Surprises are the last thing you want when you bring your reptile home from the store. That's the number one reason you want to do your research before buying a reptile - it will prepare you for what to expect and will inform you exactly what you need to keep your pet happy and healthy. From the reptile supplies you need to purchase your pet's climate and diet, you must take everything into consideration so that you and your new pet can live a happy life together.
This article discusses reptile we feel are good for beginners. They fall into this category because of their relatively low maintenance compared to other reptiles. They will still need an investment of time and money (equipment, food, etc.), but there's no doubt they require less of a time and monetary investment than other reptiles who have complicated diets or environmental needs. Researching your new pet and its needs are still crucial (especially if you're considering specific reptile species) and is important to avoid problems when you bring home your reptile.
Geckos, specifically Leopard Geckos are perfect for the person leaping into the realm of reptiles. They are small, which means you should only need a 20 gallon tank for them to be comfortable. Since they are not nocturnal, they don't need special lighting. (You already know that if you've done your research!) And the best thing about Geckos? They are easy to handle and extremely gentle.
Snakes are also great for beginners. Of course, their diet might be a little off-putting. Pre-killed whole mice or rats are their food of choice - hence the "off-putting" comment. They usually need feeding once a week. So if you're going away for a few days and need to leave your snake alone you won't need anyone to come in and feed it for you (assuming, of course, you fed it before you left!) Since Corn snakes only reach three to five feet and are easy to take care of, they are also the perfect snake for starter reptilian owners. However, make sure the lid to their tank fits properly, and tight. They are great escape artists. A Ball Python reaches the same size of a corn snake and can live for twenty to thirty years. They are docile and also easy to care for, so they're also a great choice for beginners.
Turtles. Most people think that turtles are a great pet for beginners but actually, the opposite is true. Turtles (most commonly found are the red-eared sliders) are messy and can get very large. This means you'll need a large tank or aquarium along with ultraviolet light to help keep them healthy. The most important thing is to know the proper dietary and environmental requirements of the specific turtle you want before deciding to bring one into your home. They take a great deal of preparation and equipment.
RJ provides information to people looking to buy or take care of reptiles. From reptile supplies and reptile food to so many other sources of information, check out RJ's articles around the Internet to help you make the best decisions.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=RJ_Price
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Buying Leopard Geckos
Buying Leopard Geckos for pets or breeders has become an easy task. They have become so popular as pets that most any pet shop will have some in stock, and breeders of various colors and patterns are numerous.
Pet Shops
You should be able to find a healthy specimen in your local pet shop. Watch for clean cages, nice plump tails on the Geckos, clear eyes, and good bone structure. If you are purchasing a baby he won't have his color and pattern in yet. Few pet shops will be able to tell you accurately what his parents strain is or even their colors. If this is important to you it's best to go directly to a breeder.
Leopard Gecko Breeders
If there is no one in your area that breeds Leopard Geckos, they are easy to find online. Once you begin buying leopard Geckos this way the biggest problem will be selection. The brilliant colors and differing patterns can turn one pet hobby into an obsession, and the newest varieties can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars.
Look for breeders that offer overnight shipping and live delivery guarantees. Also try to go with breeders that are closest to your location so that your new pet spends as little time as possible in that box. Once you get your new family addition to your home check him over carefully and notify the breeder immediately of any concerns. Buying Leopard Geckos as pets is a good choice. They are hearty, easily cared for and have a long lifespan.
Kat Magnus has been caring for geckos for over 25 years. Her newest book, "Gecko Care Made Easy," teaches Gecko owners absolutely everything they need to know about caring for their reptile. http://www.reptilegecko.com/beb.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kat_G_Magnus
Pet Shops
You should be able to find a healthy specimen in your local pet shop. Watch for clean cages, nice plump tails on the Geckos, clear eyes, and good bone structure. If you are purchasing a baby he won't have his color and pattern in yet. Few pet shops will be able to tell you accurately what his parents strain is or even their colors. If this is important to you it's best to go directly to a breeder.
Leopard Gecko Breeders
If there is no one in your area that breeds Leopard Geckos, they are easy to find online. Once you begin buying leopard Geckos this way the biggest problem will be selection. The brilliant colors and differing patterns can turn one pet hobby into an obsession, and the newest varieties can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars.
Look for breeders that offer overnight shipping and live delivery guarantees. Also try to go with breeders that are closest to your location so that your new pet spends as little time as possible in that box. Once you get your new family addition to your home check him over carefully and notify the breeder immediately of any concerns. Buying Leopard Geckos as pets is a good choice. They are hearty, easily cared for and have a long lifespan.
