REPTILE MANAGEMENT

							REPTILE
MANAGEMENT
General Considerations
  Habitat
  Food
  Regulation
Vivarium
  sand or soil
  water – think fish
     dechlorinate
     filter
     temperature
  shelter
REPTILES
 chelonians
 lizards
 snakes
 tuataras
 crocodiles
 amphisbaenians – worm lizards
Chelonians
 turtles
 tortoises
 terrapins
TURTLES




 spend most or all of their time in water
 leatherback turtle – Dermochelys coriacea
    largest turtle, endangered
TORTOISE




 spend most or all of their time on land
 Aldabra tortoise – Geochelone gigantia
    2nd largest tortoise, CITES protected
TERRAPINS
 spend significant time on land and
 in water
TERRAPINS - Red-Eared Slider
  Southern U.S.
  omnivorous
  75° F




   Red-Eared slider – Trachemys scripta elegans
LIZARDS
 habitats - desert to marshes
 diets - herbivorous, omnivorous,
 carnivorous, insectivorous
 temperature requirements - widely
 varied

 bottom line - do your homework
horned toad (a lizard - really!)
Phrynosoma platyrhinos –
SNAKES
 habitats - desert to marshes
 diets - herbivorous, omnivorous,
 carnivorous, insectivorous
 temperature requirements - widely
 varied

 bottom line - do your homework
SNAKES - smooth green snake
    habitat - open areas
    diet - insectivorous
    non venomous
    bright green
        yellow or cream belly



smooth green snake – Opheodrys vernalis
SNAKES - sand boas
  many species
  habitat - sandy, semi-arid (for many)
  diet - small rodents
  non venomous
  brown patterns
      some have orange
  females - 18 inches, 200 gm
  males - 15 inches, 70 gm
                      Desert Sand Boa – Eryx miliaris
SNAKE CARE
 Research - different snakes have
 different needs
 Vet - find one experienced with snakes
 Housing
    tight cage
    as long as the snake
       reduces lung infections
SNAKE CARE
 Substrate
    sand
    wood chips - NOT cedar
    absorbent
 Water
    bowl sunk into substrate
    needed for shedding
    much of requirement comes from prey
SNAKE CARE
 heat
    lamp or ceramic heater
    gradient 80-95° F
    don’t use hot rocks
 Accessories
    tree branches for climbing snakes
    hiding places - flower pots, plantings
SNAKE CARE
 activity
    diurnal
    nocturnal
 other
    quarantine
    food - mice, weekly, diameter of snake
SNAKE CARE
 handling
    hook - best
    tong - harmful to snake
    sack
    exit can - for dumping snake from sack
SNAKE CARE
 temperament
    always bad
    never bad
    inbetween
    more anxious when shedding and feeding
 other characteristics
    musky
    constrictors
SNAKE CARE
 public health
    venomous snakes -don’t
    cage must be locked
    responsible for bites
 Salmonella
SNAKE CARE
 breeding
    live bearers -     boa constrictors, water and garter
     snakes, and rattlesnakes
     & egg layers
    cool down - may require several months
    incubation
       78-84 ° F
       ~ 2 months
SNAKE CARE
 sexing
    size of snake
    length of tail from cloaca
    hemipenis
    “cloacal pop”
SNAKE CARE
 sexing
    “cloacal pop”
SNAKE CARE
 sexing - copperhead hemipenes
SNAKE CARE
 sexing by probing
SNAKE CARE
  sexing by probing
male




female
TUATARAS
habitat - small
islands around
New Zealand
diet - carnivorous
temperature
   ~54° F
50-80 cm; up to 1
kg
living fossils
AMPHISBAENIANS –
worm lizards

Florida worm
lizard – Rhineura
floridana