Animal Stories - People Talking About Reptiles - Amphibians



Select Pet Atlas	Select A Family	Species / Breed

Latest Animal Stories on Reptiles - Amphibians (1984)

Sabrina - 2010-03-21
I just put my 10 year old leopard tortoise on sand and loam. She is getting all this sand in her food. How can I prevent this and is this the wrong kind of substrate. IF it is ok what percentage loam and what percentage sand should i use.

Click For Replies (3)

Doug Wolkow - 2010-04-29
You should never, never use sand or any substance for a tortoises bedding. Sand and small pieces of any foreign objects get bound in the tortoises digestive tract. This leads to a lot of unhealthy blockages for the specimen. I suggest using a pretreated wood mulch, Timothy Hay, or a solid dirt ground with a grass or straw bedding area. Do not ever use sand! You should also be putting calcium and vitamin powder on all your tortoises feedings.
Leslie Andress - 2011-05-05
I have always used rabbit pellets for the substrate for my leopard tort. He has never had a problem with it and if it gets on his food, he can eat it.
Gary Liska - 2012-01-30
Anything that can impact is something you should avoid, despite sand abundant in the wild - there are safe alteratives such as topsoil and dry rabbit beddings such as dry alfalfa and or hay. My tortoise came to me at only 65grams and now, 2 years later comes in at 5lbs. Digestion is a key focus for your tortoise - change your substrate to avoid impaction potential.

glenn lamb - 2012-03-31
I found a navy blue centapeid with yellow marks on it sides. Anybody ever heard or seen one. In Oakland C.A.

Andrea - 2011-11-22
I have a female fl. box turtle Named RoadKill :)) I finally today got her to eat salad pieces and lettuce (sorry if spelled wrong:) I had no clue how to take care of her or even what kind of turtle RoadKill was But I did A LOT of reseach and is a perfect owner of fl. Box turtles (but I'm more of a frog person :p)

luke angus miller - 2008-03-25
Wow, great care sheet.
I am buying a desert scorpion on the weekend and now I know what to do and wjat not to do, so thank you.

My friend bought the same type the other day and he was forcing it to eat 2 crickets by grabing them with tweasers and jabbing the cricket into the scorp. And he also kept the ground moist which is something the pet shop owner said to do, but he was actually wrong. He told my friend how to care for a rainforest scorp so thanks to your caresheet I no not to wet the sand because it could lead to death. Also the petshop owner didn't seem to know much about scorpions, so everyone reading this keep an eye out.

haylee - 2011-07-01
Hey I saw a orange centipede but it was a baby in our bathroom and we never saw a centipede in our house or anywhere before. It was all orange though. Can it be highly poisonous or poisonous at all???

Ryan - 2010-04-29
I don't have time or room to go into detail about the article and comments left here, so I will have to keep it brief. These can inflict a serious bite, but only as a defensive mechanism, they aren't aggressive. They are good for your environment, and should be left alone outside if possible. However, they are dangerous to small dogs, elderly, and children. If you find one and are worried about bites, but do not want to kill it, catch it and email me and I will pick it up, and send it to a breeder, scientist, or zoo. They are sold in lps for less than $20, you could maybe sell them for $7. I cannot pay for them though. This is done as a hobby and I lose money on cages, shipping material, feeders, and gas. So if you want to save their life, I will take them, but I will not pay. The high price mentioned below is generally only gotten overseas where you are required to have thousands of dollars in permits to ship them, so they are not worth $75! You can get more than $7 if you are well known in the right circles and regularly frequent the right websites, but it is hobby, education, and research for most of us, so don't expect to get much for them. You can email me for pick up @ Nomadinexile@hushmail.com

Click For Replies (1)

Ryan - 2010-05-10
There are a few color patterns worth a bit more. If you live around Medicine Lodge in Kansas, please contact me if you can find them, we can work something out. Also, I would be able to get a bit more for the red and black stripe form from Southeast corner of AZ, Northwest corner of NM. These are only found in the Peloncillo mountains and the Pedregosa mountains that I'm aware of. You can contact me for more information, but keep in mind, that you aren't going to get rich collecting centipedes!

justin martin - 2011-02-27
Hi, I just bought a desert hairy scorpion, this is my first one. I was wondering Ibought it in small case it was in with the same original sand. I just wanted to make sure what I need to keep it healthy. What kind of light or a black light a gentleman told me, should I change the sand often, how much water is needed, if I need a bigger tank and with the food I see it eating two creeks, but the other one that was alive he stung and left it alone do I take it out and throw it out? Thank you for the help. justinT

Click For Replies (1)

tom - 2011-05-05
You should never use blacklight all the time. An ultraviolet miney checker type light is good to occasionaly look at your scorpion, but it is proven, that it is detrimental to their health. You will need a 2/5 gallon aquarium type vivarium (aquariums tend to be longer than tall, floor space is the key to housing) they are a ground dwelling species, that burrows from time to time, so mix reptile sand with a small block of coir (coco fiber) or potting clay, to give it a sturdy burrowing substrate, that won't collapse. You don't need to change the sand often, just remove uneaten/dead crickets, locusts and roaches. At the end of the year, do a complete overhaul. Move your scorpion into a small tub, that it can't climb out of. Rinse the substrate and other things and put it all back in.
Also: feed him 2 crickets every week. Sometimes they go on hunger strike. Don't worry.

Moe Rosca - 2006-09-19
I had this spider for a month. the day i got it i tried to hold it and it bit me. i had to go to the hospital, it's bitten me 5 times at least. i sold it to a guy who killed it accidentally because it bit him, and he had an allergic reaction to its
venom and he almost died! so i held a chilean rose-haired tarantula and it never tried to bite me, it rocks. so i suggest the chilean rose-haired tarantula but what ever you do, never...EVER...EVER get an ornamental tree spider.

Anonymous - 2008-08-19
the indian ornimental spider should not eat the crickets with there shells on !

Click For Replies (1)

Mike Jabbs - 2012-02-09
So do you wait for crickets that are molting and offer those? That would be very inconvenient

Anonymous - 2009-05-04
I found a chicken turtle in my yard. I need to know what it eats. What do they eat in the wild?

Click For Replies (1)

Lisa Hefenbaccer - 2010-10-13
The Chicken turtles are omnivores. Their diet consists of crayfish, fish, fruits, insects, invertebrates, frogs, tadpoles and plants. For the first year they are born, Chicken Turtles are almost completely carnivores,but they sometimes eat plants.©

About Animal-World

Animal-World offers animal pictures, videos, and animal information on all different types of pets and animals. Included are animals that are commonly kept as pets, exotic pets and wild animals. Check us out for information, education, and fun. We strive to aid in responsible pet ownership and an understanding of the importance of preserving and honoring our world and its inhabitants. Animal-World members and contributors are from all over the world. You too are invited to be an active participant in this community. Post your own personal pet stories, contribute pictures of your pets, and join the forums for pet and animal discussions.

Visit Animal-World

Animal Stories - People Talking About Reptiles - Amphibians

About Animal-World