wohnzimmer im afrika look
for english, spanish, japanese, chinese and russian subtitles, please activate the subtitle button. hello and welcome my dear reptil.tv community to a new and fascinating episode. today's episode is another road trip. let me take you along to ghana, western africa. i'm at brussels airport at the moment. my flight is from brussels to accra; that's ghana's capital. from there i'll travel to togo and ivory coast. i would like to take you along for my trip. but first, let's head to africa. as you can see, there are already some ... ... africans around me that are also waiting for their flight.
and off we go. we've arrived in ghana and are already in my hotel room. i would like to show you my day-to-day work here in ghana. this is mathieu, he's from benin. he just called and asked if he could come by for a visit. he brought along some animals. that's what we'll be looking at. sometime i wish back the good old times. this is where my history with the ball pythons began. a ghost, just like this one, a real big one. or a back black.or something interesting with stripes. that was the reason why i used to travel here.
kind of upsetting, that nowadays it is nothing special anymore among ball python breeders. that used to provoke lots of emotions ... now i am sorry for mathieu, because i don't know what to do with these animals. from 1500 babies that hatched at his farm, this is his selection of 'special' animals. that points out, that from 1000 babies, 999 are totally normal. he has been breeding saurian for years now too. here they call them bosc monitor and savannah monitors. occasionally he's also got nile monitors and geckos. this is the result of his monitor breeding.
we are in the middle of some severe price negotiations. he wants 3000 for the animals, i want to pay less. another hard bargain. but that's the direction we are heading towards. he has to take the animals with him, because i can't keep them species-appropriate here. but we know each other for quite a long time. i'll pay him and he'll look after the animals. oh, this one is mine. i also often bring along clothes that i don't really need anymore. however, in this suitcase are my workaday clothes. i'll find something for you.
let's see what nice clothes i've got for him ... without giving away my favorite clothes. the journey continues, i'm on a plane to abidjan (ivory coast) here you see ball python country from a birds’ eye view. down there is a typical ball python territory. green savanna and you can see some red sand. great vegetation, covered in green. classical terrain for ball pythons. now we are above ivory coast.
it's more humid here. and there are no traces of the red sand. there are more rivers and the ocean enters into the country in these bays. hence, the country is more humid. i believe it's almost too humid for ball pythons. however, they live here. but in smaller regions, like ghana, togo and benin. there is just much more humidity here. i've arrived in ivory coast, abidjan, day 1. at least for the batman fans among you, there is something great happening here in the sky. these aren't birds or crows. these are millions of bats ...
... the fly towards the bay out there. the city is to the left. and here they buzz around through the air and towards the laguna, millions of them. it is friday evening; look at what i want to show you. i just received a whatsapp message. it used to be personal meetings. then they used mobiles. now it's whatsapp. a whatsapp message from benin. for days there have been rumors that a white monitor has hatched. a nice and beautiful leucistic nile monitor. in their youth they have a reddish shimmer; as adults they then are white as snow.
this is my day-to-day work; there is another message ... ... and then you have to be on top of the game. then you've got to work all your connections if you want to buy that animal. of course many people want to buy and own this animal. good morning, my dear reptil.tv community. a new day; a new trip; new queries. my goal for today is to find out if the snakes here in the ivory coast ... ... really are exactly identical to the ball pythons from ghana, togo and benin. there aren't any reptiles that are exported from here.
therefore, it is really interesting to find our if these animals are identical. or if there are differences or local variants. that's what i want to find out today. something else that is cool about my trip; i gave you a glimpse yesterday. my main reason for this trip was the hunt for the white monitor. i've been exchanging messages with the animals’ owner, a beninese. that's what is happening, this is what makes my trip exciting. after 1,5 hours of driving in a car. the idea was to go visit someone who has got some reptiles. we made it. we are in the 'dipi -parc zoologique d'assinie'
a nice zoo near the ocean. 1,5 hours and 100 km from abidjan, in the direction of ghana. if i'm honest, i had hoped to meet some breeders and not to visit a zoo. but now i'm here, so i might as well find out if i'm in for a surprise. the outside is well-kept and looks promising. let's try to gain some inside information for us herpetologists. this is a breeding section for nile crocodiles. here are the pups. compared to us, this is funny ... ... these animals are as large as 1m; theoretically everybody could try to touch them. with children you have to pay attention. if they try to pet the crocs, you should closely pay attention. these nile crocodile babies are two weeks old.
