Follow The Brand Podcast with Host Grant McGaugh
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Follow The Brand Podcast with Host Grant McGaugh
Fear to Fascination: A Wildlife Adventure with Crocodile Cam & Grant McGaugh
Join us on an enlightening journey as we promise to reshape your understanding of snakes and wildlife conservation with our guest, Cameron Browning, affectionately known as Crocodile Cam. Cameron is an animal conservationist on a mission to educate the world about misunderstood creatures like snakes, inspired by the legendary Steve Irwin. Through captivating stories, Cameron introduces us to Medusa, the majestic reticulated python, and shares the transformative impact of patience and care on even the most enigmatic of creatures.
The conversation tackles pervasive myths and misconceptions about snakes, such as the belief that baby venomous snakes are more dangerous. Cameron provides fascinating insights into the critical role snakes play in our ecosystems, especially in the unique environment of Las Vegas, New Mexico, where the desert meets the mountains. He also sheds light on the importance of respecting these creatures and understanding their behaviors, emphasizing that fear often stems from misunderstanding.
Cameron’s dedication to wildlife conservation is palpable as he recounts his adventures in snake rehabilitation and educational outreach. From sharing personal experiences with rescued snakes to explaining the nuances of snake behavior and care, Cameron’s passion for nurturing a new generation of wildlife enthusiasts shines through. His social media presence as Crocodile Cam serves as a valuable platform for educating the public about safe snake handling practices and the broader web of life we all share. Join us and be inspired by Cameron's commitment to a world where respect for wildlife is paramount.
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest marketing trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates from us, be sure to follow us at 5starbdm.com. See you next time on Follow The Brand!
Welcome to another episode of Follow the Brand. I am your host, Grant McGaugh, CEO of 5 Star BDM, a 5 Star personal branding and business development company. I want to take you on a journey that takes another deep dive into the world of personal branding and business development, using compelling personal story, business conversations and tips to improve your personal brand. By listening to the Follow the Brand podcast series, you will be able to differentiate yourself from the competition and allow you to build trust with prospective clients and employers. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Make it one that will set you apart, build trust and reflect who you are. Developing your five-star personal brand is a great way to demonstrate your skills and knowledge. If you have any questions from me or my guests, please email me at. Grantmcgaw spelled M-C-G-A-U-G-H at 5starbdm B for brand, D for development, M for masterscom. Now let's begin with our next five-star episode on Follow the Brand. Hey everybody, this is Grant McGaugh on Follow the Brand. Hey everybody, this is Grant McGaugh Follow the Brand podcast.
Speaker 1:You know, not all the time I get to go out west. We're not going all the way out west, we're talking about out in the New Mexico areas of life. I've been out to Phoenix, I've been to Arizona, I haven't been to New Mexico. But, man, when I got the call that I was going to be interviewing Crocodile Cam, I got goosebumps. I got goosebumps. What is this going to be about? So I call him up. You've got to call a guy like that. Oh, man, Crocodile Cam, Talk to me, man, Talk to me. And he just made me feel so comfortable about what he does and how he operates with animals. And I'm telling you guys, this will be the new Steve Irvin of our time for what he does and how he does it, Because everybody's looking online like what has he got in his hand? It looks bigger than him and it is the big snake, the Medusa, right. So so, Cam, introduce yourself.
Speaker 2:All right, so first I'll introduce who probably has you guys' attention. This is Medusa. Medusa is a reticulated python, also known as the longest snake in the world. They're longer than anacondas. This is also the only species of snake to ever be documented killing and eating a person and yes, I have one on my neck right here. I bring her to show you guys that just because an animal is capable of doing some damage, when you put in the time, the effort and the care with them, you then get a friendly and a docile animal. Now I'll introduce myself. My name is Cameron Browning, I go by Crocodile Cam and I am an animal conservationist. My goal is to educate as many people as I can and hopefully save as many animals as I can, and I'd love to inspire the next generation the way that Steve Irwin inspired me.
Speaker 1:I'm inspired. I tell you that. You know, I had my older brother. He was that guy that was always, you know, playing out in the yard, playing, go to a lake, go to a pond, whatever. He's looking for any critter that he could get and bring it home. That was his thing. No, so I had frogs. I had not too many snakes that I can remember, but all kinds of lizards and things like that. I had not too many snakes that I can remember, but all kinds of lizards and things like that.
Speaker 1:Turtles, I know my mother was like, oh my God, what's he got in his hands right now, but he actually loved these animals, he was into it. He was going to be a veterinarian. He kept telling her I'm going to be a veterinarian, I really, really like animals. Now, I like them from afar. I'll be very, very honest. Like you know, I don't need Medusa around my neck. That's cool, I'm not afraid. Like cool, I'm not afraid. But yes, I am afraid, yes, I am. But help us first. Let's jump right in. You talked a little bit about it. Let's jump right in. You talked a little bit about it. Let's demystify fear. This is the biggest thing. Now you go outside and you're maybe about to do some yard work and you're just going out to get your newspaper or whatever it might be, and you see a snake and you immediately get alarmed. You immediately like project fear. Talk to us about how we should be dealing with this type of animals.
