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the Equipment & Supplies you will need to keep them properly.
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Excellent Pet - Moderately Expensive |
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First thing to do is purchase an aquarium or commercial cage to house your bearded dragon that is at least 55 gallons. This is large enough for one or two adult dragons.
You should also purchase a locking screen top for this tank. Stock tanks for cattle are excellent, but
may not fit well into your home decor.
Next you will need substrate for the bottom of the tank or cage. A wide variety of opinions surround this subject. Most desert sand substrates are suggested. Avoid wood based materials. We still use aquarium gravel with no problems. Provide basking rocks under heat or light sources, and hiding places. Sometime they wish to escape the bright light. Heat one end of the environment to 130 degrees Fahrenheit and the other to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. This creates a thermal gradient so the animal can adjust it's own desired temperature. Under tank heaters work well for this. Avoid hot rocks or similar devices. The cage must be lighted during daylight hours only. Use a timer to give a balanced day and night period. The bulb should be full spectrum and supply UVB light to help the reptile synthesize calcium and other vitamins. Fresh drinking water should be present at all times. Young dragons made need to be trained to find this water source. Sprinkling them daily may help them to drink. Feed both fresh vegetables and insects to your young bearded dragon. Avoid Mealworms or similar live feed. Live insects should be no longer than the width of the lizards head. Provide them with dark leafy greens like kale and collards. Commercial pellet feed is available. Use according to the instructions. Larger Dragons can be fed pinky to full grown mice. A calcium supplement is required for small dragons. Dust this onto food. Larger Dragons may not need this is fed whole foods such as adult mice. Avoid keeping small dragons with larger ones. They may be eaten. |
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Excellent Pet - Very Low Cost |
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First thing to do is purchase an aquarium to house your Leopard Gecko that is at least 10 gallons. This is large enough for one pair of adult Leopard Geckos.
You should also purchase a locking screen top for this tank. Plastic storage boxes also work very well but make it hard to view the animals.
Next you will need substrate for the bottom of the tank or cage. As with other reptiles, wide variety of opinions surround this subject. Most desert sand substrates are fine. Leopards live naturally in desert sand. Avoid wood based materials. Paper towel is actually the best but does not look very natural. Provide hiding places for the geckos in the cage. This helps reduce stress if there is a conflict between inhabitants. (Never keep more than 1 male together). Heat one end of the environment to 90 degrees Fahrenheit and the other to room temperature. This creates a thermal gradient so the animal can adjust it's own desired temperature. Under tank heaters work well for this. Avoid hot rocks or similar devices. They may cause skin burning. Leopard Geckos are nocturnal and apparently need no UVB light. However, they should be provided with day and night light cycle. Use a timer to accomplish this. And if you desire your gecko to be awake when you are, provide a red light for the night cycle that is lit during your active hours. Fresh drinking water should be present at all times. Leopards should be kept dry, but daily misting may help in skin shedding. Leopard geckos will eat anything live they can swallow. Again, keep it smaller than the width of their head. And can be trained to take pre-killed food. You will need a calcium supplement to dust the feed before offering to your gecko. Feed a variety of live foods. |
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Delicate - Very Low Cost |
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Contrary to popular belief, Green Anoles are not a good choice for a pet. They are somewhat delicate and should not be handled.
They are however, very low cost and therefore are commonly sold in pets shops. That being said, if you are willing to give them
the care they need, they make very interesting vivarium inhabitants.
A glass aquarium, acrylic reptile cage or fabric screen hanging cage that is taller than it is wide will be required for housing. Do not use any type of stiff screening. The lizards will rub their noses raw. A secure screen is a must. Anoles can climb glass and quickly escape thru any small gap. Wood mulch or bark type substrates work best. Moss also works well. Sand should not be used. It can build up on there feet. It also gets into their mouths when feeding. Anoles are thin skinned, so substrate should not be abrasive. Anoles must have climbing branches or vines. Live plants are great. Hiding places are also required to help reduce stress if there is a conflict between inhabitants. Anoles should be kept in a group. 1 male to 2 or 3 females. Avoid housing males together unless the cage is very large. Males are territorial and ample space must be provided to avoid conflict. Avoid keeping single anoles. Avoid keeping smaller anoles with larger ones. The smaller ones will become food, or be bullied and stop feeding. Eventually the smaller one will die from starvation. Green anoles are NOT tropical and do not require high temperatures. Room temperature will be fine as long as a warm light source is provided for the animal to bask beneath after eating. (Helps in digestion). A thermal gradient is of course required, so the animal can adjust it own body temperature. Avoid hot rocks or undertank heaters. They are useless for arboreal lizards. A UVB light source is absolutely required. A minimum rating of 2 will probably work fine. No higher than rating of 5. Anoles are a forest creatures and spend much time in shade or filtered sunlight. Fresh drinking water should be present at all times. Daily misting is also required. Anoles must be trained to find a water dish. Some may never find it. Use distilled water to avoid water spots on the glass sides. If spraying mist directly on the anole, be sure the water temperature is not too warm or cold. Room temperature or slightly warmer is fine. Green anoles will eat anything that moves and small enough to swallow. Again, keep it smaller than the width of their head. Avoid mealworms or similar. Waxworms are relished, but high in fat content. Feed them sparingly or as a treat. Anoles will also eat pureed fruit on occasion. Offer this to them in a small bottle cap near their favorite resting area. You will need a calcium supplement to dust the feed before offering to your anole. The Brown or Bark Anole is a much hardier lizard and should be considered in place of the Green if you are a novice keeper. All anoles exhibit very interesting behaviour even in captivity. All anoles dislike being handled and should be kept as vivarium inhabitants only. Some may disagree, but most anoles that endure frequent handling usually live a much shorter life in captivity. There are many other species of anoles, most from the tropics. Most are very attractive and also very expensive. Avoid these unless you are an accomplished lizard keeper. |
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Easy Care - Expensive Animal |
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Blue Tongued and other Skinks can be kept in a variety of containers. Aquariums, Sweater Boxes,
Commercial Reptile Cages, even barrels. They don't climb but should have a cover on their cage
to keep other creatures out.
