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Create The Perfect Environment For Your Pet Reptile!
Keeping reptiles is unlike keeping other more traditional types of animals as pets, whilst you can interact and tame some lizards such as Bearded dragons, most reptiles cannot be trained or tamed like a dog for instance. Observing these fascinating creatures is one reason many people choose to keep reptiles as pets and creating the perfect environment in their vivarium is one aspect of the hobby many people spend many hours perfecting.
Choosing the Correct Decoration for your Vivarium
Before deciding on what to decorate your vivarium with, take some time to learn what the natural environment for your particular pet would be like, for instance a leopard gecko comes form harsh desert climates in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Northwest India so you would want to decorate your vivarium with sand and rocks, however if you had ‘tree dwelling’ Chameleon you would need branches, foliage and a suitable substrate.
Considerations for the Health of your Reptile
Most reptiles will become stressed if a suitable hide is not provided, for a desert animal this may be in the form of a rock cave, whilst bark or foliage may offer a forest dwelling animal a more suitable hiding spot.
Also take into consideration the natural climate of the reptile, a desert animal would not want to much moisture as this could lead to health problems, however you may need to provide a moist box for shedding and a suitable drinking vessel, some animals require a humid climate to keep them healthy and choosing the correct substrate such as bark or coco husk is essential’
Heating your Vivarium
Reptiles are ‘cold blooded’ and cannot generate their own body heat, choosing the correct heat source is vital to the health of your pet, most reptiles will require the vivarium to be cooler at one end of the enclosure so place your chosen heat source with this in mind. Spot lamps, ceramic heaters and heat mats are the most common heat sources, each one operates in a slightly different manner so investigate which is the best option for you, for example a heat mat will only heat up the area it comes in to contact with, such as the floor or bottom of the tank so would not be suitable for a ‘tree dwelling, animal. Does your pet require a basking area, if so a suitable basking spot lamp or ceramic heater will be required.
Lighting in your Vivarium
Choose the lighting for your pet carefully, many species require specialist UVA and UVB lighting, choose the lighting which provides the best as if not many reptiles as they require the correct lighting to provide their bodies with vitamin D3, you can supplement their diet with D3 but this is not adequate on its own
For nocturnal animals UV lighting will not normally be needed, however to view their activity at night you may want to add a suitable nightlight such as an infrared bulb which will also act as a heat source, they will also need to have daylight to maintain the day-night cycle.
Humidity – If your reptile is from a humid climate, you will need to add moisture to the enclosure, this can be in the form of a simple daily water spray, or you could set up a humidifier to electronically control the environment, the correct humidity levels must be maintained to keep your pet fit and well.
View more details about the vivarium’s and accessories available by visiting the vivarium section of our website.
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