09/04/2026

LYFE THURSDAY | APR 9, 2026

23

Nina with a Savannah monitor, a medium-sized species lizard native to Africa. A childhood encounter with a python at the age of seven left Nur Nina Farisha Woo Abdullah traumatised well into adulthood. Yet, that very fear eventually led her into the world of business and the care of exotic animals, including snakes. Her business, Brotherhood Reptiles, which she runs with her husband, has been operating since 2018 in Alam Damai, Cheras. It houses hundreds of exotic animals such as tarantulas, reticulated pythons, Borneo pit vipers, pacman frogs, chameleons and more. Nina, as she is fondly known, first gained recognition among exotic pet enthusiasts through her active presence on social media during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period. She said most of the animals are imported from countries such as the US, Thailand and Indonesia. “I used to have a phobia of snakes. When I was young, I once saw a python swimming close to me in a pond, and that fear stayed with me as I grew up. “I gradually overcame it during my college years. From barely being able to touch them, I eventually became comfortable handling various exotic animals,” she told Bernama during a recent visit to her shop. The petite 29-year-old’s confidence in handling a wide range of exotic species has captured the attention of netizens curious about how she ventured into a field rarely pursued by women. Sharing her story, the Johor Bahru-born entrepreneur and mother of two said it all began after she struggled to secure a job upon graduating in offshore engineering (oil and gas). The idea to venture into the business came from discussions with her husband, who prefers to be known only as Aiman. Starting from home in 2015 before opening their own shop in 2018, Nina began sharing videos of their exotic animals on social media using a casual approach and simple language. “I never expected the videos we shared to receive such an overwhelming response. It encouraged me to consistently produce content about lesser-known reptile species and proper care techniques,” she said. Nina, who is largely self-taught in exotic animal care while also learning from experienced individuals, hopes her content can help change public perceptions, as many still view these animals as dangerous.

Slithering fear turns into devoted love o Nina overcomes reptile fear by caring for them Nina with a corn snake, which exhibits various colours and patterns compared with their wild counterpaths. Nina with a green iguana.

Nina showing the Dumpy Tree frogs, also known as White’s tree frog or Australian green tree frog, at her shop. – PICS FROM BERNAMA

Streaming channel for your fur babies launches in China

CATS and dogs can now fill the hours their owners are at work with a dedicated all-day streaming channel for pets launched by Chinese tech giant Tencent. Clips of a duckling swimming in a bath or two happy pooches patrolling their neighbourhood are examples of the curated programming on PetTV. The new channel on Tencent Video – China’s most popular online streaming platform – is meant to keep pets company while alone, or can act as an activity for animals and humans to enjoy together. “This is all dog content, when will the cat programme be on?” one person engrossed in the service wrote in the chatroom on PetTV’s

Popular Headspace mindfulness app posted a YouTube video this week titled: When your pets miss you, play this: Six-hour calming music for dogs and cats . Tencent Video will also take advantage of third-party content including airing America’s DogTV – the world’s first TV channel and streaming service for pets. The value of China’s growing urban pet market is estimated to reach 405 billion yuan (RM235.8 billion) in 2028, according to a recent report by PetData.cn. On average last year, Chinese households spent more than 3,000 yuan on each dog and more than 2,000 yuan on each cat for their care needs. – AFP

streaming page. Tencent Video described PetTV as a “24-hour happiness hub specially designed for your furry kids” in a post on social media app WeChat introducing the service last weekend. Dogs and cats’ senses are different to humans’, so the channel’s colours, refresh rates and audio frequencies have been designed to suit their specific needs, it said. PetTV is available to paid subscribers of Tencent Video, which said its market research found 66% of dog owners leave the television on for their pets when they are out. But the streaming service is not the only pet specific media on the market.

The channel’s colours, refresh rates and audio frequencies have been designed to suit cats and dogs’ specific needs. – 123RFPIC