Leopard Geckos

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, I have a massive interest in leopard geckos and I would love to add some to my reptile collection in the future. Not only do leopard geckos come in a variety of colours, patterns and look beautiful but they also make great pets. In today's post I will be highlighting all things leopard geckos while pining after one!

The husbandry needs for a leopard gecko are quite simple and these animals are great for beginners.

Hides

As for all reptiles, leopard geckos require a place for them to hide in order to feel secure. This can be anything from commercial hides to homemade hides from jars and even coconut shells. A moist hide is also required as this will help in the shedding process and they enjoy sleeping in the moist hide during the day.

Heating

Leopard geckos (or leos as they are sometimes known) require a temperature of around 84-88 degrees Fahrenheit so an average of 30 degrees Celsius would be ideal. You can heat their enclosure via a heat mat that covers around 1/3 of the floor space, in the same way a snake's vivarium is heated.

Lighting

Unlike other lizards, leopard geckos do not require a UV light, however, they do need to know if it is daytime or nighttime, therefore a light source is required. You can put the light on a timer so it is automatic.

Substrate

When they are young, leopard geckos need a soft substrate. Kitchen roll works well as it does not irritate their skin. When they grow to beyond 6 inches in length, you can change the substrate to something suitable such as fine sand. 

Sand Substrate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeding

There are a few options available to purchase for your leos which include: crickets, mealworms, locusts, waxworms and silkworms. Each of these prey items provide different nutrients so research into this before buying. 
Hatchlings to young geckos get fed 4-8 food items per day. Adults get fed 4-10 food items per day (of suitable size) every 2-3 days. Feed your geckos after dusk as they are a nocturnal species. You also need calcium supplements and multivitamin supplements in powder form to use on their food but beware, geckos can overdose on vitamins but not on calcium. As always, clean water is essential so replace this daily and replace if the gecko has soiled in it.

Gecko Tails

When threatened, geckos are known to drop off their tails so that they can escape predators. This can happen by mistake by other cage-mates (like room-mates but in an enclosure). If a gecko detaches their tail, it is important to remove the gecko from the other geckos and provide food, water and warmth in order for them to regrow their tail. When they regrow their tail, it will be shorter and fatter but it is better than having no tail as they use their tail as a fat reserve.

Tail-less Leopard Gecko

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cleaning

Once a leopard gecko has become settled in their enclosure, they will pick a spot where they will go to the toilet. You should check this area often and remove any feces immediately in order to keep their environment clean.

Genetics

There are a variety of leopard gecko morphs available in the reptile trade. Some are listed below.

Albino Morph

Eclipse Morph

Enigma Morph

Banded Fire Tangerine Morph

Feeding with Video Links!

Following the Feeding Guide post, this is an addition with a more hands on approach, that will include links to videos of my snakes feeding. Warning, the videos may cause distress to those of a nervous disposition.

Preparation Work

Before feeding a frozen rodent to a snake, you will have to defrost it and this is known as thawing. There are a few different methods of thawing and these depend on the snake you are feeding, as some have heat pits and need warm food, unlike others that do not have heat pits. 

If you are feeding a snake that does not have heat pits, you simply thaw the rodent at room temperature. I leave mine for around two hours to ensure it is defrosted throughout. In regards to pythons or snakes with heat pits, the method is different. You need to put their rats into luke warm water for an hour and then into warm water for around ten to fifteen minutes. Ensure that the food is not too hot but it should be warm.   

Heat Pits on Blaze

 

Snake Feeding Methods

 

There are two methods to consider when feeding a snake frozen thawed;

1. Drop feeding. This involves setting the food in the feeding box (or tank) and leaving the snake to their own devices. I find this method helps for fussy eaters who strike at their food but then refuse it. If you have loose bedding in the vivarium, lay a sheet of newspaper over the bedding so therefore the snake will not ingest the harmful bedding. 
2. Strike feeding is my preferred method as it is much more natural and exciting. This method involves holding the rodent in front of the snake using tongs, forceps or if you are brave enough by hand. The snake will become interested and will investigate, eventually striking and perhaps coiling around the prey as you will see in my video links below. 

 

 Bumblebee ball python - Blaze

 Corn snake - Snowy

 Corn snake - Crimson

Bearded Dragons

As everyone can see from my previous posts, I am a massive fan of snakes. Although I must admit that I find all reptiles interesting and majestic. In the next few posts, I will be researching and looking into what other reptiles there are and if they make great pets. I myself would love to get a leopard gecko but at the moment my three snakes are enough to be content with and lack of room is an issue.

