Reptile Care

R.I.P. El Diablo, the cornsnake

R.I.P. Buddy, the bearded dragon

There is a reason I always encourage people to buy their reptiles from a responsible, local pet owner; when I was younger, my brother had purchased a beautiful albino corn snake from the pet store. We had previously bought some very healthy fish from them, which led us to believe that they would have equally healthy reptiles, but I was very wrong. The first snake we got from there had a dirty looking cage that was about the size of a petri dish (slight exaggeration). When we purchased it, nobody had told us that the snake had to be force-fed in order for it to eat. That was a bit of a slap to the face. We were able to keep it alive for a while, but eventually it died from choking on a small mouse. Though, it was our first reptile from this place, so we thought it might have been more of the snake than the store. Trusting this theory, we later returned to the store years later to purchase myself a bearded dragon. I remember that they had a myriad of baby bearded dragons crammed into one cage. There were rotting crickets in their water which was brown. However, not knowing what I do now, I thought nothing of it. I picked out the friendliest and healthiest looking one, and brought it home. I made sure that it had the appropriate terrain, a heating lamp, fresh water, and was fed crickets at the correct time. I thought that it was eating the crickets, but it turns out that they were simply hiding on the play-tube I left for the Dragon. I actually saw crickets crawling on the lizards body. After six days without food, the little lizard shriveled up and died. Luckily, the store had a policy that if the animal died within a week, we could get a full refund (not a good deal for the animal). So, I put the lizard in a little heart container (I was a weird kid) and my dad and I brought it in the next day. Because we brought the lizard in on the seventh day, we were denied any refund. You could imagine I was not to happy because I put in a good amount of cash into this creature.

With my story of woe now finished, I wish to prevent the same thing from happening to any person else.

Though I seriously encourage every person to avoid going to a pet store, here are a few things to watch for when looking for a reptile:

Temperature difference between cold-blooded and warm

1. Reptiles are cold-blooded creatures and usually originate from warm climates. Make sure that you can see a heat lamp or heating pad. Heat rocks may look nice, but in reality, they can be dangerous to the reptile's skin. Only half the tank should be heated, just in case they get too hot. Reptiles kept at cold temperatures could have stunted growth or respiratory problems. These are very huge problems.

2. The snake should have clean water every day. Not only can a snake use it to cool off, but it can also maintain the proper humidity in the tank if it is a dry environment. If the water looks overly dirty, then the reptile is not properly attended.

3. If the store is really good, they will put plants or a wood 'den' in the cage. Especially if the reptile is a snake, there should be something for it to climb. These tiny details can separate a good store from a bad one. 

Proper tree-snake cage

4. See if the store workers are informative, especially if they specialize in the reptile section. You should be able to ask how often they are fed as well as whether or not they have any medical conditions. If they don't know anything about the animal, then they don't watch them closely enough. 

5. If there is an excessive amount of fecal matter in the cage, or if it just looks poorly maintained, then the reptile may end up having a skin condition. Reptiles are very pron to skin conditions, so they have to be cleaned daily.

6. This seems rather obvious, but if the store itself just looks unclean, then that is the best sign that the animal is dirty too. 

These are only a few tell-tale signs. The store I went looked clean, the staff was nice (but poorly informed), and the warranty made me more trusting. Ultimately, you just have to use your best judgment. Though, I will always say "buy locally!"

Links: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1514&S=4
           http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=17+1796&aid=1609
           http://exoticpets.about.com/od/lizardsaspets/a/lizardspets.htm