Question and Answer/Advice Blog

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part 1

Have any questions on how to take care of your herp? Ask them here!
Please be aware that not everybody who is part of this club is a professional herpetologist, so take any advice with a grain of salt! ;)

* the small text means the questions have already been answered; however, feel free to make your own contribution if you think it's necessary!

  • :new: stevegirl124 asks...
    My dad said in the next few months i can obtain a bearded dragon! I've already got a name picked out (Indominus rex, or Indy for short), but he said we're building a tank. Any tips? Do they do well with ramps? Can you let them free-roam on counters and carpets? Thanks!

  • RoxaneDragonheart asks...
    I think my little frogs terrarium looks a bit bald so I've think about buy a sort of plant for him. but I don't know what plant this frogs like, and what plant don't die in a terrarium. This time I have just a 'false' plant, a whater point and a branche in the terrarium. (you can see my frog here)
    frog on piano by RoxaneDragonheart
    2 answers

  • Uponbatishwings asks...
    i plan to collect some frog eggs from my pond and raise them inside, but i am not sure what i will need to make sure they are ok. i also want to know how to care for tadpoles

    dogatemymanuscript answers... comments.deviantart.com/1/2276…
  • lita584 asks...
    Recently I seperated my male ball python from my two females into his own enclosure and he's become slightly aggressive when I open his house to take me out or change water. Before, he was a lazy thing and wouldn't so much as move but now he's acting like it's dinner time even when stuffed stupid. He's eating well and has no signs of infections and no retained eye caps. I can't figure out why he's suddenly gone from my lazy boy to me hhaving to mist him with water to calm him down. Could he just be getting territorial?

    dogatemymanuscript answers... comments.deviantart.com/1/2276…
  • KaiserFlames asks...
    my Iguana, Khan, needs a new forever home. I am just not able to give the poor guy the attention he needs and his disposition is suffering because of it. He's a real grump, though he's still very young and can probably change. I'm willing to drive the guy within an hour and a half of my house in Reading, PA, so if you live near me or know anyone who does who would be interested in adopting this guy, please let me know.
    ... if anyone has any suggestions as to places (rescues, adoption agencies, etc) I could look to adopt him out (please, only no-kill shelters) PLEASE let me know.
    Read the full blog and contact the owner here.

    DuckOfDeath answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • RoxMad asks...
    I'm giving a 10 gallon tank to a 6 year old as a Christmas present because she really loves aquatics, especially sharks, eels, and stingrays. I just went in to visit my local reptile store, and I was asking the owner about his Peninsula Newts. He said they were easy to keep, wouldn't bother the fish, I just had to make sure the newts actually got some food because they are so laid back they'll just let the fish eat it all.

    Well, I ended up getting one. I kept the newt in the bag for about 2 days while I got and set up the tank. He's been in it since last night, and I CANNOT get that thing to eat! The guy at the store suggested I purchase bloodworms. I was trying to feed him ZooMed Newt pellets, and the guy said he may not like the smell of them, but that he should eat the bloodworms fine. I got 'em, thawed 'em, and poured them all in there (huge mistake, required a massive cleanup) and he didn't even try to eat them.

    What the heck? Why won't he eat? I've never kept any sort of herp before, but I've had just about everything else. When I first got my fish, he wouldn't eat either, so I didn't feed him for a week and then he ate really good! Should I just back off on feeding this guy? There's still some worms hidden in the gravel that I couldn't get with the vacuum, so there is food if he wants it. There's no heater, but water temp isn't an issue because they supposedly are better in cooler waters and I've seen him zip around the tank.

    Also, I read they were poisonous and not to handle him? Can anyone verify this for me?

    DuckOfDeath answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
    ITacosharkI answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
  • wipeout-105 asks...
    keeping bearded pygmy chameleons;
    i've got an aquarium with a mesh top, looking to get ficus plants and ideally a male with 2 females. anyone disagree with this? (the rest is sorted, these are the only things i wanted to confirm.
    DuckOfDeath answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
    K-einess answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
  • iferous asks...
    About a year ago I rescued my baby painted turtle from a local pet store when they began disposing of unhealthy aquatic herp hatching. I've got him back into tip top shape, he's very content in his 175 gal tank!
    I have not experienced any troubles until recently, when after changing the water (which I only use bottled water for) a mass hoard of black gnat like bugs have been appearing non stop at the top of his tank. I've tried everything from natural sprays, to changing the water several times a week, to bleaching the sides, to even capturing the little pests and disposing of them.
    My baby painted, Kume, isn't bothered by them (he eats them)...but they get out of the tank (to my room-mate's displeasure) and stick to the side of the tank.
    Is there anything I can do to get rid of the little pests for good?

