General Rules for Apartment Living & Reptile Care
Here we explore the areas of what this site is all about; living in a smaller space with reptiles.
Generalities
There are many aspects to reptile and invertebrate keeping. Many opinions differ on what is appropriate to some degree. Then, there are generalities which typically everyone understands & holds as a truth. Below are listing of these generalities. I want your experience here to be nothing but enjoyable. So the following are general accepted practices that I will explain here & from time to time make reference to within the feature care articles appearing later. I will have a link to this page when I use terms that are to be found here.
General rule 1) Any water used with any pet should be deionized water. The reason for this is it’s healthier for your pet not to mention that it will not leave deposits on the walls of an enclosure. Later when I talk about water in any article it should be known that I am speaking of deionized water.
General rule 2) All pets should be given fresh water daily. Under no circumstances is this to be ignored especially when speaking of amphibians. Fouled water is toxic to your pet.
General rule 3) All snakes should be fed in a different container from the one that they are housed in. Not doing so could lead to a bite from the snake due to its association with the enclosure opening that it is being fed.
General rule 4) After handling rodents make sure to wash your hands prior to handling any reptile. The reptile may make the mistake of scent and heat of your skin as being a meal.
General rule 5) Before handling any amphibian for any amount of time make sure to moisten hands with deionized water.
General rule 6) Amphibians are NOT a handling pet leave them alone they are hands off unless absolutely necessary.
General rule 7) Any reptile that is a diurnal or out foraging during the day will derive some benefit from UVB exposure from either fluorescent or natural sunlight. This rule generally applies to lizards, turtles, and tortoises.
General rule 8) All insectivores and herbivores must be given a vitamin and calcium supplemented diet.
General rule 9) Wash and sanitize any area where accessories used for reptiles have come into contact with human shared places to prevent possible salmonella or other zoonoses.
General Rule 10) Never own anything over 6 feet in length.