Net Fishing!

Hey there guys!

Damn, it has been 10 days since I last uploaded a blog post. I'm got way caught up with my work loads. Oh, have you heard? Sabah was hit by an Earthquake recently. If you haven't check it out, do check out my previous blog post about the Earthquake.

Back to the main topic, I went back to my home town Labuan Island a few weeks ago. As most of you may know, the island is pretty small and there are nothing much for me to do. So, I came up with an adventurous idea. Net Fishing! It basically means fishing with nets. It gets interesting, in a drain! The drain is located somewhere near to where I live.

Cover Photo

Packed my cameras, flash light and tadaaaaa! Yes, it was dark. Do check out my the video I made for this post. Also, subscribe to my Youtube channel! By the way, I know this isn't something I should be bragging about but hey! I've reached a thousand views on my channel! It's not much but thanks a lot guys! What a milestone it is for me.

The fishes we caught aren't as big as you think. I don't know what are their names but it is locally known as "sapat". They're more likely to be used as fishing baits to fish bigger fishes. We also caught a long "snaky" fish known as the snake head. There are like tons of baby snake heads in the drain.

However, I think the biggest prize was the tortoise we caught. Most of you may know, I'm a reptile lover. It was a catch and release.

Anyway, be sure to check out the video, like our Facebook page and follow our blog. Thanks for supporting! You're awesome. Stay tuned for our upcoming videos and blog posts. I had the opportunity to interview CrackoArtGroup (video will be uploaded soon) and also, I will be heading to Brunei and do some reviews/guides.

As always, be nasty, stay happy!

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Guide to Blue Tongue Skink

Yo! How's it going on for you?

I've been tied up with things lately but I managed to keep up with blogging once a week. You'll be seeing more this week that's for sure. Well, if you haven't already know, I'm an animal lover. That includes reptiles (exotic animals). I've posted a few guides on Bearded Dragon and Sulcata Tortoise. If you haven't check it out, please do. This is my third guide on reptiles keeping and still running. 

Just so you know, the reptiles I chose to make a guides on are highly recommended for beginner or amateur reptile keepers/breeders. 

The blue tongued skinks are some of the largest members of the skink family also commonly known as the blue tongued lizards. But why the name? That is because of the prominent characteristic, the large blue tongue that is used as bluff warning to potential enemies. Fear not the snake like body and blue tongue because they can barely put a scratch on you as they are harmless and poisonous. Blue tongued skinks are commonly bred in captivity and sold as house pets.

There are various species and subspecies for the blue tongue skinks and they can be kept using these guidelines.

Blue Tongue Skink (Cover Photo)

The first thing to do in choosing your blue tongue skink is to observe the blue tongue skink's appearance, toe nails and health. You do not want to get a dying blue tongue skink as your first pet that's for sure. Secondly, make sure you choose the right seller by checking their company's background and customers' testimonial. Third, make sure you're ready.

A blue tongue skink has a life span of 15-20 years if well taken care of. They can grow up to 24 inches in length. They will consistently reward and surprise their keepers with their friendly and curious personalities. Also, they are very curious, which is a mark of intelligence.

Having an enclosure with the right environment for your blue tongued skink is essential. You can always use any resources possible to lower your expenditure on the enclosure but I always recommend Exo Terra. Below are the list of items needed to build a descent enclosure or as I like to call it Home for you blue tongued skink. 

1. Glass Aquarium (40-120 gallons) depending on the size of your bearded dragon. The bigger they get, the more space they need and they'll definitely be much happier :)
2. A heating and UVB/UVA bulb. Lightings should be turned on 8-12 hours a day. Do make sure you have a hotter side and an end with a cooler side so your skink could switch spots to regulate their temperature.
3. Substrate (floor bedding) such as paper, artificial grass mat, wood chips and more. 
4. Rocks/Stumps/Hides for them to hangout on while basking. They love having plenty of open space for them to run around. They might climb over stumps and rocks but make sure it is not too high so they won't fall. They are not agile climbers so no need for polystyrene walls, unlike bearded dragons. 
5. Water and Food Bowl.  Blue tongued skinks are not good swimmers, water bowls should be shallow so they can exit with ease.

Enclosure/Housing

Worry not about feeding them, nothing complicated. Blue tongued skinks are hardy lizards and will thrive just about any diet. To have a more active and healthier skink, a balanced diet is required. 

• Blue tongued skinks are omnivores
• 50% green, 40% meat for protein, 10% fruits
• Green vegetables such as Choy Sum and Sawi (Mustard greens)
• Canned super premium dog/cat food (strictly without bones), mealworms and superworms
• Fruits such as papayas, strawberries, carrots (I recommend slicing it into smaller pieces)

I use Exo Terra's Multi Vitamin / Calcium +D3 / Liquid Calcium

Do not forget to add vitamin/calcium supplement and Vitamin D3 into their food. Uneaten food should be removed once the skink is done eating.

If you wanna handle/play with your blue tongue skink, make it 20 minutes or less per session. You can play with it several times each day. Do make sure that you're holding your blue tongued skink close to the ground, sofa or bed just in case you accidentally drop the lizard. 

Do not handle your blue tongued skink by its tail and be sure to fully support your skink's body to help it feel secure. They love being scratched on the head and chin. 

Blue Tongued Skink's blue tongue.  Credit : Wikipedia

That's all you need to know. If you have any difficulties on this guide or require further information, you can always drop us a message on our Facebook or e-mail. Don't forget to check out our guides on Bearded Dragon and Sulcata Tortoise too! 

