4.6. Natural foods for reptiles

One of the biggest problems in feeding carnivorous reptiles is the limited availability of animal food (live or frozen). In such a situation, it is indispensable to have at home convenient-to-store and easy-to-dose food, which has been obtained by drying or freeze-drying feeder animals.

NAME COMPOSITION PROPERTIES

Dried Fish

dried fish - nutritional values of fresh fish - high palatability

Crickets

dried crickets (Acheta domesticus) - nutritional values of fresh insects - chitin regulates digestion

MealWorms dried mealworms (Tenebrio molitor)

FD BloodWorms

River Shrimps

Gammarus

freeze-dried bloodworms (Chironomus)

dried river shrimps - nutritional values of fresh shrimps - high palatability - chitin regulates digestion

dried Gammarus pulex - natural, high-energy food for reptiles - source of easily digestible protein

- nutritional values of fresh chironomid larvae - source of easily digestible protein - pathogen-free food (freeze-drying destroys dangerous pathogens)

- natural food for reptiles - source of micro and macroelements - chitin regulates digestion - beta-carotene has a positive effect on the immune system and many physiological processes in animals

Did you know that

sex in the vast majority of reptile species is determined by external factors such as temperature? The sex of the hatchings does not depend on the genotype of the animal or the set of chromosomes it received from its parents through fertilization, but on the temperature range in which the egg develops. There are two mechanism: with one cut-off point (where one sex is formed at one extreme of the temperature range and the other at the other) as well as with two cut-off points (where one sex is born at both extremes, lower and upper, and intermediate values between them determine the opposite sex).

The tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) is one of the most popular gecko species, although due to its „hot” temperament it is not recommended to beginners

Tropical tips

Some reptile species have been listed as dangerous to human life and health. They may be kept and bred only by authorized bodies (for Category I animals) or by persons holding the appropriate permits (for Category II animals). For more information, please visit www.gdos.gov.pl/eng

Papuan monitor (Varanus salvadorii) is also sometimes called the crocodile monitor because of its large and sharp teeth

Did you know that

the Texas horned lizard living on a desert (Phrynosoma cornutum) can gush blood from the corner of its eye to frighten and temporarily blind a predator? Phrynosoma genus includes 17 species, but not every species presents this defensive strategy. Ants make up the vast majority of their diet, which is one of the difficulties for terrarium keepers. The Texas horned lizard can eat up to several hundred of ants a day. These reptiles also have the ability to collect dew on their spiny body, the drops of which then flow down through a network of hollows and depressions between the scales straight into the lizard’s mouth.

Cuvier’s dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus)

Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum)