Reptiles Flashcards
1
Q
What are some safety measures when handling reptiles?
A
- Reptiles can be aggressive and dangerous – teeth, claws and tails
- Some lizards can move very fast and snakes can stroke fast
- Some snakes and lizards are venomous
- Zoonotic risk from salmonella species so hygiene is important. Salmonella rarely causes disease in the reptile itself.
- Snake tube to remove venomous snake from the vivarium. Snakes like heading into tight spaces and tubes so should go without much issue. Correct diameter is important.
2
Q
Outline how to safely handle snakes.
A
- Approach slowly
- Control head first
- Can place towel over first
- Support body but allow it to move
- Do not handle during ecdysis
- Do not allow to coil round neck
- 2 or more handlers required for large constrictors (2m)
- Often urinate/defecate release unpleasant smelling secretion from musk glands
- Handling venomous species requires special equipment and training
- Antivenom should be available
- Snake tongue, hooks and plastic restraining tunes are useful
3
Q
Describe how to determine the sex of snakes.
A
- Stainless teel purpose made probes/catheter with blunt end
- Lubricate well and be gentle
- Probe will slide into inverted hemeipene if male 6-15 scales
- Shorter distance in female 2-6 scales
- May have to go in a cranial direction to enter the vent and then rotate the probe caudally to travel down
4
Q
Describe lizard handling.
A
- Can inflict serious injury with teeth, claws and tail
- Iguana especially males can be very aggressive
- Others are relatively fragile, such as geckos
- Beware of tail autonomy
- Vaso-vagal reflex – apply gentle pressure to both eyeballs using a damp towel
- Stimulates autonomic nervous system leading to reduced heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate
- Use one hand to restrain head and forelimbs and other to hold hindlimbs parallel to the tail base
- Tuck tail under arm
5
Q
Describe how to determine the sex of lizards.
A
- Some species are sexually dimorphic as adults
- Large crests and dewlaps in male iguanas, horns on male Jackson’s chameleon
- Swollen endolymphatic calcium stores in female geckos
- Prominent pre-femoral pores in males (not all lizards but some commonly kept ones): these are for pheromonal communication
- Hemipenal bulge at base of tail in males
- Mineralised hemibaculae in hemipenes of male monitor lizards
- Probing can be used, for example in Gila monster
6
Q
How are chelonia handled?
A
- Most tortoises are fairly placid but strong and may need chemical sedation to extract and examine larger species or those with hinged shells.
- Terrapins and turtles can give nasty bites.
- Hold shell firmly at femoral fossae
7
Q
Describe how to determine the sex of chelonia.
A
- Sexual dimorphism is common
- Longer tails with more distal vent in males
- Concave plastron in males
- Size difference – female Mediterranean tortoises and red-eared terrapins bigger
- Longer nails on forelimbs of male red-eared terrapins
- Eastern box turtle – males have red iris, females have brown/yellow iris
8
Q
Describe the heat sources needed when keeping reptiles.
A
- Should reflect how reptile thermoregulates in the wild
- Often need secondary background heat source as well as primary focal heat source to provide basking area and gradient within vivarium
- Heat mat on outside of vivarium, less than 50% of surface only, heat by conduction
- Radiant heat source, such as heat lamp/bulb for species that bask in sun, such as tortoises, bearded dragons
- Use thermostat to control temperature and maximum/minimum thermometer to monitor
- Provide sufficient basking areas for all individuals
- If light source used, alternative heat source may be needed at night
- Avoid direct contact, prevent burns
9
Q
Describe the UV requirements for keeping reptiles.
A
- Herbivorous lizards and tortoises have poor uptake of vitamin D from the GI tract
- Vitamin D produced through action of UVB on skin from GI tract. Snakes are good at this, so carnivorous reptiles
- UVB form natural sunlight or artificial light
- Vitamin D removed from skin and stored in the liver before being transported to the kidneys and metabolised to calcitriol = vitamin D3
- Calcitriol stimulates uptake of calcium from the GI tract
10
Q
What is the photoperiod of tropical reptiles?
A
13 hours summer and 11 hours in winter
11
Q
Why do reptiles need substrate?
A
- Crucial for terrestrial species
- Less critical for arboreal species
- Burrowing species should have substrate that allows normal behaviour
- Females need access to suitable substrate for oviposition
12
Q
What are the substrate requirements of reptiles?
A
- Must be non-toxic, non-irritant, easy to clean, safe if ingested
- Newspaper, soil, leaf litter, large bark chips (not cedar), sand, coconut fibre can be used
- Small wood chips or shaving have a risk of ingestion and GI tract impaction
13
Q
Describe vivarium design.
A
- Benches for arboreal species
- Suitable substrate for species that like to burrow
- Hide, for example, logs for security
- Abrasive surface for snakes to shed
- Water bowls/pool
- Hygiene important and should be easy to clean
- Chameleons lick water off foliage and do not drink water. Need plants in the vivarium that you can spray.
14
Q
Describe the diet of snakes.
A
- Eat whole prey – most species fed rats and mice that are humanly killed
- Illegal to feed live vertebrate prey. Rats and crickets can cause damage to snake and reptiles.
- Garter snakes fed fish. Thawed frozen fish need to be supplemented with thiamine
- Smaller snakes fed more frequently than larger ones
15
Q
Describe the lizard and chelonia diets.
A
- May be carnivorous, insectivorous, herbivorous or omnivorous
- May vary depending on life stage
