Day to day
Work out how you'll store food or keep it alive, a cleaning routine you'll stick to, and a plan for holidays and power cuts.
In this chapter
Food you store or keep alive
Frozen rodents, live insects or a powdered diet
Every reptile on bask eats one of three ways, and each comes with something to live with in your home. What, how much and how often is in each species guide.
Rodent eaters: royal python, boa constrictor, corn snake, hognose
They eat frozen-thawed rodents, stored in your freezer. Decide whether everyone in the household is comfortable with that before you buy.
- Move the rodent from freezer to fridge the night before, in a sealed bag.
- On feeding day, bring it to room temperature, then warm it in the sealed bag in hot water until it is a little above body temperature.
- Offer it with feeding tongs, never fingers.
Never microwave prey: it heats unevenly and can burst. Feed in the enclosure rather than a separate tub, because moving a snake before and after a meal adds stress and raises the risk of it bringing the meal back up. Leave it undisturbed for 48 hours afterwards.
Live rodents are not illegal to feed in the UK, but the Animal Welfare Act's duty of care covers the prey animal as well, and a live rat can badly injure a snake that is not hungry. Frozen-thawed is safer for both.
Insect eaters: leopard gecko, bearded dragon, chameleon
They eat live insects, which you have to keep alive between feeds. Expect escapees, noise from crickets at night, and a weekly or fortnightly shopping trip. Insects need feeding themselves (gut-loading) for a day before they are offered, and most need dusting with calcium and vitamins, on a schedule given in each species guide. Adult bearded dragons also eat fresh greens every day, so add a vegetable shop to the list.
Prepared diet: crested gecko
It eats a complete powdered diet mixed with water, plus occasional insects. Of the three, this is the easiest to live with and the cheapest to run.
Cleaning routine
What to clean, and how often
| Interval | Task |
|---|---|
| Daily | Look at the animal. Spot-clean droppings and the substrate around them. Mist, for species that need it. |
| 2-3× weekly | Fresh water; wash and rinse the bowl. |
| Weekly | Check every temperature with the gun and the probes. Check humidity. Remove uneaten fresh food and escaped insects. |
| Monthly | Weigh the animal and write it down. Wipe glass, décor and hides. |
| 4-8 weeks | Full substrate change and disinfect, on a standard setup. Bioactive enclosures go far longer. |
| 12 months | Replace UVB tubes. Check each thermostat against the temperature gun. |
Use a reptile-safe disinfectant such as F10SC and rinse thoroughly. Bleach and household sprays leave residues and fumes that are hazardous in a closed enclosure.
Weighing is the most useful habit on this list. A digital kitchen scale and a written record catch illness weeks before it becomes visible.
Holidays and power cuts
Plan ahead for holidays and power cuts
Holidays
When you leave a reptile, the usual danger is a thermostat that sticks on or off with nobody there to notice, rather than hunger. That is why a sitter who checks temperatures matters more than how long the animal could go without food.
| Animal | Left alone, with water and working heat |
|---|---|
| Healthy adult snakes | Up to a week. Longer needs someone checking temperatures and water. |
| Leopard geckos, crested geckos, adult bearded dragons | A long weekend. Longer needs someone to feed and, for crested geckos, to mist. |
| Chameleons | Not at all. They need daily feeding and daily checks, even with an automatic mister. |
| Any juvenile, or any animal that is unwell | Needs a sitter. |
Leave your sitter the target temperatures, instructions for reading the thermometers, your vet's number, and one clear rule: if the numbers look wrong, they should call you rather than guess.
Power cuts
- Keep the enclosure closed, because every opening lets heat out.
- Insulate it with blankets or a duvet over the outside, leaving the vents clear.
- For a long cut, put hot water bottles wrapped in towels inside the enclosure, where the animal can move away from them. Small animals can go into an insulated box with a wrapped heat pack.
- Do not feed until temperatures have been back to normal for a day, because a cold reptile cannot digest.
- When power returns, check every thermostat, because some reset to default settings.