn), and their head exploded.

So, who knows.

[Bogertophis]

My impression after watching the first episode is that they're "easing the average [non-herp-keeping] viewers" into the world of keeping snakes & lizards
& all as pets. They have one requisite staff member who expressed her fear of snakes -she's the carpenter & she "doesn't mind them when they're in the
enclosures" but a staff member held a snake during their meeting & at one point she predictably fled... This episode had other brief interludes with
scaly pets, but I'm convinced they started off with tiny colorful frogs intentionally, despite their lack of scales.

They did do some beautiful work & had some good decor ideas, & discussed the care of species shown, so IMO it's worth further checking it out.

[alittleFREE]

I haven't watched yet, but I already know that I could look at pretty enclosures all day. So as long as that's a major aspect of the show and there isn't any obvious anti-reptile BS, I'm sure I'll enjoy.

[Craiga 01453]

I watched the first episode end enjoyed it. It really is a carbon copy of "Tanked" as far as format goes. Just swap out aquariums for terrariums.

Enclosure company owner/staff goes on consult with client, has staff meeting, builds enclosure, installs enclosure, finish with dramatic reveal to client.

I personally enjoyed it and will continue watching. Hopefully it educates some people and shines a positive light on our hobby.

I am very curious about the next episode. The episode description says it's a build for 3 BPs. I'm hoping they're housed separately. Otherwise something tells me we'll be hearing "I saw on t.v. you can put 3 BPs in one tank"....

[PiperPython]

I think that it might raise some more interesting discussion about racks vs. naturalistic environments, but it also might create a whole new breed of ‘zoological institution level enclosures or bust’ mentality.

In my opinion, shows that hold these creatures in a positive light are always welcome. All it takes is one person to turn one person. I turned a couple people into ‘keepers’ or the ‘interested-but-researching’ folks, as was done for me. I was scared of snakes until 31 and now I have a herd and am turning it into a career — so it’s not impossible to change perceptions!

[Bogertophis]

They also talked about bio-active enclosures & that's what they did for those frogs in episode one. I agree with you Craig (as usual, lol) that this show
is very much like "Tanked" and they have a chance to enlighten many hesitant viewers about reptiles, who may be drawn in initially just by the beautiful
enclosures they're building.

[dakski]

Katie and I watched "Scaled" last night. The first episode, on dart frogs.

Initial Reactions:

1. Overall, I think the show is fun and a positive for the reptile community.

2. More behind the scenes drama/reality than educational by any stretch. Being the the reptile geek I am, I want to know about temps, how they are achieving them, what thermostats, what heating devices, what humidity and how they regulated, etc. They did talk about who manufactured the misting system they are using, and it's the one they sell on their website, but did not talk about how it was monitored, etc.

3. Much over-dramatization; almost feels scripted. However, still fun to watch and good for the reptile community.

4. Clear oversights. For example, the father of the dart frog family talked about syphoning water out of his tanks and starting the syphon with his mouth, as if that's the only way. Aside from being disgusting, you can use a hand pump, water pressure, etc. to syphon effectively. Yes, Cornel's World did set up a self draining system that works with gravity, which is better, but is anyone going to tell the father you don't have to put frog waste in your mouth to syphon a dart frog tank?

5. Not enough information on relevant topics: What was Cornel's World's time frame? What was their budget? Things like that would have made the whole episode a lot clearer. They set up the dart frog tanks as bioactive, however, they acted like that's an easy thing to do and you can just throw some bugs in there. As we all know, it's not that simple and more information would have been helpful and informative.


Final Word:

Katie and I will watch a few more episodes and see if we like the gang enough to follow them. We may tune in just to see what they came up with. 40 minutes when you fast forward through commercials. Not too bad to see some killer custom enclosures.

Final Rating:

6.8

[Bogertophis]

dakski, I SO agree about the "siphoning" bit the guy had been doing...he seemed much smarter than that, so it really makes me wonder if they thought
others watching might not be, & so they added that to the "story" for effect and humor?

I think they have plenty of room to improve also...more tech. details for sure & less side-show, but as you said, at least it reflects well on our community.

[dakski]

dakski, I SO agree about the "siphoning" bit the guy had been doing...he seemed much smarter than that, so it really makes me wonder if they thought
others watching might not be, & so they added that to the "story" for effect and humor?

I think they have plenty of room to improve also...more tech. details for sure & less side-show, but as you said, at least it reflects well on our community.

Amen to that!

I totally agree it reflects well on the reptile community. Plus, at least they talk about humidity and temp requirements even if they don't go into them. Many people just throw a snake, lizard, tortoise, etc. of any kind, into a glass aquarium and call it a day! This show at least shows that there is more to reptile keeping than that, in multiple ways.

Regarding the syphoning; people will do anything to be on TV, even look like a total moron! Case and point.

[Bogertophis]

Well, I just watched the 2nd episode of Scaled- at least this time the creatures featured HAVE scales.

https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-show...and-the-python

A few random thoughts about it: I love the idea of heated branches- not a new idea, but a good idea to revisit, depending on what you keep, very do-able.

The cages they designed are long on "attractiveness" but I question "practicality"- for the 3 ball pythons, they only did one hide each & never mentioned if
they were heated or not. To be fair, the owner only had one hide apiece for them in her old rack system, but for me, the health considerations far outweigh
the superficial appearance. Not only that but the 3 separate compartments emphasized vertical space, whereas BP's are mostly "horizontal" snakes, and the
one that "likes to climb", there's no way he'll be able to climb the narrow & mostly vertical "vines" they installed? Like, what were they thinking? All for looks.

They showed a beautiful Honduran milk snake & fed it a f/t rat, but called it a "mouse"?

In building these enclosures out of wood they never mention waterproofing, & they are busy painting the interiors but say nothing about the hazards of many
kinds of paint for reptiles...I fear that some people may try to emulate what they see them doing (it's very abbreviated to fit the time allotted) without realizing
what is & what is not safe to use. And while these enclosures are gorgeous (like what they did for the basilisk lizard), what a nightmare to clean them, not to
mention disinfect. Again, I can picture people copying what they show, while not having all the facts...what do you all think?

And Kevin, the bearded dragon, needs heat...but he's just laying around their room as a prop...again with no mention of his actual needs or care.

Anyone else watch this episode?