Speaker 2:So that is one of my favorite questions Um, that, that, just anything in that ballpark. What do I do when I see a snake? Um, most people's immediate reaction is oh my gosh, it's a snake, it's going to get. And then many people's immediate reaction is it's a snake. The only good snake is a dead snake, and that is that's almost my main goal to fight that. No snake wants to bite. If you are ever bitten by a snake, it is only because you got in its personal space and you made it feel uncomfortable. Because you got in its personal space and you made it feel uncomfortable and I'm sure everyone can understand how it feels to have someone enter their personal space and make them feel uncomfortable.
Speaker 2:Snakes don't have arms and legs. They can't run away. They can slither, but they're not that fast. So their main defense tactic is to hiss, to puff their bodies up or to strike and in some animals' cases, in some snakes' cases, to rattle. If you see a snake, just walk away. If you walk away and come back in five minutes, I guarantee you that snake will not be there anymore. They are terrified of us. They see us as huge threats. So when they realize that they've been seen, their goal is to get away. So if you just walk away, just act like you haven't seen them, then you're good to go. That is. That is the only thing you got to do.
Speaker 2:Um, with venomous snakes. They get such a bad rep. It takes so much energy to build up their venom and for most of them, or all of them, their venom isn't meant for us, especially those venomous snakes here in the United States. Their venom isn't meant for us, it's meant for smaller animals. So a lot of the time I want to say about a third of the time if you get bitten by one, it's a dry bite, meaning there's no venom, because they didn't see it worth wasting so much energy on something they couldn't consume. So if you see a snake, just walk away. Respect its personal space, just like you would want your personal space respected.
Speaker 1:Man. We're in accord with that. Walk away, no problem with that. I have one rule. I live in Florida. There are snakes in Florida. People heard about the anacondas. There are some. They're not to be rattlesnakes, but there's some moccasins and things like that. I've only seen more non-venomous snakes in my area. Even though I have a canal in the back and I've lived in my area for over 20 to 25 years. I've only saw like maybe two snakes in my entire time. I know they're there. We have a really good understanding. I don't see you, you don't see me, I'm not looking for you, you're not looking for me. It works.
Speaker 2:That's exactly what it is. They don't want to be seen. That's why, when they are seen, they either stay still or they just try to escape immediately. Their goal is for their camouflage to work and for them not to be seen. Sorry, she loves to climb. That is the best course of action to take now. Talk to us a little bit more about a python.
Speaker 1:They don't really bite. They more squeeze. Are these? Is that what they do? Yeah, so?
Speaker 2:every snake bites, but with venomous snake, with venomous, their bites are used to kill. They're not there, with the exception of a few. They're not going to bite their prey and then wrap it up. Now, with pythons like Medusa here, they will grab their prey and they have rows of sharp teeth that bend backwards or curve backwards and they will wrap up their prey and squeeze it super, super tight and that slowly kills the prey and then they will swallow it whole. Um, that that's kind of that's exactly how it happens.
Speaker 2:Um, now with some, with some snakes, like pythons, for example. They have I don't know if you guys can see them If you look right on the brim of her nose, there are some little holes there. Yeah, those are heat pits and that allows the snake to basically create a perfect thermal image in almost pitch black. Uh, that is for snakes that usually content night. Um, they will have their slitted eyes. So that's pythons, um, boas and vipers. But then you have snakes that will hunt during the day and that are, you know, king snakes, uh, rat snakes, um, and even, uh, even different kinds of snakes like bull snakes or, uh, gopher snakes. Excuse me, they will hunt largely during the day because they don't have those heat pits. They have to rely on their eyesight and their motion tracking abilities to catch whatever they're hunting now let me ask you this what is the most?
Speaker 1:if you're to say you know, I bet most people don't know this okay, about snakes. Now, we all have our assumptions about certain things and we all think that, well, that assumption must be true, because a lot of people have that assumption, so it must be fact. Talk to us a little bit more about snakes that people need to know.
Speaker 2:Okay, one of my favorite things is people always try to tell me oh, that snake's sizing you up to eat you. One day Everyone's heard the story of the lady who she had her snake and you know, one day it stopped eating and it would lay in bed and she took it to the vet because she was concerned and the vet told her you know, oh, that snake's trying to size you up to eat you. Snakes don't do that. Snakes don't do that at all, even in the wild. Sometimes they make mistakes and they try to eat things that are a little bit too big for them, but that's just not something that will happen. And while this is the only snake that has ever been documented killing and eating a person, it has never happened with a captive snake. It's only ever happened in the wild, which is completely different in Southern Asia. So you know, we're not, we're not worrying about that here. But that's one thing. And if a snake was to even get close to eating a person, that snake would have to be almost 18 feet. So for people who are seeing, you know, maybe eight foot snakes, 10 foot snakes, that snake cannot eat you. You don't need to worry about that. You do want to make sure you respect that snake because it could still have, you know, potentially a nasty bite, but you are not going to get eaten by that animal.
Speaker 2:Another thing that a lot of people believe is baby venomous snakes, like baby rattlesnakes, are more dangerous than the adults because they can't control their venom and when they bite you they just empty their venom glands. That's also not true. Um, baby venomous snakes have great control of their venom glands and they have the exact same venom as the adults, it's just not as a. This is just not as much. So, if anything, you're actually a little bit better off if you're unfortunately bitten by a baby venomous snake. Um, those are the two larger misconceptions. Um, another thing is every good the only good snake is a dead snake. Yeah, I can't tell you guys how far from the truth that is. We need snakes. We need them in this world. Not only do they keep a number of different animal populations in check, they are also food sources for other animals. Different birds of prey, foxes eat snakes, boxes eat snakes. Um, we need them. They are a critical part of the ecosystem and of the food chain.
