Statistics of Exotic Pets
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Safety for the Animal and OwnerWhen owning an exotic reptile you should take certain precautions during handling and feeding times. Every reptile is different, some are more domesticated then others and upon purchasing or rescuing the animal, a person should do its research before hand. Also for the safety of the animal you should take precautions when feeding and also what you feed them matters too.
Some things you should know as a rule of thumb are: 1) Use proper tools during feeding and handling such as a snake hook or tongs. 2) When feeding carnivores, wash hands before and after touching raw prey items. 3) When feeding vegetarians or omnivores, make sure the fruits and veggies are safe with no pesticides and parts of plants that aren't edible are removed. 4) Dust all crickets/meal worms/roaches/etc. with calcium and vitamin powders every week as recommended. 5) Lastly, when handling the reptiles wear precautionary clothing if necessary such as long sleeves for animals with large claws or bite gloves for the bitey animals. |
SanitationReptiles can carry many diseases such as Salmonella and parasites. When handling your reptiles always wash your hands before and after as mentioned below in more detail. Also when cleaning the cage you should follow proper sanitation procedures.
1) Remove reptile from enclosure 2) Take out all food and water bowls from enclosure 3) Wash and sanitize the food and water bowls with hot water and dawn dish soap (make sure they are thoroughly rinsed and dried) 4) Remove and clean/sanitize all plants and decor (same as bowls/dishes) 5) Remove substrate (newspaper/paper towel/cypress mulch/etc.) and replace with new 6) Put everything back in with fresh water and food 7) Put animal back in enclosure 8) WASH HANDS! Follow these cleaning steps and you'll have a happy reptile in a clean house...and you'll be happy too! |
"Merlin" Video taken by Christina Forward
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Feeding Pre-Killed vs. Live PreyReasons to Feed Pre-Killed or Frozen/Thawed
1) Pre-killed cannot injure your pet. 2) It makes offering and removing prey items easier and safer. 3) Pre-killed or frozen/thawed can make the reptile more docile and less aggressive. 4) It ensures that the animal is actually hungry when it eats, not just killing on instinct. 5) Minimizes the suffering of the prey item. 6) Freezing the prey will kill all parasites. 7) A food source can be readily available for feeding day. 8) Prices for frozen/thawed are much less expensive than live. |
Wash Hands
Always wash your hands before handling or cleaning a reptiles habitat. They can attract some diseases from humans.
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Play Time/Clean
While handling or cleaning the reptile's habitat keep your hands out of your mouth or away from food.
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Wash Hands
Once you are done, always wash your hands because just like they can attract diseases from you...you can attract diseases from them.
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Repeat
Repeat the hand washing before and after every time you want to handle or clean your exotic reptile.
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