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look at this thang

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Listen. I like plushies. And... maybe you do too.

Marshmallow Plushies are back in stock

Note- I am not affiliated with Marshmallow but I know a number of you like hoggies and some have been waiting for the plush to come back in stock. (I'm going to pretend it is a Sakura plush :3)

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sel 🦭

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girls

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(The two seals were fine and wiggled free. All animals in this post are fine.)

Whenever I see them both in the same hide like this I just think of those two seals.

Friendly reminder my girls have an incredibly large enclosure where each has multiple hides to herself and neither is being bullied by the other. I have a longer in depth post about their cohabitation if you are concerned.

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Those snakes aren’t cuddling. They’re not a social species.

While working with Dr. Thomas Guensburg (currently a researcher at the Field Museum of Natural History) on imagery of crinoid evolutionary chains for peer review, he revealed that he was worried how it would be received. His work was solid, clearly explained, and very clear- at the time I was confused how other researchers could reject it. It was then I learned how sometimes the truth doesn't always matter, especially when people's careers were staked on false information they based their own research on; many would fight tooth and nail to suppress evidence that things might not be true as they were invested in the former incorrect belief. It is my understanding this sort of suppression happened quite often, unfortunately.

While some of his peers did this deliberately, even with common folks it's much easier to get them to believe something false than to question their belief and change it to something true even with evidence. So far as Hognose Snakes go, from my understanding the last in depth research on these animals in the wild was done in the 1980's - which is incredibly dated. Even in recent years we've found so much of what we "knew" about reptiles was entirely wrong. Back then we "knew" reptiles couldn't see red light so it was commonly used for heating. Back then we "knew" rattlesnakes and leopard geckos were solitary animals. We now know this information is incorrect.

Reptiles can see red light, and a constant red light negatively affects their sleep cycles, health, and behavior. Leopard geckos actually live in colonies - yet some people will still argue they are solitary animals in the wild. As for rattlesnakes, Project Rattlecam livestreams and documents the lives of rattlesnakes. Do they look like solitary animals to you?

So back to Hognose Snakes. When I first got my girls I'd read up everything on them, how they were solitary, and deaf, and not that bright, and unable to feel emotion (let alone love) due to missing the part of the brain that is capable of processing that. All of those things my girls have shown me to be untrue. Snakes are not deaf, in fact my girls regularly respond to my voice. They're not stupid (at least not any more than the average human child tbh) and can be target trained as well as taught to point at things they want. As far as feeling emotion, their brains are structured like birds, not humans, so they have a different brain structure and chemical but do indeed feel happiness, emotion, and affection- I have videos on my blog of Scoria using a gesture to request being pet she learned from mimicking me petting her.

As far as being solitary- the evidence I've seen that can be repeated points to that information being untrue. Think about it, why would a solitary species dedicate one of their few words to say, "I'm friendly! Let's be nice to each other." The "twitch" is also seen in the (very much not solitary) rattlesnake to communicate with other individuals they are friendly. Contrary to popular belief this is NOT strictly to signal mating but used far more often to display friendliness- Project Rattlecam has quite a few examples between babies and adults.

Hognoses also are known to brumate together over winter in the same dens. That doesn't sound like solitary animal behavior, especially considering they tend to brumate with individuals they know. Honestly? This sounds more like loose colony behavior. A researcher very well could have seen that a hognose went to a den by themselves and thought, "Hmm, these aren't like garter snakes who cram themselves into a den like a clown car. They are solitary."

My girls don't either. Usually each will sleep in her own den- unless she's worried about the other. I've seen a few times, including when Sakura was in shed, Scoria didn't leave her sister's side. But normally they'll go to one of their favorite dens (they seem to have decided amongst themselves what belongs to who) and while they'll sometimes borrow each other's dens, like a sister staying in her sister's room, they tend to stay in their own beds for the most part. During the day, they'll seek each other out, Sakura will greet Scoria with a twitch, and they'll either play with today's enrichment activity or snuggle up together and wait for me. They didn't start out together, and the decision to house them together was NOT one I took lightly. I actually have two identical enclosures I bought for each of them, but the other never got set up because they get very upset when I separate them. After quarantining Sakura, I left one of the rocks she'd had in her enclosure on a table Scoria was playing on. Her response was dramatic, she KNEW the scent was another snake, and from that second on she was determined to find this other hognose. I was afraid of introducing them, Scoria actually found Sakura's enclosure and tried to free her by digging through the side (there's a video of this in one of my older posts.) I VERY cautiously introduced them, and after some tongue flicks and twitches, Sakura immediately started treating Scoria like her mother.

