2 minute read
MORE THAN A BOX OF SAND
Busting the many myths of sand boa husbandry
A BROAD LOOK AT BIOSECURITY
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We have both an ethical duty and, in some cases, an economic interest in practising good biosecurity to protect our animals.
THE GROUND CUSCUS
Hadlow College are leading the charge in developing our understanding of how to care for these unique animals.
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MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY
Peregrine Livefoods Ltd
Rolls Farm Barns
Hastingwood Road
Essex
CM5 0EN
Print ISSN: 2634-4692
Digital ISSN: 2634-4688
EDITORIAL:
Thomas Marriott
Aimee Jones
DESIGN:
Scott Giarnese
Amy Mather
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As I write this intro, parts of the UK are hitting 40°C. Not only is this a scary picture of things to come, but it is potentially dangerous for a lot of exotic animals. Many zoos have closed their doors to focus on animal welfare. Although I’m sure this heatwave will be long-gone by the time this magazine reaches readers, we at Exotics Keeper have created content and aim to produce more material to support keepers during times of crisis. We would like to hear from subscribers which blog posts and feature articles would be most useful to you. We always try to balance interesting stories with practical advice, so please do get in touch with any challenges you have faced when keeping exotic animals regardless of your experience level.
This month we’re looking at some of the most underrated pet snakes, the sand boas. Unfortunately, many myths still perpetuate around the husbandry practices of these reptiles, so we caught up with expert breeder, Chris Jones to dispel some of these. We also chose to cover a very fringe aspect of invert husbandry – beekeeping. Hobbyists in the BBKA talk us through their passions for bees. Readers can also find some broad information on biosecurity, which is another often neglected practice.
Recently, we have visited several institutions and attended multiple conferences to bring you some great stories over the coming issues. We are also working towards launching a new, more user-friendly website to give this project some added polish. We at Exotics Keeper are a very small team of dedicated individuals, so every subscriber is important to us. Each subscription allows us to produce more, exciting content to help improve animal welfare and support wildlife charities across the world.
Thomas Marriott Features Editor
Every
Front cover: Rough-scaled sand boa (Eryx conicus)
Right: Kenyan sand boa (Eryx colubrinus)
‘Best Aquarium Fish Food’
As voted by readers of Practical Fishkeeping magazine
Aquarium Fish Foods with Insect Meal
Uses cultured insect meal to recreate the natural insect based diet that most fish eat in the wild.
Easily digested and processed by the fish resulting in less waste.
Environmentally friendly and sustainable.
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02 EXOTICS NEWS The latest from the world of exotic pet keeping.
06 GROUND CUSCUS The care and keeping of the little-known ground cuscus.
14 SPECIES SPOTLIGHT Focus on the wonderful world of exotic pets. This month it’s the mimic poison frog (Ranitomeya imitator).
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IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE HONEY Beekeeping in the UK.
26MORE THAN A BOX OF SAND Busting the many myths of sand boa husbandry.
34A BROAD LOOK AT BIOSECURITY Simple procedures with lifesaving results.
41 KEEPER BASICS: The EK guide to building a pond.
45 FASCINATING FACTS Did you know...?
46 ENRICHMENT IDEAS
Monthly tips on how to enrich the life of your pet.