Speaker 1:A world without snakes is not a world that you want to live in well, I, I believe that and because you see it all the time and you know nature and how it operates everybody's in its own case and without that you get imbalances right. Yeah, so what you know, take it towards. You want one snake or you want a whole bunch of rodents running around, so yeah, so you, you find now we did. We said you're in, you're in new mexico. Tell us a little bit more about where you're at and tell us more about the business that you have, so our audience will understand that.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I am in a little town called Las Vegas, new Mexico.
Speaker 2:Population maybe 13,000. It is quite literally like the Wild West. You can see tumbleweeds, you know. You'll see a random roadrunner. Sometimes we have bears, mountain lions, bobcats, just all types of stuff. We're in the middle of where the desert meets the mountains. So yesterday it was sunny and today we got five inches of snow. It's very interesting, um, it's. It's, it's very interesting. Um, they actually film a lot of different movies and shows out here because of how old some of the buildings look. I don't know if some of you guys are familiar with Roswell. Uh, that show on Netflix. They filmed some of that out here, not in Roswell, new Mexico. Um, I don't know if I'll get in trouble for saying that, but I saw that. You know, I saw the signs and everything and it's it's really cool.
Speaker 2:Um, I went to Highlands university out here and I played football and ran track. I was also fortunate enough to be able to take several biology classes and forestry classes. Yeah, um, and I regularly do work with wildlife biologists out here. Um, the main one that I work with is a guy named Dorian Miranda. Um, he is a snapping turtle expert. Um, and, and I. It is my honor to be able to call him a friend, um, for those of you who are pretty pretty into biology and, potentially, herpetology. He works under Dr Jesus Rivas, who is the number one researcher in anacondas in the world and he was the one who discovered the most recent new species of green anaconda. So wanted to wanted to brag on my friend a little bit, just because he is. He's a great individual, um, but I have been out here because there are such unique ecosystems here. Um, we have literally within a two hour drive, I can go to mountains, I can get to the desert, I can drive to mesas and different forests and find a number of different animals. Um, we have such a wide variety of snakes and other reptiles and amphibians here which I personally am a very big fan of. Um, and there is so much for me to do here.
Speaker 2:And when I say that I say that because one I do snake rescue and removal, where people can call me, where they have snakes on their property and they're like, hey, can you come take this snake? And unfortunately, a lot of the time it is if you don't come get this snake, I'm going to kill it and I'm immediately on the way. Yeah, and that that includes rattlesnakes? Um, they have any size. That also includes bull snakes or coach whips, and while I'm there, I'm educating the person of whose property it is. You know, I'm letting them know. Hey, you know, these snakes are really important. Are you sure you want me to remove it from your property or just let it go somewhere else on your property, because we need these animals? I have saved a few dozen lives of snakes in doing that, um, and I, I I can't tell you how, how much of an honor it is for me to do so.
Speaker 2:Um, another thing that I get to do is I get to bring these animals to schools, um, both elementary and high school so far, and I'm working on some universities where I get to teach kids about these animals.
Speaker 2:The most important lesson is you don't need to be afraid of them, you just need to respect them and, more importantly, we need to protect them.
Speaker 2:One of my favorite quotes and I may not get it a hundred percent right, but one of my favorite quotes is if we don't teach the children about the animals that we share this planet with, then there will be no one to protect the animals that we share this planet with when we're gone, and my goal is always to teach kids to protect animals. It's okay to be afraid, even though you don't need to be, but the most important thing that we need to do is protect these animals, because it's not our planet, it is our planet and we are all sharing. And, in my experiences so far, every time I go somewhere to teach kids or to teach high schoolers, I am always very well received because these children would have never gotten an experience like this before and I love it so much I love it too because I just remember in my childhood that's when I was closest to nature, when I was little we were investigative, imaginative, we were looking under rocks.
Speaker 1:You're going out and you're seeing all kinds of the different bugs and all kinds of different things going on. But I grew up fishing, I love fishing, I love it. Different things going on where? But I grew up fishing. Right, I love fishing, I love it, and that was so.
Speaker 1:When I go fishing and for me I was in tune the entire natural cycle of life, you know the giving and taking of life, that's just constantly happening all the time. That's just what it is so like, if I'm in my boat and I'm fishing, I I see a snake. I'm not going to go run after it, like that's where it's, it's in its own world, I'm just happy. Like you said, you don't want to make it uncomfortable, you're just like oh, it's over there, it's not bothering me, I'm not bothering and you just keep it going. We always see these myths. I'm in going to say there aren't any out there. There are some pretty large snakes that are not indigenous to the area. They're from people not going to take care of them, they're releasing them and they're not realizing what that does long term. And now you've got a whole new species of snake in an area that normally they would not be, you know, because of man's intervention. But we're part of that whole cycle of life as well and I love you. You just kind of alluded that, like we sometimes think we're separated from all the different forms of life yeah, on planet, and we're just one of millions of other forms of life.
