The Basic Bearded Dragon Care Sheet7/27/2020 This care sheet is something I put together a few years ago, and at least once a year I try to update it as I learn new things and update my methods. So here is the latest version of this basic care sheet.
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Enclosures continued, and new project...7/21/2020 No more minimums say I... So before I continue with the enclosure discussion I thought I'd take a few minutes to show you just one example of what going beyond the minimums can look like. The enclosure below was initially built for ackies which I no longer have. I've been wanting to put something new in this enclosure for a good while now, and while I would've loved to put a pair of rock monitors or more ackies in this enclosure that is simply not in the cards for me right now. But I thought to my self, what else could fit comfortably inside this enclosure that I would enjoy keeping? I considered several species initially; frilled dragons, rock monitors, storrs or ackie monitors, green keeled belly lizards, tree skinks, and even Nicaraguan spiny tailed iguanas, but in the end I could not afford rock or storrs monitors, I have very little knowledge of keeled belly lizards, spiny tailed iguanas and frilled dragons are just too flighty, and I kept coming back to an old favorite. I've wanted for years to do a sem-arboreal set up for bearded dragons as I feel most keepers don't give their dragons room to climb as they assume they won't use it. In the wild beardies are often found on fallen trees or in the lower branches of trees and shrubs. I think it'll be interesting to see how they do in an enclosure with more climbing opportunities. So as I started to look I came across these two beautiful dragons produced by Kevin Dunne at Dragons Den Herpetoculture. I quickly inquired about their availability as surely they'd be promised to someone else already, but not they were not, score! I had some remodeling to do to the enclosure since it's last use such as replacing the old UVB bulb with a new one, cleaning the substrate to a reasonable degree, rearranging the cage decor so that it made sense for a bearded dragon, etc. So arrangements were made to have the animals shipped next Monday for overnight Tuesday July 27th arrival. I made the orders I needed to make for the supplies I needed to get and went today to Lowes to grab some rocks and an LED for ambient light in the enclosure..... Surprise... Well as I'm leaving lowes with some plants and rocks and the light I get a text message from FedEx stating my package from Oceanside, Ca is ready for pickup at the main hub? The only person shipping me any thing from Oceanside that I'm aware of isn't supposed to do so for another full week. Needless to say I was caught a little off guard and after a couple of phone calls to Kevin we sort out what happened and it was an honest mistake, but they are in fact here in Las Vegas and ready to be picked up. So today was a flight of the bumblebee mad dash to get the enclosure liveable (at least for a few days), and now I have 2 wonderful new dragons. It'll do for now... As stated this enclosure isn't finished as I have new basking and UVB bulbs from Arcadia being shipped in, but you get the gist of it from these photos I'm sure. By the way, Arcadia produces the absolute best reptile light and heating products on the market. The light you see in the center is just a 150 watt equivalent Led light to brighten the enclosure for both the dragons and the plants; it provides a very minor amount of ambient heat. I do this because bearded dragons do best in very well-lit enclosures. It'll get a little brighter still when the arcadia lights come in. The plants are elephant bush which is a non-toxic edible succulent, and yes that is sand at the bottom. It's actually a mix of different sands and other soils about 20 inches deep with a red clay/sand combination for the top layer which stays crusty. The bottom two dragons are mine and the top one belongs to a friend. We agreed to split the shipping cost ordering these from Dragons Den at the same time, and she'll be taking hers home next week after her enclosure arrives. The mercury vapor bulb is getting swapped for an arcadia basking flood and t5 high output 14% dragon bulb. As of right now the basking spot surface temp is about 120 degrees F; the coolest spot is about 85 during the day, and ambient temps vary between the two throughout the enclosure depending on the height and shade. Yes your bearded dragons will climb if you give them the opportunity, and this cage is what I would consider adequate for an adult pair at 48"x30"x30" sitting ontop of a 70 gallon trough for substrate (trough optional). There is a third fixture on the right that I can use to stick a second light in for an additional basking spot or for a night time heat lamp during the winter if it becomes necessary. I used the white landscaping deco rock (after rinsing thouroughly) around the edge of the tub first to keep them kicking sand into the glass tracks, and second to give them something to file their nails on. I'm looking for a good grass type plant to put in the bottom but I haven't found a suitable species yet.
Once you've decided what kind of reptile or amphibian you want to get the next most important step in the journey that is animal ownership is deciding what kind of enclosure and how big it needs to be. It's a decision with no simple solution as it depends on a lot of variables such as the species you've chosen, what its age and current size is, what kind of space you have to dedicate in your home, what kind of budget you have available, whether or not you have any building skills, etc. In this post I'll talk about some of pros and cons to the different options, and of course I'll talk about my personal approach and experiences.
I see it all the time on social media, folks asking the masses what morph is this? It usually goes something like this; "Hey guys, I bought this (insert species) at (insert generic big chain pet store). The label just said fancy bearded dragon (aka assorted corn snake, king snake, etc.) Can you tell me what morph it is?" So today I'm here to help shed a little light on the question, "What morph is my snake, bearded dragon, etc.?"
