You should start making videos again. I’ve been subscribed for (I think) 5 years, Alex for 6ish, I think. I haven’t seen you post a video in years.

​@@evanalexjames😮😮

i second that

Y’all need to get the band back together again! Maybe actually go herping!

They where young too, a great learning experience. Then most who give up their animals likely are pretty irresponsible, it's not easy when part of your job is dealing with people, like the issue with people not being honest about their animals issues.

Yes, which is a tragedy bc there are so many reps that could use your help. You had a great amount of integrity for the incredibly strong desire you had to first and foremost make a great living and not have to do a ton and a half of work. Most people would cut corners, but you didn't appear to let that compromise your commitment to their wellbeing. ❤ As you realized how people actually are with their pets (esp those rejects), following any directions, having hired help, and then all the work (and expense!) it takes to rehab a very ill animal (let alone simply care well for many different ones), it was just too much! I would love if you ever decide to try something like this again--the world needs more people who are dedicated to the cause of rehab'ing and saving neglected animals and having someone that can be trusted to do it!

So much passion, but so little manpower. I hope he learns and is not discouraged. The world is a lot.

W/ any type of business morals, beliefs, ethics, and paradigms are always challenged. Which is why businessmen are seen as corrupt b/c they only care about profit. Alex failure in business was what makes any business fail w/ good intentions, his heart. Emerald Scales was a profit business. He should’ve been charging people to send their pets. Shipping, type of reptile, type of level of critical care the reptile needed, charging the person fees for missed schedule. He need a solid foundation to keep it stable and going. Alex needed to put on his big boy pants and manage what needed to be done. Communication is key. The notion documenting the level of care is beneficial. Additionally, he needed a financial advisor on where his assets where going for what changes needed to be done. Don’t get me wrong, Emerald Scales could’ve been successful but lacked a proper management team.

For real so many people cut corners in the animal industry.

Also 9-15 an hour is about the same pay as dog kennels. . . Which have SIGNIFICANTLY more needs. People are greedy. Its a mf snake. Just feed, clean, go.

@@xXSlaughter3dXx Not if the snake needs to be assisted fed and is trying to bite you. 😅

@gvirusqueen try the same activity with a 120lbs german shepherd for the same payrate. Licensed vet techs get paid like 14. These are untrained unlicensed kids and friends.

@@xXSlaughter3dXx Oh I’m a former vet tech, you don’t have to tell me. I’ve done both. 😊 Both are hard in their own ways regardless.

@@gvirusqueen3559 It’s hard work and people deserve to be paid a livable wage to do it. If it’s a job that needs to be done, anyway. If it’s not important work and doesn’t really need to be done then I guess no one should even be doing it for anyone but themselves.

cant believe i saw a RoachDogg Jr. here of all places

what’s a RoachDogg Jr

@@sweetsky701 Ermm, you just had to be there okay buddy...Kind of cringe.. Hope you have a great Puhskinti day this year~

oh wow its the roach dog jr

@@JesseRyan I watched this channel for years and still don’t understand what a roachdogg jr is

if it makes you feel better, i'm almost entirely directionless now! lol. and thanks

I'm 37 and same 😂 direction is overrated

@@GoHerping You’re still young and will eventually figure it out.

Bro you have 600k subs, you’re a lot more ahead than most people. You just need to find a niche. I’ve seen many businesses fail in the reptile lane. But some of those that failed made the mistake of digging themselves in a hole where they couldn’t get out. Ended up bankrupt. This lane isn’t that popular which makes it even harder. Most in this lane would make more doing educational clips about them on KZfaq rather than selling them. It’s rough. Hopefully you come up with something.

I’m 25 and have no idea what to do with my life either, mental health issues and wanting murk myself isn’t helping either :/

One special moment imo was the bearded dragon you got that came with its own personalized blanket. It showed the owner really cared about the lizard and trusted it in your hands. I hope it went to a good home. EDIT:I finally looked around Alex's videos and found Lil'B the Bearded dragon. It is his Unboxing Video #4

I like the chill vlog like videos that you do. I mean that's mostly what you do nowadays anyway so yeah just keep doing that lol.

