If you are thinking of keeping a tortoise or a frog or even a snake, you must be aware of proper steps of reptile care. Reptiles can be ideal pets as they are quite easy to keep and don’t require much attention. They also don’t require regular cleanings and you may even miss a day’s food servings. In fact, reptiles are not to be fed on a regular basis as they tend to get obese. Compared to pet mammals, reptiles are very quite in nature and hardly emit any body odor. To handle your pet reptile safely you are required to be familiar with its nature, behavioral characteristics and specific requirements. Even some reptiles require a space not more than a flower pot.
Reptiles are cold blooded animals and are unable to regulate their body temperature. They are also known as Herptiles and when in wild they go for hibernation or aestivation to stay away from extreme temperature changes. For reptile pet care you must make sure of not handing your pet with dry hands and also do not allow your pet to cool down.
Reptiles have been on this earth for the past 200 million years. Today we find just a few species left. The Chelonian, lizards, turtles, snakes the crocodiles, and the tuatara. The characteristics of reptiles differ with every species.
Reptiles are vertebrates that have a scaly skin and are cold blooded. Some of them are tetrapods, i.e. they have four legs. Although snakes do not have legs yet it is believed that their predecessors walked on all fours.
As the reptiles are heterothermal they depend on the environment to remain warm. No wonder they are found basking in the sunlight, lying around lazily on rocks on a sunny afternoon, to give their body that much needed warmth, as the scales on their body, absorb the suns heat. Some reptiles like the Blandingii turtles prefer to live in colder areas like the ice lakes, while some can survive in temperatures as high as 104 degree Fahrenheit. If they do not find the temperatures conducive, they prefer to hibernate.Usually the period ranging from September to April is the time to hibernate. After that follows the period of mating, wherein, they dig holes or construct underground tunnels to lay their eggs.
Do your re-search before picking your pet reptile .