    ScaredyCat answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
  • meihua asks...
    I own two red-eared sliders. I'm away from home right now, but my mother just told me that somehow one escaped from the tank I keep them in. I have no idea how, and she doesn't pay attention to the animals, so she has no idea how either. She trusts all animal care to our housekeeper, who is kind of dumb. Anyway, so now my turtle is apparently just wandering around my house right now. Is there any way to attract him out of hiding, or is there a place where he'd be more likely to hide?

    ScaredyCat answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
  • Jinsui asks...
    SO far, my beardies are healthy as they can be besides a few self-inflicted injuries and, well, 2 bites on Rian's tail. It finally happened, Stan got overly territorial (or Rian head-bobbed, idk) and bit Rian twice on the tail. Of course, he had to bite one part of the same spot again. Rian now has a small indent close to the tip of his tail, one small one close to the base of his tail, and one really bad, deep bite in the middle. Before he shed, his tail marks had scales bent inward, so there wasn't much we could do but hope for the best. His tail was bruised ever since the incident about 2-3 months ago. Now, finally, he shed his whole tail with some of my help (his tail was looking even more bruised). Thanks to that, the tip of his tail beyond the bad bite bends down since, well, there aren't any scales propping it up. Now, it'll bleed every now and then if he gets too rough and rowdy and it looks like it droops more and more every day.

    I'm so concerned that my Rian is going through a lot of pain, but he doesn't seem to show it. He's not sluggish and he eats very well (Dragon bites, pellets, calcium stuff, and some freeze-dried worms...then crickets twice a week).
    My real question is, though, should I allow him to keep his tail through better or worse or should I contemplate amputation? I'm so scared for the amputation, but I know that if it gets infected, I have no other choice. I've searched the net and I'm stuck asking other herpers, which I should've done first anyhow. Experts want my $ online, so no way to them.
    ScaredyCat answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • opalfawn asks...
    I actually have a question about raising crickets as food.
    I've kept crickets in the past, and have began buying them again since February. However, I can't seem to keep my crickets alive for very long. By the end of one month of having 24 crickets, maybe one or two are still alive, while at least half of the 24 have died on their own. I give them Fluker's Cricket Quencher as a water source, and put a piece of wheat bread and lettuce in their container for food. I still can't keep them alive! Does anyone have any better keeping tips for me? Thanks
    Emma-Lawlor answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
    ScaredyCat answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
    Wyrdhaven answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • DRGNCAT asks...
    Snake drooling?
    My 3 yo BP was caught with a very thick clear wad of flem/drool coming out of her mouth. It hung down quite a bit, my brother was holding her up for me to see this odd phenomenon.

    This past sunday was her 2 week feeding mark on downing a med f/t rat. I've been swamped with finals and have finally been able to look at the herps only to see that she's going south..

    She breaths normally, maybe a slight hiss comming from the tank every so often. I did have the heat off for a few days since saturday, as it was rather unbearably hot in the house. It may be an URI, as she showed signs of it when i shipped her back to my house (in early feb), but after a week in a good setup it all went away.

    I dont know if its also because the past two feedings were kinda big and she also hadnt eaten since i got her home(which ended up being a month and a half). Wasn't sure if it was the way my brother was holding her, most of her body was tipped downward when he said she was "hacking up like 2 loogies on my leg". She is just soon to shed too, all stiff, pink belly, and glazed eyes.

