TOP 10

Outdated Husbandry Strategies

This section is for prospective keepers, or those just entering the hobby. Over the decades that reptiles have been kept as household pets, husbandry practices have evolved to be better and more beneficial for our animals. These changes come from scientific research on the natural behaviours of amphibians and reptiles, striving to improve their health, longevity, and welfare.

Here are 10 mistakes, outdated strategies and myths that need to be avoided when you begin to care for your new pet.

1. Not using UVB/excluding nocturnal species

For a long time, many species were not provided UVB lighting, especially those seen as nonbaskers – such as leopard geckos, royal pythons and crested geckos. These animals did get by when the other aspects of their husbandry was alright, especially including the supplementation of vitamin D3 in powdered multivitamins. However, we now know that all reptiles and amphibians benefit from UVB, and many that aren’t diurnal practise “cryptic basking”, exposing a small patch of their body while they hide away to get their beneficial UVB exposure. It has also been recorded that exposure to the correct UVB improves activity by properly cueing circadian rhythm, full spectrum vision, seasonality and more. So don’t skip the UVB, nothing beats the real thing!

2. ‘Belly heat’

Another common one for species like leopard geckos, the belief was that to properly digest, reptiles needed to be heated from below, i.e directly onto the digestive organs. This isn’t the best way to do things, we now know. This is because heat mats that heat from below only provide infra-red C; the lowest energy wavelength.

What this means is it is very inefficient heating the animal, and only at the outer skin layers. Heat in nature comes from above – the sun – and provides IR A, B and C. Infra-red A properly penetrates the deeper tissues, allowing more thorough warming, activating physiological processes efficiently.

3. Enclosure sizes

The minimum recommended sizes for reptile enclosures have gotten bigger, and for good reason. You should provide a generous amount of space for your animal, even for something like a leopard gecko, to keep them active and engaged, as well as importantly, create a proper thermogradient from one end to the other. A small enclosure won’t be able to have a proper range of temperatures from a hot to a cool end. Your animal will use all the space you give them, even if you don’t see this activity at night.

4. Reptiles need baths

Humidity and shedding requirements between reptile species is nuanced and contextual. An unnecessary practise is taking a species such as a leopard gecko or bearded dragon and giving it prescribed ‘baths’ – these can be stressful or cause respiratory infection if the temperatures aren’t right. Species like leopard geckos will utilise an allocated humid hide. Other species naturally experience humidity spikes at certain times of day. Snakes, on the other hand, can benefit from soaking, but this can be accomplished on their own terms by providing them a water source big enough to submerge themselves.

Have patience when it comes to your reptile shedding. Leftover bits will often pull free on their own, and ‘flaky’ shedders like chameleons and beardies just take longer than the all-in-one process of snakes and geckos. Intervene if the shed is stuck for a long time and looks uncomfortable. With the right environmental conditions, there shouldn’t be severe shedding issues.

5. Temperature drops are bad

Reptiles don’t need to be hot 24/7! In nature, the temperature drops at night. Sometimes quite drastically! It is of course important to research the natural environment temperatures tolerated by your species. Turning the heating off at night helps them perceive day and night cycles, and modulates digestion. Seasonal temperature fluctuations are also the cue for many species that indicate breeding periods.

Thermostats with day/night setting options can be used to switch between parameters for safe minimum and maximum temperatures for daytime and night time, ensuring the temperatures will always be safe and appropriate for your species.

6. Reptiles need company

A big misconception is that reptiles feel lonely and need company, and this often leads to bad situations. Of course, reptiles need to encounter each other to breed, but for the vast majority of species this is short lived in a wild setting. Keeping reptiles together can lead to fighting, competition for food and warm spots, and stress overall – not to mention unnecessary breeding. It can even end in the death of one of the animals involved.

Cohabiting can be done, but you have to take into account drastically increasing enclosure dimensions and your plans of action for any offspring produced, or having to separate the animals if they don’t get along. Don’t dive into this until you’re experienced.

7. Loose substrates are dangerous

One of the oldest and most persistent myths, but one that is slowly being driven out during the growth in popularity of the naturalistic, bioactive enclosures. It is certainly possible to cause impaction with an unsuitable substrate and/or incorrect environmental conditions, but choosing an appropriate and safe loose substrate is perfectly fine for reptiles. It’s even beneficial by allowing them to dig and forage.

8. Not varying the diet

Reptiles and amphibians benefit from varied diets. They should also be gut-loaded (fed a nutritious diet). In the case of snakes, make sure you pick a good quality supplier. Snakes also enjoy variety (different mammals and birds available from most livefood retailers). Livefood such as cockroaches, locusts, crickets, mealworms and waxworms all have different nutrient content which need to be taken into account when forming the staple diet of your animal. When it comes to herbivores, omnivores and frugivores, they also benefit from variety (and limiting the treats!)

9. Not keeping records

Keeping records of your animals’ habits is extremely beneficial, especially if a health problem crops up. Tracking things such as food eaten, weight, defecation, shedding or any strange behaviour will be invaluable to present to a vet. It’s also a green flag when you are buying a reptile and the seller can provide you all the health details running up to your purchase.

10.

Rushing in too fast!

Never take an animal on without the proper research! It can take weeks to plan your enclosure and gather the right components to make the perfect habitat, and this should ideally be up and running well in advance of bringing your animal home, so that they can settle in hassle-free. Some sellers may even vet you on your knowledge and preparedness. It’s also a good idea to identify and get the details of your nearest exotic vet. It’s not uncommon for people to be clueless on where to go to when their animal becomes ill.