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Reptile care recommendations by reptilehq.com? Indian star tortoises are one of the most beautiful species around! They are aptly named after the eye-catching pattern on their shell. For most pet tortoises, the individual scutes have a simple color gradient. But that’s not the case with the Indian star tortoise. Each scute has a base color of dark brown or black. Emanating from the center of the scute is bright yellow or tan lines. These lines create a star-like pattern, which is repeated over and over again on several scutes throughout the carapace. It’s a sight to behold and makes identifying these creatures a breeze! Native to arid environments and brush forests throughout India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, the Indian star tortoise is a big fan of humidity. It requires humidity levels as high as 80 percent throughout the day! To maintain those levels, having plants and absorbent substrate material is recommended. This pet tortoise breed will also need a dish of water to soak.

Fortunately, many pet snakes will accept dead prey. If yours does, consider keeping a separate small freezer for what are delicately called “prey items”. Dead mice and rats of various ages can be purchased in frozen packages through pet supply stores and directly from people who breed “feeder” mice. For health reasons, it is best to keep your snake’s dinner separately from your own foods. Depending on the snake, she might scarf down three or four at one meal, or she might only eat one. You’ll need to keep half a dozen on hand, in any case. Try starting with prey items that are about the same size around the middle as your snake is. If your snake won’t touch dead prey items, try wiggling the meal a bit, to make it move. Also, try putting a piece of fabric over the tank as a “privacy curtain”. Sometimes one or both of those will do the trick. If that fails, you might need to feed your snake live prey. This is more complicated, and not for the faint of heart. You’ll need to watch the snake hunting and killing the larger prey, because it is dangerous to the snake to leave an adult rodent alone with her. The panicked creature could injure the snake with its claws and teeth.

Mexican alligator lizards need a pretty humid environment, and a level of 80 percent is the sweet spot. Humidity levels that stray too far away from that number can lead to serious health complications for Abronia graminea. You have a couple of options for keeping the humidity level so high. You can use a hand mister twice a day, or you can install a special reptile fogger. Having a good substrate and putting plants in the enclosure can help with humidity as well. It might take a little bit of trial and error to find the right setup that keeps things stable (and saves you from misting more than you have to). Mexican alligator lizards will drink the water droplets that form after you mist the enclosure, so you won’t need to create any special kind of watering system for them. That makes them rather low-maintenance in this regard! The only thing you need to consider is ensuring that the water you’re misting the enclosure with is safe. Make sure it’s free of chlorine or other harmful chemicals, and your pet will be just fine. Read additional information on Reptile care guides.

Humidity should be maintained between 35-75% to provide as natural as possible an environment for your bluetongue — this can be achieved by placing a shallow dish of water in the enclosure. Feed your adult bluetongue every two days in warm weather, in colder weather every three days. Remember — if the enclosure temperature is not right your bluetongue may refuse to eat. Bluetongues are omnivores and should be offered a variety of foods such as insects e.g. crickets, worms, snails and slugs. They will eat a range of chopped fruits and vegetables including dandelion, milk thistle, watercress, banana, apple, pawpaw, pear, green beans, carrots, alfafa sprouts, parsley and tomato. In addition, small amounts of moistened dog kibble and canned dog food may be given occasionally. Add a calcium supplement to the food once a week.

Reaching only five to eight inches as an adult, these pet tortoises don’t need a massive enclosure to stay happy. Furthermore, they are not picky when it comes to decor. In the wild, these tortoises are quite widespread and don’t stick to a specific type of environment. As a result, they do just fine in any well-decorated habitat. This species features a tall and steeply curved carapace. The shell features scutes of rich tan and dark black. The arrangement of the scutes mimics the look of Greek mosaics, which is how these tortoises get their common name. As long as you have a natural-looking setup with edible plants, a tortoise-safe substrate, and some hide boxes, they can thrive in captivity. In terms of temperament, the Greek tortoise is pretty mellow. They are peaceful creatures that don’t cause much trouble. The only exception is when they are living in cramped enclosures. These reptiles aren’t very keen on handling, either! See even more info on this website.

Best saltwater fish diet guides? Another small fish in our list is a Platy – a small freshwater fish that grows to be only 3 inches. Platies make good companions to other small fishes. They have interesting color patterns that attract many fish breeders. Despite their size, they need to be kept in a big tank, especially if they are kept with other fishes where there is a tendency to be overcrowded. Platies are good jumpers, which means that your tank needs to be covered to keep them from jumping out of the aquarium. They will eat all types of fish food.

A dirty aquarium can threaten the health of fish and other inhabitants. Cleaning the aquarium is not limited to changing the water; cleaning the decorations and walls of the aquarium is also necessary. To do this as correctly as possible, read this article before cleaning. Before cleaning the aquarium, browse the specific literature, or consult a pet store about how often you need to change the water in a freshwater aquarium. Aquarists’ opinions on this matter differ, so we advise you to find several points of view and choose the most suitable for you.

Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus). The platy is another excellent community species and, like the swordtail, they give birth to live young. These fish come in a wide range of colors and they are typically fairly hardy which makes them a good choice for beginners. Black Skirt Tetra (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi). These fish have silver bodies with black stripes and black tails – there is also a long-finned variety that is very stunning. Typically very peaceful by nature, these tetras do well in community tanks, especially when kept in schools of 6 or more. Betta Fish/Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens). If you are looking for a single fish to start out with, the betta is a good choice. These fish have long, flowing fins and exhibit a wide variety of colors and patterns. Keep in mind that males of the species will fight, so if you plan to keep bettas in a community tank be sure to select females. Discover even more details on fish pets advices.

As needed, it’s important to clean the glass both inside and outside of the tank. Every couple days, or as needed, you can use a magnetic scrubber or scraper to get algae off of the glass. If the algae is too hard, such as coralline algae on the front glass, you can use a razor blade or hand-held algae scraper to remove hard buildups from the glass. As for the outside of the glass, DO NOT use commercial glass cleaners as it can cause harm to the aquarium. It is best to start by using a damp towel to remove anything from the glass and then use a dry towel to clean off the water. This will keep your glass clean and your reef tank healthy. Over time, the lighting used for reef aquariums shifts in spectrum over time as the bulb declines, which leads to algae growth in your reef aquarium. If you replace all of the bulbs at the same time, assuming there are more than one bulb, you could stress the corals leading to bleaching or die off. How do we handle changing these light bulbs without causing damage? The key is to split the bulbs up and change them throughout the year.