Mel's Exotics

Hey friends,

If you haven’t seen already, I lost my job on Friday.

I managed to stay busy until now so I didn’t have time to really think about it. But right now I’m out of urgent to-dos, and now it’s hitting. Thankfully I talk to my therapist tomorrow, because I feel very lost right now.

I’m going to try a technique Kortny taught me: Worst, Best, Most Likely

What’s my Worst case scenario (be reasonable here)?
I have to put Beyonce down and rehome all of my animals.

What’s the Best case scenario?
Somehow I get enough $ to keep most of my critters, do necessary enclosure upgrades, and pay for my CRBE trip.

Now what’s the Most Likely scenario?
I have to sell off most of my Critters for now and work on saving for more adventures in 2023.

Hmm. I’m not sure how I feel now or whether that helped.

Ok, let’s try this. My BMAC takes off AND I get great severance AND I get a great new job. What would I do?

Well that seems unlikely, but ok. I come up with some fun merchandise to send to supporters and to sell at events/online. I get all the vet treatments for Beyonce and I replace the MTS family enclosure. I upgrade the lights for the PTS and PBS. I pay for myself and my team to attend the CRBE, maybe even other upcoming expos. I start the new job in the fall and the job is so interesting I don’t even care that it’s winter again.

This is such a weird post. Maybe I’m just thinking aloud, or maybe I’m sharing in the hopes others might help me.

Do I need help? I don’t know. I honestly can’t tell if I’m falling apart or coping well.

There’s a thunderstorm outside. I’m going to close the computer and go watch the rain. I hope y’all are doing well this evening.

Many thanks,
Mel

Hey friends. If you’re in a position to afford it, check out my new BMAC. It has one-time and ongoing support options, plus I’ll be adding extras and merch as I figure it out.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/melsexotics

Hey friends,

2022 hits again. I lost my job. I’m trying so hard to stay optimistic, but just… fuck.

I’m not sure what this means for ME or my animals. If it takes me a while to find a new job I’ll have to rehome everyone, as I simply don’t have any financial “cushion” left. I’ll continue to update my website and social medias as I figure out more.
https://linktr.ee/melsexotics

I’m looking into options like selling calendars or starting a membership program that gets cute stickers or something. Sometime to let me keep my animals in the hopes of a better 2023. Honestly I’m feeling pretty lost; if you have any advice or suggestions, please reach out.

Anyways. I’m still getting the current babies out to their new homes this month, and I might even have someone willing to send me more babies to find homes for, so that’s exciting. And hey, I finally have time to edit my backlog of videos, so yay I guess.

No matter what, I’m keeping my chin up. 2022 may have hit me hard, but I’ve been fighting back the whole way and will continue to do so. I have cute animals and good friends all around me. I’m still going to be around animals, even if I close the business, and I still want to contribute to my community however I can.

I’ll stop rambling here. I hope you’re all doing well, and if you’re not, know that these shitty times won’t last forever <3

Many thanks,
Mel

Hey friends!

The new babies from Rob Conrad (@RobsIguanas) are all in shed right now, so these photos don’t do them justice, but I promised to put up photos ASAP so here they are:

RC1

RC2

RC3

RC4

RC5

RC6

RC7

RC8

RC9 (shedding now, look at the colour difference!)

RC10

RC11

RC12

RC13

As each one sheds I’ll take updated photos out in the sunshine.

These babies are already spoken for. BUT. I might have found some more babies that I can bring in and resell! It’s a work in progress, but stay tuned for more updates 🙂 I promise I’m trying really really hard to make sure everyone who wants a baby northern can get one this year. Thank you all for being so patient and supportive. My customers are the best <3

Hi friends!

2022 has been an usual year so far, in part because some of Canada’s biggest blue tongue skink breeders (including myself) had astoundingly bad litters this year. With 9 females bred I’d hoped for dozens of babies – instead I’ve ended up with half a dozen. And I’m not the only breeder who had this luck either unfortunately. Thankfully some of the smaller blue tongue skink breeders across Canada did produce some litters, so there are some CBB babies available across Canada, but definitely fewer than usual.

Now of course this was the year I decided to try pre-sales. Suddenly I had 20 people I’ve promised babies to, and only 6 babies to send.

So I reached out to my blue tongue breeder friends across Canada. The blue tongue community is a special community – we all love these animals so much and love getting the babies into new homes. Most years we work together to discuss breeding plans, who’ll be at what show, etc. We’re friends who all share the same goal – promote this species we adore.

I’m rambling here, but long story short the hero of the hour is Rob Conrad. Today he shipped an entire litter of 13 stunning baby skinks to me. He drove them to the FedEx hub in Ontario, and tomorrow morning I pick them up from the hub in Winnipeg.