    a URI or upset stomach? shes going to the vet in the afternoon for it either way.. just wondering if anyone has every herd of this happening..
    PaganFireSnake answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
    :devbabysnakes answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
    Tobarah44 answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • noordle-doordle asks...
    My Russian tort is getting a lot of extra space between her scutes, especially around the marginal scutes near her back legs. Is this uneven growth or something a lot worse? The space between is peach-ish, and is quite shiny. Thankie!
    Mazoq answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • Lady-Seraphim asks...
    I recently bought a baby corn snake and when I got him he had a bit of skin from his previous shed stuck on the end of his tail, about a cm from the tip. There is an indent where it was constricted. I soaked the tail in warm water and tried to gently work it off but I couldn't get all of it. He just shed again and it still looks like a bit is on there and the little bugger won't hold still for me to get it off! I'm concerned that if left on it will constrict his tail so much that it will cut off circulation and cause the tip to fall off. Should I be worried? Is there anything more I can do?
    Emma-Lawlor answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • Tobarah44 asks...
    My uncle has a 5 foot long black throat monitor, and it is the sweetest thing in the world, its nicer than a lot of dogs I've met. Anyway he tamed when it was a baby by sitting in a bathtub with it and letting be free, evetually after a while the monitor would crawl on him and that shows that the monitor trust him.

    Yet one of my buddies has a buttefly agama (I know agamas and monitors are as different as they can be) And he is currently taming it by holding it in his hands everyday for about 30 minutes.

    I personably believe that both ways work, but I think my uncles way is way less stressful on the animal. I believe holding an afraid animal could possibly injure it and stress it the f*ck out.

    So guys I'm wondering, which way to tame a lizard is better? Or hell, name a way that my uncle or my buddy arent doing it that you tried and works fine.
    Emma-Lawlor answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • baby-snakes asks...
    my alligator lizard was making wheezing noises a few hours ago!  has anyone had experience with their animal making wheezing sounds? I have never heard this before and it just started a few hours ago. I have done some research and find it might be some kind of respiratory infection, and that by keeping the lizard warmer it might be headed off..... Since waking up, hearing the wheezing, and turning on the heat, the wheezing has stopped. (thank god)

    Im really relieved. I plan on keeping him extra warm and clean, making sure his tank is extra clean, and hopefully he will not need antibiotics. i'm just wondering has anyone else has experience with anything like this and what happened. thanks!
    Mazoq answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • Not-Think asks...
    Jungle is not eating... it is spring time here, and she is not acting differently but seems to be uninterested in food. I have tried giving her treats and changing up her diet to something she hasn't had in a while- nothing. She is however spending less time actually on her heating pad and more in a cool spot of her tank. She has a lost a little bit of weight, but is still in the 'acceptable' category (Last year she put on a lot of weight after she had a run-in with egg binding, she seems to be going back to what she was previously) Is it possible that change of temperature/season is causing this?
    PaganFireSnake answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • Tobarah44 asks...
    I really want a sulcata tortoise. I'm just wondering how big should the first cage be when you get a hatchling, and how often you should upgrade? I'm pretty sure after 5 years they have to move into a much larger outside enclosure.
    (Would a cage thats 18 inches high, 3 feet wide and 2 feet long work?)
    Any other info is ok.
    Not-Think answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • OtaniFumetsu asks...
    Hey guys, I wanted to ask ya'll about your experience/stance on housing snakes in rubbermaid/sterilite containters. I have a friend who keeps some of her cresties this way, and it works fine, however they dont need heat. But I've seen some youtubers, like caterpillargiraffe housing snakes this way. Seems pretty economic! But, do they really make for adequate enclosures, and how do you heat them? (i.e. does the plastic not melt?)
    Mazoq answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
  • zilowar asks...
    I have a young ball python who has the very generic eating problem. I'm most concerned because he's so little, but I have trouble getting either of my ball pythons to feed frozen. They'll get alert when they smell the dead rat, so I'm certain they're hungry. They press up against the cage top and lick the air, but they seem blind to the actual rat when I move it.

    I usually thaw out large mice in a hot bath in a a plastic bag, then rest them for a minute or two on the ceramic heat lamps right before. Recently I wear a leather glove and dangle it, but they'll follow my hand, not the warmed rat. When I "shiver" the rat, kind of shaking it, my little guy gets scared and usually shies away, and my larger ball doesn't even notice. I spend about ten minutes trying to get their attention- putting it right in their faces, holding it still far away, or even just leaving the thing on a rock and waiting - until I give up. It's frustrating for me and for them! There's a sick irony in seeing them hungry while I struggle to get them to eat. I feel I must be doing something wrong - am I making a beginner mistake?
    step-after-step answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
    Mazoq answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
    schnappie answers...  comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
    shininginthedarkness answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • AngelicDragonPuppy asks...
    Against my judgment my family recently brought home a Mediterranean house gecko from Florida. Skeptical as I was at first, I liked the little guy and he seemed to be alright in his new home... but now he's not eating.
    I've searched numerous care guides that have said they'll eat small crickets, flies, moths, etc., but he refuses small crickets and flightless fruit flies, and it's too cold out to catch moths yet. At this rate, I think he'll starve to death soon. What can I do to make him eat?
    PaganFireSnake answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
    baby-snakes answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • Not-Think asks...
    ARE THESE EGGS??
    Picture
    Pepper hasn't been feeling well. She's lost fat in her tail, and she's become slightly lethargic. The eggs (if that's what they are) are infertile, so there's only one life on the line. Though she passed two other infertile eggs a few months ago, I'm not sure she can pass these ones. The masses are placed about right- they're firm, and the correct size/shape. They also feel about like what my other gecko who just about died from eggbinding had.
    What do I do?!?!?!???
    noomxbass answers... comments.deviantart.com/1/1584…
    PaganFireSnake answers... comments.deviantart.com/1/1584…

