Children`s World - Pets (Terrarium)

GREEN IGUANA

Iguana iguana

Iguana is native to Central and North America and is found in various colors, depending on the site, but the basic and most common is green. During the 19th century, sailors began to bring them to Europe as exotic animals, and in the 20th century they were very often kept as pets.

Iguana is a herbivore and eats virtually all kinds of vegetables and fruits and cooked rice, corn and polenta. Only when they are young, ie. during first months after hatching, it' is advisable to feed them with worms or insects and boiled egg as a supplementary food from time to time. In addition, they should occasionally get calcium and vitamins for the reptiles. It can grow up to 1.5 meters in length, and reach up to 10 kg of weight. The difference between the sexes is in the size of the head and spines on their backs, with males being larger.

As a pet is not too demanding when it comes to food and care, but requires a lot of space, a terrarium should be 2 times longer and 3 times higher than its size. A pair of thick branches should be put inside the terrarium because it enjoys climb them for sunbathing. Sun should be replaced with special lamps that can emit UV rays which are important to it. Also terrarium should be heated because iguana enjoys the temperature between to 20 to 30 ° C, provided that the daytime and nighttime temperatures must differ by 10 degrees. We can adjust temperature for our pet by getting thermostatic heaters which are available at stores.

There should also be a water container in the terrarium for bathing because iguana likes to dip when it needs to change its skin.

When purchasing iguana, it is advisable to get a young animal because it adapts much easier to people and the environment, and can be trained to get on a hand, and to respond to the name we give it.

At last, it is a favorite pet for reptile lovers who have enough space and time to devote because for every moment of dedication it gets, it returns several times more with its behavior and joy when surrounded by human friends..

VEILED CHAMELEON

Chamaeleo calyptratus

Just like its name says, its homeland is western Yemen, as well as the southern part of Saudi Arabia. It lives in mountain area and feeds on insects.

During the 20th century it was adopted in Europe and has been successfully raised or kept as a pet for years. It grows quite large for a chameleon, so males are about 50 cm and females up to 35 cm in length. It has a casque on its head which is called a helmet, and wens on its legs. Both of them are used for determining gender of the pet. The male has a spur on its feet, and his helmet is larger compared to the female's one. Chameleons are very protective of their territory and it is not advisable to have more of them as pets, unless we raise them. In that case, they must not see each other because if they do, they will not feel well and will constantly be under stress.

Chameleon can be kept in the glass terrarium, but also in a metal cage with plasticized grids. Just like other reptiles, it is cold-blooded animal so we must provide it with heating, as well as with the light that radiates UVB rays which it needs in order to be able to synthesize vitamin D that it is important for its proper growth and development. It feeds on crickets, cockroaches, locusts, various kinds of worms, and when it gets larger we can feed it with the baby mice, so called "Pinkies". All the food we give to it should be sprinkled with supplements based on calcium at least twice a week because chameleon needs it for proper development. Unfortunately the food we provide it with must be live because chameleon catches the prey with its long sticky tongue with incredible speed. Chameleons take water from the dew drops and that can be provided by sprinkling the interior of the cage or terrarium. This can also be achieved with fogger for chameleon likes it especially when it needs to change skin because it makes its skin moist and easier to shed.

Chameleons move very slowly because by adjusting body color they blend with the environment, and with quick movements they would scare away their prey.

If we want to play around with them, it is not good to catch them so we should let them climb the hand on their own and walk over it.

MILK SNAKE

Lampropeltis triangulum

As the Latin name suggests, this beautiful snake is tricolor. Namely the main color is red, with rings of black and white, yellow or orange. It originates from North and Central America and is found in various habitats. It feeds on snakes, including venomous snakes, lizards, rodents, birds and eggs of birds or reptiles. With its colours it resembles a coral snake which is its prey.

During the 20th century it was brought to Europe, where it has become a common pet with fans of snakes because of its beautiful looks and peaceful nature.

In captivity it feeds on rodents and eggs. It grows up to 2 meters and is kept in a terrarium, from which it can be released sometimes, of course under the supervision as it could crawl and hide anywhere. Terrarium should be adjusted to the size of the snake, and the longest front side should be twice longer than its length. We must also put a heater and a special lamp that mimics the sun. The container with water is required for drinking and bathing. While small, the snake sheds every month, and later on it happen less frequent, but it grows all its life and can live for thirty years. With eggs and rodents occasionally it should be given vitamins and minerals adapted for snakes. They have poor eyesight, but they have a highly developed sense of smell, so they will remember and recognize their human friends by their smell. Occasionally they can be taken out and played with, but if the opportunity occurs, it would be good to put them in the sun because it is very important for their metabolism and shedding the skin. Once a year would it would be good to lower the temperature in the terrarium to allow them go into hibernation, but at the same time we must take into account when it ate, since it needs up to two weeks to digest food. At that point we should not lower the temperature in order to avoid leaving undigested food inside the snake because it could begin to rot in it.

Finally, it is a nice pet for the fans, but not for those who would just like to boast with it and after a while forget on it.

MUSK TURTLE

Sternotherus odoratus

The area in which this turtle lives is spread in several states in the USA and partly in Canada.

Swamp and quiet backwaters of rivers are its home in nature. It is mostly a carnivore and feeds on worms, snails, aquatic insects and small fish. As an adult it also eats water plants. It grows up to 15 cm and is one of the smaller turtles.

Since the end of the last century it is being imported to Europe as a substitute for red-eared slider since the latter had been identified as invasive and were banned for import and breeding in most EU countries. Musk turtle is not as colorful as red-eared slider, but it is smaller, has an interesting shell, it is less demanding and is much more resistant than other species. Since it is aquatic turtle, it is kept in aquatic terrarium which size for an adult should be 80 x 35 x 40 cm. It would be good to have a heater in aquatic terrarium in order to maintain a temperature at 25 ° C, filter for purifying water and lighting. The terrarium should contain bigger rocks and stumps that will allow the pet to get out in the sun and heat. Namely it is good to place the lighting lamp above the stone or stump in order to make that place warmer. When possible, it would be nice to put the turtle to sunbathe, making sure it does not take too long to avoid overheating.

We feed it with dried shrimps, small fish and a variety of insects. We can give it also live insects (crickets, mealworms, earthworms, aquatic snails and tubifex). It is also possible to buy to buy pelleted turtle food, though it is not recommended to keep giving it the same food.

It is not recommended to put two males in the same terrarium, but it is possible to put a couple of females with one male. The sexes differ by the size of their heads and the thickness and length of their tails. Males have every part bigger but are not bigger in total size, so females are slightly larger than males.

While young, when frightened, turtle emits the scent of musk, after which it was named.

Boris Cebović, breeder of small animals