Anthropomorphism and Your Pets6/30/2020 Anthropomorphism, this is when you assign human traits or characteristics to non-human entities or objects. It can be dangerous to you, your pets, and those around them in some cases. It can lead to unrealistic behavioral expectations, behavioral and health issues, and an overall loss of grip on reality for some extreme cases. One of the most common health issues caused by anthropomorphization is obesity. It is very difficult for people to imagine that some animals can be healthy and go long periods without eating. For example, savanah monitor lizards have evolved to be cyclical feeders eating heavily for about 6 months out of the year and almost nothing for the other 6 months. Some would argue that in captivity we have the ability to make their lives "better" so we should feed them year round. This is an anthropomorphic notion; it is the notion that we as humans know better than millions of years of nature and evolution, and we basically want them to eat and behave the way we think they should which is of course based on how we behave and eat. I believe this is the primary reason that savannah monitors are so commonly obese and lethargic in captivity. Every animal lover I know is guilty of it to some extent because to some small extent it's part of what makes us human. We want to believe that our animal companions feel the same way about us as we do about them. We want to believe that they are capable of all the same emotions in all the same ways that we are because it makes us feel closer to them. But think about it this way, if they shared the same feelings and emotions in all the same ways we would be monsters for basically enslaving our emotional equals. That's usually where it stops for most people because to believe that goes against our own self-image, and because most of us are sane enough to draw that line. With regards to reptiles I do not believe that they experience anywhere near the same range or depth of emotions that people and some mammals and birds (technically higher functioning reptiles) do. The reptile brain is a primitive one driven mostly by instinct. Experiences and reinforcements can bend and alter that instinct to a degree so that some reptiles exhibit behaviors that are easily mistaken for emotions such as affection, affinity, or even hatred. Reptiles most certainly learn to associate their keepers with food, good and bad experiences, and stress. This causes many of them to approach their keepers or other people eagerly or run away from them in a panic. In many cases their trust can be earned through positive experiences such as being fed or simply being around people without anything bad happening. Some of the more intelligent species such as monitor lizards may even seem to experience something bordering on joy causing them to repeat certain behaviors like climbing on to a keeper for an excursion or to explore more territory. What this really is simple loss of fear through repeated positive experience combined with a naturally active and inquisitive brain constantly looking to explore their environment.
Here's another article describing some of the other pitfalls of this behavior. https://protecttheharvest.com/what-you-need-to-know/anthropomorphism-is-the-greatest-threat-to-animal-welfare/
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Designing Cages During Lockdown6/29/2020
One of the things I've been doing lately to both kill time and serve a necessary function is learning to use a 3d design program called Sketchup Make 2017. Sketchup is a program designed for people from all sorts of industries to be able to make building plans, design parts, build 3d models, etc. It is similar to programs like Autocad which you may have heard of. There are tons of complex things you can do with this program. However, for the purposes of designing cages it is fantastically simplistic. I'll link the video I used to learn the basics below.
Sketchup Make 2017 is an older version of the program which you can download for free, or you can use it by working online if you choose. There are a few functions that are locked using this version, but it is still very useful for designing/drawing up your enclosure or rack plans and having them be to scale. Click HERE to access this free version of the program.
Currently I'm acquiring a few tools and parts needed to complete a new rack system for my gopher and, soon to arrive, bull snakes. I'm also in the process of using the program to design some other more traditional wooden enclosures as well as pvc ones. Below is my finalized design for my new bull and gopher snake rack. It will hold 7 young adults using Freedom Breeder FB-80 tubs. MIA, where have I been?6/28/2020 Hey guys I wanted to take a minute to apologize for the lack of time I've been putting into the blog here. With everything going on in the world the last few months I've kind of let this fall by the wayside as I just haven't been very motivated to write that much. Thank you to those of you have stuck with me and kept checking the site it means a lot to me truly. All of that being said I've decided to scrap the current series about reptiles to avoid as it occurred to me after the last post that it may be having the opposite effect of what I'd like this blog to have. While I do my best to make it educational and positive, and I do whole-heartedly believe the animals I've discussed up to this point make horrible choices for beginner keepers, but I'm afraid the series as a whole may be putting a bit of a negative vibe out. More negativity and discouragement is last thing this industry needs, and I've always felt that highlighting a problem without offering a solution doesn't really help and I feel like that's kind of what I've been doing, at least in some in of the posts. So instead, I'm going go ahead and start a series on great beginner reptiles. I'll talk about why I think they're great for beginners, their basic care requirements and what you can expect to spend on acquisition as well as initial setup. If there are any particular species you'd like me to discuss my thoughts on and experience with please email me at [email protected] with the subject line "TBH BLOG suggestion". And I'll get back to you asap. I'm also going to be posting more of my day-to-day here for those of you who choose not use social media like FB or instagram. This will include photos and videos of many of my animals, cover subjects like feeding, maintenance, and handling. Occasionally I may also link fascinating articles and videos I've come across. I really hope y'all like the change in direction and of course if you have any feedback you can always leave a comment below. Archives |