cute and handsome tiny crocodiles. here is another small osteolaemus tetraspis. that's interesting; he said that they can't breed the tetraspis here either. the tetraspis they have here, are caught in the bush and brought here. it looks like the main attraction are the crocodiles. i thought that they couldn't breed crocodiles because they copulate in the water ... ... and therefore there has to be much more water in the tanks. he said that at the weekends the water is drained ... ... so that the people can take better pictures.
throughout the week, the water levels are raised; so they can breed them here. at the weekends, the water is lowered, so that the tourists can see something. here are some donkeys, i'm not sure if i should watch or film them. this donkey is stalking me. he's got a problem with me, probably because of the camera. my new friend. here he is again; i think i'll run for it. goodbye donkey, we could have had a good time, but i'm taken. and you are a male.
here are some eggshells. the babies are hatching. he says that they are rather aggressive. as soon as you come anywhere near the eggs, a male and female came and protected their eggs. they can be rather furious. they are one high alert. for the sake of completeness, let me show you the various birds. these are bird of prey. here are the bigger ones, the ones we know from togo ... ... from madame sambo. the ostriches and gray geese.
in-between all these birds is another reptile. a sulcata that is digging itself in, due to the heat. here is another loose sulcate. those of you that have kept sulcatas know ... ... if you keep them outside, you don't have to ever dig the garden over again. they dig holes and corridors; they leave no stone untouched. this is the ape department. there they are, shyly waiting around the corner. i have to reach out with my hand.
and then both stinkers come. they are great. i was just thinking about which animal occupies such a huge and high compound. i just spotted a fat african rock python. there are some eggshells inside. it looks like they bred them too this year. the babies are hatching at the moment; one of them is just leaving the egg. he told me, that the rock pythons are in this region ... ... and ball pythons live up north, where it is arid. here they are showing us some monitors. niloticus and savannah monitor.
here you can see how large a nile monitor can become. just to give you a sense for the size. he said that the small nile monitor is from the savanna. the large one, with 2m length, is from the forest. that's interesting, i didn't know that. we just know all of them under by the name niloticus. the large has got fantastic optics with these spots, just like an asian water monitor. there are some slight differences on the head. now it would be interesting to know which species the white one belongs tothe one that i'm hunting at the moment. our guide said that the large forest monitor is as tame as a dog.
the nile monitors from the savanna are aggressive and shy. everything is just a reach away; not like back home; where everything is miles away. here, a child could even reach through the fence. that's what i call a personal feeding. it's presented with the food and can grab what it wants a snake show. look at the cobra presenting its neck. on the top, all the cages are more or less open. i'm not quite sure if they would keep up to our keeping guidelines. but, here it doesn't matter.
i gave you a glimpse of the park. i have to say, it is really nice and well done. fantastic, clean and privately kept. i didn't know what to expect, but in the end i really enjoyed the visit. caged animals are always difficult ... ... especially when it's birds and apes. everybody has to decide for them self. i believe that zoos are important. kinds and people should be able to see and touch animals. i am an advocate on that matter. here you can see and touch everything.
just as the apes, if they don't refuse. so, we'll go and have a beer. the typical local insanity, two young locals ... ... they are trying to catch fish with their nets ... ... and behind them, some white guy his flashing by on his jet ski. patrice and his wife have arrived from benin. one of his wives. you know him from older episodes, he's got 10 wives. he came to show me a few snakes and lizards. stupidly enough, we had the snakes inside a sack in the hotel.
someone in the hotel saw us with the snakes inside of the hotel. well, they expulsed us from the hotel, together with the snakes. they remained rather friendly, but we had to leave. his wife went in advance. she waited for us outside with the animals. patrice and i finished the verbal part of our business in the hotel. but we have also left. a new and hot day here in africa. i'm sitting here in a taxi. together with patrice and his wife, we're on our way to madame sambo.
these 'motos' are the typical means of transportation. but we had to take a taxi because we were travelling in a party of three. roads are a serious problem here in africa. a demonstration on the topic 'road conditions' this is not a main road, but rather a byroad. these are the everyday hassles, when you just want to drop by somewhere. prior to that, you have to drive for 30 minutes over sandy roads. we've arrived at madame sambos’; you might recall her from earlier episodes. decent property.
i told you that i've been communicating non-stop for the last few days. the main reason patrice came today are these two here. a small savannah monitor. i don't know if it is a ghost or t+ albino. here is the main reason for my trip. this unbelievable leucistic nil monitor. we're still discussing the 1500 that he wants to have on top. another part of the discussion ... ... here we have my trusty eos 60d; i use it privately and for business ... ... patrice will be the new owner.
