Gecko Viv Completed

My Excavator Clay for my gecko viv finally came today, and its amazing.  So easy to use as long as you use something as a foundation.  I used small bricks and polystyrene to build up a base.

Then I packed the clay on and around the base to create the mounds and hillocks.  I think it looks really natural and hope my geckos do too.  Will ned to leave it to go hard for a couple of days then they can see their new home!

New Leopard Gecko Project

So I have started setting up my new leopard gecko enclosure.  I am planning on setting up a breeding colony to go with my existing female.  She laid 3 eggs last year but all were infertile, I think she was a bit too young.

So the viv I got is 90cm x 45cm and has front opening and top opening doors, 12″ x 12″ heat mat and UV lighting.  The exciting part is that I have ordered some Excavator Clay which is made by Zoo Med.  I always struggle with substrates with my leo’s and have been using carpet for a while.  But I like my vivs to be as naturaly as possible and I just cant help but see carpets/newspaper/tissue as being really un-natural.   Excavator clay is a reptile use modelling clay that can be shaped and set in to any shape then goes hard enough to not be consumed by the geckos, but soft enough for them to dig in, thats the plan anyway.

I will be using a small bit of very fine reptile sand to go over my heat mat as the clay is not suitable for heat mats, this sand should be fine as all the geckos in my enclosure will be near enough adult size.

Anyway fingers crossed my clay substrate will get delivered soon so I can complete my set up and get my colony of geckos together.

New Website Launched!

We have recently started a new website that is designed to be an easy way to find local reptile shops near you and let you have the chance to give you opinions.  The site is divided into counties and we are relying on your help to add shops and review shops that you have visited.  The sites totally free to use and is solely for the purpose of finding good shops.  

Hopefully in the future shops will also upload their stocklists so you can see what’s in stock.  If you have any great shops near you, email us with info and a small review.

tom@justanotherpetshop.com

Ta

Crazy Games?

Can someone please tell me why every time I seem to go out lately I come across an arcade game that involves shooting or killing animals?

This seems to me to be the most ridiculous new fad ever.  The first one spotted was in my local and once regular pub here in Leicester.  This lovely machine allows the player to insert their 50p and become the poacher.  Yay.  A safari to kill zebras and lions and tigers whoop?  Is this right?

Second one spotted (see pic) was in our local bowling alley and slightly more disturbing with this particular arcade game being in a children’s area.  OK it may just be a bit of fun but from what I could tell this one actually involved killing frogs by hitting them with bits of wood…WHAT?

Forgive me for not having that much faith in the youths of today, but surely this is something that they could easily replicate at their local park, nature reserve or grannies pond.

Congratulations to the makers of these ridiculous games, they have really excelled themselves.  Have we really got that bored of zombies that we have to resort to battering frogs?  As if the amphibian population is not in enough trouble with a killer virus wiping out tropical and native frog populations, lets give them a helping hand eh?

Keep ya 50p in ya pocket and spend it more constructively.

Tom

Snake Charming?

I was quite upset yesterday whilst sitting in the coffee shop at the University of Leicester.  My partner had been flicking through some recent newspapers taking articles for a class she was presenting.  I decided to have a flick through one of the papers.  This is not something that I do on a regular basis, infact i can’t remember the time I read a newspaper prior to yesterday!

After flicking past page after page of drivel that my simple brain cannot comprehend I finally came across an article that grabbed my short attention span.  The article was about the problems that snake charmers in India are having, the poor souls.

Human rights campaigners are trying to get this trade abolished as they seem to think it is cruel for a snake to hide an adult human in a box, rip out its teeth, starve it and then humiliate it…oh no hang on.

Yeah, yeah it’s the other way round.  Any way as I was reading this article expecting at least a small amount of back up for the snakes, I was extremely dissapointed.   Ok the poor old snake charmer who apparently cannot do anything else is being put out of a job, ‘the wildlife protection act of 1972 makes it an offense to use a wild animal in this way’.  1972? why is this a problem now?

Snake charmers have also started to use boa’s and pythons in their ‘act’.  No offense guys but this ain’t an impressive act.  I’m pretty sure most people with a little bit of herpetology behind them could calm a reasonable sized python.  (Mine dance for the fun of it).

Apparently snakes are also not a wild animal if they live in close proximity to humans…hmmm ok, lets think about that.  Rats, wild? Foxes, wild? Pigeons, wild? Obviously not, excuse my ignorance.

Rant over

Bye

Travels

Us British herpers have it pretty rough, have to read articles of herpers in warmer climates have fantastic field trips out in the deserts and rainforests.  Well we do have our colder, rainier, windier alternative.  Reptile shopping!

Today we travelled a few miles to a new shop that we hadn’t been before.  The Mill Reptile Centre in Chesterfield, Derbyshire certainly didn’t let us down.  The shop is part of a garden centre that also do a large range of small animals, birds and a good aquatic section.  But they’re reptile centre really was the mutz nutz!

