If you are not friends with Urban Jungles-Radio I would friend them. Someone named Robert Walter has been commenting on their posts about this. Apparently he was there and helped but refused to supply any of his animals for this. Urban Jungles Radio has said they will be talking with him during their show on Friday night.
According to Robert there is more to this story than is immediately apparent. He has stated that this was apparently filmed 2 years ago (not sure I believe that). He has also stated that the water was not freezing cold, but actually luke warm. I didn't notice any ice, but he said that a few ice cubes were used, but mostly fake stage ice was used. Contestants were instructed to act as if the water was cold, which I honestly think they did a poor job of. I didn't get the impression that the water was cold. He also stated that some fake snakes were mixed in. I do believe that Robert was there because someone recognized him in one of the clips, but I can't verify that anything he has said is true.
All of that being said, I want to make it known that I in no way support this. I think it was a ridiculous stunt, especially since I've seen a clip where there are also two alligators swimming around in the mix, but I do think it is possible that a lot of what people are so upset about is simply the dramatization typical of "reality" TV.