Reptiles are interesting but do you know what your getting into?

Reptiles are some of the most maligned creatures sold in pet shops. Not only are they usually not set up correctly in the shop but most so called "experts" working in those shops know little to nothing about them. To keep a reptile thriving is much more difficult, time consuming and expensive than a dog, cat or guinea pig. It is the difference between fresh water fish and saltwater fish, with saltwater fish being almost a full time job.

Reptiles are cold blooded creatures, which means they do not have a built in thermostat...so to speak. What this means is that you have to provide a heat source. Sounds easy right? Wrong. For instance many people go out and buy a hot rock. That is a manufactured rock that has a heating element in it. What the "experts" in the stores don't usually tell you is that these hot rocks have a tendency to overheat. When they do you will end up with a burned reptile. Reptiles cannot feel when they are being burned and therefore do not move off the substance until it is too late.

Also a hot rock alone would not be enough anyway...its very inadequate. What is required is a heat lamp with the correct amount of amps for the size of the aquarium. Notice I did not say cage. A cage would allow all of the heat to escape freely and that is self defeating. You also have to consider if you are going to have a branch leading up to the heat lamp. If so then you will want a lower amp bulb than if you were not using the branch. If you are using the branch and a lower amp bulb then you will want a heating element under your substrate (the filling at the bottom of the aquarium). All heat sources should be on one side of the aquarium...that is your warm side. The reptile should also have what is called a cool side...though its really not cool by our standards.

The warm side and the cool side should both have thermometers to gauge your heat and keep it consistent. The warm side is generally 85F-90F. While the cool side should ideally not drop below 80F. You will also need full spectrum lighting. ReptiSun is the best bulb. You do not want to get the ones that look like normal bulbs...you want florescent and you want it to be the full size of the aquarium. Without full spectrum lighting any reptile will not be able to metabolize their food. So in effect you will be slowly starving your animal to death. They will begin to show signs of poor nutrition such as, dark spots showing up, wrinkled looking skin, soft shells on turtles, lack of appetite, lethargy and so on. It can set right over the screened top. If you are getting a larger and therefore stronger reptile then be sure you get a locking screen...or if you are getting a snake as well. Snakes are quite good at lifting the screens and slithering through the smallest openings so remember that when assembling their homes.

The water supply should be large and low enough for your reptile to climb into and soak. They absorb water through their cloaca and not soaking can have a deadly effect on the kidney's as they age. If you are putting all this work into their care then take that extra step to assure that they get enough water. If you cannot supply a water area that big for now you can soak them in warm (not hot) water in your bath tub twice a week for about 20 minutes. This will also encourage defecation. NEVER leave them unattended. If you own a snake this will also assist in their shedding process. Make sure to provide a rock or something for your snake to lift its head on.

Some reptiles such as Chameleons will not drink unless there is a drip system and by the way, I have NEVER known anyone to successfully keep Chameleons for really long periods. They are EXTREMELY difficult to raise and the younger they are when you get them the quicker they die. I strongly suggest that you do not get a Chameleon, in fact I would like to see them being owned outlawed all together because they are so difficult and they never truly thrive and do not ever live out a full life span as they should.

All reptiles require supplementation. If they are live feeders then you will want to make sure that you are feeding mice, rats...that have been raised with a good diet. If its insects then you will want to dust them with a supplement before feeding. If they are vegetarians you will want to sprinkle the leafy greens and so on.

The bottom line here is this...do NOT rely on any pet shop to tell you how to care for any pet. Do your own research and make sure you know all that it takes to own and properly care for any pet that you are thinking about getting. The pet shop personnel is there to sell and yes, they may know a limited amount but they are by no means experts...I don't care what title they carry. You will be owning and caring for this animal and it is YOUR responsibility to find out what that entails BEFORE you buy it. By the way...turtles do fall under the heading of reptile and do need all of the above contrary to what people believe.

Reptiles are not lovey dovey pets. They can be interesting, colorful and have beautiful setups that can be quite calming and serene. They are definitely conversation starters and do intrigue most people as well as scare others. But if you are looking for interaction and true personality I suggest you stick with something warm blooded. No offense to reptiles or their people. I have met people who swear their reptiles know and love them and who am I to argue? Its just that I spent a good 10 years working with exotics...reptiles being a lager majority of them and I can't say I ever really saw much personality. Though I can say that I never had a snake bite me in all that time...while almost every hamster I met nailed me...lol.

There is even more to it than all of this but most of that depends on which reptile you are getting. So I think I have made the point here that research must be done on whatever type you are looking into. One more thing to consider and look into is your vet. This will be considered an exotic pet and will cost you more money to see a vet because of that. You will want to look into who is in your area that can and will treat your perspective pet if the need arises. There are not all that many vets who are specializing in reptiles so you want to make sure you have one in your area first.

There is nothing as sad to me than to watch a poor creature slowly waste away before your eyes because it is not setup properly. We catch these poor things and put them in cages, in pet shops and then send them off to someones home who knows nothing about them and the only ones who suffer is the poor animal. If we cannot provide basic care for any animal then we have no business owning it. So I urge you the next time you see an atrocity taking place in a pet shop to ask to speak with the manager and tell them that they do not have it set up properly or there is no water or whatever is wrong. We must speak up or it will continue. They need to know that they are being watched and they need to know that we will not stand for this. If we remain silent the suffering continues for that animal and for many, many future ones as well.