We have loved seeing all of the wonderful photos and videos of your animals over the last nearly seven years. Month after month, year after year, we got to see so many beautiful submissions, and you really kept showing up!
That said, after careful consideration and discussion amongst our forum staff, we have decided that after the conclusion of the 2026 winners of the year competition in January of 2027, the OTM competition will be taking a much needed break. There is no timeline for a potential return at the moment.
Additionally, next month’s voting and results threads may be slightly delayed as I will be on vacation over the period they are normally posted. As for the rest of 2026, everything should run as usual.
Once again, thank you all for your participation, and we look forward to seeing what you’ve got to show off in the coming months!
I don’t know if it’s related, but I’d love to see participant numbers rise on the discussion board in general. This is hands down the best and friendliest reptile advice space online. I’d never send someone to Reddit or FB for herp advice, but I send them here. But this forum seems generally unknown to the wider community.
It’s already been seconded and thirded, so I will fourth and fifth everything you’ve said, @deanaii. This is absolutely the best online community for all sorts of reasons. The OTM contests have been a place to see and share many kinds of wonderful animals. I will miss it.
As someone who has very limited mental bandwidth for social media, I can totally understand taking a break. I do like throwing some of my snake pics into the ring here and there, but I could never be on your end of things. Because of that, here are my next 2 months of bpotm submissions