he is of the opinion that it is a gift. for me, the camera; especially with the expensive lens ... ... can't be a gift, even if they have such nice monitors. that is one part of the discussion if it is for free and on top of our bargain. patrice left, i have to take a closer look at my 'catch of the day'. especially the leucistic. i'm absolutely happy with having bought this animal. you might recall, 10 - 15 years ago there was once a zinc white nil monitor. pictures of it can be found in older books about monitors and my book on albinos. an unbelievable nice zinc white animal. i am absolutely happy with this transaction. for me an important question always is if the trip is worth it.
it's nice to meet people and be here. but at the end of the day it has to pay off and be worthwhile. i can't just travel here for fun, year bin and year out. with ball pythons this is becoming more difficult ... ... there are more and more animals that are being bred. so, if i am to come here, i need new and different things that are worth it. even if it sounds stupid, 'that are worth it'. this nil monitor is what made this year’s trip absolutely worth it. a unique animal that hasn't been around for 10 years.
to my knowledge there was only on animal, and that was 10 years ago. as a pup they have this reddish shimmer and black eyes. because of its thin skin you see a red shimmer. as soon as the skin turns thicker the animal turns zinc white. the blood, or the innards show through with the reddish glow. the thicker the skin, the whiter the animal. this one will turn even more beautiful than it is today. at first glance i thought it was a patternless, which i wouldn't have liked as much. but it isn't patternless; the skin is very thin. that's what causes this effect.
for me it is absolutely gigantic. i already checked its gender, i hope it's a male. it is possibly if you look down here. i almost believe that it is a male; that makes it even more gigantic. it definitely is a male. this is a real sensation; with males, breeding is easier. maybe i can't really show it, but i am delighted having bought this animal. as i mentioned earlier, as soon as such an animal is around, everybody wants to buy it. my luck was that i had patrick as an old and trusty friend ...
... he got into contact and offered me this animal. what you see here is the daily chaos in agra, ghana. i'm back from togo and on my way to aunty oguns. they are an old and well-established exporter of reptiles in ghana. the company moved; i'm having troubles finding them. somebody back there just called me. let's find out what he wants. this is a small hotel. ah, there. how are you, nice to meet you! so, i've finished my deals.
my 'catch of the day' are five animals. jean-claude is a bit disappointed. frankly, i only bought them so i could buy something from him. well, there are some nice specimens among them, but currently african specials are difficult. but this way, we at least take care of our business relations ... and his trip wasn't completely in vain. this year he hatched 4000 eggs. and this is the yield from 4000 eggs. in germany it is easy to get the impression that there are lots of 'odd balls'.
but from 4000 eggs, there are only a handful of animals with a different color. but why should he swindle, he hasn't got another buyer ... ... to whom he sold the other ones. i've finished my business and bought 5 ball pythons. not an incredible yield and only worth a few euros ... ... nothing special, but once again we had the chance to meet ... ... and maintain our contact. now, i'm on my way back to the hotel. on this market, i'm a bit on a shopping tour. as you know i've got a thing for these beads.
this shop has got a lot of different things. the gag is that all these beards are imitated glass beads. the only ancient and really expensive beads are these here. the cheapest strings cost around 100 €, or it depends on the piece. it's not hard to buy these beads, but most of them are fakes. i want you to participate in my culinary highlights. this is kind of a final dinner at anti oguns home. for me, she always prepares a traditional african fufu. let me show it to you. one part is this cassava mash.
you eat it together with various meats and in a sauce. you put it in your plate ... ... and eat it together with meat and sauce. no real difference to a swabian cuisine, using enough sauce is essential. it's the same here, that's probably the reason why i really enjoy this meal so much. as i said, today is my last day here in ghana. my flight leaves in 4-5 hours. i wanted to take you along on another road trip and show you how work is done here. i hope i succeeded and i could ... ... show you some highlights from western africa. we were in ivory coast, ghana and togo. everywhere i tried to find interesting things for you. i hope you enjoyed todays episode.
remain faithful; check my balls; even if i'm not wearing the 'check my balls' t-shirt. above all, check out ghanaian fufu, if you have the chance. it is absolutely delicious. you eat with your fingers, because it's so sticky and ... ... it would be glued to a spoon. you eat it with your fingers; together with the sauce. delicious! with these african airlines ... ... the stewardesses are worthy of the the classical reputation of a stewardess. young and long-legged gazelles that move around in the plane.
something completely different, compared to british airways and co. but now you know why she became a stewardess. let's do that once again! a guy over there is eyeballing me in a dopey way. the stupid thing always steams up! bloody hell! i'm here with, ã¤hmmmm fuck, what was his name again? i forgot it.