You learned A LOT!! A lot sooner and faster then many other start ups? You did and good for you!! BTW....shippers shouldn't LIE...but they do all day every day.

FUCK EXOTIC VETS WHO DID NOT GET ALONG WITH YOU!!! It's their business model that SUCKS!!!! If those vets would abandon the crappy business model THEY WOULD MAKE MORE MONEY OR JUST AS MUCH!! IDIOT VETS!!

YUP!! Never ever forget you did a great job!! Thanks for this video!!!!! (I have just 2 red eared sliders inside who are X & Y but HATE each other!! so I can't even imagine what you went through! and at a very young age)

yeah that makes sense. I definitely never wanted to be a rescue but it was almost inevitable...

I agree. Six years of rescue and I was done.

@@GoHerpingyeah, it happens, don’t feel bad, you did a lot of good for quite a long time and probably saved hundreds of animals. Things don’t have to be forever, they can come and go, lots of people do kind of similar things to you just on a smaller scale, they maybe take in just a couple of animals that need to be rehired, rehabilitate them, sell them, and then continue that cycle and it can just be a hobby or a bit of a side-job while they focus on a sustainable career. A lot of businesses like yours try to run like a profit organization and unfortunately that just isn’t really the way that rehabilitating animals works, it pretty much always ends up being basically non-profit in the end because it’s just about impossible to make a living wage off of flipping animals. When doing rescue work it’s super easy to get really overwhelmed with how many people need help, bite off way more than you can chew, and then get sick of it and give it up completely. Even if you never rescue another animal, I think you’ve probably done more good for the reptile world in just those 20 years of life than most people do in 90 or 100.

Did you not listen to a word he said?

Ehhh I think it's more trying to run a more moral business in an economic environment where immoral business make money the easiest.

@@unapproved-apples809 nah. nope. there's a reason why virtually all animal rescues and shelters are legally designated nonprofits. selling animals for profit and rehoming abandoned animals are fundamentally incompatible aims. "Running a moral business" is an oxymoron when the only way to stay solvent is to do things "immorally" (again, this is why nonprofits exist).

@@user-gs6zm5qk9y I listened to the whole thing. What's your point?

@@unapproved-apples809 I think you and OP are basically in agreement. Its nigh impossible to make something like this work in a self-sustaining way without big investors to cover the initial costs, i.e. non-profit types.

Honestly he probably helped many animals from neglect and too early or bad death. I admire too that he was so young but still brave enough to start this and that he chose rehoming instead of breeding even if that probably would have been easier money. This is a great learning experience for possible future businesses that he will start.

This was such a lovely comment! Better said impossible!

Was thinking the same thing but didn't wanna say it

No, it's called being burned out and having life hit you with reality...

I was legitimately going to mention that as well. I'm diagnosed myself and all the things I was passionate about were just... blah. It was mashed potatoes. I'm so happy he's back to feeling himself and I'm quite sure the stress did not help at all.

@@midnull6009 depression isn’t the cause, it’s the effect so everything you described are all things that can lead to depression.

The burnout from that type of business is different from standard depression.

Some people are born to be entrepreneurs... the rest are workers. Nothing wrong with that, this is the way our society works. Eventually, workers can BECOME the entrepreneur with hard work and dedication 👍

For some odd reason these type of businesses don't last. We had a reptile rescue where I live and it tanked. Not enough donations, no grants, no one wanted to support us. A lot of volunteers. Everyday more intakes than adoptions. So freaking sad how reptiles are treated. Yet not enough help to keep it afloat

thanks!

@@GoHerping Of course! :D

Even rescues need to make a profit.

what does "bp" mean?

@@epiclexi1234 ball python :)

That's true! I came here originally to learn how to take care of my reptile, but after that it was just really cool learning about and seeing all the other reptiles in the world! Plus Alex's videos were also just really funny.

such a nihilistic view on business lol

@@beluga2342 True. I did say sometimes after all but mostly this comment was said through the lens of animal businesses: flipping cheap animals for profit wasn't going to work without cutting some corners. And tbf, if you've read any books by "business gurus" or people who have become extremely rich, this attitude exists and is quite prevalent. It's also really interesting reading books about how certain companies started and toes were very much stepped on :p No one becames a "self made" billionaire without some kind of explotation involved. Of course, there are good businesses and people out there, who do some real good with their cash but I can easily understand why morals might fall wayside when life changing money is on the table :) Have a nice day.