Kat Magnus has been caring for geckos for over 25 years. Her newest book, "Gecko Care Made Easy," teaches Gecko owners absolutely everything they need to know about caring for their reptile. http://www.reptilegecko.com/beb.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kat_G_Magnus
Breeding Leopard Geckos Can Be Fun!
There are a plethora of different type of lizards and geckos available to the consumer and of these, the leopard gecko is probably one of the easiest to breed in captivity. The enormous variety of available colors and patterns make leopard geckos among the most beautiful and unique lizards around, and even more variety and beauty can be developed through selective breeding.
Ok, in order to begin the breeding process, we first must make sure that we have both a male and female and that they are both sexually mature animals. People new to leopard gecko care often have trouble telling the difference between the sexes but its really not that difficult if you know what to look for.
Gently turn your leopard gecko over and examine the area between the hind legs and the tail on the underside of the animal. A male gecko has two "hemipenal bulges" which are visible just behind the vent under the tail. Sometimes, if you have a particularly fat female on your hand, you may mistake some excess fat for the hemipenals but there is another clue to determining sex because the male gecko will also have a series of enlarged pores on the underside in the shape of a "V". These are known as the femoral pores and are located just below the anal opening. While females may have some visible pores as well, the ones on the male will be much more apparent.
Once you have identified that you have both a male and a female, you must be sure that they are both healthy, and full grown. The female should be a year old at a minimum and will usually be slightly larger than the male. He should be at least eight months of age in order for him to take care of business. Now all that you need do is put them together in the same habitat and let nature will do the rest. Sometimes, the little buggers will get right down to it but more often than not, it will take some courting on the part of the male to get the female in the proper mood. To do this, the male generally exhibits what you might mistake as aggression. He will bite the female repeatedly and he may dance a little mambo for the female, vigorously shaking his tale. This is all quite normal. If the girl wants nothing to do with the boy, she will bite him back. This may go on for a while, but you want to make sure you monitor the situation because the courting ritual shouldn't go on longer than 2 or 3 days. After that, I recommend you remove the male and let him rest for a couple of days. As with most males, it takes a couple of days after dealing with a non-cooperative female, to be ready to head into the fray again. After a few days, put them together again and monitor their progress. It should not take more than one or two repetitions of this process before you have a pregnant female.
After they have completed mating, you will need to provide a humid place for the female to lay her eggs. A humid hide is ideal for these purposes. You simply take a small container and place some damp sphagnum moss or your favorite lizard bedding material in the container. The female will use the humid hide when they are shedding and when the female is laying eggs. Once the humid hide is in place, the female will begin laying eggs in clutches which generally consist of one or two eggs which she will continue to lay as many as eight times a year in two to four week intervals.
After the eggs have been laid, you should remove them and place them in an incubator. Once in the incubator, you will now be able to determine the sex of your babies! Most beginners don't know that the temperature at which the eggs are incubated will determine the sex of the newborn geckos. Eggs incubated at 80 degrees or thereabouts will hatch as female geckos but if you increase the temperature to around 90 degrees, your hatchlings will be male. If you'd like to get a mix of both sexes, just keep your incubator set to 85 degrees.
Breeding Leopard Geckos can be fun and the difficulty level is not too great if you follow the advice I've outlined for you in this article. Enjoy!
Felix Silva is a lover of leopard geckos and enjoys sharing the information he's gained over the years. If you would like more information about Breeding Leopard Geckos, please visit http://www.leopardgeckoplanet.com where you can learn lots more about caring for your precious pet.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Felix_Silva
Ok, in order to begin the breeding process, we first must make sure that we have both a male and female and that they are both sexually mature animals. People new to leopard gecko care often have trouble telling the difference between the sexes but its really not that difficult if you know what to look for.
Gently turn your leopard gecko over and examine the area between the hind legs and the tail on the underside of the animal. A male gecko has two "hemipenal bulges" which are visible just behind the vent under the tail. Sometimes, if you have a particularly fat female on your hand, you may mistake some excess fat for the hemipenals but there is another clue to determining sex because the male gecko will also have a series of enlarged pores on the underside in the shape of a "V". These are known as the femoral pores and are located just below the anal opening. While females may have some visible pores as well, the ones on the male will be much more apparent.
Once you have identified that you have both a male and a female, you must be sure that they are both healthy, and full grown. The female should be a year old at a minimum and will usually be slightly larger than the male. He should be at least eight months of age in order for him to take care of business. Now all that you need do is put them together in the same habitat and let nature will do the rest. Sometimes, the little buggers will get right down to it but more often than not, it will take some courting on the part of the male to get the female in the proper mood. To do this, the male generally exhibits what you might mistake as aggression. He will bite the female repeatedly and he may dance a little mambo for the female, vigorously shaking his tale. This is all quite normal. If the girl wants nothing to do with the boy, she will bite him back. This may go on for a while, but you want to make sure you monitor the situation because the courting ritual shouldn't go on longer than 2 or 3 days. After that, I recommend you remove the male and let him rest for a couple of days. As with most males, it takes a couple of days after dealing with a non-cooperative female, to be ready to head into the fray again. After a few days, put them together again and monitor their progress. It should not take more than one or two repetitions of this process before you have a pregnant female.