Anthropomorphism and Your Pets6/30/2020 Anthropomorphism, this is when you assign human traits or characteristics to non-human entities or objects. It can be dangerous to you, your pets, and those around them in some cases. It can lead to unrealistic behavioral expectations, behavioral and health issues, and an overall loss of grip on reality for some extreme cases. One of the most common health issues caused by anthropomorphization is obesity. It is very difficult for people to imagine that some animals can be healthy and go long periods without eating. For example, savanah monitor lizards have evolved to be cyclical feeders eating heavily for about 6 months out of the year and almost nothing for the other 6 months. Some would argue that in captivity we have the ability to make their lives "better" so we should feed them year round. This is an anthropomorphic notion; it is the notion that we as humans know better than millions of years of nature and evolution, and we basically want them to eat and behave the way we think they should which is of course based on how we behave and eat. I believe this is the primary reason that savannah monitors are so commonly obese and lethargic in captivity. Every animal lover I know is guilty of it to some extent because to some small extent it's part of what makes us human. We want to believe that our animal companions feel the same way about us as we do about them. We want to believe that they are capable of all the same emotions in all the same ways that we are because it makes us feel closer to them. But think about it this way, if they shared the same feelings and emotions in all the same ways we would be monsters for basically enslaving our emotional equals. That's usually where it stops for most people because to believe that goes against our own self-image, and because most of us are sane enough to draw that line. With regards to reptiles I do not believe that they experience anywhere near the same range or depth of emotions that people and some mammals and birds (technically higher functioning reptiles) do. The reptile brain is a primitive one driven mostly by instinct. Experiences and reinforcements can bend and alter that instinct to a degree so that some reptiles exhibit behaviors that are easily mistaken for emotions such as affection, affinity, or even hatred. Reptiles most certainly learn to associate their keepers with food, good and bad experiences, and stress. This causes many of them to approach their keepers or other people eagerly or run away from them in a panic. In many cases their trust can be earned through positive experiences such as being fed or simply being around people without anything bad happening. Some of the more intelligent species such as monitor lizards may even seem to experience something bordering on joy causing them to repeat certain behaviors like climbing on to a keeper for an excursion or to explore more territory. What this really is simple loss of fear through repeated positive experience combined with a naturally active and inquisitive brain constantly looking to explore their environment.
Here's another article describing some of the other pitfalls of this behavior. https://protecttheharvest.com/what-you-need-to-know/anthropomorphism-is-the-greatest-threat-to-animal-welfare/ Designing Cages During Lockdown6/29/2020
One of the things I've been doing lately to both kill time and serve a necessary function is learning to use a 3d design program called Sketchup Make 2017. Sketchup is a program designed for people from all sorts of industries to be able to make building plans, design parts, build 3d models, etc. It is similar to programs like Autocad which you may have heard of. There are tons of complex things you can do with this program. However, for the purposes of designing cages it is fantastically simplistic. I'll link the video I used to learn the basics below.
Sketchup Make 2017 is an older version of the program which you can download for free, or you can use it by working online if you choose. There are a few functions that are locked using this version, but it is still very useful for designing/drawing up your enclosure or rack plans and having them be to scale. Click HERE to access this free version of the program.
Currently I'm acquiring a few tools and parts needed to complete a new rack system for my gopher and, soon to arrive, bull snakes. I'm also in the process of using the program to design some other more traditional wooden enclosures as well as pvc ones. Below is my finalized design for my new bull and gopher snake rack. It will hold 7 young adults using Freedom Breeder FB-80 tubs. MIA, where have I been?6/28/2020 Hey guys I wanted to take a minute to apologize for the lack of time I've been putting into the blog here. With everything going on in the world the last few months I've kind of let this fall by the wayside as I just haven't been very motivated to write that much. Thank you to those of you have stuck with me and kept checking the site it means a lot to me truly. All of that being said I've decided to scrap the current series about reptiles to avoid as it occurred to me after the last post that it may be having the opposite effect of what I'd like this blog to have. While I do my best to make it educational and positive, and I do whole-heartedly believe the animals I've discussed up to this point make horrible choices for beginner keepers, but I'm afraid the series as a whole may be putting a bit of a negative vibe out. More negativity and discouragement is last thing this industry needs, and I've always felt that highlighting a problem without offering a solution doesn't really help and I feel like that's kind of what I've been doing, at least in some in of the posts. So instead, I'm going go ahead and start a series on great beginner reptiles. I'll talk about why I think they're great for beginners, their basic care requirements and what you can expect to spend on acquisition as well as initial setup. If there are any particular species you'd like me to discuss my thoughts on and experience with please email me at [email protected] with the subject line "TBH BLOG suggestion". And I'll get back to you asap. I'm also going to be posting more of my day-to-day here for those of you who choose not use social media like FB or instagram. This will include photos and videos of many of my animals, cover subjects like feeding, maintenance, and handling. Occasionally I may also link fascinating articles and videos I've come across. I really hope y'all like the change in direction and of course if you have any feedback you can always leave a comment below.