Speaker 1:And what you just said earlier about hey, we just found a new species of snake, you would think, oh, we know everything. We've been here, we've documented it all. There's nothing new under the sun. Yet boom, there's something new. Educate us some more. This is what you do. You're an educator. First, tell me about your brand, meaning you got this moniker, the Crocodile Cam, right. So people are thinking, oh, crocodile Cam, that sounds pretty cool. You know the next generation. Steve Irwin, talk to us about where you're at now in your career and where you want to be and how you're growing your brand.
Speaker 2:So right now, most of my interactions and most of my reach is on social media. I actually looked a few minutes before we started this podcast, and in the past year on Twitter alone I have been able to reach 970 million people, and I've now had people I've had family members call me and say, yeah, I brought you up randomly in conversation and people knew who you were, and it is. It is so heartwarming. So social media now is where my greatest reach is, with things in person. That is where I feel I can do the most work, though, if that makes sense. Sure, I feel I can do the most work, though, if that makes sense. Sure, um, for example, I I go to events where I just stand there and I let people come up to take pictures with. You know one of my snakes, and dozens of times Now there have been people who walked up to me and said I'm afraid of snakes, and that's what I look for. I get, I get so excited I'm like a kid almost and I literally tell them I'm like all right, cool, let's do this slow. You know, I will hold that snake's head away from them and I'll hold the tail towards them and I'll say, hey, just touch the tail, do what you're comfortable with, yeah, and they get so relaxed when they see how relaxed the snake is, um, so that is a large part of what I'm doing.
Speaker 2:Um, I have put up several different posts that both or that have all gotten a couple million views, where I'm showing an animal that is endangered or that's population is really struggling in the wild.
Speaker 2:I add a couple educational posts about it, and then I finished that post with a um donation spot for conservation with that animal. Um, the two most recent ones that I've done was for snow leopards and for polar bears, and you know, people don't realize that animals that we grew up with are struggling. Um, people are always surprised when I tell them we might see tigers and cheetahs go extinct in the wild in either our lifetimes or our children's lifetimes, and that, yeah, and that, you know that hits people really hard because there's only a few thousand of them left, yeah, yeah, and it's because of us. We have destroyed their habitats, we have hunted them to the brink of endangerment and even extinction, and then that goes to with poaching, that goes with the illegal pet trade. It's unbelievably sad that we are losing so many animals, um, and and many people don't even realize it or realize how, how brave it is.
Speaker 1:We've taken it for granted and we don't realize that we grow our cities or we're doing pollution and how we're engaging. Not only we always talk about the planet, we talk about Green Day and stuff like that, it's just all the other living things on the planet, anything that gives life is a lie. It's a living thing. The Earth is a living thing. It gives life. All the time we're endangering it to survive to a certain degree. Imagine what it's doing to these population.
Speaker 1:You just shocked me with the whole tiger thing, but we only see them in a zoo, we think you know we've heard some things about elephants. We've heard some other things on certain kinds of fish and mammals and I think we underestimate another thing about the intelligence of these animals and their capabilities. You know I'm cat sitting myself. I hadn't been around a cat in about 20 plus years and this cat surprised me, the agility and flexibility and the understanding of this cat and it's so different from a dog. It's just a different type of vibe happening there with this cat. So I imagine, like I'm watching this your, your, your stank go through many generations. The first thing was kind of moving her all around. Kind of I got to get all over the place and now just kind of chilling, you know, and just kind of you know, and just kind of looking into a different mood with you, but you're very, very calm with it as well Now. You told me, I think, earlier you got about 20 pets Ready to elevate your brand with five-star impact.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Final Brand Podcast, your gateway to exceptional personal growth and innovative business strategies. Gateway to exceptional personal growth and innovative business strategies. Join me as I unveil the insider strategies of industry pioneers and branding experts. Discover how to supercharge your business development. Harness the power of AI for growth and sculpt a personal brand that stands out in the crowd. Transform ambition into achievement. Explore more at FirestarBDMcom fora wealth of resources. Ignite your journey with our brave brain blueprint and begin crafting your standout Firestar teacher today.
Speaker 2:So right now I have 18 snakes in, you know, in my house. 16 of them are mine to. Uh, oh, actually I lied, it's 17. Now I was able to find a home for one of the two that I'm rehoming, um, 16 of the 17 are mine and that last one is currently being nursed back to health. He had a bad case of nose rub, which occurs when a snake keeps rubbing their face on usually the glass of their enclosure. It wears down and it can be pretty nasty. So I've been putting just a small layer of I think it's called like new skin or something on the snake's nose without covering its nostrils, and I've been doing that every other day to allow this snake to slowly get back in better health. Once the snake has reached a satisfying point of health and the snake is eating for me as well, I will then start to look for a new home for it. Okay, um, the rest of my snakes, which is there's 16 of them, um, all but two of them were either rescued, um, from from either a just a horrible living situation or from a if you don't come get this snake, I'm going to kill it situation, or they were rehomed to me because the person who had it, just couldn't take care of it. Um, that means so much more to me than buying any snake I it is. It means the world to me to get to give an animal a second and a better chance at life.