After they have completed mating, you will need to provide a humid place for the female to lay her eggs. A humid hide is ideal for these purposes. You simply take a small container and place some damp sphagnum moss or your favorite lizard bedding material in the container. The female will use the humid hide when they are shedding and when the female is laying eggs. Once the humid hide is in place, the female will begin laying eggs in clutches which generally consist of one or two eggs which she will continue to lay as many as eight times a year in two to four week intervals.
After the eggs have been laid, you should remove them and place them in an incubator. Once in the incubator, you will now be able to determine the sex of your babies! Most beginners don't know that the temperature at which the eggs are incubated will determine the sex of the newborn geckos. Eggs incubated at 80 degrees or thereabouts will hatch as female geckos but if you increase the temperature to around 90 degrees, your hatchlings will be male. If you'd like to get a mix of both sexes, just keep your incubator set to 85 degrees.
Breeding Leopard Geckos can be fun and the difficulty level is not too great if you follow the advice I've outlined for you in this article. Enjoy!
Felix Silva is a lover of leopard geckos and enjoys sharing the information he's gained over the years. If you would like more information about Breeding Leopard Geckos, please visit http://www.leopardgeckoplanet.com where you can learn lots more about caring for your precious pet.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Felix_Silva
Common Misconceptions About Having an Iguana Pet
Many people consider having an iguana pet, but first they need to overcome all the dangerous myths in order to succeed taking proper care of a green iguana! Here are the most common misconceptions about green iguanas, which you should know about.
One of the common myths is that green iguanas can eat lettuce. This myth is not entirely false. Of course, since green iguanas are best kept on a vegetarian diet, you can feed it lettuce, but it would be better to avoid it since most types of salad lettuce have very little nutritional value. The best vegetables you can feed your iguana pet with are collards, turnip greens and mustard greens.
Another myth says that iguanas will not outgrow their cages. Many people provide small iguana cages in order to keep them in a convenient size. You should not forget that a healthy iguana can reach up to six feet long. A small iguana cage will only make your pet feel very uncomfortable.
Temperature is a very important aspect in a iguana's life, given the fact that they are cold blooded. This is the reason why many people add hot rocks to a green iguana enclosure. These hot rocks are indeed great, but not recommended, therefore you should use the special lighting which is available in almost all the pet shops.
Regarding iguana food, there is a certain myth which says that iguanas can eat insects, pet food, and other animal products, there are however many sources today that still state that iguanas can given animal protein as part of their diet. The truth is that iguanas are best suited to a vegetarian diet. On the other hand, consumption of animal proteins can cause your iguana to develop gout and it can also lead to serious kidney problems.
There are of course many other myths about raising green iguanas, some of them being very dangerous. This is why you have to make sure you are well informed before having an iguana pet.
Learn more about iguana pets at the authors website.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tatta_Matt
One of the common myths is that green iguanas can eat lettuce. This myth is not entirely false. Of course, since green iguanas are best kept on a vegetarian diet, you can feed it lettuce, but it would be better to avoid it since most types of salad lettuce have very little nutritional value. The best vegetables you can feed your iguana pet with are collards, turnip greens and mustard greens.
Another myth says that iguanas will not outgrow their cages. Many people provide small iguana cages in order to keep them in a convenient size. You should not forget that a healthy iguana can reach up to six feet long. A small iguana cage will only make your pet feel very uncomfortable.
Temperature is a very important aspect in a iguana's life, given the fact that they are cold blooded. This is the reason why many people add hot rocks to a green iguana enclosure. These hot rocks are indeed great, but not recommended, therefore you should use the special lighting which is available in almost all the pet shops.
Regarding iguana food, there is a certain myth which says that iguanas can eat insects, pet food, and other animal products, there are however many sources today that still state that iguanas can given animal protein as part of their diet. The truth is that iguanas are best suited to a vegetarian diet. On the other hand, consumption of animal proteins can cause your iguana to develop gout and it can also lead to serious kidney problems.
There are of course many other myths about raising green iguanas, some of them being very dangerous. This is why you have to make sure you are well informed before having an iguana pet.
Learn more about iguana pets at the authors website.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tatta_Matt
Big Leopard Gecko
There are two factors involved in raising a really big Leopard Gecko. These are excellence in care, and genetics.