Oh, check out the latest video I did with my lil' brother Samuel about a tortoise's point of view. Do check out and subscribe to Nasty Happy's Youtube channel and also my lil brother's channel Short Adventures.

Share this guide to your friends! As always, thanks for supporting you awesome peeps! You guys are awesome. 

Don't forget, be nasty and stay happy! Cheers.

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"Richqi" the Bearded Dragon's Vacation.

It is CHINESE NEW YEAR people! Yeaaahhh!

Most of you may know that we have a pet Bearded Dragon (Pogona Vitticeps) called Richqi. If you've read our previous post on our getaway trip to Langkah Syabas Beach Resort (Sabah), you'll also know that Richqi joined along. 

We're sure Richqi had a wonderful time of his life chomping on natural green grasses and leaves. He also basked himself under the sun for hours and hours. We've made a video for Richqi and posted it on our fresh new Youtube channel. Here's the video!

For those who can't view it, here are some pictures of Richqi's trip. If you're interested in having an exotic animal / reptile as a pet, check out my guide on Bearded Dragons. If ever you require advice or recommendations, do contact us via Facebook or e-mail. 

Cover Photo

Richqi in his Jack Union Leash 

Richqi on our balcony

Richqi found a cow :)

Morning walk with the Beardie Richqi

Richqi on a hammock!

Coconut treeeeee

Richi's point of view (Checking chicks out)

Sea, Sun, Sand. His favourite too

:)

That's all for now peeps! HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR to those celebrating! This is our 28th post since we started this blog less than 2 months ago. Thank you guys for your awesome support.

Stay tuned for our next post, Guide to Blue Tongue Skink and Youtube Channel Announcement.

As always, be nasty, stay happy :)

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Getting your Sulcata Tortoise!

Yay! First post in 2015!

We're gonna boogie oogie oggi, jiggle wiggle and dance with a Sulcata Tortoise. Yes, I am an animal lover and I also have a thing for reptiles. The number of reptile keepers are vast increasing these days especially in Sabah. So, this is my second guide about reptiles, go check out the first one which is on Guide to Bearded Dragons. 

Before I begin, Sulcata Tortoise can grow seriously big as in humongous, enormous, gigantic, supercalifragilistics huge! They are also known the African Spurred Tortoise. Sulcata are the third largest species of tortoises in the world. Baby Sulcata are pretty friggin' cute, trust me. Comparing to Sulcata in the wild, in captivity they grow 3-4 times faster. They can grow up to 80 cm in shell length and weigh 70 kg! I'll attached a picture of how big can a Sulcata get from google images later in this post.

Sulcata originates from the southern edge of the Sahara desert in northern Africa, and that is why they do not do well in wet, damp or cold conditions. They are very gentle and fun to play with. However, placing more than one male together in a housing can cause them to be slightly aggressive because they will ram into each other and attempt to flip them over. You MUST  always be cautious to make sure they do not lie on their backs because they might not be able to flip themselves over and eventually it might cause death. They love burrowing, climb and jiggle jiggle around in search for food. I just love to watch them walk around minding their own business. They're active, yes, very active.

Play and enjoy with them as much as you can when they're young because once they grow, it'll be harder to handle them with one hand due to their size and weigh. You can use brightly coloured edible flower or a piece of fruit to lure them if you need them to move. Baby Sulcata can be kept in vivariums or any dry aquarium. When they grow bigger, no aquarium can fit their size so, you can either build a tortoise house for them or just let them free roaming around the house/garden. If you're planning to put them outdoors, make sure you have secured fencing as they can be very strong and may take down your fences.
Also, make your that the house remains dry and it is best to raise the ramp slightly off the ground so it is not too steep for the Sulcata. Avoid steep inclines as it might topple the tortoise over it's back.

Here is what you need if you're going to get a Sulcata Tortoise.

UVB (Ultraviolet B) Lighting & Heating lamp

Fake grass as carpet or a mixture of soil and sand as substrate

Shallow bowl for water

Landscaping/Furnitures such as rocks/houses

Be reminded!

• African Sulcata Tortoises love to climb. Do not allow them to climb onto things that are too steep as they might topple over. Make sure your landscaping or furnitures are safe for them to climb on and off
• Sulcata love bright or colourful colours. It attracts them. So avoid having small colourful items that are accessible by them
• You have to clean their waste often. Daily is better. They might eat their own shit because shit happens haha!
• Water bowl must be shallow. Sulcata can't swim and get drown easily. They will also use it to soak their body so yea, just keep it shallow. Baby Sulcata love soaking their belly.
• Lighting is a MUST! Why? So they can produce vitamin D3 in their body for stronger shell and bones. Both lightings should be around 20 inches from the Sulcata's body

What to feed your Sulcata? 

1. Grasses (Main food) such as buffalo, bermuda grass, and many more. Do make sure that your grasses are of free pesticides
2. Flowers such as rose, hibiscus, mulberry and cactus (needles peeled/scraped)
3. Green leaves such as lettuce and choi sam
4. Fruits! They love fruits like smokers love nicotine and dessert after dinner.

So, where can you get your hands on them? There aren't many sources here in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah but I got mine from my friend Steven who owns an exotic reptile shop in Megalong. You can check out his Facebook page Exotic Reptile Paradise. Mind you, this is just a recommendation, not paid advertising. 

Once again, thank you all for your generous support! Do share our website to your friends and don't forget to like our Faceboook page! As always, be nasty, stay happy! Happy new year to all!

Picture Source : Wikipedia

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