There is a wide variety of supplies for pets and a pet reptile supply is probably the best choice when buying for an exotic reptilian animal.
Stores that cater to a particular species are more likely to provide targeted products in a wider variety that will help you to ensure the health and longevity of your household pet. You can find a lot of items for your snake or lizard to fulfill just about any need. We will cover only a few here.
Whether you have a turtle, corn snake, gecko or bearded dragon you will find most reptile supply houses carry all that you need for these easy to keep reptiles. Snakes like a king snake and those tough looking box turtles all eat different stuff though so let”s start with food for your reptile.
So you have a lizard and you really want to feed the fella a cricket, no problem most pet supplies have them hopping and chirping in a back room somewhere. But is it healthy to buy a lot of crickets and just dump them in the cage.
The answer is probably no. the best thing to do is buy some crickets from the pet store and some vitamins and put vitamins on a few crickets and then feed to your lizard.
What should you look for at a pet supply to feed your corn snake? Well corn snakes will eat rodents but in the wild they also eat birds and other lizards. The reptile house should have plenty of various size mice to feed your snake. Be sure to provide the proper vitamins for your pet too.
For climate control and proper lighting for your pet, you might need several items. Where a corn snake only requires a normal florescent light and a heating mat, a bearded dragon would require a reptile lamp and something like a ceramic heater. The habitat of the bearded dragon is a world of High sunlight, where they run around all day and absorb the sun to help digest food.
A lizard like a leopard Geckos requires fresh water but only would need a shallow container and basically dry housing with only an occasional misting, so no misting systems is necessary but many other exotic pets need water conditioners and misting systems.
There are really nice habitat accessories like waterfalls at most of the reptilian supply houses. But what else might you want to look at?
Bedding is important as some snakes need a certain type to ensure they don’t consume the bedding while they eat their meal. You can buy sand that is actually designed to be digestible so no harm is caused. While there is corn cob which is not digestible and aspen and forest bark. You must research what your pet needs before buying these supplies.
There are so many items you could buy that this page would soon be a book, which it is highly recommended that you purchase a book at the pet reptile supply at the same time or even before you buy your new pet.
A quick look online will find you in a wonderland of supplies to buy at a convenient pet reptile supply location.
Know the best medication and health supplies for your pet reptiles.
Pet Health – Reptile Medicine
There are certain things you can do to keep your pet happy and avoid reptile medicine. However, there are many critter medications for your pet that will be wise choices for your reptilians’ first aid medicine kit.
First, I will say that there are certain things you can do that will keep your pet in optimal health while in captivity. You should try to mimic the lizards, snakes, turtles or whatever pet you have, natural habitat.
You should know and provide the correct temperature, humidity level, landscape, and the proper light requirement. The fact that you need ideal nutrition just is a given.
You can design your pet’s home habitat or buy some of the habitats that are pre-designed to meet the specific needs of your pet species. Just be sure to educate yourself on what those needs are, and you will be much more likely to save money on pet medicine and vet bills.
However, you will want to consider having your reptile checked at least yearly by a veterinarian, and you should ask the vet to include a stool check for parasites. A thorough exam and health care program should be started no matter what your pet’s age.
A common health check up should include:
* stool (fecal) exam
* blood screening
Make sure to keep a journal of your pet lizard’s or other reptile’s growth information, such as weight and length. Keep notes on food that was refused and how often you feed. Be sure to keep track of time period between shedding of skin, and probably a good idea to note that bathroom breaks are on a schedule.
You might think all this information is unnecessary, but consider the fact that reptiles will hide any signs of illness for as long as possible. This is a natural survival skill. So the information you keep will be very helpful for a vet.
You might try home treatment and by the time you have noticed illness it can typically be almost too late to get them treatment. Once you notice any change in normal behavior or symptoms that seem to be an illness, check all the living conditions for problems.
Take note of what you have been feeding lately and from where, and decide if the critter is looking poor enough to go to a professional or to treat at home with medicine you have acquired for your pet’s first aid kit.
You should keep in mind, that a lot and nearly all medical issues of pet reptiles are traced back to management and housing. Typically, they are nutritional deficiencies, sometimes they are skin conditions, and you can sometimes have parasitic concerns but less likely with a routine vet visit.
Now that you are armed with some preventative information and such, here are some basics on over the counter reptile medication for home treatment.
– Eye Disease caused by a bacterial infection might be treated with something like:
* Reptile Eye Rinse
– Something that kills mites and ticks on reptile and surroundings like:
* Pet Shampoo for reptiles or powder
– reptile need proper moisture and lubrication to shed, so keep something like:
* a shed away product
– reptiles can be stressed when being de-wormed or after an antibiotic treatment or just an upset stomach, then you would need to provide:
* a concentrated live culture of common bacteria found in the intestinal tracts of reptiles, usually found as a gel
– another important item might be a wound dressing or powder
Keeping your per in optimal condition is going to be your best medicine cabinet, but like with humans, we sometimes need an extra hand.
Stock your pet’s first aid kit with supplies that match the needs of the species. A reptile medicine cabinet is the next best thing to a healthy habitat and a good vet.