Chapter 1
Current Herpetologic Husbandry and Products
One of the major problems facing herpetoculture is that no standard of care exists when it comes to herpetologic husbandry. Most husbandry advice is subjective and based on experience rather than scientific data. Information sources can include professional herpetologists, herpetoculturists, hobbyists, veterinarians, books and magazines, the internet, and pet store employees. Obviously advice from such different sources sometimes can be conflicting, which is frustrating for a pet owner. Critical thinking must be used when assessing husbandry recommendations. The advice of a professional herpetologist or a herpetoculturist with years of experience keeping and breeding hundreds of specimens may carry more weight than that of someone without formal education or a pet store employee who has never kept the species in question. The adjective proper used to describe some aspect of herp husbandry, as in proper cages, proper temperature, or proper diet, is purely subjective and should not always be taken at face value.
Currently there is no government regulatory agency that monitors products manufactured for reptiles for safety or efficacy. Thus any manufacturer can make almost any claim they like without providing evidence for that claim. Unfortunately many products for herps may have questionable value and may be inappropriate or even dangerous to the reptiles for which they are intended. Likewise, with literally hundreds of species of reptiles with differing natural histories available in the pet trade, products intended for one species could be potentially harmful for another species.
It is important to utilize all available information to best care for reptiles in captivity. A great deal of published scientific information is available concerning herpetologic natural history, life histories, natural diets, and reproductive data. However, this information is often in the professional herpetologic literature, as opposed to veterinary or lay herpetologic literature. These professional sources should be sought out.
Herpetologic husbandry still boils down to providing an adequate enclosure, appropriate social groupings, temperature gradients to allow thermoregulation, humidity, and ultraviolet light sources and offering a balanced diet. These are the things that herpetoculturists strive for, and when they fall short it often results in medical conditions that can be resolved with proper knowledge of husbandry and enclosure design.
Herpetoculture, like everything else, is an ever-growing and expanding field. New products, new diets, and new techniques are being developed every year. The herpetologic veterinarian and herp keeper must keep abreast of new developments. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss recent trends and developments in herpetoculture and is not intended to be a comprehensive discussion of herpetologic husbandry.
Enclosure Type
Many keepers, especially novice ones, have metaphoric blinders on and are only aware of what products they see on the shelves of local pet stores. They must be advised that alternatives to the traditional glass aquarium or terrarium exist for housing herps. A variety of plastic and fiberglass cages and tubs designed specifically to house captive reptiles are available from numerous manufacturers. Often these enclosures come in much larger sizes for lower prices than glass aquariums. Larger size allows for more aesthetically appealing displays. Additional advantages of plastic or fiberglass enclosures can include larger space for the herp, better escape prevention, better visual security, stackability, ease of attaching light and heat sources, better heat and humidity retention, and better thermoregulation on a vertical as well as horizontal axis. Likewise, plastic and fiberglass cages tend to be lighter in weight, more durable, and easier to clean than glass aquariums.
Besides enclosures for snakes and lizards, plastic and fiberglass tubs suitable for keeping aquatic and semiaquatic turtles are available. A number of manufacturers produce plain, round or rectangular tubs in sizes from 0.5 gallons to 5000 gallons (1.9 to 18,927 L) (Figure 1-1). Waterland Tubs (www.waterlandtubs.com) is a line of plastic tubs designed specifically for keeping aquatic and semiaquatic turtles. These tubs have a water side and an access ramp to a land side to allow for basking and egg laying. They come in multiple sizes up to 200 gallons (757 L). Waterland tubs are lightweight, can be placed outside, and can be modified to add bulk heads and drains to make cleaning easier.
Water Filtration
Often temperature and lighting are considered when keeping captive reptiles; however, water filtration is commonly overlooked. Poor water quality may be one of the main reasons that aquatic reptiles and amphibians may not thrive in captivity and are considered “dirty” or hard to keep.
Any amphibian or aquatic or semiaquatic reptile species requiring something more than a water bowl for proper husbandry should have filtration included in their enclosure design. This can be as simple as an air pump and a sponge filter or as complicated as a wet-dry filter for larger systems. In any case, filtration has the goal of reducing biologic waste, including ammonia and its toxic by-products, through mechanical, biologic, and chemical filtration.
Mechanical filtration—this includes pumps, canisters, and air lifts. Mechanical filtration is the physical action of moving water over media (e.g., protein skimmer foam or filter media). Mechanical filtration removes the large particulate matter in the water and also oxygenates the water.
