Reptile Husbandry 1 Flashcards
What reptiles are found in the order squamata?
Snakes & Lizards
What reptiles are found in the order chelonians?
Tortoises & Turtles
What reptiles are found in the order crocodilians?
Crocodiles
What snakes are found in the class of colubrids?
Cron, Rat, King & Mil Snakes (Beginner friendly)
What snakes are found in the class of Boids?
Boa constricrors, Royal & Burmese Pythons
What snakes are found in the class of Viperids?
Vipers & Rattlesnakes
What snakes are found in the class of Elapids?
Cobras
What lizards are found in the class of Geckos?
Leopard, Crested, Day & Tokay geckos
What lizards are found in the class of Agamids?
Bearded dragons
What lizards are found in the class of Iguanas?
Green iguana
What lizards are found in the class of Monitors?
Savannah Monitors
Whst lizards are found in the class of Skinks?
Blue-Tongue skink
What lizards are found in the class of Chameleons?
Veiled, Panther, Jackson (Difficult to keep)
Common Tortoise Breeds
Mediterranean - Hermann’s, Greek, Horsfield
Common Terrpain Breeds
Red-Eared Terrpains (not allowed anymore), Map Turtles
Common Box Turtle Breeds
American & Asian
What breed is the tortoise likely to be if they have small spurs on their thighs?
Spurthigh
How can you ID a Horsefield Tortoise?
4 claws on their front feet (aka Russian tortise or 4-Toed tortoise)
What do you need to keep in mind when handling reptiles?
~Dangerous & Aggressivge, ~Very gast, ~Venomous, Zoonotic risk of Salmonella sp
How do you handle snakes in general?
Approach slowly, Control head first, Place towel first, Support body but allow to move, No handling during ecdysis (shed), Often urinate/defaecate + Release unpleasant smelling secretions from musk gland
How would you handle constrictors?
Do not allow to coil around neck, Two or more handlers required for larger constrictors (>2m)
How would you handle venomous snakes?
Requies special equipmen (snake tongs, hooks + plastic retraining tubes) t + training, Antivenom should be available
How could you sex a snake?
M - Paired hemipenes inverted at tail base, Boids have spurs (vestigial hindlimbs) at vent which are larger in M, Sexed by probing or everting hempienes
How do you prove snakes for sexing?
Stainless steel purpose-made probes/catheter with blunt end, Lubricate well + gentle, Lift scale hiding vent cranially before turning + inserting the probe caudally, Probe will slide into hemipenes if male (6-15 scales), Short in females (2-6 scales)
What are some things you should keep in mind when handling lizards?
~Serious injury, ~Aggressive, ~Drop tail
What is an adaptation of lizards that you could use to your advantage when handling lizards?
Vaso-vagal reflex (apply genelt pressure to both eyeballs) = Stimulate autonomic nervous system = Decrease HR, RR + BP
How do you handle Iguanas?
One hand to restrain head + forelimbs, Other hold hindlimbs parallel to tail base, Tuck under arm
How do you sex lizards?
~Dimorphic adults = Larger crests + Dewlaps in M iguanas, Horns on M Jackson’s, Swollen endolymphatic clacium stores in F geckos (X-rays), Prominent pre-femoral pores in M (look like little circles along pelvis + leg region), Hemipenal buldge at base of tail of M, Probing on glia monsters, Mineralised hemibaculae in hemipenes of M monitor lizards (x-rays, hardens when sexually mature)
What are some things you should keep in mind when handling chelonians?
Fairly placid but strong (chemical sedation to extract + examin larger species or those with hindged shells (lock in)), Terrapins can bite, Hold shell firmly at femoral fossae
How do you sex tortoises?
Dimorphism common, Difficult to sex young, Longer tails with more distal vents M, Concave plastron in M, Size different (Mediterranean T F bigger)
How do you sex turtles?
Size differences (RET F bigger), Longer anials on FL of M RET (court-ship dance)
How do you sex eastern box turtles?
Males have red irirs, Females have brown/yellow iris
Thermoregulation
Ectothermic (Uses external heat sources to regulate body temp + metabolic function)
What is meant by preferred optimum temperature zone?
Temperature range in which physiological processes funciton optimally overall
How would you provide an optimum temperautre zone?
Temperature gradient to allow behavioural thermoregulation, Basking area warm end, Temperature can drop at night, Species specific, Graint horizontal or vertical
What are something you should keep in mind when decided on a heat source?
Reflect wild thermoregulation (warm rocks vs sun), Often need a secondary background heatsoruce to provide basking area + gradient
What heat soruces are available for purchasing?
Heat mat outside of vivarium (<50% of surface only - conduction) = Direct contact = burns, Can move away or Radient heat source (heat lamp for basking species like tortoises + beareded dragons may need an alternative heat source at night)
How do you control heat sources?
Thermostat control temperature + max/min thermometer to monitor
What can compromised ventilation + humidity lead to?
Encourage mold growth
How do you increase relative humidity?
Damp substra, Spraying, Misting, Water feautres, Water bowls on heat pad, Foggers, Drippers, Humidity chamber for when they are shedding + those who enjoy burrowing
What can low humidity can lead to?
Renal failure in Iguanas, Dysecdysis in snakes + lizards
What can excessive humidity cause?