Feeding for Maximize Size
Most Leopard Geckos measure in at around 9 inches at adulthood. In order to meet or beat this goal provide as much variety in food as possible.
If your Gecko becomes bored with crickets everyday, he will eat only enough to get by. This does not provide maximum growth potential.
There may not be much variety in your local pet shop, so you may have to search and buy online. Try giving him meal worms, roaches, grasshoppers, superworms and occasionally wax worms. Wax Worms should only be used as a treat since they are so high in fat.
Gut load your feeder insects with fresh veggies and grain, and use fruit pieces or a wet sponge to keep them hydrated.
Always use calcium supplement powder with Vitamin D to coat insects prior to feeding the Leopard Gecko.
Exercise and Activity
If you keep your Gecko in a small area without much to do he will not reach his full growth potential and become the big Leopard Gecko you want.
In as large a habitat as you can provide use rocks, plants, wood climbs, and various types of hides for him to investigate. Leopard Geckos are naturally active at night and will scamper and climb if there is room and interesting elements. This will build muscle, bone, and aid in digestion.
Heat Requirements
Leopard Geckos require a heat gradient of 90 degrees Fahrenheit at one end of the tank. This should go down to about 80 degrees Fahrenheit at the other end. This gradient allows them to manage their own body temperature.
If a leopard Gecko is kept too cool he can not digest his food properly and begin to go into hibernation. He will be sluggish and lethargic, and unable to meet his big Leopard Gecko potential, or even his normal life expectancy.
Humidity
Keep a humid hid for the Gecko to bask in. This is very important for the shedding process. This hide should be near the warmest part of the tank and have a shallow dish of water for him to sit in. Increase the humidity in this hide with wet paper towels overhead. Think "steam room".
Shedding problems due to a lack of humidity can cause toe loss, eye problems and other health issues.
Genetics
If you are buying from a breeder you can ask about the size of the parent Geckos. The larger they are, the larger you can expect your gecko to become.
You may also want to investigate the big Geckos that are on the market right now. They have been bred from parents reaching one foot in length. Now that's a Big Leopard Gecko!
Kat Magnus has been caring for geckos for over 25 years. Her newest book, "Gecko Care Made Easy," teaches Gecko owners absolutely everything they need to know about caring for their reptile. http://www.reptilegecko.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kat_G_Magnus
Feeding for Maximize Size
Most Leopard Geckos measure in at around 9 inches at adulthood. In order to meet or beat this goal provide as much variety in food as possible.
If your Gecko becomes bored with crickets everyday, he will eat only enough to get by. This does not provide maximum growth potential.
There may not be much variety in your local pet shop, so you may have to search and buy online. Try giving him meal worms, roaches, grasshoppers, superworms and occasionally wax worms. Wax Worms should only be used as a treat since they are so high in fat.
Gut load your feeder insects with fresh veggies and grain, and use fruit pieces or a wet sponge to keep them hydrated.
Always use calcium supplement powder with Vitamin D to coat insects prior to feeding the Leopard Gecko.
Exercise and Activity
If you keep your Gecko in a small area without much to do he will not reach his full growth potential and become the big Leopard Gecko you want.
In as large a habitat as you can provide use rocks, plants, wood climbs, and various types of hides for him to investigate. Leopard Geckos are naturally active at night and will scamper and climb if there is room and interesting elements. This will build muscle, bone, and aid in digestion.
Heat Requirements
Leopard Geckos require a heat gradient of 90 degrees Fahrenheit at one end of the tank. This should go down to about 80 degrees Fahrenheit at the other end. This gradient allows them to manage their own body temperature.
If a leopard Gecko is kept too cool he can not digest his food properly and begin to go into hibernation. He will be sluggish and lethargic, and unable to meet his big Leopard Gecko potential, or even his normal life expectancy.
Humidity
Keep a humid hid for the Gecko to bask in. This is very important for the shedding process. This hide should be near the warmest part of the tank and have a shallow dish of water for him to sit in. Increase the humidity in this hide with wet paper towels overhead. Think "steam room".
Shedding problems due to a lack of humidity can cause toe loss, eye problems and other health issues.
Genetics
If you are buying from a breeder you can ask about the size of the parent Geckos. The larger they are, the larger you can expect your gecko to become.
You may also want to investigate the big Geckos that are on the market right now. They have been bred from parents reaching one foot in length. Now that's a Big Leopard Gecko!
Kat Magnus has been caring for geckos for over 25 years. Her newest book, "Gecko Care Made Easy," teaches Gecko owners absolutely everything they need to know about caring for their reptile. http://www.reptilegecko.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kat_G_Magnus
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