Speaker 2:Uh, my, my big, my current biggest snake and, um, probably my calmest snake is an eight foot, probably eight foot six or seven inch long red tail ball constrictor. Her name is Hildy and the guy who I got her from told me that she was way too aggressive and that she was always trying to bite people and that was a large reason why no one took her. You know, anytime someone would try to grab her or, you know, take her out of her enclosure. She was striking at him, trying to bite him. He had her in a small enclosure with no water and newspaper. You know it. Just, it wasn't the best living environment and I built her enclosure, like I built several of my other snakes enclosures. I gave her more than enough space to crawl around, I gave her a large water bowl to really soak in, and now she is probably the calmest snake that I have. She is the one that I have literally handed to four-year-old little girls and not even batted an eye. Um, you know everybody around is, oh my. Um, you know every everybody around us oh my gosh. You know freaking out and I know this is the last snake that you would have to worry about doing something like doing something crazy. Um, so that that that's kind of the breakdown of my snakes.
Speaker 2:Um, all of them are used for educational purposes. If you look at any of my social medias, you can just look up crocodile cam or crocodile cam underscore anywhere, and um, you'll find me. But all of my snakes are used for educational purposes. Um, I teach people about their, their Latin names. I teach people about their diets, their environments, how to handle them, what to do if you see them and that includes venomous snakes You'll notice that when I work with venomous snakes, I'm much more cautious than I am with this one. You know I have, I have the proper tools that I'm using and I'm not I'm not touching them with my hands, not like this. Yeah, um, because while I do want to make what I do entertaining, it's also very important to me that it's educational. Sure, I want people to learn something from what I'm doing and I want to inspire people to hopefully either do something similar to it, or just be more mindful about protecting the animals that we share this planet with.
Speaker 1:I got a question for you Are any snakes vegetarian, or are they all just meat eaters?
Speaker 2:No, there aren't any vegetarian snakes. There are some snakes that almost only eat insects though. Um, for example, uh, ring neck snakes, you know you'll only see them eating invertebrates, um, which is animals without spines. So just bugs. You know just the broad term, just bugs. You know just the broad term. Um, and those snakes are actually venomous, but their venom does almost nothing to people. Okay, you know it would be generous to say that it's even on the same level as a bee snake. Um, you know, there's other snakes, like many garter snakes, especially when they're small, they're eating anything that they're lucky enough to be able to overpower, and a lot of times that's different invertebrates, crickets. You know stuff, stuff like that. Snails, um, different things that they are able to overpower and consume, um, but the larger snakes they are eating meat, rodents, birds, lizards, other snakes, and then, when you get to the real big snakes, they're eating deer. You know, crocodilians, um, yeah, capybara, it can, it can definitely become, definitely become a very interesting site to see if you ever come across it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't want to see that, but we've heard about it. There's a very popular picture on the internet where I think a big giant anaconda had eaten a crocodile and then I think it got too big in its stomach or something. Anyway, they both died and it was just.
Speaker 2:It was, oh yeah yeah, I, I think that one was a burmese python, yeah, with a larger um, one of the larger florida gators, um, which literally the same thing as what you just described it. And, as I said earlier, sometimes they eat things that are too big for them and they either regurgitate it or they both end up going. Yeah, Interesting.
Speaker 1:These are interesting conversations I want people to learn. So you're out in the wild. Where do snakes hang out? Are they really in the ground, or do they rest out on top of the ground? Or really depends on the species? Where do you find these?
Speaker 2:animals. So it depends on the species, it depends on the time of day, it depends on the time of year. There's snow on the ground outside right now. I'm not going to find anything out there, um, but if we go to monsoon season, you know, when it's warm and it's raining a ton, you can drive down the road and find snakes. Um, when it is a warm day and the sun finally goes down, you can drive down the road and find them crossing the road or on the road basket.
Speaker 2:Um, now, in that that's in America, yeah, um, there's different places where you can go. If you know, in the woods, if you see play, if you see pieces of 10 or pieces of wood, you can flip them over and sometimes you'll see a snake. But be careful, because they're. America has vipers. Um, rattlesnakes are vipers, copperheads are vipers. Um, water moccasins are vipers. They will put you in the hospital. Hospital, be careful when you're doing that.
Speaker 2:If you do that, um, but literally just flipping those flipping random rocks, um, those are all very common places for snakes to be. If you ever see a snake out and about, you caught that snake trying to sneak around because they don't want to be seen. But those are the places where you can find them. Chances are, if you go on a walking trail, you probably walked past five to six different snakes that day and you were fine because they don't want to bother you. They just want to be left alone and they don't want to be seen. You can also find them in the trees sometimes, but again, that depends on where you are in the world, what species it is. You know, here in the United States we have some rattlesnakes that will climb trees, but that's because they hunt birds. You know you can see different rat snakes in trees hunting birds or other rodents like squirrels and chipmunks. But it truly, truly depends. Now, do they have to?
Speaker 1:eat every day, or is it very cyclical in how they?
Speaker 2:Nope, in the wild snakes can go months, really, because they're not like dogs and cats, they can't chase their prey down. A lot of them are ambush predators. Now there are some snakes that chase their prey down. I have two of them. They're two Western coach whips. The Latin name is. These are subspecies, but the Latin name is Mastocophis flagellum pisces. They're also known as red racers. These are the fastest snakes in North America and they can go, I want to say, about four to six miles an hour and they'll stick their heads up and they have great eyesight and as soon as they see any kind of movement they take off and they are chasing their prey down. Now they'll eat a little bit more frequently, but ambush predators like Medusa here.