  • Not-Think asks...
    Question for those who have built their own herp enclosures:
    My iguana is getting a little bit too big for his tank, and spring/summer is coming. I am hoping to build him a new enclosure because I am poor, and can't spend the 5k to buy one. How do I go about doing this? I'm planning a mesh/wood one. Are there any specifics I need to be aware of? What should I make the dimensions? How is the lighting/heating set up in non-glass enclosure? What kind of mesh do I need to use?
    step-after-step answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • opalfawn asks...
    I've another question regarding Pacman frogs (: Recently I've noticed my frog turning a different color on his mouth and on his head. He used to be a light seafoam type of green, and now he's turning a dark brown-green color. Is this normal? Thanks!
    InsaneGelfling answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…
    PaganFireSnake answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • Tobarah44 asks...
    Kind of not a question on taking care of animals. Here it goes. What was the most crazy thing you've ever heard about taking care of an animal? Like some 12 year old on the internet kept saying you should only feed rodents to large monitors their whole life. I called him out on it then got troll spammed. But back to the point, whats the most crazy/totally wrong thing you have ever heard?
    Numerous people answer... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • CazziArt asks...
    I actually have a very general question for anyone from Australia, and wondering this for a while....
    Since I live in Aus - there are many native reptiles I could choose as a pet, but I have seen on the internet many chameleon breeders, and wondering if this is a species that is possible to buy/own in Australia?
    TypicalTash answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/1959…
    violent-obsession answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/1959…

  • Eeveenator asks...
    I have a question about hides for my beardie. I have a Zoomed Powersun 100W bulb and a Pearlco Ceramic Heater heating his cage. His light is on for 13 hours a day and by using an Alife thermostat, I am able to keep his cage warm at night as well. He gets a balanced diet of mealworms and greens, but he seems to just sleep all day inside his hide, which is a problem because he never comes out. I need help with this, because my instinct tells me that Beardies hiding all day in a cave is not healthy!

    ViciousAlice answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • Jinsui asks...
    Both of my beardies are constantly running back and forth the back of my cage. Often, they think the ledge of my window sill is reachable and the bamboo outside the cage as well. Sometimes it's just a casual stroll, but sometimes Stan just goes nuts and keeps hitting the front of his nose against the glass as he goes back and forth. Is this a sign he's hungry or is he just trying to get outside of the cage to something else?

    Rian [I've had him a week longer than Stan] has also been digging, but recently stopped. I researched it and found that it's both a female action, but also a male action as he's trying to cool down. Though that seems odd since it was super cold during the time.

    Mazoq answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

  • zilowar asks...
    Regarding humidity; I live in Colorado so it tends to be dry here. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep my two ball pythons moist? I keep them in the traditional glass fish-tank with the wire-net top. (weights to hold the tops on, towels over the top except where the ceramic heat lamps sit) I've tried spraying with water but it hardly does anything. I've also tried keeping their heating lamps over their water to try to evaporate the moisture into the cage. Any thoughts? I'd appreciate any advice.
    ScaredyCat answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/1959…
    baby-snakes answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/1959…
    shininginthedarkness answers... comments.deviantart.com/5/3065…

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Tawneeleaf's avatar
My pet leopard gecko is cold in the morning but warm in the evening sometimes. I covered part of the lid to her tank with a binder and 2 blankets. She seems to be okay, but I was wondering if there is anything I can do for her short of buying a heat lamp, because I don't want to make it too hot.