Reptile Tips

When you bring home a new reptile, it is best to keep it quarantined or isolated until after you take it to your vet to have it checked over. This way if your new pet has an illness it will not spread to any of your other reptiles.

Different reptiles require different kinds of homes and shelters. Make sure you do the necessary research on the kind of reptile you have so that you can give it the proper home that it needs.

Before acquiring a reptile, make sure that what you are getting is legal in your area. This is also important if you are living in an apartment. Some apartment complexes or buildings will not allow you to own certain reptiles, or reptiles in general.

If you are feeding your reptile live food, such as crickets don’t leave them unsupervised. While crickets are small they do bite back and can injure your reptile.

Take precautions when handling your reptiles. If you have a snake, using a “snake-friendly” pair of tongs is a good way to catch and handle it.

Join a local reptile club. This is a great way to get with other people who also own reptiles to talk with. You can compare notes about housing, feeding and general care of your reptiles.

Find a local vet that specializes in reptiles. Not all vets are knowledgeable about reptiles. If your vet that cares for your dog does not treat reptiles, ask them for the name of a vet that does.

Temperature is very important to a reptile's habitat - even moreso than for mammals or fish. A tropical snake that has to live at room temperature is probably living a miserable existance. Be sure to find out what the right temperature is for your reptile's environment.

Heating devices that actually do produce light such as an incandescent basking light, and the UVB fluorescent tubes (which do not really produce heat but are vital to your iguana's health) should be on a timer. Your iguana is a day time creature who would usually awaken at the first light of day, and fall into a sound sleep at sunset. Lighting should mimic nature.

When your reptile begins the molting process, there are several conditions that can lead to an incomplete shedding of its skin. These issues can arise from such things as improper levels of humidity in their habitat, the reptile being malnourished, not enough heat or light, skin injuries or infections, etc and can lead to only partial shedding of their skin. So read up on what conditions your specific reptile needs in order to have a proper molting.

If you have a reptile that likes to get loose and is hard to find, you may want to buy a traceable microchip for the pet. The microchip will help you track and locate your pet easily and is a safe, long-lasting solution. The chip is inserted directly under the skin where it will stay in place. The microchips can last up to 25 years and can be registered with a company that offers tracking capabilities. It is a way to have peace of mind in case your reptile ever escapes.