Tag: Kevin

Urban Rescue Ranch…Part 2

Earlier I did a post on this YouTube channel. If you want to know the background I would suggest go there. He releases new videos (around 10-11 minutes long…never longer) every 3-4 days. He has a style of fast edits in videos and he does have ADHD and you can tell.

I went to a pet store in Nashville and asked them if they had prairie dogs. The guy behind the counter eyes lit up but he said no. He asked me if I had watched this show? Of course, I said yes and we spent 15 minutes talking about it. A few years ago hardly anyone had heard of it but now it is getting popular. The reason I want a prairie dog is because of the one that he has on his show…named Big Ounce.

Ben Christie operates an animal rescue and he keeps it fun. He doesn’t show the really bad cases at all. He has moved up from a typical house in a suburb in Austin Texas to a 3-acre spread in Waco Texas. When he bought it…it was really a “crack house” with the property filled with car parts, trash, needles, and hundreds of tires. He has cleaned it up and now it’s beautiful.

He fixed up the “crack house” and lived there for a while but now he has built another house on the property and uses the original house as an office and for animal rehabilitation. He takes in squirrels, ducks, alligators,  raccoons, hawks, owls, antelopes, and almost anything that needs help. Ben also keeps the show clean but a fun clean. It’s a show that adults and children watch. Ben’s sense of humor is the reason it is so popular.

He is called “Uncle Ben” and the stars of his show are the animals and his sense of humor. Some of the animals are permanent. Kevin the Rhea (who usually chases Ben and bites him), Big Ounce the prairie dog, Dababy a Kangaroo, Homelander the Ostrich, Master Oogway the tortious, Markiplier the goat, four capibaras, Petunia the pig, Garbanzo beans the duck, and Quenie and Poggers the dogs. There is more.

He spreads the animals out as far as featuring them. Not lingering on one too much but lately, Big Ounce has been the “star” so to speak. The animal to put the show on the map was Kevin the Rhea. Kevin lived on a farm and they were going to euthanize him because of his aggressive nature. Ben got him and gave him a home but that didn’t settle Kevin down at all. Sometimes Ben has to use a riot shield to feed him and to get into Kevin’s area.

Before I could publish this...Big Ounce the prairie dog passed away. Ben got Big Ounce in a pet store with 7 other prairie dogs in a cage. Big Ounce was severely obese so Ben gave him the run of his house and barn and Big Ounce got slim quickly. He has been there since January of 2022… he quickly became the most popular animal there.

Big Ounce was the alpha on the farm. The show is very entertaining and he helps a lot of animals that need it.

Remembering Big Ounce

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Chandler’s Wildlife II

I posted Chandler’s Wildlife before but that was a couple of years ago or more. I wanted to update his progress which is impressive. He has come a long way now. He took most or all of his youtube money (at one point he was drawing up to 6 million views per post) and bought 10 acres in Florida and has turned it into a reserve for private tours all for his animals. He also tells about what he has to go through to own these animals. Bite protocol, hurricane protocol, snake-proof room, and many licenses.

He has an owl, King Cobras,  alligators, crocodiles, monitor lizards, Rattle Snakes, Black Mambas, Green Mambas, Inland Taipan (a single drop of venom can kill 100 men), and many more. If it is venomous…Chandler has it. He is around 24 years old and he acts like it but I mean that in the best way. He can be goofy but his love for these deadly animals is obvious. He has a ring of friends who also deal with venomous reptiles and they appear on each other youtube channels. These snakes are not venomoids…. they all have their venom glands and fangs. He does not believe in taking that away from them.

I have a huge fear of snakes…I’ve never even touched one but watching Chandler has made me respect them and want to know more about each of them. NO…I would not go out and get a King Cobra…I won’t even buy a corn snake! I just got the first reptiles in my life. I got two red ear slider turtles…no venom!

He built his 15-foot King Cobra named Kevin…a 16-foot enclosure so he is easy to see for guests and is not stuck in a small enclosure. Kevin is what drew the early viewers in. I’ve always been fascinated by King Cobras since I watched Riki Tiki Tavi as a kid. Kevin is pretty chill for a King Cobra…but he has a female named Justina who pretty much tries her best to kill Chandler every time he brings her out. She has chased him around before trying to corner him.

He educates as well as entertains. He drank King Cobra Venom to show that is NOT poison…it’s a protein and yes you can drink it as long as you don’t have mouth sores. It has to be injected to work and in your bloodstream. It’s the last video at the bottom. You can tell that he was influenced heavily by Steve Irwin. I wouldn’t compare them but Chandler has the same energy level and love for reptiles.

He can make you nervous free handling these dangerous animals. He does know what he is doing but if you look at the below video about the new enclosure…you see a bandage on his leg. While getting a new crocodile a few weeks ago he got into muddy water with one of them and he was bit by the crocodile. Not bad but more of a warning bite. If that Crocodile would have death rolled…Chandler would have one leg now.

He is incredibly goofy at times but you have to respect the love and care he gives these animals…most of them will not love him back. If I’m ever down in that part of Florida I will see if I can visit his place. He has really made it beautiful.

Kevin’s new enclosure

Justina…you will see her charging out of her cage at Chandler

Drinking King Cobra Venom

Chandler’s Wildlife

I’m taking a short detour from  pop culture with this post so I do apologize but I wanted to share this. When I have time and get bored…which lately is rare since I’ve been busy at work…I watch Chandler’s Wildlife.

I ran across this guy’s youtube channel. Chandler Kamenesh works at a zoo or wildlife refuge. The guy is passionate about King Cobras . He personally owns two (Kevin and Justina) and he free handles all of the venomous snakes, alligators, and reptiles there including Rattle Snakes and Black Mambas. He has traveled to rescue King Cobras from danger. He recently went to Thailand to rescue 10 King Cobras locked in a concrete and wire housing. He uses his youtubes channel money for projects like that…  

Chandler is in his early twenties and keeps you entertained by being somewhat goofy but I mean that in a good way. He genuinely loves reptiles and it shows. He has done this most of his life and is recognized as an expert in reptiles. 

Once I started to watch one…I got hooked. Now when I have some downtime I will watch a new video post. 

Like I said…Chandler can be goofy but he is serious and caring about these reptiles. The second video is much more serious and it shows him in Thailand rescuing the cobras.