Who here keeps reptiles?

[Ganoderma]

Anyone else interested in Herpetology? Maybe we can get a chat going about raising, researching, breeding etc various reptiles. i myself have raised and bred many for the past few years along with invertebrates and amphibians.

 

One thing i have been especially interested in is Tuataras. clearly not to own, but they are a fascinating animal!

 

from: http://www.terranature.org/tuatara.htm

 

An unusual feature is a third pineal eye which has a retina and a rudimentary lens, and is connected to the brain by a nerve. It is apparent in infants, but is covered by opaque scales in adults, so it is unknown whether the eye serves any function.

 

a couple other favourites are the asexual lizards (i love everything asexual, oddly...very interesting)

Lepidodactylus lugubris

http://www.biology.uc.edu/faculty/petren/LAB/publications/2003WilmhoffPetrenMEN.pdf#search=%22asexual%20gecko%22

 

also some sp. in Cnemidophorus genus.

 

i am curious. For the creationists, if Parthenogenesis can creat different dna over time, does this not prove evolution does exist?

[Cedars]

I had a few anoles which did quite well in what I called the bio-sphere. Two of them, one a female, other a male. The female died after about 3 years and the male died after about 5 years. Originally there were fire belly toads but they were infected with some type of worm and they all died shortly after purchace. After losing the fire bellys I introduced a barking tree frog which escaped after a few years. He was really cool.

 

During the summer months, the bio-sphere supported crickets in mass and I would go 3 - 4 months without having to introduce more crickets. I would have to toss some foods in there for them but they also cleaned up alot of the lizard waste. The crickets stopped laying eggs when the daylight hours shortened. I would add a few flys and spiders to help balance the lizards diet during the summer months. I also had a 10 gallon aquarium that I used for breeding crickets. I would have to buy crickets around the end of January thru March, then the crickets would be breeding on their own again.

 

I have a project underway (delayed due to other projects taking focus). I am building another bio-sphere and plan to have anoles again, along with long tailed lizards/grass lizards a few fire belly frogs, possibly a tree frog or two, depending on crowding. If waste product isnt an issue I hope to introduce a betta in the pool later.

[Ganoderma]

sounds interesting. how big is the new biosphere? another suggestion (instead of grass lizards because the habitat is different from an anole) would be to have Hemidactylus sp (there are lots of suitable choices) in with your anole. most people avoid mixing species usually due to parasite transfer and habitat requirments.

 

another thing you may want to try is sow bugs. they are excellent cleaners and food for the lizards. i used them, among other invertebrates, to house day geckos in a "biosphere". i didnt feed them (the lizards) for over 6 months while they laid eggs and went on with their life. great little bugs. even use them in centipede enclosures to keep things clean.

[C1ay]

I currently care for a ball python, a bearded dragon and 5 tarantulas...

[Cedars]

sounds interesting. how big is the new biosphere? another suggestion (instead of grass lizards because the habitat is different from an anole) would be to have Hemidactylus sp (there are lots of suitable choices) in with your anole. most people avoid mixing species usually due to parasite transfer and habitat requirments.

 

The current aquarium is 36" long and 12" wide and 24" high (without the lighting setup). I will lose the bottom 5 inches to the water/plants. I am debating on upgrading to a 48" long (55 gallon) and building up so it reaches 30" - 36" high. The original was a 30 gallon tank (36" long) that I doubled the height on by building it up.

 

Here is a page on the long tail I was refering to. Maybe we are thinking of two different herps:

 

http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/lizards/long-tail-lizard.php

 

I am thinking about the potentially aggressive nature of the male anole and compatability when putting this together in my head. I have two different stores in mind for purchace, one which I have been able to watch their lizard health for well over a year now and their loss rate is very low. The other store has very clean cages and its people are very informative when asked questions, but it is much farther from home and I cannot spend much time there watching how their herps thrive. Chain pet stores will not be where I purchace the rep's/frogs from.

 

I have never dabbled with geckos and was looking for daylight lizards.

 

another thing you may want to try is sow bugs. they are excellent cleaners and food for the lizards. i used them, among other invertebrates, to house day geckos in a "biosphere". i didnt feed them (the lizards) for over 6 months while they laid eggs and went on with their life. great little bugs. even use them in centipede enclosures to keep things clean.

 

This is an excellent idea! Thanks. I will try them out next summer (its going to be at least a few more months before the biosphere is up and running). I do worry about them getting under the 'wall' into the water holding area under the plants. Crickets are bad enough at sneeking into tight hiding spots and sow bugs can only be worse.

[Ganoderma]

yes they will sneak everywhere but they will not stay if there is no food, unlike crickets which seem to stay somewhere and starve to death... the nice thing is they will eat dead vegetation, crickets, poo...everything!

 

i think the firebelly would end up eating the betta. they definitely have the size to be able to.

 

you have moving water? when i was keeping dart frogs i found that the built in ponds (fake bottoms) got stagnant pretty quick, with a fish maybe slightly less quickly.

[Cedars]

I currently care for a ball python, a bearded dragon and 5 tarantulas...

 

The Bearded dragon is one type I looked into as a potential pet but they get too big for a community enclosures. Well at least for the size of my house and the space I have for community projects.

 

Tarantulas are cool! A friend had one for like 12 years in a really nice set up. Again, not a good community tank candidate so thats why I havent had one yet.

[Cedars]

yes they will sneak everywhere but they will not stay if there is no food, unlike crickets which seem to stay somewhere and starve to death... the nice thing is they will eat dead vegetation, crickets, poo...everything!

