Things I Wish I Had Known About Reptiles Before Entering the Hobby

***Note: Any and all product recommendations below are made solely for the benefit of your animals.  I do not receive any benefit from the companies mentioned below.  I am just trying to help fellow reptile lovers entering the hobby.

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1) Many reptiles require UVA and UVB (mostly lizards although there has been debate about whether or not snakes benefit from UVB, most notably mentioned in the xxx issue of Reptiles Magazine).  The amounts and intensity may vary among species.  Some nocturnal species do not require UVB.  When I purchased my first bearded dragon, I was told by the employee at PetSmart that they do not need UVB!  Obviously, she was incorrect and this sort of improper information is often disseminated by inexperienced pet shop employees.

• Recommended Products:
• Reptisun 10.0, 5.0, and 2.0 tube lights
• Not Recommended Without Your Own Additional Research To See If Problems Have Been Rectified:
• Mercury vapor bulbs (if you do not have a Solarmeter – see #2, below)
• Reptiglo tube lights – many believe these to provide harmful UV rays.  For example, see these accounts: RepticZone Reptiglo Thread
• Compact Lights – Same issue as Reptiglo.  See this study, for example: UV Guide Study on Compact Lights

 2) Solarmeters are well worth the investment and one of the most useful tools if you have any type of lizard that requires UVB.  I personally own this one: Solarmeter 6.2

These allow you to measure the UVB output of any light at any given distance.  After purchasing this item, I discovered that my mercury vapor bulbs (MVBs) were not putting out UVB at all!  This caused me to do additional research and I discovered that many companies that manufacture MVBs had malfunctioning lights.  This could be a very dangerous situation if you think that your MVB will last a year, never test it, and never know that your lizard is not getting the UVB it requires to flourish.  Since then (this occurred in 2009), I have purchased every brand of MVB and they have been hit or miss.  I have stopped using MVBs but have also heard that some of the problems have been rectified with certain brands such as MegaRay.  I do intend to get more and do more research into this matter.

When you own a Solarmeter, all you need to do is research the amount of UVB (in uw/cm2) that your animal receives in the wild, the duration, the hour of day, etc, and then you know the appropriate range you should be providing.  It’s a lifesaver.

3) Temp guns are extremely useful to have on hand.  They give you a more accurate reading of spot and ambient temperature than those cheapo stick-ons that you can buy at the pet store and/or any sort of digital thermometer.  I personally have the Pro-Exotics PE-1 Temp Gun.

This is our PE-1 Temp Gun

4) Now, I might get hell for this, but I’m gonna say it: most substrates sold for reptiles are BAD.  The best substrate, in my honest opinion, is paper towels.  I have never had so many problems as when I bought certain reptibark and other related substrate products formulated for reptile use.

• First, they trap bacteria and hide poop.  I had this experience with some of my snakes that would burrow into the bark substrate.  Despite spot cleaning regularly, it never failed that I would miss a
  poop or two because it matched the color of the substrate, even after digging around and doing thorough searches.  One time, I even saw mold growing in one of their cages.  Now note, this is spot cleaning but I did change the entire cage out once to twice a month.
• Second, it can be ingested.  Tegus are known to burrow as it makes them feel safe.  Well, my tegu, Lucky, became impacted twice by eating the bark substrate!  Now I provide him blankets and pillows and he seems to like them even more than he likes the natural feeling of the earthy bark.

• Third, there is a risk that if snakes are fed in their enclosures they could ingest some of the substrate and become impacted as well.  However, feeding within ones enclosure is not recommended anyway as it could cause cage aggression.

5)  Go with your gut; if you feel your animal has something, it probably does.  Vets do not know everything and they are not in tune to your animal as much as you are because they do not witness their every day behavior.  Be persistent!  Read my story about Flo, my first baby beardie, here: My First Bearded Dragon Experience: Flo the Baby Beardie

6)  Each species has their own set of high-risk diseases.  For example, beardies can have Yellow Fungus Disease that spreads like wildfire.  The fatality rate is high as well.  Therefore, please learn of these diseases and choose carefully when purchasing an animal.  Look for signs of sickness from the beginning and spare yourself the hurt later.  Again, see my story of Flo, here:  My First Bearded Dragon Experience: Flo the Baby Beardie

 …to be continued…this is going to be a running list so please check back regularly…