Almost any substrate will work with Blue Tongue Skinks. Wood pellets, mulch, gravel and sand. Climbing and basking rocks are not required. Hide places are definately needed. Most skinks live subterranean lives and avoid bright light. They will spend most of their time buried in the substrate if allowed to do so. Avoid hot rocks. These lethargic lizards will rest on them and burn their underside. Blue Tongues do like heat. A temperature gradient of 75 to 100 degrees is good. Cooler at night. A UVB light source is required. A minimum rating of 5 to the maximum of 10. (Other skink species may not require UVB). Fresh drinking water should be present at all times. Weekly misting is also required to maintain a higher humidity level. Most skinks are forrest floor inhabitants where higher humidy would be normal. Blue Tongues come from arrid land but still require some humidity. Skinks should be fed both animal protein and vegatables. Commercial Dog food is a good mainstay. Green peas are a soft vegatable that can be mixed with their regular feed. Superworms are a good treat. Prekilled mice are a good whole food. Don't give too large a mouse. Skinks sometimes have trouble swallowing large whole food and will vomit out the partially digested remains. You will need a calcium supplement to dust the feed before offering to your skink. Not required when feeding whole foods such as mice. There are many other species of skinks of varying degrees of difficultly. Blue Tongues are the Very Best for captive pets. |
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Easy Care - Very Low Cost |
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Tokay Geckos are very easy to care for. The trade off is that they are extremely aggressive and bite hard.
An aquarium of at least 10 gallons will be sufficient for a single Tokay. Avoid screen cages. May damage the delicate feet. A tight fitting lid is a must. Geckos are escape artists. Good visibility is essential in the cage. You need to know where the animal is hanging before you open the cage. Stand the aquarium upright if possible. Tokays will usually hang on the sides near the top. Most substrates will work fine since Tokays prefer to hang on the glass sides and avoid resting on the cage floor. Sand or desert type substrates are best avoided. Basking rocks are not required. Climbing branches or vines are preferred. Hide places are definately needed if keeping more than one Tokay together. Keep in mind, these geckos will hide if they can. So you may not see them as much as you would like to . Undertank heaters and hot rocks are pointless for Tokays. Infrared Bulbs work quite well to heat the area where they frequently rest. Tokays are nocturnal and do not need UVB light. Fresh drinking water should be present at all times. However, Tokays will rarely drink from a dish. Mist the cage heavily each day. Be sure the water is room temperature or slightly warmer. Mist the gecko if possible. They soon learn to lick the droplets from their skin. Misting will also maintain a higher humidity in the cage. Tokays will eat any living thing they can swallow, including other Tokays. Crickets are of course the easiest food to obtain, but a variety is always the best for any captive reptile. Try to feed whole mice if your Tokay is large enough. This will greatly reduce your feed bill. You will need a calcium supplement to dust any insects you feed to your Tokay. Not required when feeding whole foods such as mice. There are many other species of geckos that are similar to the Tokay and require about the same care. However, the Tokay is hard to match in it's beauty and vocal behaviour. Resist the temptation to handle them. They don't like it and they BITE HARD! Most of them never become tame, but that's the price you pay for such a low cost jewel. |
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Easy Care - Low Cost |
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Say Hello to the World's Greatest Pet! Low Cost to Obtain. Low Cost to Maintain. Easy to Handle.
Large Color and Pattern Variety. No Smell. Rarely any Health Problems. Happy in a Small Space.
No Special Equipment Required. Easy to Find a Home for if you decide you can no longer keep
the animal. What more can you ask for?
A 10 gallon aquarium will house a cornsnake or kingsnake from hatchling to adult. A tight fitting lid with locks is a must. Any larger size aquarium will of course be even better. Plastic sweater boxes make excellent cages for corns or kings, the trick is to make the lid escape proof. Custom made racks are built to hold many of these boxes for breeding. Paper Fiber or Aspen Bedding are most commonly used. It is cheap and easy to clean. Newpaper is also a good choice. If you want a more natural looking bedding, use a bark or mulch type substrate. Avoid sand, and be cautious with gravel. Cornsnakes are not tropical and do not require very warm temperatures. Kingsnakes from North American will do fine with temps in the 70 degree range. However, they should all be given a temperature gradient with a warm area of 80 degrees or higher to aid in digestion. Undertank heaters are an excellent and economical choice for this. Infrared Bulbs also work quite well to heat only part of the cage but must be kept outside the cage to avoid the snake coiling around the device and burning. Cornsnakes and Kingsnakes are primarily nocturnal and do not need UVB light. Fresh drinking water should be present at all times. Most snakes will frequently drink from a dish. Misting the cage will help the animal in shedding but is usually not essential. Cornsnakes are usually problem free when it comes to feeding them. They eat mice. Choose a mouse about the diameter of the snake head. Most will feed readily on prekilled prey. If not, a little theatrics will entice the snake to feed. On rare occasions, a cornsnake may refuse dead prey and will require live. Always observe when feeding live mice to any snake. Mice and rats have very sharp teeth and may use them in defense, causing injury to the snake. Calcium supplements are not required for snakes that eat whole body foods. There are many varieties of cornsnakes available. All require the same easy care. Kingsnakes, however, may vary in their requirements. Research the specific type of kingsnake you wish to keep BEFORE you purchase it. |
Some photos have been aquired from Wikipedia.
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