Exotic Pets™

#343: Dr. Angela Lennox, owner of the Avian and Exotic Vet Clinic in Indianapolis, traces her concern for the welfare of animals back to the eight baby possums she rescued from a roadside as a girl, which morphed into a veterinary degree along with a double board certification in exotic animal care, pro bono work in wildlife rehabilitation — and now a non-profit called Rewilding Indiana.

 #342: Ariel Heinicke in Berkeley California created the Betta World for Bettas advocacy group to raise awareness about the harmful way these beautiful popular fish are warehoused and sold by the big box stores in small plastic "take out" containers. The group's goal is to educate and advocate for Betta's welfare and improved standards of care by those who sell and those who acquire them.  

#341: Doug Mader reminds you that whether it’s a tortoise that lives many decades, or a mouse that only lives a short while, it is never a good idea to give anyone a living thing — other than a houseplant! 

#340: Paul Radice at Angels Hatchery and his wife Judith were the first breeders to create Albino tortoises — and enchanted Tracie by introducing her to Albert, the great grandson of their first breeder Norman, who is now 130 lbs and still lives with them.

#339: Jeff Beane is Herpetology Collections Manager for the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences where he has been documenting the shrinking populations since 1985. He talks about the Southern Hognose Snake in particular, which has lost 97% of its habitat and is on the "Threatened" list but without the environment it requires is unlikely to rebound (and is quite a different creature from the eastern Hognose Snake which James Taylor featured in a song!).