I wonder about how to raise these for feeders and whether its possible. One thing about the crickets, when they escaped they ended up in the basement for the most part and the cats tended to make a game out of catching them. I doubt they would find sow bugs as entertaining. And the sound of crickets chirping is kinda relaxing in January and February even if its comming from under the hot water heater.

 

 

i think the firebelly would end up eating the betta. they definitely have the size to be able to.

Ack! I knew that and had forgotten! I am sure I would have remembered before getting the betta. The fish was going to be the last addition. I have to watch water quality for a while.

OK Feeder guppies/minnows instead ;)

you have moving water? when i was keeping dart frogs i found that the built in ponds (fake bottoms) got stagnant pretty quick, with a fish maybe slightly less quickly.

Yes there will be moving water. A multi-tiered waterfall with a babbling brook will bring the water to the pool. The pool will drain into a rock/pebble field that hopefully will support one venus flytrap and one or two other small bog plants.

 

Slightly under the pebble field will be a filter system for the water (a few issues to be resolved before completion). The only access for the bog water to reach under the lifted platform supporting the plants will be thru the filter first. Drainage for the plants will also drip into the pebble field so it will have to enter the filter also. The filter itself will be approx sandwich container size. I estimate 4-5 gallons of water around 3 inches deep under the plant platform. There will only be two or three plants on the platform and mosses. I may substitute a hanging plant for a ground plant, but that hasnt been decided yet. I got my ideas on this from a few terrarium/vivarium forums.

 

Its an ongoing project that will be at least a few months more before I start adding plants.

[somebody]

When i was back in India, i use to have 10-20 lizards (don't know which one) in my house not as pets but as guests. They use to live in storage room and other places where they can feed on ants and other small insects. I usually feed them worms, yet i never had courage to touch them or pet them.

[Tarantism]

i have a red-eared slider turtle in my garage right now. every once in a while i go in to check on him and feed him and i think that he is dead due to lack of apparent movement. then, being to lazy to "throw him away", i go back a few days later and he appears alive. does anyone know the expected lifespan of a pet turtle?

 

 

that photo isnt of mine, but it shows the red stripe that gets the turtle its name very well.

[C1ay]

i have a red-eared slider turtle in my garage right now....

I hope you have him/her in some kind of enclosure with water deep enough to swim in with a basking light of some sort where it can absorb heat fior it's metabolism. See Quick Guide to Red Eared Sliders as Pets for more.

[Tarantism]

yes, i do. i try to remember to clean its tank once a month, but sometimes i forget. but yeah i make sure to take pretty good care of it. thanks for the link.

[Ganoderma]

They are very very prolific! Using them as feeder’s isn’t even work. Just get a tub with 2-3 inches dirt, outside stuff is better than potting soil. Mix in dead leaves (partially rotted seems best) with the soil. Place the wood on top for them to hide, eat, breed etc... Start with 5 and in a month you should have 100+ although small. Something to watch out for is the "blue" ones. I have read that the reason they turn blue is due to disease and is apparently extremely deadly to them.

 

I am not sure about their nutritional content so I don’t know if they would make a good staple or not. But they probably contain a large amount of chitin and they don’t seem as juicy....this is why crickets are so good. They are like little bags of nutrients if fed right. The best alternative for crickets right now is cockroaches. They are getting very popular with reptile keepers now.

 

Another thought I had is with moisture. Using those fake bottom setups is great but you need to make sure your water level is a good cm lower than your dirt. The dirt can easily get water logged with is not good for the type(s) of reptiles you want. I’m sure you have thought about that, but just in case.

[Cedars]

They are very very prolific! Using them as feeder’s isn’t even work. Just get a tub with 2-3 inches dirt, outside stuff is better than potting soil. Mix in dead leaves (partially rotted seems best) with the soil. Place the wood on top for them to hide, eat, breed etc... Start with 5 and in a month you should have 100+ although small. Something to watch out for is the "blue" ones. I have read that the reason they turn blue is due to disease and is apparently extremely deadly to them.

 

I am not sure about their nutritional content so I don’t know if they would make a good staple or not. But they probably contain a large amount of chitin and they don’t seem as juicy....this is why crickets are so good. They are like little bags of nutrients if fed right. The best alternative for crickets right now is cockroaches. They are getting very popular with reptile keepers now.

 

Another thought I had is with moisture. Using those fake bottom setups is great but you need to make sure your water level is a good cm lower than your dirt. The dirt can easily get water logged with is not good for the type(s) of reptiles you want. I’m sure you have thought about that, but just in case.

 

I suppose if they were a good source of nutrients someone would have packed them into containers and sold them by the dozen by now. Oh well, it may make an interesting treat/challenge for the frogs/lizards once in a while.

 

Yes, the platform should be more than 1cm away from water at the low point. I am using screen to close off the underside to keep animals from getting under there, long enough to bury a bit into the pebble bed. I had planned on growing Java moss on the screen to cover it from view an probably siliconing some small gravel in other spots (like the side edges). This allows me to pull the screen up and flip it onto the platform if needed to free some trouble maker who found a way under, or unplug the drainage of the pool if needed, or access this area for a reason that I havent thought of, but will happen after its up and running.

[Ganoderma]

sounds like it is all planned out. i use sow bugs mostly for cleaning up. in fact they are rarely eaten by any of my centipedes at all. they are also great for getting some nutrients into the soil. for this i also add worms.