Sakura was an absolute wreck when I got her, terrified of humans- I think her breeder mishandled her as she had trauma responses and would blind panic and flail when I tried to hold her. But if Scoria was with her and I picked them both up at the same time? She'd have no hesitation. Take Scoria away and Sakura was immediately back to hiding, panicking, and flailing. If they can see each other and Sakura gets scared, such as if there's a loud sound, she immediately races over to her sister and hides her head under her chin. I've seen them both be protective of each other too, even earlier this week I startled Sakura and she hissed- Scoria came racing from where she was to check Sakura where she was then go back to whatever she was doing. And when I take one out and not the other- if one can't find their sister while we are out I will come back to her very concerned hoggie, who will check her sister over completely when I put her back to ensure she is okay before she'll relax. They BOTH do this. And so many other things. So yes, I am aware of what people say about hognoses. And I am aware of the behavior I've witnessed and repeatedly seen proven to be true with my own girls. I've had other hognose keepers echo similar things when they let their snakes play together during free time as well. The entire world might not be open to hearing what is commonly believed might not be true- let's face it, an absurd amount of reptile keepers are still using red lights and refuse to change. But regardless, I know my girls, have studied their behavior, and am doing what they've shown me is best for their health and well being. <3

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Today's Seal Is: Big Ol' Worm

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Having a sister means you are never truly alone.

She's always in your space.

But it just wouldn't be home if she wasn't.

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Sakura tries a new technique to get fed. It is a success!

Please note I'm now trying a more advanced form of target training and this example is not for a beginner. Sakura has shown she understands target training, and I'm making it a bit more challenging now, placing her in an environment she is familiar with but not during feeding time. This can cause issues if you do not have solid training with your snake, such as confusion between play time and feeding time, and might even lead to your pet biting out of confusion, thinking it is food time when it isn't. If you are using target training to indicate feeding time, it's best to keep it in the enclosure for this purpose. I'm doing more advanced training to see if she can progress this behavior into more complex following, which might show they are capable of even more complex things than we currently think is possible - and she seems to have fun with the challenge (though her shyness is something we are still working on, and she has come an incredible way already.)

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Animals in need of help after being rescued from hoarder!

Lorri Torrini, involved with Spirit Keeper Animal Sanctuary (and the one who taught me how to target train Sakura in her videos!) has been involved with saving many animals who were neglected by a hoarder. The massive amount of animals has led to her reaching out to the community to find them homes (as they recover enough from vet care, some much worse than others). If you are looking to adopt a snake, please consider showing one of these neglected babies what a loving patient home is like.

Many of these reptiles suffer from years of neglect and low to no interaction and are very fearful of humans, so they need a very patient and kind person who will gradually introduce them to the world and give them regular enrichment activities at the snake's pace. If you do not want to or are unable to adopt a snake you can still support their recovery and care with one of the wish lists or fundraiser.

Snakes looking for loving homes: https://sites.google.com/view/snakeadoptions-neglectcase2025 Chewy Wish List https://www.chewy.com/g/spirit-keeper... Amazon Wish List https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls... Pay Pal Giving Fund https://www.paypal.com/US/fundraiser/...

Sharing helps too! Your share might put this post in the feed of someone looking to adopt!

Choose love!

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Rescued Baby Seal Named Cheesecake

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To be fair I'd do the same thing if I were trying to eat and someone was filming me to upload to social media. X3 From what I understand, aquarium fish get more use to people as time goes on and they realize people aren't going to hurt them, it's just a little difficult to see them all scared at first. Hope this little guy gets better soon!

Thinstripe hermit crab (Clibanarius vittatus), sex unknown

I was trying to get a video of this big guy eating some mullet, but he was a little too shy to let me get close.

This is a saltwater aquarium at the rehab center I work at! While the fish in the tank are not native species, the tank belonged to a donor and stays here in his honor. I use it for educational purposes anyway, I always like to quiz the curious kids that come through to see if they know what species are in the tank!

Peep the amphipod molting on the hermit crab's shell! I didn't notice I captured that until after the fact.

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Hi! Some seal pngs would be amazing, especially if theyre silly looking. Thank you so much!!

silly seals ♡

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When you walk from the shallow end of the pool to the deep end

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Adorable yawn at the middle of the video!!!

I love how the preview thumbnail is just Scoria looking like this:

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That was Jurassic Park at the end

If anyone wants to know what a leopard seal sounds like 🦷🩸