They had one of the largest collection of species that I have come across so far including some fantastic snake species.  All their animals are fantastically cared for and the staff seemed very knowledgable.

Some of their collection that really struck me was the ammount and quality of Leopard geckos of all morphs and sizes, good prices too.  Some fantastic large snakes including blood pythons, amazon tree boas, viper boas and pacific ground boas, (of which we had to purchase a pair, see pic).

This shop definately gets my recommendation to anyone that is in the midlands, as does…

Wharf Aquatics and Reptile Centre, which incidentally was were we headed next as it is only 16 miles down the m1.  We have purchased many animals from Wharf and find the staff fantastic.  Although today was more of a social visit as two tired ground boas were snoozing in the car.  There range of animals is also second to none.  There is always something different there.  Today was no exception and I was extremely tempted by another female Leopard Gecko!  Also interestingly they had a Paraguayan x Columbian Rainbow Boa which is one of our breeding projects for this year, what a nice snake.  Can’t wait to get ours paired up!

Gecko Mash Up

An amazing video my girlfriend edited for me.

Gecko Shed Mash Up from Jay Jay on Vimeo.

Considering Keeping Reptiles…

2 Royal Pythons

A bit of advice for first timers who are considering getting their first exotic pet.  Understandably you have been drawn to reptiles due to there beauty, diversity, ease of keeping, possibly a bit of wow factor too? Or maybe you just want a pet that does make your allergy flair up every time you enter the room.  Whatever reason you have chose to keep reptiles, good choice!

Reptiles offer probably the widest selection of species, sub species and colour morphs of any other type of house hold pet and are fast becoming more popular than dogs and cats.  If the correct species is chosen they are make fantastic first time pets.

The first thing to do when considering buying a reptile is to decide wether you have the space and time to look after these amazing animals.  They are not demanding creatures and as long as certain guidlines are met they will live long and happy lives.  Also consider space… the smallest of reptiles will need a minimum of a 2 ft tank, which will need to be positioned away from windows, drafts and direct sunlight.  And lastly…food!  Most lizards will only eat live foods such as crickets or mealworms and snakes will only feed on thawed mice and rats.  If you are not willing to buy, handle and feed these items to your pet then maybe reptiles arent for you.

After taking these thoughts on board, hopefully you have decided that you want to become the owner of a reptile!  Next on the agenda then is research.  This cannot be stressed enough… read…read…read.  Ask question…get advice.  The more information that you can get prior to purchasing your pet the better prepared you will be for its arrival.

Hopefully this will help you when considering keeping reptiles, it is not in any way meant to be off putting.  Keeping reptiles really is a fantastic hobby and quite addictive too!

Good Luck

Tom

http://www.justanotherpetshop.com

The Animals

Thought I’d just do a quick post and list all our current animals, as I’m waiting for my girlfriend to finish paperwork!

Snakes:-

2.1 Royal Pythons

1.o Mexican Milk Snake

1.1 Snow Corn Snakes

1.0 Columbian Rainbow Boa

0.1 Paraguayan Rainbow Boa

Lizards:-

1.1 Mountain Horned Dragons

3.3 Leopard Geckos (high yellows, super hypos, mack snow and normal)

2.1 Desert Spiny Lizards

Tarantulas:-

0.1 Brazilian White Knee

1.1 Chile Rose (about to lay egg sack!)

0.1 Natal Brown Birdeater

0.1 Salmon Pink Birdeater

0.1 Blue Fang

0.1 Oklahoma Brown

and a few more!

And one crazy African Pixie Bullfrog, which nearly ate my girlfriend today! See here.

I can imagine there will probably be a few to add to this list in the near future

Tom

Coping with winter…keep your reptiles warm.

During the recent cold weather here in the UK, the ambient temperatures of your vivariums can drop at night by upto or more than 15 degrees c. This can be extremely detrimental to the health of most tropical and sub tropical reptile species. It is so important to keep a check on the temps in your viv over the winter and especially at night as too higher drops can cause feeding problems respiratory problems or worse.

Ways to keep you pets warm…

1. Simple things like making sure all drafts are excluded and all doors are regularly shut can make a massive difference.
2. If your viv is heated by a heat lamp, try adding a heat mat for some heat over night.  Or convert your heat lamp to a red night time lamp and leave this on over night.
3. If you have several vivariums in one room it may be worth investing in a small electric or oil heater.  These are fairly cheap to purchase but can be expensive to run.  Try to get one that is thermostatic so you can set it to the right temperature and leave it, this will reduce the running costs slightly.

Most reptiles can live with a small drop in temperature over winter as this is natural.  But it is worth researching individual species to see what temperature gradients they can withstand.

Tom