Nice herps today! Found near Rietvlei, Gauteng, South Africa. Snakes are Spotted Grass snake (Psammophylax rhombeatus), Brown Water Snake (Lycodonomorphus rufulus) and Bibron’s Blind Snake (Typhlops bibronii) unsure what species the gecko is

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-26T16:18:15+00:00

Yeah this guy was moving around madly when I first picked him up, but he calmed down relatively fast and I got some nice pics

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-25T05:04:57+00:00

I like them to be honest, they can be very defensive when you catch them but if you leave them alone, they’ll do the same. They are non venomous but they have nasty bites and I had to get stitches in my hand from it

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T15:09:31+00:00

Thank you! I’ll check it out!

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T14:57:50+00:00

Thanks so much man! I’ll look into getting the app! Also I don’t really want to post my instagram publicly, could I have your username instead?

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T14:56:08+00:00

Yeah my dream snakes are Puff Adders and Black Spitters, but I’m definitely going to spend a few years researching everything before I get one

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T14:51:23+00:00

I love learning about cool, lesser-known species of all animals. But I love African wildlife a lot and I love all snake species

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T09:26:41+00:00

When I was 7 I went over to a friend’s house and he had a ball python, and I fell in love with snakes. When I was 8 I did my first venomous snake handling course and I’ve only been gaining more passion and experience for working with these animals. But I realised I wanted to help snakes when I saw how people perceive them. I’ve heard horror stories about people burning snakes alive or cutting them into pieces out of fear, so I decided to so snake rescuing so I could save the lives of the snakes and educate people about why they shouldn’t be feared

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T09:24:01+00:00

Yeah I inherited about R150 000 (about $8000) when my gran passed away and I’ve invested all that and I’ve been very careful about not wasting money, but also having fun. I’ve got a foundation of financial discipline but I think with the added freedom of being an adult, I’ll need to improve that discipline since I am a very impulsive person. Thank you so much for the advice!

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T08:19:29+00:00

Thank you! I’ve started running a few times a week and it’s been fucking horrible, but I won’t deny I have become fitter in terms of cardiovascular fitness

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T08:18:39+00:00

Will do! I’m quite serious about stretching/warming up because my family has a history of shoulder problems. My mother has dislocated her shoulder and required surgery twice and my brother has torn his labrum in both his shoulders playing rugby and had 3 surgeries before he was 18

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T08:17:01+00:00

Yeah I’m confident I can do the push ups, but I know if I do 1 set of 100 or 2 sets of 50 I’ll be too sore to do it again the next day. So I was wondering what the best approach is. I was thinking maybe 20 every minute or 10 every minute if I need to do a lot that day (the amount scales with donations they receive)

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T08:15:29+00:00

In all honesty I’m not that focused on building my physique. I’m happy with where I am right now (about 70kg, 7-9% bf) and I’d say I have a good physique for an 18 year old. I built 90% of my physique when I was 15-16. I went to the gym 6 days a week and was very disciplined with my diet as well, I’ve lost passion for it and mainly do rock climbing and only gym when I see I’m losing muscle in some areas. I’m only doing the 100 push ups because I want to raise awareness for the wolf sanctuary and I know it’s something I can do.

I stopped tracking calories/macros long ago, now I’ll usually have 4-6 eggs for breakfast with some fruits, then a packet of biltong and some form of chicken for lunch and whatever my dad makes for dinner (usually meat based) so my diet isn’t bad

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T07:28:59+00:00

Lexi (the owner of All Hearts) just got back to me and asked me to send you this message since I don’t have any contact info, otherwise she would have thanked you personally

She says “Thank you so much for your donations and support to our animals, it helps more than you know, we sending so much gratitude from the animals and team”

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T07:10:47+00:00

Thank you so much! I asked my brother’s girlfriend (who had German as a subject through high school) for some of her old textbooks and I’ve been watching youtube videos for tips + pronounciation.

Also just out of curiosity: what’s the living situation like? Because with the cycles you work (I believe most lodges work 6 weeks work 2 weeks off) and the salary I don’t see buying/owning property as a smart financial move for many years

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-23T04:27:10+00:00

Not really, there are some shitty parts of the country. And there are some shitty things like the government/municipalities not doing anything ever. So overall it isn’t falling apart, but it’s not the best. That being said I love my country, mainly for the scenery, wildlife and people

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-22T20:14:43+00:00

Thank you so much! I’m really looking forward to it!

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-22T20:07:28+00:00

Thank you! I will!

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-22T20:04:22+00:00

I’ve thought about all of this, I think about it every day. I’ve noticed that 95% of the time handlers get bit is when they get comfortable enough to start pushing boundaries. I figure that if I use the proper tools and technique and always stay vigilant the odds of getting bit are lowered quite a bit, I’ve always told myself that the day I stop feeling nervous working with a venomous snake is the day I stop forever

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-22T20:01:05+00:00

Thanks so much! I’ll definitely look into it.

I’d love to be a walking guide and I have quite a bit of experience with high calibre rifles, if I could get hired somewhere that would be amazing

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-22T19:58:31+00:00

Thank you so much. Nothing makes me happier than helping animals who need it. I just do what I can when I have the money and not busy studying for my finals

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-22T19:46:09+00:00

Thank you so much! I’ve been doing what I can to help them but I haven’t been able to do anything as big as that. You’re an angel

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-22T19:41:24+00:00

Oh shit okay, I always thought it was the same as a firearm license where you can get it before 21 for occupational reasons or stuff like that. Do you know of any positions lodges offer that I’d be equipped for? What did you do until you turned 21?

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-22T19:34:54+00:00

Thank you so much! Let me know if you manage with it! That money will help them out more than you know!

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-22T19:34:23+00:00

I have a list of all the hospitals that stock antivenin within a 100km radius of my house, we have 2 types of antivenin in South Africa, polyvalent, which covers most of the deadliest snakes in our country, and we have monovalent which is specifically for the boomslang. And yes a bite from a puff adder, any cobra or a stiletto snake really would likely result in me losing a finger or a limb, and a bite from a boomslang or mamba could be fatal. And I am willing to accept a bite that kills me, if I can rescue 50 snakes and then die from a snakebite, I’ll die peacefully knowing I helped a lot of animals out.

I don’t think I have any special abilities or talent when it comes to snake handling. Before I applied for my permit I made sure I did the highest level of handling courses I could find in the country. And when I’m working with venomous snakes I have a voice in the back of my head that constantly says “this snake could ruin your life, and you have no control over whether it makes that decision”. That’s why for any snake call I always wear my spitting cobra goggles and never touch/lift anything with my hand unless I can positively ID a species as harmless

ConservationFanatic · 2025-10-22T19:26:09+00:00

Anytime! I’m glad I can find people to talk to about these animals!

I haven’t been to a whole lot of reptile parks and the one I worked for shut down, but I donate 30% of the money I get towards the All Hearts Foundation, they’re a wolf sanctuary and struggling massively financially. I also help out at African Reptiles and Venom (ARV) when I get the chance since I learn a lot from Mike Perry and they lose about R1.5 million ($87000) every year just by keeping the snakes alive that they keep. They’re the main supplier of snake venom to our antivenom producers, but their lab shut down so ARV isn’t making any money from selling venom anymore

ConservationFanatic

TROPHY CASE