We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lyssa’s Lizards a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lyssa’s Lizards, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

As a female reptile keeper of over a decade, one of the responses I often get is, “Oh wow… why?”, among other slightly judgmental questions or comments. Reptiles notoriously get a certain reputation for being scary, gross, weird and even evil. This usually means that people, especially women, who have a love for these misunderstood animals are often mischaracterized along with them.

While I have always been very confident in my love of the unusual, I have also always felt the pressure to blend in with those who don’t share that same respect for things outside of the “norm”. When I first started Lyssa’s Lizards, my goal was simple: share my beautiful pets with those who wish to see them. However, I did have an underlying reason for why I began posting my pets on a separate Instagram account from my personal one. There was always part of me that felt self-conscious when posting my pet reptiles on my personal Instagram because deep down, I feared people were judging me for having and loving these animals. In an ironic twist of events, my social media platform on Lyssa’s Lizards is now the sole reason I have gained complete and total confidence in this special hobby of mine. So much so, that it has now become an incredible side business for myself and has allowed me to build a community of like-minded individuals who are unafraid of speaking up for these animals, who cannot speak for themselves.

Thanks to their reputation and lack of widespread education about them, these animals often suffer from neglect in captivity because many people don’t recognize reptiles’ need for naturalistic conditions and an environment that mimics their natural habitats. I’ve learned so much about the world’s different environments through these amazing animals and I love sharing what I know with people who misunderstand them. The content I share on my Lyssa’s Lizards platform aims to help educate people on what these animals truly need to thrive in captivity and also to help destigmatize them. I always aim to share content that could help remove others’ judgment toward those like myself who see the beauty in reptiles.

I’m so proud to be sharing all of this and I have learned so much from it as well. Nothing makes me happier than when I receive comments from people saying, “I have no interest in keeping reptiles but now I’m not as afraid of them! I can appreciate them more because of your videos!” I can’t prevent myself from ever being mischaracterized again but if I can help just a handful of people to see these animals, and those who love them, in a better light… then I know I’m making a difference.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Lyssa, I am the owner and reptile mom to all Lyssa’s Lizards (and snakes)! Lyssa’s Lizards is a community and safe space for anyone who has an interest in the world’s most unusual creatures. Whether you are trying to get over your fear of snakes, you’re a new reptile keeper interested in learning more or an experienced reptile hobbyist just wanting to connect with like-minded individuals, you can find that sense of community within my social media content on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and even Amazon.

I started my journey in the reptile community back in 2017 and little did I know it would even turn into a side business. Originally, all I wanted was to share my love for these amazing animals and maybe make some friends who shared that same love for them. And boy, did I! The reptile community welcomed me with open arms. I quickly developed online friendships with over a dozen incredible women who also keep reptiles. Some of them rescue and rehab reptiles, some have exposed and helped incarcerate well-known animal abusers and some have even rescued dozens of nuisance alligators in Florida who would have been killed otherwise. Finding these like-minded women helped me realize how much good I could do in this industry and how many animals I could potentially help through this platform.

While much of the content I create for my community is fun, relatable and entertaining, I also work to provide valuable resources and care information for people looking to learn how to properly care for these incredible animals. Correct reptile care requires far more research than most people expect. Ideally, you should find great resources (which I can provide to those looking to learn) and research studies on the animal or species’ natural environment so you can mimic that in their enclosure. You can’t just walk into your local chain pet store and listen to what they have to say at face-value. Unfortunately, most chain pet stores are horribly behind-the-times when it comes to the correct information and knowledge needed to care for these specialized, exotic animals. This is a problem I face often and battle in my direct messages to help people fix or update their care they believed to be okay, thanks to these pet stores. Oftentimes, people will have already purchased the wrong enclosure, heating supplies, UVB lights, their pets’ diets, etc. and they have to start all over in order for their animal to have everything it actually needs to thrive. This is where I come in! While my initial goal is to help people learn this information in advance of actually getting their new animal, I also provide help when I can to those who have already made mistakes. I’m able to provide my Reptile Shopping Lists, categorized by the most commonly kept reptile species, that include everything the owner will need for their animal. In return, I make commissions from those purchases using affiliate links and that is how I’ve turned this amazing hobby into a side business. I’ve also recently started working directly with Amazon to produce content for their interest-based “Pets” content feeds.

As a brand and content creator, I aim to create a sense of community amongst reptile keepers who are striving to provide the best possible care for these exotic animals. It’s also a goal of mine to help female reptile keepers feel empowered by what we provide to the reptile keeping community, instead of feeling less valuable in it because “reptile keeping is for boys/men.” That male-dominated stigma behind the hobby is always prevalent and I hope to encourage more young women who love these animals to pursue their passions, no matter what anyone says. I was once a young girl who loved things that most people didn’t and it warms my heart to know that I could help inspire girls just like me to be confident in the things they are interested in.

In all that I have achieved with this platform in the last few years, I am most proud that I’ve helped people provide their pets with a better life. I’ll always advocate for the underdog and in this case, the underdog has scales instead of fur.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The mission that drives me to continue pursuing this content creator journey is the desire to help animals and the people who love them as much as I do. And even those who don’t wish to have pet reptiles! I hope to inspire others to want the best for their pets or at the very least, help someone overcome their fear of reptiles.

I fully understand many people have an aversion to reptiles for a number of reasons. However, most of those fears stem from a lack of understanding or education about them. For example, what I hear most often is the age-old myth that someone heard that their aunt’s friend’s brother had a pet snake who stopped eating and would often lay next to the owner. The myth continues to say that the snake owner took their snake to a vet, who then said the snake was “sizing the person up” and stopped eating so they could eat the owner for their next meal… I am constantly disproving this myth as false because it simply is impossible and completely inaccurate when discussing natural snake behavior and instincts. Things like this can help people understand that these animals are not mindless man-eaters and are not out to get people. It’s true when you hear that snakes are more afraid of us than we are of them.

If I can continue just helping people understand that and develop a respect for these special creatures, then I will have achieved the only goal that truly matters to me.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

While I have been on social media (Instagram and YouTube) since 2017, it wasn’t until 2021 that my platform really took off… all thanks to TikTok. As a millennial, I was very uncertain about TikTok and thought of it as just an app for teenagers and silly trending dances. I couldn’t have been more wrong…

I was able to build a small audience on Instagram, about 3K followers in 3+ years. When I first started creating TikTok content in 2021, I quickly gained over 10K followers within 3 months. My mind was blown! I also quickly realized that I have a special love for short-form video content and TikTok became my very favorite platform. I grew my audience to 200K followers within a year and a half and continued to grow that community across all my platforms by consistently posting daily and focusing on engaging, relatable content.

My biggest advice for those looking to build a social media presence is to be consistent, diligent and focus on quality. It may sound frivolous or overwhelming but lighting and daily posting is key for growth. Another tip is to constantly be talking to your followers. You should always ensure that you’re focused on providing them with content that solves their struggles or answers their questions. If you can do all of those things, your following will naturally find you and want to keep interacting with you.

Social media is ever-changing and always evolving. We have to stay on our toes to keep up with all the algorithm changes, app updates, etc. but it’s important to remember that social media companies are a business. If you can start thinking through how the apps may be competing with each other like TikTok vs. Instagram for more video content or utilizing new features they introduce so the algorithm pushes your content further, it truly can help you to succeed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/lyssaslizards
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyssaslizards/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LyssasLizards
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lyssaslizards