Prairie Exotics

Gonna try something different with the YouTubes..... Check out the video link in the comments.

Chloe loves the new toy Meghan made for her! She's a bit crazy at times and did just attack my head but I love her regardless. #cockatoo #parrot #talkingbird #sillychicken #birdsofinstagram #parrotsofinstagram #parrotsofig

Bioactive rat mega mansion (Edit: Youtube tour link is at the bottom of this/ For those who want to see the up-and-coming cage tour my instagram is @zoe_rene...es_zoo) Q & A What is a bioactive enclosure? A bioactive terrarium is a self-sustaining, self-maintaining, direct replication of the natural ecological cycle that happens on the rainforest or desert biome. Each biome is composed of thousands of different detrivores that break down decaying matter to return nutrients back into the soil. What substrate did you use? A combination of coco bricks and additive free organic topsoil, the entirety of the substrate on the base level weighs 400+ lbs. The base tray is 61cm tall, and the litter trays are 10cm tall. What is a CUC? A Clean-Up-Crew is a large group of one or many species of detritivores that break down waste and produce nutrients for your plants by essentially ‘cleaning’ the soil. What is your CUC made up of? I have springtails, various species of isopods, various species of earthworms, mealworms and superworms, wood mites, among a few others. (CUC should be captive bred to reduce the risk of parasites) I didn’t know you could do bioactive for mammals? My bioactive enclosure has been going strong for several months now, though there are many people who have been doing it for years before me, especially other countries that are more advanced in their pet husbandry. Adjustments have to be made since it’s a high waste mammal enclosure rather than your typical bioactive. How many bioactive enclosures do you have? Well over a hundred established bioactive enclosures of various species, so this is by no means my first, but definitely one of the more interesting ones. Do you grow plants in there? Yes, I grow various types of rat safe plants and vegetables. How big is your cage? My cage, according to the rat cage calculator, can hold up to 63 rats comfortably. It is 9’ long, 2’ deep, and 7’ tall. (This does not include the stand as that is not usable space). How many rats do you have in there? There’s a total of 9 individuals that live in this cage. I’m a firm believer that bigger is better, and their incredibly intelligent little minds need space to thrive. Why bioactive? Bioactive or naturalistic cages mimic their natural environment and allows you to see natural behaviors you can’t see in a regular rat enclosure, such as deep burrows/tunnels, foraging, and more. How often do you clean it? This entirely depends on your cage specifications. If you have a large cage that’s understocked, with a deep substrate layer and an active CUC, many people have been going years without cleaning out the base. However, for this to work, you must have litter trays on the levels that get changed regularly, this includes any and all fabrics need to be changed regularly. To keep your CUC in tip top shape, you will have to top them off because rats love to eat many of the CUC members. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHBbknZ9f50

Happy Halloween from Popcorn and I. Stay safe and have a wonderful evening!! #burmese #python #pythonsofinstagram #burmesepython #burmesepythonsofinstagram #scaled

Introducing Littlefoot!!

Here's some of our fuzzy and spiky lil friends. The left 2 sections are one cage for the ferrets then the 5 to the right are one cage for our chinchillas. The hedgehogs are kept separately. They're all so cute but are poop machines!! #hedgehog #ferret #chinchilla #hedgehogsofinstagram #ferretsofinstagram #chinchillasofinstagram #pets #petsofinstagram #fuzzyfriends

Powered by my creation & SkyLight & MistKing.com by Jungle Hobbies Ltd. & Growise

Chester our albino Boa had a bath then used the parrot perch to get out and explore. These are semi arboreal species that are great climbers. #boa #boaconstrictor #boaconstrictorsofinstagram #snake #snakesofinstagram #bathtime #climber #climbersofinstagram

We added our Argentine Side Necked Turtle (Phrynops hilarii) to our Amazon tank and he's loving it! He's so active, curious, eats worms from your fingers, chases the fish and loves back scratches. The lil bugger has been tearing up the live plants though! Grrrr..... #turtles #turtlesofinstagram #turtlesofig #amazon #fishyfriends

A special friend of mine from Saskatoon, SK, area needed a ride here and it just so happened my family went there for Thanksgiving. Luckily the hitchhiker fit and I don't have to go to SK to get him! :) If you liked meeting Popcorn you're going to love Littlefoot!! :D #newfriend #liveanimal #bigbox #sktomb #savedfromsk

Got these sweet tees from my homie Vanan Kesavan over at Canadian Ophidiophile. He keeps/breeds some amazing animals and has started Ophidiophile Clothing Company with snake inspired clothing. Make sure to go check them out and give them a LIKE!

Huge THANK YOU to Pet Valu Pembina for their donation of food and supplies, we really appreciate it!!

Worms eating rabbit poop making fertilizer! #redwigglers #earthworms #composting #rabbits #poop #manure #fertilizer #greenthumb #greenthumbwannabe

With breeding rabbits we get a lot of manure which we've been composting with scraps from the kitchen and worms. This will make awesome nutrient rich fertilizer we'll use in next year's garden to grow veggies/greens for our animals to eat. #redwigglers #earthworms #composting #rabbits #poop #manure #fertilizer #greenthumb #greenthumbwannabe

Popcorn the albino Burmese Python just joined us from BC. Sadly he smelt like pee when he arrived so we gave him a bath before exploring the house. #burmese #burmesepython #python #pythonsofinstagram #newfriend #constrictor #constrictors #constrictorsofinstagram

Unboxing Popcorn!!!

Make sure to head over to our Facebook page for the live stream unboxing of Popcorn a special new ambassador that has joined our education team from BC. Live stream starting shortly. #rescue #surrender #surrendered #newfriend #bigheavybox

Popcorn made it from BC!! Just checked to make sure he's good but we will post a video unboxing him later this morning. #rescue #surrender #surrendered #newfriend #bigheavybox

We have a special friend that boarded a plane in Comox, BC, that will be joining us later this evening. This is a special one that you're going to love. We can't wait to meet Popcorn and share him with you!! Popcorn weighed in at just over 100lbs when dropped off at West Jet Cargo. #rescue #surrender #newfriend #liveanimal #westjetcargo #bigboy

Sadly no WCRE this year but I finally got my video from last year uploaded. I miss going to expos!! :( Give it a watch and make sure you Subscribe, Like, Share & Hit that Bell. Check it out: https://youtu.be/0G2oP5g0b2E #reptile #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #reptileexpo #reddeer #alberta #wcre

When she's not chasing me around the room Chloe can be the sweetest lil love bug just wanting cuddles 'n kisses. #cockatoo #cockatoos #parrot #parrots #parrotlover #birdsofinstagram #birds #parrotsofinstagram #talkingbird