Speaker 2:She hasn't eaten in a month. I fed her last month and then, when I was going to feed her this month, I noticed that she was shedding. That was two and a half weeks ago. She shedded yesterday and she still hasn't eaten and she's perfectly fine. Um, I have another, a Python, a carpet Python, named Persia. She went six months without eating. Now, that wasn't on me. I tried to feed her. Sometimes they just don't want to eat, um, so you don't have to feed them every day. You, just if you're having one as a pet, I recommend, um, when they're young, either once a week, once every other week and as they continue getting larger and older you can switch to once every other, you know, once every two weeks or once a month. She is at the point where she's eating once a month when she gets really big, so it'll probably be once every one and a half months Now as they get. So, uh, all of my snakes are eating either, um, mice, rats, chickens, ducks or rabbits, um, and that is at different stages of those animals lives. So sometimes it may be some baby mice or baby rats or chicks or ducklings, um, or a younger rabbit. It depends on the size of the animal.
Speaker 2:Um, I, usually I'm getting towards feeding my snakes frozen, thawed, which is where the animals were raised at a facility, euthanized. They're frozen so that way they don't decay, and then you thaw them and feed them and warm them up and feed them to the snake. But some snakes don't, won't eat like that. So sometimes I do have to buy those live animals, whether it's the birds or the rodents, and I'll put them in the enclosure and I'll let the snake do its thing and I always monitor it, because if you walk away, excuse it, because if you walk away, excuse me, if you walk away, the snake could get hurt, because rodents will eat meat, yeah, and if your snake doesn't eat that rodent, that rodent could eat your snake, yeah, and it can be pretty dangerous. So you always want to keep an eye on that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:That is now. That's very interesting, Like who's going to win this fight. But you've got to know your state. It's not like you have to be paying attention when you're a state owner and understanding the cycles and then the changes that they go through over time. You need to do some study. You need a person like you that truly understands that whole life cycle, from beginning to end and what it's like. And then I love how you stated I know the type of state that you're dealing with, because even you dealing with a Viper, you got to be careful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's it's. It's literally like dealing with a house cat or a mountain lion. You know they're both cats. It's literally like dealing with a house cat or a mountain lion you know they're both cats, but one of them can do some serious damage to you. You know and you need to. You don't need to be afraid of that animal, but you need to respect what that animal is capable of. Right, like, even with her, if she were to bite me, I'd bleed, but I'm not going to die. I probably won't even have to go to the hospital. And that's at this size right now. And as she gets bigger, I may need to go get stitches, but I understand that's what she's capable of.
Speaker 2:And this entire conversation while I've been handling her, I am constantly aware of her body language, handling her, I am constantly aware of her body language, as she's shown me any signs of you need to put me down right now or you're gonna get bit. I would have paused this, I would have went and gone and put her down and I probably would have just grabbed another snake and I'm like, hey, you want to come out now? Yeah, um, it is all about knowing, just like, like you said, knowing what you're dealing and yeah, that's part of why I love doing it, because I have so many different snakes. You know I have tons of videos of me actually getting bitten that I posted.
Speaker 1:Well, you know that gives you that vulnerability. Everybody's like oh well, he never gets bit, he's this snake animal. But you are dealing with a wild animal. An animal has certain moods, like they say, might feel uncomfortable even though you're not doing anything different, but for it it's in a different mood set. I like the transparency of what you just said. Now you're in Las Vegas. Have you ever gone to the Las Vegas? Most people hear about and do a show. You ever done that?
Speaker 2:I'm actually working on that now. I signed to a media agency six months ago six or seven months ago called Evolutionary Media. They are the first Black-owned media agency in South Carolina. I'm super fortunate to have signed with them. They have done a great job marketing me, helping me build my brand and helping me reach more. While I believe I would have been able to achieve a lot of great things on my own, I would not be here without them. Well, that's how we met right.
Speaker 2:Literally exactly. So I wouldn't, I wouldn't be here, Um. But they have partnerships with some people out in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they are talking about bringing me out there with one, two, three of my snakes to do educational and entertaining shows where I teach people about the animals and then people get to come up, ask me questions, take a picture with the animal, um, and hopefully overcome a fear and learn something new. So that is the goal, Um, best case scenario. You'll be seeing that here in the next couple of months, probably when it warms up a little bit more, though.
Speaker 1:I love to see you out. You know doing your thing. I want you to blow up all the way. I said man, I knew him when you know, but I think you're well on your way, you see. You know, 970 million people have already seen your content and interacted with you and I think you've ever open market. We look at the competitive landscape. So no one has been as big as probably Steve Irwin when he was doing his thing and he was very adventurous.
Speaker 1:I went back and I was telling you earlier when I was growing up, I was all into Wild Kingdom and Jack Kusto and it was interesting and me and my brother, we sat there like Jack Kusto's only wow, I wonder where he's going, what are you gonna see? And it was it. I was in tune with that. I was like, wow, that, wow, that's so interesting. So then when you go to the zoo, you had a better appreciation if you saw some animals. But they're different, ultimately different out in the wild and how they're actually operating and what's happening. And I think people, really we need to educate ourselves about how we're you know our human behaviors. Check it out.
Speaker 2:She just yawneded, she had her mouth all open. Sorry, but yeah, no, I my bad, that's just something rare, that's great we got it on camera.