Bacterial + Fungal dermatitis
How can you make humidity chambers?
From a tub + wet sponge
Why would leopard geckos benefit from a humidity chamber?
Struggle to shed skin on digits, can build up in layers causing constriction = missing digits
Why is you UV light essential?
Herbivore lizards + tortoises have poor uptake of vit D from GI tract (unlike snakes), Vit D prdouced throuh action of UVB on skin (290-315nm), UVB from natural sunlight or artificual light
How is vit D utilised from the skin?
Removed from skin + stored in liver → Liver kidneys + Metabolised to calcitriol = Vit D3 (can the uptake calcium from diet)
What does calcitriol stimulates?
Uptake of calcium from the GI tract
What UV light could you use?
Fluroscent tubes (must provide UVB), Mercury vapour lamps (not good for small environments)
What must you keep in mind when placing a UV lighting?
Placed by heat lamps as lizards seek out the heat not the UB levles, UVB decreases with distance according to inverse square law = decrease benefit, Production of UVB decreases with tipe as deposits build up + blocks it
How often should you replace artificial UV lighting?
6-12 months
How far away are basking areas should be away from UV bulbs?
Within 30-45cm
What do full spectrum bubls also emit?
UVA - has behavioural effects
Photopreiod
Species dependant, Day length + Temp decrease during winter (esp if want breeding), Trop reptiles 13hrs summer, 11hrs winter
What must you consider with substrate?
Crucial for terrestrial species, Burrowing species should have substrate that allows this, Non-toxic, Non-irritant, Easy to clean, Safe to ingest (Wood chips/Sand can be ingested for time = Impaction)
What substrate is suitable?
Newspaper,
Soil,
Leaf litter,
Large bark chips (not cedar),
Sand,
Coconut fiber can be used,
(small wood chips + shaving risk of ingestin + GI impaction),
Females need to access to suitable substrate for oviposition (more likely to get egg-bound if not + do not need males to lay eggs)
What would you need to include when creating a vivarium for an arboreal species?
Branches
What is an important factor when deciding a vivarian setup for a Chemelion? (Water)
Do not drink standing water = Neeeds to be running constantly
Why would you need abrasive surfaces in a snake viarium?
To aid in shedding + Water bowl/pool for soaking
Diet of a snake
Whole prey (rat + mice killed humanely) (if larger rabbits + guineapigs)
Illegal to feed live vertebrate prey,
Garter snakes fed fish (thawed frozen fish need to be supplemented with thiamine)
Smaller snakes fed more frequently: Larger snakes,
Group housing - fed separately
Why else would you not feed live vertebrate sepcies?
Can fight back + bite & Decrease welfare of prey
Diet of lizards + chelonians
Carnivores/Insectivores/Herbivores/Omnivores, Vary dependant on life-stage
What would you feed insectivores?
Invertebrates (crickets, mealworms),
Should be gut-loaded & dusted prior with vit + min supplements
Why do you need to gut-load + dust invertebrates like crickets + mealworms prior to feeding?
Poor calcium:phosphorus, this increases the calcium
What should the calcium:phosphorus be?
02:01
Herbivorous lizards + chelonians
Vit + Min supplementation usually needed,
Fruit limited,
Grocery greens not ideal,
Variety of fibre weeds, grasses + vegetables
What would the ideal diet be for a herbivrous lizard + chelonians?
Give %
75-95% Green-leaf base (weeds), 5-15% Veg, <10% Fruit + Succulents
How can you ensure that you are getting the appropraite leafy-greens for herbivourous lizairds + chelonians?
Can buy trays + seeds that are designed for them in order to cultivate yourself,
Watercress, Pack choi + Roman are best
What are some common husbandry-related diseases?
Dysecdysis,
Abscesses/Infection,
Bladder stones/Renal disease - Chronic Dehydration,
Pre- or Post- Ovulatory egg stasis,
Gastrointestinal impaction,
Cloacal prolapses
What are some of the reasons why you may have problems with Pre- or Post- Ovulatory stasis?
Deficiency in calcium (no vit D or Calcium), Retained eggs (egg-bound)
What is preovulatory egg stasis?
Follicle remains on ovary,
Never gains shell or ovulated, captive condition, induced ovulatory, no males or cues to ovulate, overtime it takes over a lot of space and starts to get necrotic + solidifies + breaks down with the yolk cavity being released into the cavity-causing peritonitis
What nutrional disease may be present due to diet problems?
Metabolic bone disease - Nutriontal osteodystrophy, lizards, chelonians = Insufficient calcium in diet, Poor Ca:Phos, Lack of UV light
Why is metabolic bone disease not seen in snakes?
Often fed on a whole prey diet = bones
What reptiles are suseptible to Vit A deficiceny?
Tortoises, RET, Leopard geckos = Hypoplasia of cells lining the respiratory tract + skin
What nutrtional disease can arise?
Obesity/Hepatic lipidosis, Peridontal disease (Liz with acrodont) = Tooth loss
A
Retracting neck
B
Plastron
C
Carapace
D
Scute
E
Claws
A
Gular
B
Humeral
C
Pectoral
D
Abdominal
E
Femoral
F
Anal
A
Vertebral
B
Costals
C
Marginals
D
Nuchal
