Great video! A lot of my decision making about what pet to get was heavily based around my disabilities (Autism/ADHD and Major Depression). I realized with rats that I just can't properly take care of an animal that needs hours of my dedicated attention every day. I loved my girls, but cleaning and getting them out was really difficult, and the guilt I had over it just made it even harder. I also ended up developing an allergy that was causing me frequent asthma attacks So, once my two rats passed away (they both lived over 3 years old!), I looked into a pet that is a better suited to my needs, and I settled on a gargoyle gecko. They do need daily maintenance, but it primarily involves easy tasks like misting, feeding, and checking temp/humidity. I even plan on adding springtails and maybe isopods to help take care of the cleaning. As long as their enclosure is set up in a way that is properly enriching, clean, and at their preferred temp/humidity, they don't need a lot of direct involvement from me. So if my depression gets really bad, and I just don't have the energy to take her out and interact with her, she won't know the difference. She can be very independent as long as I keep her environment healthy! (PSA, I just got my gecko a couple of days ago: a one year old that I've named Bumblebee. She has been nothing but an absolute angel, eating right away, exploring right away, never showing any signs that she's scared of me. I was expecting the first few weeks to be difficult, but she's been perfectly happy and active)

Thank you, the internet, for bringing me a video that I just THOUGHT about. Cool video! ❤

Yes, this is so great! Being on the Autism spectrum and having ADHD I can really relate to a lot of the challenges you’ve mentioned. I need to get some gloves because touching substrate that isn’t fresh and brand new just feels so gross to me 😅 I have a designated wooden spoon to fluff substrate🤣

You have a nice vibe, and I can relate. I keep several fish aquariums, but I am diagnosed with inattentive-ADHD. I've found various ways to make this much, much easier than standard fishkeeping. For one, I never clean the inside of the glass because I make very liberal use of nerite snails. You can even breed them in a saltwater tank. I also use algae refugiums, with department-store grow LED bulbs and growing algae on-purpose (in a corner). If the light is on long enough (and bright enough), the algae will uptake pollution and prevent TDS from climbing. So instead of water changes, I just reach in and throw out a handful of algae. Another big breakthrough was deliberately over-filtering the tanks, with huge amounts of surface area (pot scrubbers, bulk mesh fabrics, etc). If you over-filter, the bacteria won't clog the media because their numbers are too spread out. So I never clean the filters (which is counterproductive anyway), and the fish have much less disease too. Adding UVC clarifiers (buried inside ceramic vases for safety) further improved disease loads, and makes the water look crystal-clear (for near-zero effort). I bet most non-ADHD people don't actually enjoy maintenance chores. I think if the hobby was more candid about that, and popularized labor-saving methods more, then more people could be in the hobby. So I always feel motivated to let people know! And when I saw your video, it felt like a reptile-equivalent of what I've been doing.

Great video, I started with reptiles when I was 58, some years later I sold everything because I thought that I would move from England to Spain which didn't happen because of the covid nonsense. Anyway now I'm 73 I got myself a crested gecko and some tarantulas. I have a lot less energy than when I was in my early 60s , so I try to be more disciplined than I was before. My reptiles and tarantulas certainly helped me to be just that

This was a super cool video. Im glad I found your channel. I relate with you in many ways. I’m neurodivergent and sometimes I struggle with maintaining my reptile room. Definitely subscribing.

this is a really good video! its really nice seeing someone being open about this sort of stuff. im also neurodivergent and its nice knowing im not the only one with the same struggles. i hope this helps other reptile keepers :)

Love your channel!

Awesome video, thank you! +1 for Husbandry Pro, I use it for my blue tongue skink, it makes tracking everything (feeding, poops, sheds, ....) so much easier. My memory is totally wrecked by depression, it would be nearly impossible for me to follow the schedule for even one animal without a digital aid.

Great video, thank you for making it!

Very informative ❤ Thank You ❤

It’s a little bit the dirt.

Good video. I subscribed

Interesting. Have you watched Snake Therapy? It's really interesting and she also has a survey you can take. I have a gargoyle gecko and will soon be getting a leopard gecko and have allergies...Thank you SO much for talking about masking when you deal with mealworms. I love shellfish and the thought that I would not be able to chow down on them bothers me.

I see the name an just had to wacth as I have fnd an complex health issues, I have t s an jumping spider, I thought I might get a good idea

Lobster is so overrated 😂 thanks for making this video, Yes.

i'm a paraplegic (right side is gone) after a stroke. I had to get rid of my Jackson's because I can't move. Wanna trade disabilities?