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For some reason, I never considered that anacondas were non-venomous. Do you ever see private keepers with pet anacondas? Obviously they're huge and that's a problem (like with burmese and reticulated pythons but...more) , but are there any other reasons why anacondas are or are not good pets?

Pet anacondas pop up occasionally, but it's not just their massive size that makes them a difficult snake to care for! They're semi-aquatic snakes and really need a huge heated water feature big enough for them to swim and dive in, and considering this is a 15-foot snake, that's...a challenging task for private keepers.

A proper anaconda enclosure looks like this:

And that's just a level of care most private keepers simply will not be able to meet.

I've seen it done - one of my buddies from my local herpetological association is the head reptile keeper at a major zoo, and he has an entire basement dedicated to his pet anaconda (who is an absolute sweetheart, by the way) - but it's not something most non-professionals will be able to manage.

Anacondas are incredible snakes, but like most giant snakes, they're just not going to be ethical pets for most people.

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Enclosure by Macauley Sykes

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Submitted by @dreaming-of-spots:

I recently finished my leopard gecko's new tank and moved her in, and I'm incredibly proud of it. (She seems to be enjoying it too!) It's a 50 gallon front opening tank from National Geographic and it offers UVB in the form of an Arcadia bulb and hood. Substrate is a mix of organic soil, baked at 500F to sterilize it, washed play sand, excavator clay, and just a little bit of pea gravel.

Thank you for sharing :)

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Leopard gecko enclosure by Frank Bolles

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Corn snake enclosure by Zane Chimiak

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Corn Snake enclosure by Fen Druadìn

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A kind of anthropomorphism we don’t talk about

In a lot of online reptile communities, people are starting to get the idea that putting human emotions onto the actions and responses of reptiles is inaccurate and frequently dangerous. But that’s not the only way that willful misinterpretation of reptile behavior can lead to dangerous situations. Another kind of anthropomorphism we should be talking about more is anthropomorphism of agency.

Agency is the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. In the case of an animal, having agency means that they have the ability to make their own choices- where do they want to be, what do they want to eat, do they want to drink, etc. The ability to have this free choice is absolutely vital to the physical and mental well-being of any pet, but you have to remember that your animal is only going to be making these decisions based on what its wants and needs are- and as a pet owner, you are a caretaker. You have to intervene. Your pet is not a human. Your pet doesn’t always know what’s safe, because your pet is in a world that’s entirely alien to its evolution and way of being. It’s your job to help them interact with that world and to care for them, and sometimes that means interfering with what you perceive as their agentive desires. Case in point: This interaction, where a tegu apparently keeps getting into a bearded dragon’s vivarium. Assuming that this is true (and the human didn’t put the tegu in there for a photo op which is what I suspect actually happened here because the tegu looks uncomfortable), let’s dissect the scenario a bit.

“Ouzo always getting into Rocky Viv love the expression on Rocky face.”

Why is this happening? There are many reasons that Ouzo should not be in Rocky’s viv. (I have a feeling that Rocky shouldn’t be in his viv either, because it looks woefully inadequate for his needs, but that’s neither here nor there.) There’s a risk of cross contamination and there’s also a risk of, once Ouzo is larger, him deciding that Rocky is a snack. While Rocky seems pretty calm about the whole situation- he’s not puffing up or black bearding or anything like that, the tegu actually seems fairly stressed himself. Uncomfortable body language and tight eyes suggest that maybe Ouzo doesn’t actually want to be in Rocky’s viv. If he associates this area, these smells, and this other animal with unpleasant feelings of discomfort and stress, once he’s larger he might realize that he can deal with this stress by lashing out. This could be fatal to Rocky. There’s no reason that these two should interact- it’s not going to be enriching to either of them. 

But it would be enriching if they were humans. If they were humans, of course they’d want to visit each other. If they were conspecifics of a naturally social species, they’d want to visit each other. If the circumstances were different, this might be a right decision to make, but because the human didn’t consider the motivation behind why Ouzo might want to be in Rocky’s viv and assumed it was something they couldn’t or shouldn’t control, we have a situation that could turn volatile quickly- and we have an owner making an excuse for poor care. How many times have you heard someone justify their bad husbandry because “the animal likes it?” Animals can display marked preferences. A good pet owner is in tune with those- but also understands where these preferences come from. 