Biologic filtration—within a high surface area filter, on the gravel, and walls of the aquarium, live bacteria that are responsible for breaking down ammonia (produced by the reptile or amphibian) into nitrite and then nitrate, the least toxic form of nitrogenous waste. This process is called the nitrification cycle and takes about 21 days in most aquariums to become established in a new setup. Aquatic reptiles are not as sensitive to this cycle as fish and amphibians, which are exquisitely sensitive to ammonia and its by-products.
Chemical filtration—activated carbon has great absorbency and is used to remove harmful chemicals and color compounds from water. Other examples are sodium hydroxymethylsulfinate and sodium thiosulfate, which remove ammonia and chlorine, respectively.
Most commercial filtration units combine all three filtration methods, which makes for a very powerful filtration system. Currently many fish filtration devices as well as specific reptile and turtle filtration options are commercially available. The reptile and turtle filtration units can work in shallow water, which is usually not the case with most fish filters. These filters are now easy to maintain and promote good health in aquatic reptilian and amphibian species.
Filtration alone is insufficient for maintaining adequate water quality in aquatic habitats. Frequent partial water changes and regular complete water changes also are necessary. Depending on the size of the aquarium and the number and size of inhabitants, one third of the water might be changed weekly, and all of the water should be changed once every month or two. Dechlorination by either aging or chemical means is important for amphibians and gilled inhabitants but less so for reptiles. New water added to the aquarium should be brought to the same temperature and pH as water already in the aquarium to prevent shock caused by sudden, dramatic differences.
Zoo Med Laboratories (3650 Sacramento Dr., San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, http://zoomed.com) has a complete line of terrariums, aquatic habitats, and filtrations for all species of reptiles. Exo Terra (Rolf C. Hagen [USA] Corp, Mansfield, MA 02048, http://www.exo-terra.com) has many filters and accessories for amphibian and aquatic reptile enclosures.
Space Requirements
The once-popular practice, especially among snake and gecko keepers, of keeping dozens to hundreds of specimens in small, Spartan, laboratory-style cages with minimal space and few cage furnishings is falling out of favor. Minimalist cage design facilitates ease of maintenance for the keeper but provides little for the welfare or behavioral well-being of the animals. An important trend in herpetoculture is to downsize collections and provide spacious cages for the remaining specimens. Indeed, for observation and appreciation of a reptile’s natural behavior, a more natural enclosure must be provided. An adult Cornsnake (Pantherophis [Elaphe] guttatus) or Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula) might survive in a 20-gallon (76 L) aquarium but would thrive in a cage measuring 4 × 2 × 2 feet high (1.2 × 0.6 × 0.6 m high). Snakes and other reptiles in larger cages tend to be more active and have better muscle tone (Figure 1-2). Larger cages allow more cage furniture such as climbing branches, multiple hides, and larger water sources. They allow for wider thermal and humidity gradients and better thermoregulation. Larger cages allow for the use of ventilation fans and misters. Larger cages usually are more aesthetically appealing (Figure 1-3).
FIGURE 1-2 A, “Cage potato” Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula) exhibiting poor muscle tone and obesity due to lack of exercise and overfeeding. B, A wild Midland Rat Snake (Pantherophis [Elaphe] spiloides) showing well-developed musculature as a result of a large home range and more frequent climbing and foraging than most captive snakes undertake. (Photos courtesy Dr. Stephen L. Barten, Vernon Hills Animal Hospital, Mundelein, Ill.)
FIGURE 1-3 This plastic cage by Habitat Systems Ltd. (Des Moines, Iowa) located in a nature center measures 12 feet wide by 3 feet deep and 4 feet high (3.7 × 0.9 × 1.2 m) and houses a King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), a large, very active species. Large reptile enclosures have many advantages and are preferred over small, minimalist setups. (Photo courtesy Dr. Stephen L. Barten, Vernon Hills Animal Hospital, Mundelein, Ill.)
Some guidelines for cage size have been published.1,2 One formula recommends that the length plus the width of a snake cage should at a minimum equal the length of the snake; thus a 4 × 2-foot (1.2 × 0.6 m) cage is the minimum size recommended for a 6-foot (1.8 m) long snake. Likewise large lizards should be housed in cages that are twice as long as the total length of the lizard; thus a 4-foot (1.2 m) wide cage is acceptable for a 2-foot (0.6 m) lizard (the minimum cage size should be 1.5 times as long as the length of the lizard).3 The upper range of cage size is limited only by the spatial and financial restrictions of the owner. It is incorrect to assume that reptiles, being ectothermic, are sedentary and inactive. In fact, with adequate available space, most reptiles are highly active with complex behaviors.4
A number of companies produce plastic or fiberglass enclosures in standard or custom designs for keeping reptiles and amphibians. Most of these companies have Web sites, and some offer free shipping. A variety of these products may be viewed at many of the large reptile shows held periodically around the country. A partial list of such companies in no particular order are included in Box 1-1.