In today’s post I will be looking at very common pet reptiles which are bearded dragons. Bearded dragons are popular and are relatively easy to keep. Normally the dragons handle well and refrain from biting despite of their name. Like all animals, each lizard has their own personality and some enjoy attention and may even smile from time to time!

Bearded Dragon Showing Beard

Like snakes, lizards have specific needs and these must be met. Firstly they need a vivarium, tank or rub. Electronic necessities include a basking bulb which should be set to around 40⁰C with surrounding temperatures of 28⁰C.  A UV light is also required for around half a day. The basking bulb may emit light and this should be taken into consideration if you want to simulate natural conditions. Furthermore, if you decide that you wish to provide a realistic environment for night-time, you may require a different heat source, for example a ceramic bulb.

Another item that is required for a bearded dragon is substrate which is needed to line the housing. Perfect bedding includes: sand, bark chips and newspaper. They will also need a place to hide in order to feel secure. As dragons love to , a branch would be suitable and there are many beautiful artificial branches on the reptile market. Water and feeding dishes are also important. Furthermore, a great addition for the lizard is a basking rock.

Feeding is also a major factor when owning any reptile. A bearded dragon is an omnivorous reptile and therefore requires a diet with a ratio of about 80% insect and 20% vegetation.  A beardie can eat mealworms, crickets, small grass hoppers, earthworms, waxworms, spiders and roaches with the more popular choice being crickets and locusts for when they are adults. Make sure you dust the insects with calcium powder to aid growth.  As for vegetation they will eat dandelion leaves, cabbage, turnip greens, nasturtiums, squash, broccoli, apples, clover, green beans, carrots, melon, grapes, peaches and bananas (with skin). Ensure that all fruit and vegetables are chopped to size and do your research as they will only eat certain types of vegetables and fruit.  They require to be fed 4-5 times per week.

If you are lucky enough to live in a country with good weather, you can allow your lizard to bask in natural sunlight for up to twenty minutes per day. This is something that they seem to enjoy. Bearded dragons are also very territorial creatures and will assert their dominance via head bobbing. I personally think that this behavior is cute and comical. In response to this, more submissive bearded dragons will circulate their front legs in a waving motion. Sorry to go all 50 shades of grey!

Unlike snakes when lizards shed, the whole shed may not come off in one go. This is normal as if you consider the limbs that the shed would have to negotiate around. When your lizard is in shed, take note of how the shed is coming off and if it is in medium to large sized pieces, it means it is going well. Once the lizard has fully shed, check their head, tail and limbs for any stuck shed.

Sometimes bearded dragons are kept in 2 or more numbers. It is very important that if you decide to get more than one beardie, that you get them together as they are territorial animals and may fight if they feel their turf is being threatened. 

Albino Beardie

You can get many different types of bearded dragon such as the German Giant Bearded Dragons, Leatherbacks and Silkbacks. There are also many different colours and types of bearded dragon (red, translucent, hypo and het traits). So you will be spoiled for choice.

Red Bearded Dragon

I will be following this post with additional information on other types of reptiles that you can keep as a pet.

Bedding

When keeping a reptile,  housing plays a vital role and alongside vivariums and heating is bedding. There are various different types of bedding available from pet stores worldwide and in today's post, I shall look at different types of reptile bedding. Just remember that it is important to get bedding that works for you and every reptile keeper will have different opinions on what is best.

For my animals, I personally use aspen shavings as it looks better and stays relatively dry. Although some people may not agree with me as some batches of aspen have pests such as mites. Like any item for your pets, ensure that you are buying from a decent and reputable source.

Aspen bedding

Here is a list of various bedding with pros and cons: 

• Newspaper/paper towels are easy to change when soiled or damp and are cheap. Alternatively you can go to a printer and ask for any faulty paper. This is paper that has been damaged and therefore can't be used for printing. The negative to this option is it is not aesthetically pleasing and can look cheap. This is also NOT suitable for burrowing snakes.
• Sand can be used for burrowing snakes but has more cons than pros as it can be dangerous if ingested. It can also get in under the reptiles scales. Furthermore, it gets soiled and wet easily. When this happens the entire bedding will need to be changed.
• Carpet/artificial turf can be cut to size to fit your vivarium. This is not suitable for burrowing animals. The turf can look pleasing as it mimics grass but has to be cleaned which will eventually effect it's look, although it is durable and lasts a long time.
• Cypress mulch is comfortable and suitable for burrowing animals. It retains humidity well and has a pleasant smell plus it is cheap. This type of bedding is available at most garden shops but ensure you bake the mulch in the oven for thirty minutes as this will kill any pests.
• Aspen is especially used for small snakes and is cheap whilst also being pleasant to look at and is great for burrowing reptiles. Although they can get moldy from too much moisture and can get under a large snakes scales.
• Coco bedding is comfortable, soft fibered bedding for reptiles which has natural odor prevention, also great for burrowing snakes. Furthermore it is relatively inexpensive. Although it is only made for animals that require high humidity as you have to wet it to use it and it holds heat under it so can't be used with a heat mat.
• Hardwood chips are heat treated to prevent pests and any waste is easily removed although this can be ingested which will injure the animal.

