15 Housing Exotics

Question 1

Vivarium

Answer 1

housing for exotic animals

- terrestrial habitat

Question 2

are reptiles cold blooded

Answer 2

no, dont function when they’re cold; function best when they’re a bit warm
- reptiles are ectothermic poikilotherms: rely on environments temperature to maintain it’s own body temp

Question 3

how do reptiles obtain the temperature it needs in order to function? (3)

Answer 3

1. lizards bask in the sun
2. other species rely on reflected radiation (rather than direct bc it will dry out and cook)
3. dont sweat like us but allow their body temperature to fluctuate

Question 4

Elements to construct a vivarium (6)

Answer 4

1. size
2. materials
3. cleaning
4. security
5. cost
6. 3d

Question 5

Elements to construct a vivarium: size

Answer 5

• need habitat thats big enough for the animal, but not so big that it feels overwhelmed by it
• snakes prefer smaller spaces; quite secretive
• if animal is of a significant size, might struggle to keep it inside an enclosure; can house in pens/room

Question 6

Elements to construct a vivarium: materials

Answer 6

plastic/wood/sliding glass doors (can see the animal)

Question 7

Elements to construct a vivarium: Security

Answer 7

ensure it is safe for the animal
snakes can wrap themselves onto heat source which will burn it;
- can put mesh/wire

Question 8

Elements to construct a vivarium: 3D and examples

Answer 8

need to think in 3d when we think about habitats; try to visualize and replicate their natural environment on a smaller scale

• eg bearded dragon who is a really terrestrial based animal loves the ground and hardly climbs trees > need large floor area, height not so impt
• eg iguana mostly found at the high points of their habitats (trees) > need to think about height of enclosure for animals; floor space becomes less impt

Question 9

Vivarium features (6)

Answer 9

Have your vivarium set up for at least 3 weeks before introducing animals. (Ideally you want to let it cycle for over a month!) This time will allow plants to acclimate, and microfauna to build a healthy population within the enclosure.

1. Heating
2. Lighting
3. Substrates
4. Enrichments
5. Water
6. Humidity (affects some of the biological processes they carry out)

Question 10

Vivarium: Heating (4)

Answer 10

1. top heat
2. bottom heat
3. hot rocks
4. monitoring

Question 11

Top heat

Answer 11

Heating should be provided at one end of the cage, creating a temperature gradient between 20ºC and 30ºC.
heat lamp
-generates warm basking spot for animal (replicates sunlight)
-generates thermal gradient in the environment; when the animal is nice and warm, can go sit at the cooler spot
> gives animal the choice to control it’s own body temp
> at the hot end, a perch can be provided allowing the lizard to get warmer if it wants

Question 12

Bottom heat

Answer 12

for the non baskers;

• produces much more gentle heat into the vivarium
• thermal gradient

Question 13

General rule: heating

Answer 13

give them a choice through their environment; allows them to choose where they want to be and their own body temp
*what you dont want to do is restrict animal to one temp

Question 14

Vivarium: Lighting (3)

Answer 14

Number of different ways to provide lighting to these animals

1. full spectrum
2. combined heat/light (not so good)
3. black light

Question 15

Full spectrum light

Answer 15

• these animals need vit D to synthesise with Ca and P for bone and shell strength
• full spectrum bulb provides some of the elements of sunlight that you may not get with a normal bulb

Question 16

Why are LED lights inefficient?

Answer 16

narrow spectrum of light

Question 17

UV/Black light

Answer 17

Important for nocturnal animals (scorpions fluoresce under UV lights)

Question 18

Lighting caution

Answer 18

important to follow direction of bulbs; have to be around 30cm above the animals for wavelength to be effective
- if big enclosure, 1m away from animal

Question 19

Vivarium: Substrates (5)

Answer 19

• often animals will digest these substrates which will impact their digestive systems; Substrates should not be collected in the wild as the soil, leaves, sand, gravel, etc., may contain organisms that are harmful to your reptile.
  1. newspaper
  2. bark mulch
  3. sand/gravel
  4. corncob
  5. artificial

Question 20

Newspaper

Answer 20

• unattractive, not many animals live on newspaper material irl
• relatively absorbent when several layers are used, and inexpensive to replace. However, colored inks are known to be harmful to animals, and there may also be problems with the plain black ink; animal can be overwhelmed by pungent odors of the inks

Question 21

Bark mulch

Answer 21

for forest based animals but $$$$ need to be treated and dried to make sure theres no pests/parasites

Question 22

Enrichments (4)

Answer 22

1. hides
2. branches (for climbing animals)
3. plants
4. backgrounds

Question 23

Hides

Answer 23

2/3 hides around vivarium to allow animal to take advantage of thermal gradient

• secretive animals so must provide opportunity to them
• a pile of leaves and bark, a terracotta pot or a hollow log

Question 24

plants

Answer 24

appearance, supplementary snack

Question 25

Water (4)

Answer 25

1. water bowls
2. water features
3. running water
4. drippers

Question 26

water bowls

Answer 26

that an animal can get into if it needs to bathe or drink

Question 27

water features

Answer 27

for large scale; humidity

Question 28

water dripper

Answer 28

for small scape; puts a lil humidity in the air

Question 29

Is there such thing as too much water?

Answer 29

yes, animals that live in wet environments eg rainforests generally live in the dry bits of that env

• cant make vivarium too wet or animal will get fungal infections
• will tend to seek out the drier habitats
• all bout the microhabitats not macro when constructing!!

Question 30

Humidity (shedding snakes)

Answer 30

when snakes about to shed, the secrete fluid between the layers of skin; can tell snake is gonna shed when their eyes become milky and they become quite aggressive (vulnerable process bc they cant see)

• humidity important because the process involves fluid; if too dry animal will often seek out a burrow where the humid is a lil higher
• snakes dont have eyelid, have spectacle that sits over eye which protects it (will shed)
• if humidity is wrong, shed wont happen cleanly and spectacle lens will be stuck on the animal; can build up and impair

Question 31

Temperature vs humidity

Answer 31

higher the temperature, the higher the humidity

Question 32

Ventilation vs humidity

Answer 32

higher the ventilation, lower the humidity

Question 33

effects of spraying/misting on vivarium humidity

Answer 33

spraying the enclosure only boosts humidity by a little; drops down very quickly, not very effective to boost to a large extent
- having a running water source is much more effective as it can evaporate into the air

Question 34

background

Answer 34

Aside from the basic elements already covered, most vivariums have either a background or some type of hardscaped feature. Neither is 100% necessary, but both greatly enhance the look of a vivarium, and the inhabitants will appreciate the extra climbing room & surface area. Adding loose wood pieces is common & accepted practice, but more often wood decor is added to complement a background.