New thoughts on reptile care

Attention reptile owners! It’s that time of year again – time to check your cage set up – now that the weather is getting cooler and drier. As winter approaches, you should check your tank temperature and humidity to ensure that you don’t need to add a heat source or increase your pet’s misting/soaking, particularly if you live in an area where there are radical temperature changes when winter begins. Having just returned from the Association of Reptile Veterinarians conference, Dr. Hess brought back a host of updated ideas about reptile care, including new thoughts on lighting, heating, and vitamin/mineral supplementation. In fact, she also brought back several brand new products to improve the health of many reptile species. Are you sure you are proving your reptile adequate calcium, vitamin D, and minerals? Is your pet getting adequate ultraviolet light to make enough essential vitamin D in their skin to absorb calium from their food? Even nocturnal species and carnivorous reptiles (who eat a great deal of calcium when they consume the bones of their prey) are now believed to benefit from ultraviolet light. And are you sure you are providing your pet with the proper wavelengths of ultraviolet light? If you haven’t reassessed your reptile care in a while, perhaps it’s time to take to another look. Call the Veterinary Center to find out more.