It’s clear that Ouzo should not be in Rocky’s viv. And it’s pretty easy to keep Ouzo out of Rocky’s viv. There’s three actors in this situation: Ouzo, Rocky, and the human. These animals didn’t put themselves in this position. The human did. The human made the choice to bring them into the home, to cage them how they are, and to allow these unwanted incursions to occur. The human is responsible for the actions of their animals- a pet owner has to allow freedom of movement within reason. Ouzo cannot teleport. Ouzo is only in that viv because the human let him be there. Let they who have the thumbs make the rules. 

also: rocky just looks like that, he’s not making a face, that’s just how his anatomy is

update: OP deleted after two people politely told them this was a shitty idea, further confirming my suspicions that the tegu was placed in the beardie viv for a photo opportunity. my point still stands, i think.

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Spent a while playing peek-a-boo with this unreasonably gorgeous peninsular rock agama (Psammophilus dorsalis) 🦎

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Hey, I was wondering if you knew if c,hicks were a usable feeding alternative for BPs? Mine has been fasting for a while, and since the store was out of r,ats when I needed them last I got some c,hicks and she ate one without any problem - of course they're a bit smaller and I'd feed a bit more frequently, but if she doesn't take r,ats again would it be a good substitute?

It is good for variety but I am unsure on the nutrients in them as a staple. I feel @wheremyscalesslither would know more on the nutrients :)

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This is the Burmese Roofed Turtle. There are perhaps six of them left in the wild. There’s over a thousand in zoos. This is a very, very good thing.

There are five known females and while nobody’s seen a male in a while… well, we know there’s at least one. Habitat loss and environmental degradation have made this handsome beastie functionally extinct in the wild- but we’re not going to lose them. In fact, there’s a captive population of over 1000, including the 63 that hatched from the 110 wild eggs collected along the Upper Chindwin River in Myanmar. 

These hatchlings would not have survived in the wild. There’s too much against them.

Had they managed to hatch, they would have been at risk from predation and resource depletion. They would have been hunted- for collectors, or for food. One of the last wild adults was seen in 2007 in a Chinese market, after all. It’s not safe for this turtle anymore in the wild- but thanks to a carefully managed breeding program and six assurance colonies/reservoir populations located at Yangon Zoo, Lawkanandar Wildlife Sanctuary, Limpha Field Station, Htamanthi Wildife Sanctuary, Mandalay Zoo, and Singapore Zoo, this turtle has a future. Perhaps one day, there will be habitat for the Burmese Roofed Turtle. Perhaps one day, the water will be cleaner, the land in less demand. 

But even if it’s not, we won’t lose this species. We’ll be able to tell its story and make it clear that once these beautiful turtles swam in the wild- and they don’t anymore, but maybe one day they will again. Stuff like this is why I get so frustrated with blanket anti-zoo rhetoric. There’s literally no other way to preserve species like this in the actual world that exists today. For some species, in situ conservation is only delaying the inevitable; setting up healthy assurance colonies in zoos where the genetic diversity can be preserved and the species can be propagated is the only way forward. Without these programs, the Burmese Roofed Tortoise would go the way of the baiji or the vaquita. If you’d like to know more about the Turtle Survival Alliance and their work with the world’s critically endangered turtle species, they post a lot of cool stuff on Facebook.

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art_spotlight

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Cohabitation isn't as evil as so many people(Americans from what I've mostly seen) make it out to be. That's how many keepers do it where I'm from and as long as you have spare enclosures to put animals in if they start squabbling it's very well worth it to try. Communal tanks are interesting to observe.

I’m going to assume you’re addressing the issue of cohabitating reptiles since with arachnids it’s a huge risk (in that case, cohabitation = communal up to the point where they aren’t). But I’ll try to discuss this with you.

I wouldn’t say it’s evil - more so it’s not recommended and frowned upon in most of the reptile community. There are sound reasons not to cohabitate, and the cons far outweigh the pros. I’ve seen some very nice zoos (e.g. San Diego Zoo) cohabitate same and/or different species of reptiles too, but just because they do it doesn’t mean it’s correct or safe. For example, I saw two green anacondas housed together along with two plumed basilisks. Doesn’t seem so safe for the little lizards, now does it?

If you don’t mind graphic pictures, I’d check out this leopard gecko care sheet (here), this thread on cagemate cannibalism in snakes (here, here, and here), and a study done with cottonmouth snakes (here, referenced here). Let’s also not forget the bearded dragon cannibalism picture either (here). This is what can go wrong, and it can happen quick enough you won’t be able to stop it even if you have good reflexes. Why would you put your animals at risk? It’d be similar to locking two roommates inside a confined area for long periods of time - they’d get pretty annoyed at each other eventually, and fights will happen.

If you have the spare enclosures in the first place, why wouldn’t you house the animals separately? Would you rather put your animals in harm’s way to prioritize seeing them “interact communally?” That’s a bit selfish.

