206: Hills Herptiles – Animals at Home Network

Exploring ethical captive management of reptiles & amphibians through the lens of biological science, conservation, and human nature. The Animals at Home Network is a herpetoculture-based podcast network that hosts: Animals at Home Podcast by Dillon Perron, Project Herpetoculture by Phillip Lietz and Roy Arthur Blodgett, Reptiles & Research Podcast by Liam Sinclair and Ellie Hills, and Animals Everywhere by Bryce Broom. Each show on the network brings all members of the reptile community together to discuss reptile husbandry, scientific research, breeding, wildlife conservation, and more!

In this episode, we discuss how to train and tame your pet lizard or snake to improve their well-being. We discuss establishing trust with lizards and snakes, positive/negative reinforcement, and how to target-train your pet reptile.

Ellie Hills, an animal welfare specialist joins the podcast to discuss her experience in animal welfare and what welfare means for reptile keepers. She discusses her viewpoints on controversial topics such as euthanasia, reinforcement training, and incorrect ways to enrich an animal in captivity. Ellie highlights her work in a ball python study that she and her colleagues are working on, which will discover the captive behaviors of ball pythons and how they interact with their respective environments.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/206-hills-herptiles/

SPONSORS:

Visit The BioDude here: www.thebiodude.com
Visit Zoo Med Labs here: https://zoomed.com/
CHECK OUT Custom Reptile Habitats HERE

Links from the Episode:

Ellie Hills YT:https://youtube.com/@hillsherptiles
Wild Welfare Video:https://youtu.be/7EAfP1nlsRU?si=aYdt4Hd2llEhHDSe
Wild Welfare:https://wildwelfare.org
Capacity building for better animal welfare:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-1090.2011.00136.x

We Discuss:
00:00 Coming Up – ZooMed + The BioDude
0:57 Introducing Ellie Hills – Hill’s Herptiles
2:28 Welcome Ellie – Her Animal and Reptile Experiences
7:00 Beginnings in Animal Welfare
10:30 Care and Welfare
16:16 Thoughts on Euthanasia and Suffering
21:42 How To Begin Positive Welfare
25:07 Ellie’s Experience In Training
26:10 The Right & Wrong Way To Enrich an Animal
28:29 Stress in Reptiles
30:14 The Four Quadrants of Training + Stimulating Food Responses
39:10 ZooMed Dragon Food
40:06 How To Build a Relationship with Your Reptiles & Learned Experiences
44:44 Target Training in Reptiles
46:54 The BioDude Substrates + Bug Grub
47:55 Reading Your Reptile’s Behavior
48:47 Ellie’s Feeding Routines, Frustration Tolerance & Force
54:09 Ellie’s Ball Python Behavior Study
1:05:29 Closing Thoughts