Speaker 1:I see that, um, but yeah, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Uh, no, no, no going, just going along those thoughts we're getting ready to wrap up here. But I just want to say first, I appreciate what you do and I don't think there's a lot of people doing what you do to educate us about species, life forms outside of ourselves and that we interact with, and there's all kinds of different species of stink. Like you just said, there's many, many, many types, but you're helping us to understand it better, because when you see something that looks to be slithering and it looks to be a little bit slimy, but snakes are slimy, that's another myth yeah, they're dry.
Speaker 2:They feel it's just like literally scaly skin. It's just dry. That's one of the first things everyone says oh my gosh, it doesn't feel like what I thought it would.
Speaker 1:it feels so weird, but it's not slimy 100, and then some people, some parts of the world, you probably even north america. They actually eat snakes. Snakes are part of the human diet and I I know people who eat.
Speaker 2:They've had rattlesnake. You know people eat pythons. Even in Florida, where you're at, I know it's common for people to eat pythons. They're an invasive species. You want to get them out of the ecosystem, so you know it's not an uncommon thing and in situations like that, you know, I don't, I don't say too much because that's, that's part of people's diets. Um, and that also may be a cultural thing. Um, my thing is, when people are just killing snakes, Well, we and we want to talk about that.
Speaker 1:Earlier, when we were talking, you talk about the abuse again. How you treat an animal is how it's going to immediately be treat someone else, or treat yourself, because they're feeding. They're just reflecting on that, that behavior. Talk to us more about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, you know. So she's over there basking right now. So I have a Burmese Python. That is the kind of snake that is super famous in Florida for being super invasive. Um, now I have this snake. It could not survive. I could let I could let all of my snakes go in the wild out here, and just because of the environment here, none of them would survive, except for the snakes that you can already find here, like the different rattlesnakes that I have or the coat flips that I have. The rest of them they'd freeze to death or they would die from dehydration. But I have a Burmese python and she is about a year old. I named her Cinnamon. She's really beautiful. Love her to death.
Speaker 2:When I first got her, she was striking at me every chance she got. I have videos of her biting my hand, I have videos of her striking at my face, and what they'll do a lot of times is they'll wait until you look away just for half a second, and then, boom, they're gone. Um, she was very angry with me, very defensive, because snakes aren't aggressive, you know. The only time they bite is when they want to defend themselves. But she was very defensive. She saw me as a threat and I slowly worked with her. I got bit a lot, or I got almost bit a lot, but I worked with her. It was a multiple times a week thing where I was handling her. I would take her out of the enclosure, I would just put her. I'd put her on my hat. I just walk around with her and do chores, I vacuum, I do whatever and it got her used to me and used to the smell of people. It got her used to being handled by people and now I would feel comfortable bringing her to an event where kids are or where high schoolers are, because she hasn't shown any kind of defensive behavior. That's exactly what you were talking about. When you put in the time and the care and the effort, that's exactly what you get back.
Speaker 2:Now there are times where it can be very hard to get that back. I don't ever say it's impossible, but it can be very, very hard. For example, the rattlesnakes that I have. I don't think that I will, except for the three that were rehomed to me. They were born in captivity. They have never experienced danger before Outside. Of those three, I don't think I'll ever be able to handle, you know, with my hands, the rattlesnakes that I rescued from the wild right, okay, from the. If you don't come get this animal, I'm going to kill it. I just I don't see that ever happen, but I do see them getting to the point where they won't rattle when I walk near them anymore, because now I understand, you know. Oh, I'm not in danger, I don't want to be don't touch me, but I'm not in danger.
Speaker 2:We not that cool? Yeah, yeah, um. And then I have. I actually am working on one of my snakes right now. Um, it is one of my two coach whips. I named them Majin and Boo. I'm a huge Dragon Ball fan. Um, but the female Boo, she is not happy with me. Um, the male he's super cool, but the female anytime I try to handle her, she's trying to bite me. Now, when I handle her, the frequency in which she is trying to bite me has slowly been becoming less and less and I'm getting bitten a lot, but it helps.
Speaker 1:Um's like they're not hurting you and they're like well, yes, there's gotta be something else.
Speaker 2:He's still around, he's still yeah exactly, and, um, that's another reason why I also post the videos of me getting bit, because I get bit. I remain, remain calm. You know I'll laugh it off and I'll go right back to teaching. Right, I had a snake literally bite me on the forehead. Wow, I laughed it off and you know, I posted that video. I laughed it off and went right back to teaching because I don't want people to see me get bitten and just freak out, because that works against what I'm trying to do, right, um, which is tell people you don't need to be afraid of these animals. You know, you just got to respect them. Now I'm getting bit because I'm handling them. Yeah, I just left the snake alone. I wouldn't have gotten bit, right, um. But yeah, you know to what you were asking. You know, when you put in the work, you, you really do get to reap what you sow in a very positive manner. That's what it's about.
Speaker 1:You put in, you get out. I love that about these animals. I'm glad you're doing what you're doing. We want to see more of you. You've got to let the audience know how to contact you. Tune in, and I can't wait to see you at one of these shows. I know you're about to blow.
Speaker 2:I need to get your autograph. Oh man, I look, I was thinking the same about you. I literally, when we got on, I was. I'm looking at all the awards and pictures behind you.