In addition, diseases can be transmitted easily between cagemates - so instead of having to treat one snake for a RI, you’ll have to treat two or more because you’ll never be sure who’s healthy or not. It’s seriously similar to living in the dorms, if you look at it from the human perspective.

Also, how are you going to feed each cagemate equally, assuming they are not snakes (excluding insectivorous snakes)? With geckos, I mean you can tong feed them individually…but how long are you going to keep that up? There will be competition for food, and it’s going to be extremely difficult to prevent that.

Plus, you probably know that housing breeding pairs together long-term is very, very, very bad. Constant breeding exerts a massive toll on both parties, but the females’ health will take a huge toll. Vitamin deficiencies, drastic weight loss, increased food intake, etc…it’s like us getting constantly pregnant. Definitely not fun or healthy.

Lastly, many reptiles do not enjoy each other’s company. The majority of reptiles found in the pet trade are not social. You’ll notice me saying “pet trade” because there is some evidence that some rattlesnakes actually have some social ties, but that’s beside the point. The only communal reptile I can think of are mourning geckos, and that’s about it. If you see ball pythons in a “cuddle pile,” that’s not a sign of affection - that’s a sign of competition and dominance. The snake on top is literally squishing the one on the bottom, hindering it from getting the most out of its available resources…oh, and this can lead to cannibalism because of extreme stress.

Please do not argue that communal set ups are natural, ergo they can and should be done. Fighting, infestation with parasites, starving from lack of food, and death from predation are natural too. However, we are keeping our reptiles as PETS IN CAPTIVITY, which is already unnatural…so it’s a baseless argument. Since the reptiles have no say in whether they can be pets or not, it’s up to us to provide them with the best husbandry possible - even if it means putting their needs ahead of ours.

So to wrap it up - please do not cohabitate your reptiles (unless you have mourning geckos or other odd exceptions).

And for the record - I’m Chinese. Thanks.

NOTE: I adopted a trio of flying geckos (Pytochozoon kuhlii) recently from a friend - one male, two females. I separated them because it was very stressful and heartbreaking to nurse one emaciated female back from the brink, and I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone.

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Hi i was wondering if there are any genes on leopard geckos that should not be bred. For example with ball pythons we've got the spider/wobble gene. Anything on leopards?

Unfortunately there are a few leopard gecko morphs that either have issues or potential issues linked with specific morphs. 

Enigma 

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Enigma leopard geckos ALL have some degree of “Enigma Syndrome” which is a neurological disorder similar to the “wobble” in ball pythons. It causes a lot of balance and cognition issues. Enigma is a dominant morph as well, so if you breed an enigma to a normal half of the offspring will have the enigma gene. Most homozygous enigmas die before they hatch. It is very unfortunate, because it’s a cool looking morph, but because it is an autosomal dominant disorder (in other words you can not outcross an enigma enough so that it won’t be linked to the disorder) they should not be bred, again similar to spider ball pythons.

White and Yellow (WY)WY leopard geckos are somewhat similar in appearance to enigma leopard geckos and some have varying amounts of enigma syndrome (sometimes called WY disorder or WY syndrome). Careful breeding (mostly done by Geckoboa) has proven that the disorder is not linked to the WY gene. It is perfectly possible to have a clean line of WY or to outcross a disordered line of WY to unrelated geckos and “breed out” the disorder. If you are interested in a WY gecko be sure to ask the breeder if their breeding group shows any signs of ES or other neurological symptoms.

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The Phyllomedusa Bicolor (Giant Monkey Frog) covers itself in a skin secretion to avoid drying out in the sun.

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newly discovered dung beetle species Cheleion watanabei (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae)

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A gorgeous female northern green jumping spider | x

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John Scarborough of GeckoBoa Reptiles just posted the final pathology reports from the lemon frost geckos.  Discussion thread here.

tl;dr:

Lemon Frost Female (LF1) - Pictures 1-3 - Tumors were found in the lungs, limbs, skin, pancreas (granuloma, a different sort of tumor), and eyes in the lemon frost samples.  Most relevant passage: “While this female was in good body condition at time of euthanasia, with time growth of visceral metastes would affect normal physiology of the affected organs, resulting in decline and death”.

Lemon Frost Male (LFM1) - Pictures 4-5 - Tumors found in liver, lungs, kidneys (particularly important), skin, cloaca, trachea, muscles, and adipose tissue.   The kidney, liver, and lung clusters are particularly relevant in the second sample since they indicate metastatic cancer.  His condition was much more serious than the female (LF1).  He was 7 months old and had metastatic cancer cells in his fat, indicating consistent and fast spread. 

Scarborough also reports than 6 out of 8 of his lemon frost geckos are showing tumors now.

These findings confirm that the morph should not be supported or reproduced.