Local family, terrarium to appear on television show ‘Scaled’
The Claresholm family of Joanne and Shane Hazelaar, in back, and Brody and Kennedy Hazelaar, and their bearded dragon Nash, will be appearing on "Scaled", a TV show on Animal Planet on Nov. 5. Photo submitted
By Rob Vogt, Local Press Writer
If you tune in to Animal Planet next week, you will see some familiar faces on their show, “Scaled”.
The Claresholm family of Joanne, Shane, Kennedy and Brody Hazelaar, along with their bearded dragon Nash, will be appearing on the Nov. 5 episode, but not a lot of details are available because everything will be revealed on the show.
“Scaled” is described on its website as a show, “where an animated group of reptile aficionados bring audiences up close and personal as they work together with reptile enthusiasts to strip away the ordinary walls of their pet’s terrarium and transform them into custom-made visual masterpieces.”
For the Hazelaars, it all started about a year ago.
Joanne has pet allergies that have prevented her from having pets, other than fish.
Her daughter Kennedy did some research on other possible pets, and came upon something.
“I really want a bearded dragon,” she said.
The rest of the family hesitated.
Kennedy kept coming back with more research, until this past December.
“We surprised her with one at Christmas,” Joanne said.
The family quickly fell in love with Nash.
“They’re super friendly,” Joanne said. “They call them the cat of the reptile family.”
Then a few months ago, they were on social media and happened upon a casting call.
So Joanne and Kennedy thought they would have some fun with it.
They submitted a list of funny things, such as an elevator.
“A week later my phone rang and it was a casting agency from New York,” Joanne said.
The Hazelaars sent them more pictures of Nash, which led to a face-to-face call on Skype.
“They liked us,” Joanne said. “We looked good on camera.”
About a week and a half after that the Hazelaars were notified they had been selected. They were going to be on Animal Planet.
Taping began in May.
“The cast and the crew were very fun to work with,” Joanne said.
The first session was done in Calgary, then they all moved to Claresholm and the Hazelaar house for two more tapings.
“They built us a terrarium,” Joanne said.
The two parties went back and forth on various designs until they agreed on a final product, built by a company in Calgary.
“It was such a cool experience,” Joanne said.
She cannot say too much more about that, because the big reveal is on Nov. 5 on “Scaled”.
However, the episode has already aired in the United States and United Kingdom.
One of the lessons Joanne said she learned through this experience is that reptiles are not scary, but make good pets.
Nash sleeps 12 hours a night on the same cycle as people. He is clean, makes no noise, and eats mostly salad and the occasional worm.
“Who knew?” she said. “We really like them.”
Anyone interested in watching the episode is welcome to come down to Putters at the Bridges at Claresholm Golf Club on Monday, Nov. 5. Joanne is going to be there starting at 5 p.m.