It definitely is ethically worse if you had to cut corners to make your business go around if you work with animals, I feel some people could fall into it specially if it's about your business survival but I can't imagine it would make you feel any good if you're a decent person. What I really dislike with breeders is that I haven't heard anyone be honest that the reason they are keeping their smakes in a box with a paper towel is tocut corners and save money, even worse some try to make excuses that the snakes love living like that, that it's actually best for the snake, even gaslighting pet keepers that seems like the breeders know the best, arn't they expert, perhaps I should put my snake in a box too, when it's so obvious to me that it's mainly about money for the breeders. I understand understand that you sometimes have to cut corners in a business but I agree that it really becomes ethically problematic when dealing with animals.

@teijaflink2226 Yes. It crosses a very iffy different line when animals are the product to sell. And I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that iffy. Yes, it services their physical needs somewhat but not mental at all, also I wouldn't feel like a good pet owner if I was only providing basic needs (shelter and food). Like What if the snake is too warm and still wants to hide? they can't do that because they only have one hide in the warm side. Also needs and wants can cross, like my cat needs playtime for mental stimulation, but can they cope without it and survive? Yes. But that's not the life I want to provide. It sounds like an awful life to lay on a piece of paper in a plastic hide with a water dish. It does nothing to stimulate them mentally, they can't even do natural behaviours e.g. burrow in substrate. And when you cross over in 250+ plus animals, you will not have the time to physically handle to give them enrichment. And I know it's a money and time issue, even though realistically buying a bag of rocks for them to use to shed wouldn't be that expensive when you do the split the cost per animals. If you do research, there is plenty of thing that you can get free to use as enrichment. I know some snakes prefer to live in a small enclosure, which I accept, but unless they have health needs, I can't imagine a snake hating some foliage in the draw and a substrate that replicates where they are from. I find it really sad when someone has 500+ snakes in racks, with paper, bowl, hide. And that's it, especially when you know they're probably turning a decent profit and could easily set aside a grand to buy some hides for the cool end. Or upgrade some racks. Obviously some pets are very individual and there won't always be "Do this 100%" in the animal world, but I find that if people feature animals like that, they tend to be upfront about it e.g. A blind snake being in a smaller enclosure and the decor doesn't get changed. I think if people have large collections, they need to triple the staff, amongst actually providing something better than an empty draw (One person I saw used a draw without any hides). I mean, do they even watch their snakes take their meal? Or do they throw it in and leave? Like just watching an animal eat can give you good health issue, e.g. if you watch your cat struggling to chew, dental checkup is needed. But if you didn't watch them eat, you might not realise for a while. I think getting 500+ plus snakes, is probably not a good idea unless you've got atleast 20ish staff. It eventually just becomes hoarding and animals needs quickly fall to the wayside. And each staff member should probably be in charge of only one section of a rack each, so they can get to know the animals within their rack intimately and know their normal behaviours.

​@@sexydoorframes I can't agree more with a comment. 100% correct

nice!

thanks!

thanks!

lmao. oops

thank u sir!

thanks! and sorry about your mood lol

thanks!

thanks!

thanks!

thanks! youtube is my therapy lol

thanks!

admittedly kind of put off making it cause I get fatigued thinking back over it all. It's kinda crazy how stress can affect you! and thanks :) Doing good atm

@@GoHerping I feel that, its definitely one of those situations that would send me back to bed for the rest of the day every time it pops in my head 😂 Good on you for pushing through and getting it out though fam. Must feel like a bit of weight off your shoulder. To be honest, life has absolutely steamrolled me and then set the flattened remains on fire. Watching this, knowing how close we are in age and position in life has given me some much needed perspective. I didnt realize how badly I needed to hear someone that I could relate to vent lmao. We are really just getting started at this whole life thing tho. The ball is in our court properly for the first time ever. I genuinely think the path we are on is gonna bear some rich fruit one day. My bad for ranting you just got me thinking 😂

thanks!

i appreciate that, thanks! :D