Substrate
Zoos and nature centers often use natural substrates to line cages instead of newspaper, indoor/outdoor carpeting, bark chips, or gravel. Natural substrates are aesthetic, provide material for digging and other behaviors, hold moisture, and are absorbent. Materials that are small enough not to cause a blockage if ingested are recommended; in other words, avoid gravel and large bark and wood chips.
Natural substrates can be mixed and matched to meet the needs of various species. Commonly used materials that can be blended together in various combinations to meet the needs of the reptile or amphibian include beach sand, peat, top soil (with no insecticide or fertilizer), Eco Earth (compressed, expandable coconut fiber bedding; Zoo Med Laboratories Inc, San Luis Obispo, Calif, http://www.zoomed.com), and leaf mulch. For instance, a desert species might be kept on a mix with more sand and less soil, peat, and leaf mulch, while a forest species requiring more moisture might be kept on a mix with more leaf mulch, soil, and peat and less sand, if any. A topping of dead leaves adds aesthetic appeal, and the leaves decompose and add to the soil mix.
Natural substrates have better aesthetic appeal and can be useful for maintaining environmental conditions, but they also can be implicated in veterinary issues. Wood chips or bark are not recommended because they often can be ingested or caught in the mouth of a lizard or snake. Gravel is ingested by aquatic turtles and can result in intestinal blockage. Sand substrates also can be ingested, causing intestinal blockage in tortoises, Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps) and Leopard Geckos (Eublepharis macularius). Most of these issues can be solved by providing balanced nutrition, an appropriate temperature gradient, and ultraviolet (UV) B light and by placing feed on large trays or bowls that keep the food material away from the substrate. In the case of large tortoises housed outside, small cement pads or flagstone pieces are recommended to keep food from contacting soil or sand. These feeding palates can be washed off or disinfected. In some cases, large tortoises housed in sandy areas can be fed psyllium that binds to the sand so that it is passed with the feces. In the author’s (GJF) experience, a psyllium dose of 1 tsp/5 kg daily for 5 to 7 days repeated once a month has been beneficial.
Natural Backgrounds
Various companies manufacture natural-looking backgrounds and cage furniture that make a cage more aesthetically appealing, provide more climbing and enrichment for the inhabitants, are sturdy, and yet are easy to clean and disinfect (Figure 1-4). The use of such backgrounds can make an ordinary enclosure a true showpiece and allow for visualization of natural reptile behaviors (Figure 1-5). These backgrounds should be adequately secured, and care must be taken to block any access to the space behind the background. If a snake or lizard were to disappear into that space it may be necessary to tear down the entire enclosure to access the reptile. Any holes through the background for tubing or ventilation can be secured by affixing screen mesh over the hole using silicone adhesive applied to the rear of the background around the hole. Another potential hazard is improperly secured backgrounds or cage furniture made of heavy material that can fall and result in crushing injuries to enclosure inhabitants. A partial list of companies that provide these products in no particular order are included in Box 1-2.
BOX 1-2 A PARTIAL LIST OF COMPANIES THAT MANUFACTURE NATURAL-LOOKING BACKGROUNDS AND CAGE FURNITURE
Aqua Terra, Not Just Fish Inc., 14160 Live Oak Ave, Unit E, Baldwin Park, CA 91706, http://www.aquaterra-intl.com/index.html produces Naturalistic 3-D Backgrounds, a line of artificial backgrounds that mimic various rock or tree designs, with eight styles from which to choose. They are suitable for both aquariums and terrariums and come in modular sections that can be joined together to fit any size enclosure. They are easily cut to fit or allow for ventilation or filter hoses and can be adhered to the enclosure with silicone adhesive. An owner can install these backgrounds at home. The company also has modular rocks that can be used by themselves or joined with other rocks or with backgrounds for decoration or for use as hides.
Habitat Systems Limited, 4489 NW 2nd Ave, Suite 3B, Des Moines, IA 50313, http://www.habitatsystemsltd.com manufactures natural-looking fiberglass branches, trees, and logs, as well as hides and water bowls. They also produce unique fiberglass backgrounds for cages that mimic rock walls or other natural habitats.
Zoo Med Laboratories, 3650 Sacramento Drive, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, http://zoomed.com has a complete line of terrariums, natural-looking backgrounds, aquatic habitats, and feeding and water bowls for all species of reptiles.
Glasscages.com, www.glasscages.com has a complete line of terrariums, artificial rocks, and backgrounds. The backgrounds can be used in aquatic and terrestrial setups and can be cut or drilled for custom applications.
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