Cypress mulch

Note, depending on the bedding you choose this may effect how you feed your animal. Any bedding that is loose, for example aspen, may get accidentally ingested by your animal and could result in digestive problems and feeding problems. In this case, ensure that you have a box free of bedding that you can feed your animal in. I myself do this as I use aspen and feed my snakes in separate plastic feeding boxes.

It is also very important to not acquire any bedding that has pine or cedar in it as this is harmful to your reptile. This should be avoided at all costs.

Feeding box

Lastly for more information on reptile housing and heating, have a look at my previous blog posts: for housing click here and for heating click here.

Snake Families

In this post, we will be looking at various snakes and what family groups they belong to. I will be focusing on the five main types.

1. Boidae - boas.
2. Pythonidae - pythons.
3. Colubridae - this is the biggest family of snakes, (harmless, nonvenomous and back fanged venomous).
4. Elapidae - this is fixed fanged venomous.
5. Viperidae - front hinged fanged snakes.

Boidae are nonvenomous snakes found in America, Africa, Asia and Europe. There are roughly 43 species and are considered relatively primitive. Most species of boa give birth to live young. A few snakes that belong in the boa family include: boa constrictor, bevel-nosed boas, emerald tree boa, amazon tree boa and rainbow boa.

Rainbow Boa

 

Pythonidae are again, nonvenomous and are found in Africa, Asia and Australia. There are 26 species of pythonidae. In the USA the introduction of burmese pythons has led to an invasion of the Everglades. Most members of this family are ambush predators and will lay and wait for prey. A few snakes that belong in this family include: royal pythons, reticulated pythons, rock pythons and blood pythons.

Royal Python

Colubridae contain some 1900+ species and is the largest snake family, comprising two thirds of all snake species. Colubrids are found on every content except Antarctica. They also contain a mixture of venomous and nonvenomous snakes. They are mostly harmless to humans with the exception of boomslangs and twig snakes (amongst others). A few snakes that belong in this family include: corn snakes, hognose, garter snakes, milk snakes and rat snakes.

Corn Snakes

Elapidae are venomous and are found in tropical and sub-tropical environments particularly in Asia, Australia, Africa and America. There are 325 species in this family and they have hollow fixed fangs that they use to inject venom. A few snakes in this family include: cobras, sea snakes, mambas, kraits, and taipans.

Banded Krait

Viperidae are venomous and are found worldwide, except Antarctica, Australia, Ireland and other isolated areas. They have long hinged fangs and have four sub families. Some species include: horned vipers, moccasins, rattlesnakes, pit vipers and adders.

Rattlesnake

For further information on venomous snakes click here.

The joys of fussy eaters

Tonight was feeding night for all my animals and the corns done well and seem to be gaining 5-8 grams per week. I also gutted their tank, disinfected and replaced all the bedding. On the other hand, my royal python Blaze made me highly frustrated by once again refusing to eat. Although he struck his meal aggressively, he spent so long trying to find the head of the rat that he gave up eating. Therefore I will not stress him out and leave him for a few days before trying again. I find this disappointing as I would like him to gain enough weight so I can breed him next breeding season.

The fussy snake Blaze

Sadly this has happened a few times with Blaze and I may have to look at where I am going wrong. I have tried dimming the lights at feeding time and have ensured his food was heated. His vivarium is at the correct temperature and humidity is good. Maybe he is stressed with being handled too often as I do lift him often, once a day for twenty minutes. Might try cutting this down to three or four times per week, although he does seem to like being handled. If this does not work I will try the braining technique.

I understand that sometimes pythons do go off their food and it's normal for them to refuse to eat. So I will try not to get disheartened by the experience and try not to worry, although this is difficult. This is the third time Blaze has refused to eat although it has not been continuous. For further information and advice have a look at my past article by clicking here.

If anyone has any other tips for aiding a fussy python or have additional information, please comment below. Thanks