REPTILES

A. – See our Reptile Heat Bulb Guide PDF.

A. – See our Cricket Care Guide PDF.

A. – See our Hermit Crab Care Guide PDF.

A. – See our Reptile Mite Treatment Guide PDF.

A. – Where do you buy your pet nowadays? The emergence of the internet and free classifieds may be a great place to look for a super deal, but when it comes to buying livestock and equipment from anonymous private sellers, the only person who generally wins is the seller. Generally someone selling a “used” pet in the classifieds is doing so because the novelty of owning that particular pet has worn off. So what are you buying? A neglected, sick, or old animal at the end of its lifespan? Or a newly hatched baby that the seller has no idea how to head-start and is trying to blow it out before it dies, or before they have to spend too much on its upkeep? Most anonymous sellers will tell you anything you want to hear to get rid of an animal and make a quick buck, but keep in mind, once the sale is done, your seller skips town – they’re ghosts! Where is the ownership and liability?

Buying from a reputable pet store is still your #1 bet for quality and peace of mind. We have the knowledge, the products and are available to you at any time. We value your business, so it our job to give you pertinent and accurate information, quality products and healthy livestock. We are more experienced with all products and new innovations in the marketplace and can dispel most of the myths and misinformation given by internet sites and basement breeders. At the very least we can help educate you to make a safe and wise choice elsewhere.

Pet store employees work at pet stores because it is something they are passionate about, and we look forward to seeing you frequently and helping you at every stage of your pets’ life. If there are problems, we can help troubleshoot and solve them. We can return and exchange items you are not completely satisfied with. We can take the ownership that Kijiji and other classifieds simply cannot touch.

Looking for a handleable and easy to care for pet reptile? A crested gecko (Rhacodactylus ciliatus) may just be the perfect place to start! Just over a decade ago this species was thought to be extinct, but a chance discovery after a tropical storm saw our little “eyelash geckos” put into captive breeding programs and lo and behold, they are now one of the most abundant captive bred species in the reptile hobby with many morphs and colour varieties to choose from!

“Buyer Beware”. One of the largest misconceptions about these beautiful creatures is that they only need to eat baby foods and they don’t require any lights. This is a huge marketing ploy to get an animal into a home that is queasy about live insects or spending more money on the proper set-up.

Now we will agree that the Crested Gecko is not as demanding with its diet and heating and lighting requirements, but it still originates from a tropical island where the weather is warm but not extreme. And as much as it likes rotting fruit and its sweet nectars, it will relish the opportunity for the protein of live insects. Six calcium dusted, appropriate sized crickets every 7 to 10 days in conjunction with a powdered mix diet such as Repashy Superfoods will keep your gecko healthy and robust.

Let’s put it simply with a question. Does the sun rise and set in the world of the Crested Gecko? Absolutely! Just because it’s nocturnal, doesn’t mean it doesn’t benefit from the splashes of sunshine it gets during the day while lazily resting in its thickety, arboreal retreat.

Keeping a pet reptile isn’t about “What can I get away with?” As a responsible pet owner it is your duty to provide your pet with the best possible quality of life. So give your gecko a day and night cycle using a low wattage fluorescent bulb which will provide a warmer area near the top of your tank, benefit your live tropical plants and provide the necessary UVB that “yes”, even benefits nocturnal animals. Besides, who wants to look at a dark, gloomy tank all day?

One of the most commonly kept reptile species in the world is the Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularius). Because of its small size, long lifespan, easy to handle nature and wide variety of colour variations this little gecko has become the “Koi” of the reptile hobby.

One of the most debated husbandry issues is whether or not to keep these little guys on sand. Let’s sum this up quickly and tell you that the answer is absolutely and unequivocally “YES!” And, that being said, let us tell you why.

Leopard Geckos originally reside in the hot, rocky, desert areas of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. In these areas you will not find leopard geckos living on paper towels, indoor/outdoor carpeting, ground walnut shells or bark chips.

The big debate in captivity being, “If I keep my gecko on sand, it will get impacted and eventually die!”

Now this statement depends totally on your geckos’ diet. In the wild leopard geckos (as well as many other reptiles) purposely swallow bits of sand or gravel – or even large stones in the case of saltwater crocodiles! These bits and pieces of earth help reptiles, with their primitive and specialized digestive systems to grind up and digest their meals. There is clear scientific evidence that sand and stones are eaten deliberately, and that the size of pieces eaten varies with body size. The sand provides grinding surfaces within the stomach that assist digestion and are called “gastroliths”. Much like pigeons and doves in your driveway picking up choice pieces of gravel.

The problem with impaction starts with the diet. It is well known that crickets (a leopard geckos’ staple diet in captivity) are high in phosphorus but low in calcium. It is up to the owner the feed the crickets a rich, varied diet and to “dust” the crickets in a calcium powder rich in vitamin D3. This balances out the diet. Owners that do not dust their crickets are depriving their geckos of essential nutrients. The geckos’ only recourse is to try to find these nutrients elsewhere. It therefore looks to the mineral content of the earth for nourishment. So the problem isn’t that the gecko eats sand, it’s that it is eating “too much” sand. And this is how gastrointestinal impactions are caused.

A customer should also be wary of the type of sand it puts in with its gecko. Under a microscope, an ideal sand substrate should be round, not too dusty and free of debris. Calcium sands were designed with leopard geckos in mind and are made of calcium carbonate and harmless food dyes for colour. These sands are safe and beneficial, but are not to be intended as a substitute for calcium and vitamin dusting. There are sands that could be trouble though! Any silica based sands, or black coloured reptile sand should be avoided! Silica sands and black sands look like glass shards under a microscope and can do horrors to a reptiles’ stomach and intestines almost as bad as ground walnut shells! Black sands are technically crushed volcanic rock or obsidian stones.

It is still an excellent idea to quarantine new animals or hatchlings for 30 days on newspaper or paper towel. But after this period, let’s make our pet feel at home! A well planned, naturalistic environment that mimics your pets’ ancestral abode will not only make for a stunning showpiece in your living space, but bring out all your geckos true nature and behaviour.