Y’all, these aren’t average babies. Rob works with some high-end animals (like Fiji Iguanas! Those are so damn cool.) so these babies are from a Caramel line bred to a Sunset line. I love that Canadians get access to these unique linage skinks.

Rob isn’t the only hero though. Steven from Reptile Express jumped in to help when I made an error setting up a shipping label. He got it fixed and a new label sent in no time. I use Reptile Express to ship my skinks across Canada, and year after year they make it easy and most importantly safe.

Anyways, I have to run for now. Babies arrive tomorrow, Thindra will be around to help me set them up in their temporary bins, and pictures will be posted by Wednesday.

If you’re not already on the pre-sale list I’m sorry, I don’t have more babies. I am downsizing right now – I just started updating my available page yesterday, so if you’re in the market for an older skink or a skink of a different species please take a look.

Many thanks,
Mel

Please note these babies are all spoken for at the moment.

Litter 1: Classic Northerns
Parents: Clifford x Tex
Born: July 05

Litter 2: Caramel Northern
Parents: Tiberius x Tex
Born: July 18

Hello friends,

As many of you already know, 2022 hasn’t been going as well as I’d hoped. Between the record bad litters of blue tongues and some unexpected expenses, the coffers have run dry. So here I am, making the decision to sell or rehome a number of my animals. I’m still keeping most of my adult blue tongues, but the rest of my collection is up for discussion, but only to qualified homes that can provide excellent care.

Available animals fall into two categories: healthy, breedable animals of various ages, or animals with health issues who could use a pet-only home. For this downsizing I want to see the enclosure the animals will be going into – I’m rehoming these animals to give them a better home than I can provide, so I’m going to be picky.

I’ll be working on getting photos of all the animals over the long weekend. For now here’s what I have:

Blue Tongue Skinks
Everyone who pre-ordered a baby blue tongue can get one (check your emails for info). If you did not already pre-order there are currently no extra babies available. If that changes I will post about it here. Here’s hoping 2023 will be a better year for getting babies.
I do have older skinks available:
I have some adult Irian Jayas and Meraukes who need a home that can provide more consistent humidity, some are missing toes from previous bad sheds.
I have some juvenile and adult Northerns looking for new homes as pets and/or breeders.

Pink Tongue Skinks
I have 9 pink tongues of various ages/sizes. Two are pet-only, one requiring ongoing vet care. The remainder are healthy and breedable from various European lines.

Monkey Tail Skinks
I have a single monkey tail skink, age and sex unknown, requiring ongoing vet care. Very friendly animal, but I don’t have to resources to continue treatment myself.
I also have a family of 4 monkey tail skinks, believed to be 1.3 (but one female is the juvenile daughter, so should probably be separated soon). All very healthy – they deserve a better enclosure than I can provide.

Peters Banded Skinks
I have a cohabbitating group of 7 peters banded skinks (I believe 2.5 or 3.4). These animals are healthy and thriving. I would like them to have a better enclosure with someone dedicated to breeding this species.
I also have a single peters banded that came to be as a rescue. It’s doing well but doesn’t have much appetite yet. It has been seeing a vet and is anticipated to be a healthy breedable animal in the future.

If you are interested in any of these animals please email contact@melsexotics.ca.

Many thanks,
Mel

Hello friends!
I’m so excited to share today’s video with you! Sarah and Greg from Obie’s Worms came to visit and tell us about their Halifax-based business. This company is growing literal tons of sustainable protein that supports not only reptiles but all kinds of animals (even people!). Heck, even gardeners can benefit from these products! All thanks to an amazing insect called the Black Soldier Fly.
https://youtu.be/iO8QGEjts6c

Can you tell I think Obie’s Worms is pretty cool? I hope this video gets viewers excited about them too. Send some support their way and visit www.obiesworms.com to learn more and see their full range of Black Soldier Fly based products.

If you’re located around Winnipeg and want to try some BSFL for your own animals, or are interested in any of their products, let me know! I’m hoping to do regular orders from Obie’s for my own critters, so we can combine orders to save on shipping 🙂

Many thanks,
Mel

Hey friends,

In tonight’s video I tour the Narcisse Snake Dens with my sister Kortny and her service dog Mouse. Located in Manitoba, Canada, this protected site is the home to the worlds largest gathering of snakes – Red Sided Garter Snakes! As we walk the trail I’ll tell you a bit about pits, and what made 2022 such a strange year.
https://youtu.be/PT4wCaoRNU4

I know it’s odd to release multiple videos a day, but Mouse was just put on palliative care and I’m really hurting. I love you Mouse. Thank you. Sweet dreams.

If anyone has a warm thought to send to my sister, or a cute animal photo to share, or any tips to deal with grief, let me know.

Many thanks,
Mel