Reptile Facts

morelia-viridis:

Please check out iHerp user Nightflight99 if you haven’t already. LOTS of quality blog posts, filled with LOTS of great photos and info, including:

• In the Spot Light - the Ultimate Tree Snake (boomslangs)
• The Fantastic Diversity of House Snakes in Southern Africa
• The Hundred-pace Viper of China & Taiwan: A Herpetological and Cultural Phenomenon
• I’m youth, I’m joy, I’m a little bird that has broken out of the egg (beaded lizard hatchlings)
• Mambas and the Mind
• The Eastern Cape of South Africa
• Field Herping in Mexico

…and more.

theexoticvet:

I was actually really happy to get a question about obesity in snakes. This is a topic which does not come up very often but is a very real concern. Many reptile owners enjoy watching their animals feed and indeed for many reptiles this is the time when they are the most active and fun to watch. Because of this a lot of animals are over fed and become obese.

Snakes should not look like sausages. Their skin should have some elasticity and give to it. A very common reptile that I see for being obese are Savannah Monitors. The often come in and have huge abdomens because they do nothing but gorge on food.

How much your animal eats depends on the species and age. This is where diligent research and speaking to your veterinarian comes in handy. As a general rule juvenile and adult snakes need one appropriately sized rodent a week. Huge pythons that eat rabbits or whole chickens can probably get by eating once every 3 weeks or so. Babies of many species need two or more feedings each week because they are constantly growing. I advise owners to weigh their animals weekly and make sure they are within normal parameters for that species at that age.

+ checking weight against the length of the snake, as some will grow at a quicker / slower rate than others.

theexoticvet:

Getting a new snake is exciting. If you are like me you have spent a long time saving and planning for the perfect set up. After you finally get it all set up, you spend a few days with a nicely laid out tank that is empty and it is time to get the new snake. Once you finally get the snake in the tank it can be tempting to take them out and hold them to look at them and admire your new purchase. This is not a good idea for several reasons. So how does one go about handling a new snake?

For the first several days allow the snake to get adjusted to the new habitat. Just let him explore and adapt to being in a new place. Once he has settled in you can start putting your hand in the enclosure and letting him get used to it. If he doesn’t seem like he cares, try gently touching him on his body, staying away from the head because most snakes are very head shy.

After the snake is used to being touched you can gently pick him up by supporting most of his body and allow him to crawl over your hands. It is important not to grab at the snake or squeeze them, just support them. I always tell people to try this over a bed or in the enclosure just in case the snake gets dropped or tries to bolt. After doing this for awhile your snake will likely not mind being held for a bit every once a while. It is not a good idea to constantly take your snake in and out of the enclosure because this can stress them out.

Remember, not all snakes will like being held. There are some species that are just better off being left alone and individual snakes within a species will behave differently. Just be patient and don’t force a snake to be held if it truly doesn’t want it.

zookeeping:

snowflake1814:

I want to make some kind of long list of animal blogs. Reblog if you are an animal blog, even if you focus on only one species or post them all.

Yes, yes I am a primarily animal blog…(with some side of personal life fun)

Reptiles of all shapes, sizes and trails of life ;D