Reptiles & Amphibians

These are resources that relate to amphibians and reptiles.

DIET SUPPLEMENTS FOR REPTILES

Nutritonal problems are the one of the most common reason pet reptiles become sick. Captive reptile diets are notorious for being imbalanced in many vitamins and minerals. This is mostly just due to the fact that it's still very hard to completely simulate their natural food sources using what is available to us in stores. Supplements give us a helpful and necessary tool to make up for these gaps. This short article will discuss our recommendations for providing supplements to pet reptiles. 

Cloacal Prolapse

What is the cloaca?

In our reptile patients, there is one opening to the outside world, called the cloaca (or vent). There are three body systems that feed into the cloaca- the gastrointestinal tract (coprodeum), urinary tract (urodeum), and genital tract (proctodeum). This means that this one opening excretes products from each of these body systems (eg. fecal matter, urine).

Enrichment for Exotic Companion Pets

Enrichment is a continuously growing and evolving concept in animal care which centers around the idea of keeping captive animals stimulated in their environments by allowing them to engage in as many natural behaviors as possible and giving options on how to interact with their environment (essentially giving them choices). Enrichment is widely utilized in zoos and most commonly with large mammals; however, many other species including birds, reptiles, and small mammals are often overlooked.

Gut Loading

“Gut loading” refers to the practice of feeding insects a nutritious diet before they are eaten by your pet.  Most commercially-available prey insects are deficient in many nutrients that our insectivorous pets require.  Gut loading enhances our pets’ nutrition in two ways:

Greens and Vegetables for Herbivorous Reptiles

Here are recommended vegetables and greens for reptile diets. 
 
Choose a variety of the follow to feed daily -
Spring Mix, Field greens,  Dandelion greens, Collard greens, Endive, Escarole, Mustard Greens, Squash (acorn, butternut, hubbard, scallop, spaghetti, summer), and Turnip greens. Also  Shrubs/Cultivated plants (hibiscus, cape honeysuckle, mulberry, strawberry bush, grape leaves, viola, violet, pansies, poppy, petunia, geraniums, etc.), Alfalfa (plants), Cactus pad/leaf (prickly pear), and Lettuce (red leaf, romaine)
 

Cryptosporidiosis in Reptiles

Cryptosporiosis is caused by an internal parasite that can infect many different species of animals. It is caused by a protozoal, or one celled, parasite called Cryptosporidium. There are several species of Cryptosporidium, but the most commonly encountered in reptiles is C. serpentis. Cryptospordiosis is an important disease in reptiles due to its tendency to be highly contagious and high mortality rate. 

Kidney Failure in Chameleons

One of the things that can cause chameleons to stop eating and become weak is kidney failure.  This disorder should be suspected in any chameleon that has two or more of the following signs: a lump just in front of its pelvis, inability to defecate (or pass eggs), fluid beneath the skin under its jaw or neck, dehydration even with plenty of water offered, a foul odor to its breath, swollen joints, bloodshot eyes, or white shiny deposits in the lining of its mouth.

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