Preventive Care for Reptiles:

Most of us have heard the term “preventive care” before and, most of the time, this conjures up images of routine bloodwork or blood pressure checks for ourselves or vaccination visits for our dogs and cats.  But have you ever considered what preventive care means for your scaly or leathery-skinned pets?  You may be thinking, “Vaccines for my (insert type of reptile friend here)?  Nah.”  And you’d be correct; we don’t have vaccinations for our reptilian companions.  However, there’s a LOT more to preventive care than shots.

Prevention of illness in reptiles is highly affected by our husbandry, or environmental care-taking, of them. In order for them to remain healthy, we need to provide them with a living environment that is as close to what they’d have in nature as we can artificially get.  It can be quite difficult to meet the lifestyle needs for your tropical Green Iguana or sub-Saharan Savannah Monitor in your Colorado living room!  But as daunting as it may seem, you have to try if you want your reptile to have a lengthy, comfortable life.  Individual species of reptiles, even those from the same continent or region, can have vastly differing environmental needs, so researching your species is vital.  Some quality sources of information include: anapsid.org and reptilesmagazine.com.  And don’t forget to consult with your veterinarian if you need some tips!

When designing your pet’s ideal environment for healthy living, the top categories to consider are: Caging, Temperature, Humidity, Diet, and UV lighting. 

Caging – The stress of having a limited or inappropriate cage can result not only in reduced immune system function, but also in behavioral problems such as self trauma and aggression.  Is your pet terrestrial (ground-dwelling) or arboreal (tree-dwelling)?  Do they live on dry land only or do they need a swimming area in their enclosure?  Do they need smooth plastic/glass sides (as snakes do to prevent abrasions on their snouts) or do they need mesh sides (as chameleons can have to ensure adequate air ventilation)? 

Temperature – Most reptiles need fairly high temperatures to keep their immune systems working well so they can fight off infections on their own.  It’s best to have a temperature gradient in the enclosure: cooler on one side, warmer on the other, with a hot basking spot for basking reptiles.  This way, the pet can choose his own comfort level.  The exact temperature ranges are going to depend on the species of reptile, so research what is ideal for your pet.  The best way to ensure that you are meeting the temperature needs is to have multiple thermometers in your enclosure: one on the cool side, one on the warm, and if possible one at the basking site.  Keep the thermometers at the level of the cage where your reptile spends its time.  A thermometer isn’t going to give you helpful information if it’s stuck to the glass at the top of the cage right by your heat source and you have a Leopard Gecko that is never more than a couple inches off the cage floor on its rock!  A word of warning: do not ever get a heating element that goes inside the cage for your reptile to lie on, like a “hot rock.”  We vets have seen numerous, severe burn injuries from these.  It will be much safer to use an outside-the-cage heating mat, bulb, or ceramic heat emitter.  

    

Humidity – This is probably one of the hardest needs to meet for our more tropical species here in arid Colorado.  Not having enough humidity can lead to dysecdysis, or abnormal shedding, which can result in skin infections, necrotic/dying tails, and loss of digits.  Having too much humidity for our desert species can also lead to skin and respiratory infections.  Know your species ideal humidity range and have a hygrometer to tell you what the humidity is in the enclosure.

Diet – One of the most common, serious illnesses that we see in reptiles is Metabolic Bone Disease.  This results from vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus imbalances and leads to brittle or soft bones, pain, fractures, loss of appetite, muscle tremors, and even death.  Be sure to research the appropriate food items for your reptile and whether or not they need additional supplements to meet their requirements.  Not any one supplement is going to be the correct one for all reptiles.  Is your pet an herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore?  Variety is also important, both to reduce stress and to meet the pet’s nutritional needs.  You can’t eat only bread as your lifetime food source, and your reptile can’t eat only crickets or only romaine lettuce. 

UV Lighting – Not all species of reptile need UV lighting, but many of them do.  Fluorescent-style bulbs tend to be better than regular-shaped bulbs because they get better distribution along the length of the cage.  UV rays dissipate the further away from the source the pet is, so they should ideally spend at least some of their time within 12 inches of the source.  Sunlight coming in through a window is not sufficient!  The window glass and cage siding filter out a large portion of the UV rays.  The ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 is a great combo UVA/UVB source.

Whew, I know, it’s a lot to consider!  But as a motivated pet owner, you can provide the best preventive care possible by doing your research and checking in with your vet to ensure a long, happy companionship for you and your reptile pal.