Typically, when folks talk about giant snakes they’re referring to the following large constrictors: the reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus), Burmese python (Python bivittatus), North African rock python (Python sebae), and anacondas the green (Eunectes murinus) and the yellow (Eunectes notaeus). However, there are several other less commonly known giant snakes that you may come across in the pet trade as well so for the sake of this article you can consider any snake that commonly exceeds 10 feet in length a giant snake and therefore a species you should stay away from as a new keeper. This will include, amongst others, the amethystine scrub python (Morelia amethistina), the Indian rock python (Python molurus), and the olive python (Liasis olivaceus). I would also suggest that you steer away from the larger forms of boa constrictor to start. Boa constrictors are heavy bodied and an 8 ft boa can pose a significant threat to your safety if not properly socialized and handled. There are many forms of boa constrictor that average 6ft or less who would make a fine first snake for the right person.
Above: On the left is a large adult nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) photo credit: Mpata Safari Club. www.mpata.com
On the right is a sub-adult Sumatran water monitor (Varanus salvator)
As you can probably imagine by now Nile monitors, Asian water monitors, and other large monitor lizards commonly found in the pet industry should also be avoided by new keepers. I would go so far as to include any monitor who regularly clears 5 feet in length. Some of the more commonly available species would be black throat monitor lizards, black roughneck monitors, argus monitors, white throat monitors, and crocodile monitors. Most face many of the same problems as the previously mentioned savannah monitors with regards to importation of wild-caught (WC) and farmed animals. In fact, a larger portion of these animals are WC due to the fact that many are so readily available in the wild that it’s not cost effective for large farming operations to produce them. Water monitors for example, take 6 months of incubation for the eggs to develop, and females are typically only able to produce one clutch per year. With WC water monitors typically selling for well under $100 at the source it’s not feasible for farms to spend the time and money it takes to maintain large breeding animals while their competitors simply take animals from the wild. Nearly all large monitor lizards face this exact issue. Typically if you see a large monitor species listed as farm bred or CB from farm it means that the animal’s mother was captured long enough to lay eggs and then released or sold for meat or skin, or more likely that the eggs were harvested directly from a wild nest. In these cases CB stands for captive-born and not captive-bred. You may also see them listed as CH which stands for captive-hatched. Make sure to ask exactly where the animal came from when you see CB next to large monitors. As with most reptiles there is almost always at least a handful of breeders producing true captive-bred animals and their prices will reflect the expense they incur to do so. What you’re getting for that drastically increased price is generally a much more social animal as well as, and most importantly, a much healthier animal. WC monitor lizards come with parasites plain and simple; there are no ifs ands or buts about it.
Next up on the list is Savannah monitor lizards (Varanus exanthematicus). Savs, as I will refer to them occasionally, are one of the top five most commonly exported small animals in Africa. They are primarily exported for skin, meat, and the pet trade. Nearly all of the savs you see available in the pet trade are imported from Africa, and while CITES reports that roughly one third of these animals come from ranches and farms the rest are wild caught. In fact, many of those from the ranches and farms come from wild-caught adults who are captured and kept long enough to lay their eggs and then released. By the time pet stores in the U.S. and countries receive these animals there is no way to distinguish between those that are farmed and those that are wild caught. For the pet trade most of the wild caught savs are captured as babies or eggs collected from nests, but some adults do make into the pet trade as well.
“Almost quarter of a million live savannah monitors were traded internationally between 2008 and 2015 (Figure 1). The vast majority are suspected to be recently hatched animals, although this cannot be determined from CITES records. Five countries within the range of savannah monitors reported total exports of 239,237 live animals in that period (Table 1). Almost all animals came from Ghana (66.8%) Benin (15.1%) and Togo (14.6%), with the remaining 3.5% from Mali and Niger.” ~ Mampam, March 6, 2018. To my knowledge there are only a handful of breeders in the U.S. who have had somewhat regular success in the breeding of savs, but no one has produced large enough numbers to even begin competing with the importers. This is in no small part due to the fact that breeding medium to large monitors is difficult, costly, and takes a lot of space. Being costly to raise and maintain means that in order to clear any kind of profit and make breeding a worthwhile venture the babies have to be priced significantly higher than their imported counterparts. Joe public generally doesn’t understand why a captive bred animal should cost $250 while the next table over at the same reptile show is selling that animal for $35-$60. That being said, make sure you’re not paying $250 for an imported animal who’s been falsely marked up. This makes it extremely difficult for local captive breeding programs to even get off the ground.
Image provided by Wild Things Las Vegas - if you're going to purchase a savannah monitor, make sure to purchase from a reputable store that specializes in reptiles who will help you should any problems arise.
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