Where do most reptile diseases in the UK start from?
o Poor/Incorrect nutrition
o Poor husbandry - Environmental stress reduces immune system function, and predisposes to infections, reptiles are especially prone to respiratory infection
Reptile taxonomy
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Reptilia
- Orders, there are 4 but we are only interested in 2
a) Squamata - lizards and snakes
b) Chelonia - Shell creatures, turtles and tortoise
c) (Crocodilia)
d) (Rhynocephalia)
Talk about crocodilia
• Crocodiles, alligators, caiman, gharial, false gharial
• You can keep them as pets, and it is done in the UK but
o You need a wild/dangerous animal licence
Talk about Rhyncocephalia
• Unlikely to see in practice however successful captive breeding at Chester Zoo
• Pronounced ‘third eye’
o Photoreceptive but not visual
o Thought to be involved in circadian and seasonal cycles
Talk about squamata
- By far the largest order – about 6,000 species
- Contains
o Suborder Suaria/lacertilia – Lizards (~19 families)
o Suborder Serpentes – Snakes (~11 families)
o (Suborder Amphisbaena – Worm lizards (1 family))
Talk about Chelona.
What are the differences?
Contains o The tortoises o The terrapins o The turtles • Differences? • Tortoises - Land dwelling • Terrapins - Land/water • Turtles - Mainly water (lay on land), rarely kept as pets
Snakes Order Sub order Number of species Which families are you most likely to see in practise and why?
- Order: Squamata
- Suborder: Serpentes
- Around 3000 species
- Four families: most likely to see top 2 in pet situations as bottom 2 are dangerous
a) Colubridae
b) Boidae
c) Viperidae
d) Elapidae
Examples of snakes in each family
a) Colubridae
b) Boidae
c) Viperidae
d) Elapidae
a) Colubridae – corn snake, rat snake, king snake, garter snake. Commonly kept, popular children pet.
b) Boidae – boa constrictor, royal python, anaconda. Commonly kept. Powerful constrictors
c) Viperidae – rattlesnake, pit viper, puff adder. Most advanced, one carotid, one lung, hinged maxilla for jaw movement. Oviparous or viviparous
d) Elapidae – mamba, cobra, taipan, sea snake.
One lung and carotid, small heads, front fangs
Mainly oviparous
Family, lifespan and length of corn and king snakes
Family - COLUBRIDAE
• Corn Snakes (Elphae guttata) make good childrens pets
o Lifespan 10-20 yrs
o Length up to 150cm (females often bigger than males)
• King Snakes (Lampropeltis spp.)
o Lifespan 15-25 yrs
o Length up to 180cm
Family of Pythons and Boas. Talk about types of python and the 2 most common boase
Family = BOIDAE PYthons: 1. Ball python - 1-1.5 m. Lots of diff colours 2. Burmese - v common, attractive marbelling 3. Reticulated - greater than 6m) BOAS 2 most common seen in practise: o Constrictor ~2 m (7-8ft) o Rosy ~ 0.9m (3ft)
Lizard Order and sub order
• Order – Squamata
o Sub-order suaria/lacertilia
Commonly kept lizards
o Geckos E.g. leopard o Bearded dragons, Popular children pet o Iguana, Entirely herbivorous, Can be aggressive o Chameleons, Quite easily upset o Skinks o Chinese water dragon
Chelona
- Tortoises
a) Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise (horny protrusion on thigh)
b) Horsfields Tortoise
c) Hermanns
d) Marginated - Terrapins
a) Teenage mutant ninja turtles - Turtles
a) Rarely kept as need large body of water
What to avoid in a reptile housing environment
- Things that can be ingested e.g. gravel and stones as these cause blockages
- Rotting food material
What sort of heat regulators are reptiles?
- ECTOTHERMS - regulate body temp using behavioural means
- Bask in sun to gain
- Hide in shade to lose
What is the preferred optimum temp zone and Preferred body temperature?
- Preferred optimum temp zone - Range of temperatures that that reptile requires to be able to thermoregulate (lowest and highest needs to maintain ability to thermoregulate)
- Preferred body temperature
- Optimum temperature for correct functioning of all body systems
What temperature management do you need in place for reptiles?
- Provide different heat sources to achieve POTZ
- Primary heat source should be at the low end of POTS to provide ambient/ background heat
- Secondary heat source which should be a higher temp than primary
About primary heat source
o Low end of POTZ – provides background/ambient heat
o Should NOT be a light source as needs to be on all the time
o Need to consider correct period of daylight/darkness
o Options: although at low temperature shouldn’t be directly accessible to animal to avoid burns
- Heat mats
- Heat tape
- Incandescent bulbs
- Ceramic lamps
About secondary heat source
- much higher temp
o Gives higher temp heat source in specific areas
o Should not exceed high end of POTZ
o Generally 50-75W bulb will suffice
o NEVER allow direct contact with this source – BURNS
Meshed off so can’t get to it
Important things for temperature monitoring
- Ambient temp should not exceed PBT
- Heat source should not exceed top POTZ
- Min and max thermometers essential
- Monitor on daily basis
Humidity:
- broadly talk about species dependence
- What used to measure it
- When to provide higher humidity?
- Lower for desert species – leopard geckos – 20-30%
- Most species tolerate 50-70%
- Higher for rainforest species – 70-80%
- Hygrometer
- higher for ECDYSIS (skin shedding). and spray daily to help shedding
What will happen if too humid or not enough
too - skin issues
not - shedding issues
Lighting facts
- Timers essential
- Most species tolerate 12-14 hours of light a day
- Quality of light important: need 2 types
- UVA – 320-400nm
- UVB – 290-320nm – most important in pet species
Talk about the different types of lighting needed for reptiles?
- UVA – 320-400nm
- Stimulates reproductive behaviour in lizards
- UVB – 290-320nm – most important in pet species
o Required for conversion of Vit D3 in skin
o Important for calcium metabolism
o 6-12 inches from animal to get right amount of light onto skin for these processes
o Replace regularly (efficacy declines over time) – every 6 months best, can be every year