Speaker 2:I'm like, oh I was like and I had already heard about how big of a deal you were, man, you know, and you, you come across as very humble, you know, and you come across as very humble, you know, I don't. I don't think you'd be the guy to be like, well, do you know who I am? I know who you are, man and I I meant to say it earlier, but thank you for having me on it is. It is an honor. Um, I, it really really is. And then to hear some of the kind things that you said about me, I can't tell you how much that means to me. So that's from the heart, man.
Speaker 1:It is straight from the heart and thank you again for being on the show and those are authentic testimonials that I love to to have and let people hear real time what was it like for you? And and then, and then they hear it. They're like, yeah, yeah, that was special, that was great. So, some people, you got your handles, give us the Instagrams, the. Where can we find you?
Speaker 2:So if you search crocodile cam, that is C R O C O D, I L E C A M or crocodile cam underscore on any platform Twitter, tik TOK, instagram, YouTube or Facebook that you can find me. I am posting regularly on all of those platforms. I currently try to go live pretty regularly on Tik TOK. I'm working on doing that more on both Instagram and Facebook. Um, you can find me on all of those platforms. I am posting regular Um now on Twitter.
Speaker 2:Uh, a lot of people will tag me in random animal posts. You know those big pages. They'll just post things for views, so they'll post. You know those big pages. They'll just post things for views, so they'll post. You know some animal that most people haven't seen before and they say, oh my gosh, what kind of animal is this? Most people don't know, so they tag me at Crocodile Cam. Oh my gosh, what is this? Yeah, I try to respond as quickly as I can. I make a whole educational post about it, what it is, where it's from, and then I answered can you have it as a pet? Because a lot of people ask those questions Now, forewarning. Most of the time the answer is no, you can't have it as a pet, or, yes, you can have it as a pet, but you shouldn't, right? But you know, twitter is definitely where I'm most active on, but you can reach me on any of those platforms, um, and then I also have an email where people can reach out to me for booking for different events.
Speaker 2:Oh, grab your shirt. Make sure you grab your shirt. Yeah, I meant to show you guys. So I have, I have t-shirts. How does that look? Can you crack it out? Crocodile out. Yes, yep. And then on the back also, the logo was done by a local Atlanta artist, okay, named bam Bam. Got it? Yeah, I've tagged him in the work. Um, he does amazing artwork. Uh. And then on the back is my slogan discover. I've tagged him in the work. He does amazing artwork. And then on the back is my slogan Discover, learn and Protect with my QR code that takes you to all of my socials. I have a GoFundMe that I use to take care of. Tell us about that offer you got.
Speaker 1:Did somebody see you at a show? Tell us about that. Oh man. So I ordered 30 shirts. You got that. Did somebody see you at a show?
Speaker 2:Tell us about that, oh man. So I ordered 30 shirts. I believe four of them have been given away now. None of them are not for sale yet.
Speaker 2:If you follow me on socials, every once in a while I do random animal trivia where it's a couple questions and whoever gets those questions right first, I'll do like the first three people to get them right, they win t-shirts. Yeah, I personally mail them to you. You don't come out of pocket at all. Um, now in that package I will be including a letter. The letter is thanking you.
Speaker 2:The letter is is explaining that, in you having faith in me, you have now saved animals. You have now contributed to conserving the habitats and the livelihood of a number of different animals and you have contributed to x to um, to teaching more people about these animals. And I finish it by saying, and as a token of my gratitude, whenever I get to the point, to where I am doing big shows, to where there's a large crowd of people, you can now use this letter as a free ticket to get in. Yes, it is a thank you from me to you because you had faith in me before I got to this point. It is a thank you from me to you because you had faith in me before I got to this point.
Speaker 1:You're on one of those I gotta get me one.
Speaker 2:I'm going to send you one man. I only have 30 of these shirts, so only 30 people will get this opportunity. Awesome, and it does nothing but make me want to work harder. You know, I don't want you holding on to some random letter for me to, for me to, not the shirt, the shirt is valuable.
Speaker 1:You've been doing this great service for everybody, educating us, and you're doing a great job getting your, your, your brand out into the market so we can then take care. You know we're going to participate in something that's good for everybody, yes, and understanding what we're doing here. So this has been wonderful. I want to tune in to all your episodes and I want your entire audience to tune in to all my episodes. They can go to 5starbdm that's the number five, that's star S-T-A-R. That's B for brand, d for development, infomasterscom. Go everyone, go check out Crocodile Cam and really, really get into what he's doing. Bring your kids, bring everybody, because this is going to be important. So thank you again for being on the show.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. Thank you. And then Medusa's been trying to crawl towards the camera, has been trying to crawl towards the camera. Oh, look at that. I love that, grant. I can't thank you enough, man, genuine, most welcome.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much. Most welcome. Thank you very much. Talk to you soon.
Speaker 1:Thanks for joining us on the Follow Brand Podcast. Big thanks to Full Effect Productions for their incredible support on each and every episode. Now the journey continues on our YouTube channel. Follow Brand TV Series Dive into exclusive interviews, extended content and bonus insights that will fuel your success. Subscribe now and be a part of our growing community sharing and learning together. Explore, engage and elevate at Follow Brand TV Series on YouTube. Stay connected, stay inspired. Until next time, we will continue building a five-star brand that you can follow.