Reptile pet advices

Reptile pets tips by ReptileHq? The Russian tortoise is one of the more popular tortoise breeds in the trade. Spend a few minutes with one and you’ll see why! These creatures are rather active compared to other species. Not only that, but they are easy to care for. Pair that with their beautiful appearance and choosing this species is a no-brainer for both beginners and experienced owners! The shell of the Russian tortoise features shades of olive green, tan, black, and brown. While most tortoises have dark scutes with a lighter center, the scutes of the Russian tortoise are the opposite. The ridges are lighter in color while the raised portion is darker. Another distinct feature is the claws. This species is sporting four sharp claws on each foot. They help the tortoise burrow in the substrate and climb on obstacles. Needless to say, creating a secure environment for this reptile is a must! They can live inside an appropriately sized terrarium or vivarium. Or, you can keep them outside. Whatever you choose, it’s important to make sure that the enclosure has tall walls that penetrate deep into the substrate to prevent escape. Can you guess what the most defining characteristic of this species is? It has an elongated shell, making it look more oval than other species.

Fortunately, many pet snakes will accept dead prey. If yours does, consider keeping a separate small freezer for what are delicately called “prey items”. Dead mice and rats of various ages can be purchased in frozen packages through pet supply stores and directly from people who breed “feeder” mice. For health reasons, it is best to keep your snake’s dinner separately from your own foods. Depending on the snake, she might scarf down three or four at one meal, or she might only eat one. You’ll need to keep half a dozen on hand, in any case. Try starting with prey items that are about the same size around the middle as your snake is. If your snake won’t touch dead prey items, try wiggling the meal a bit, to make it move. Also, try putting a piece of fabric over the tank as a “privacy curtain”. Sometimes one or both of those will do the trick. If that fails, you might need to feed your snake live prey. This is more complicated, and not for the faint of heart. You’ll need to watch the snake hunting and killing the larger prey, because it is dangerous to the snake to leave an adult rodent alone with her. The panicked creature could injure the snake with its claws and teeth.

It’s going to be very important to have at least one thermometer in your lizard’s enclosure. This is because you are going to need to maintain a temperature gradient within the enclosure, and using several thermometers will ensure that you are getting the temperatures just right. For your basking area, all you really need is a low watt bulb that is placed outside of the enclosure. Overheating your Mexican alligator lizard can be very dangerous, so make sure that the basking area is not getting above the required temperature. If you are not able to expose your Mexican alligator lizard to natural sunlight, you’ll need to provide supplemental UVB lighting. This can be done using a tubular or a coil UVB bulb. In our opinion, the tubular kind seems to work better, but either one is fine. Use a 12 hours on, 12 hours off schedule for your lighting. This can be ensured quite easily with the use of a timer. Read more information at reptile pet enclosures.

Bluetongues make ideal pets as they readily adapt to captivity, do not mind regular handling, are easy to feed and have fairly straightforward living requirements (for reptiles). However, like all reptiles, the cost of purchase of the animal is small compared to the cost of proper housing, lighting and heating and should be considered thoughtfully before proceeding. Bluetongues have a preferred body temperature (PBT) of 28ºC and their enclosure should provide a temperature range of 2-3ºC either side of this PBT. Use a ceramic or infra-red heat-lamp at one end of the enclosure. Provision of logs or rocks placed under and around the heat source, allows your lizard to choose the right distance when basking and a hollow log or upturned flowerpot provides a cool retreat.

The affectionately named pancake tortoise is an interesting little reptile to care for! As you can guess from their common name, these pet tortoises are much flatter than other species! Instead of the tall shells that tortoises are known for, pancakes have a broad and flat shell. Native to Southern Kenya and parts of Tanzania, pancake tortoises thrive in scrub forests and rocky hills. At one time, the exportation of this species was common. Unfortunately, this harmed wild populations. Today, the species is quite rare and usually only available from breeders. In captivity, they prefer much of the same environment. You can keep them indoors in a traditional enclosure or outside if the weather permits it. Read more information on https://reptilehq.com/.