The Healthy Turtle

Over the past couple of years, turtles have gained a lot of popularity as pets. Turtles can make long lived, interesting and unique household pets. There are four species of turtles that are quite popular in this country as pets; mud turtles, sliders, painted turtles and box turtles. These types of turtles are much smaller than other species of turtles such as the Alligator snapper or the Red Eared snapper, and are much easier to feed and care for. However, there are a number of things you need to know and understand about your turtle so you are able to care for it properly and keep it healthy and content. Keep in mind, the care and feeding requirements will vary somewhat across the different species of turtles.
In general, the turtle will need a fairly large enclosure to live in; usually an aquarium of at least a 20 gallon capacity. If you are keeping more than one turtle or are keeping one of the larger species of turtles, you will need a considerably larger aquarium. Regardless, the aquarium must have a combination of dry and wet habitat to keep the turtle healthy. The turtle must have an area in which he or she can completely submerge in and swim. The turtle must also have a dry sandy area in which to sun, burrow and dig.
Turtles also need some secluded spots in the aquarium in which to hide. In all, the aquarium must consist of a pool of water, a sandy beach, rocks or sticks for the turtle to crawl out on and secluded areas for the turtle to hide in. Plants are not required, but many pet turtle owners put plants in the turtle's aquariums. When placing a plant in the aquarium, make sure you have researched and found out what plants can be poisonous to the specific type of turtle you have. The goal with the aquarium is to come as close as possible to re-creating the turtle's natural environment.
In the wild, turtles are omnivores, eating anything they can catch. Despite the fact that they eat almost anything, your pet turtle should not be fed with random table scraps. The turtle needs a balanced diet. Some pet turtle owners feed a combination of vegetables and live fish. This works, but can quickly become expensive. Most pet stores that sell turtles also sell food sticks that are specifically for turtle nutrition. These food sticks provide a balanced diet, but it is still a good idea to feed the turtle fish on occasion to provide exercise through hunting.
The turtle should be kept in a room with a relative humidity around 80% and a temperature range between 70F and 85F. Many turtle owners use a heat lamp to regulate the temperature in the aquarium. If the turtle gets too cold, he or she will burrow into the sand and hibernate.
These are just a few of the main tips to having a healthy turtle. Make sure to fully understand the specific requirements of the particular breed of pet turtle you have.

Breeding Your Turtles

Pet turtles have become the basis of a booming pet business in the United States and a few other countries. A growing number of people are interested in having a unique and interesting pet that they do not have to devote a lot of time to caring for.
Turtles are relatively easy to care for and feed, as long as you have one of the four smaller species that are commonly seen for sale in the pet stores. The four most common types of pet turtles are the box turtle, the painted turtle, the sliders and the mud turtles. These turtles are small, are easy to contain, do not eat a lot and seem to adapt well to captivity.
Some people have taken up breeding turtles as a hobby or on a commercial basis. Breeding your turtles is certainly possible and can be a great hobby or a potentially profitable business, but there are some things that you will need to know to be successful.
For the turtle to breed, the turtle must feel safe and comfortable. To achieve this, the environment should be as close the natural wild habitat as possible. One way to accomplish this is to set up your turtle's aquarium outdoors, to expose the turtle to the natural progression of the seasons. This will cause the turtle to need to hibernate in the cold months, depending on your location, and you should take steps to prepare your tank to allow the turtle ample opportunity to burrow and hibernate when necessary.
Turtles generally come out of hibernation in late spring, around the month of May, and this is when they are likely to breed. During the breeding process, it is a good idea to watch the turtles closely as they can become overly aggressive. It is also a good idea to remove smaller turtles from contact with larger ones during this time for their own safety, especially smaller males.
After mating, the female turtle will go through a period during which the eggs are being produces. This time is analogous to a human woman's pregnancy, during which she is very tired, moody and stressed. The female turtle's body is putting a lot of resources into forming her eggs and needs to be watched very closely during this time. Once the eggs are formed and ready, the female turtle will want a secluded quiet place to burrow and lay her eggs. She will usually lay about 5 eggs, but this can vary.
You will need to arrange rocks, plants, sticks to create a number of secluded places for the turtle to feel comfortable choosing from. The turtle will need to have access to moist soil, 7 to 10 inches deep in which to burrow and lay her eggs. Once the eggs are laid and buried, you will need to make sure that the soil around them stays moist. The eggs will hatch in about 90 days. The young turtles will need to be kept indoors, in an aquarium and will need to be watched closely to make sure that all are getting plenty of food and are not being bitten by stronger siblings.

Caring For Your Turtles

Having a pet turtle can be a rewarding and interesting experience. Turtles can make great and unique pets and some are quite long lived, living up to 50 years in some cases. A key to being able to enjoy your pet turtle is knowing how to care for your turtle properly.
There are a lot of different turtle species in the world today, but there are only four species that are popular as pets. Those include the mud turtle, the sliders, the box turtles, and the painted turtles. These types of turtles seem to do a bit better living in captivity than other turtles, and are easier to contain, care for and feed due to their size.
Caring for a pet turtle is mostly about making the turtle's environment in its aquarium as close to the turtle's natural environment as possible. Aquariums are really the best way to house a turtle. The aquarium should be at least 20 gallons in size. The aquarium will need to be filled with sand and will need to have an area with water in it that the turtle can swim and hunt in.
Turtles like to be able to hide, so there should be some rocks, plants and sticks in the aquarium to provide some shelter. When putting plants in the aquarium, be sure to find out what sort of plants can be harmful to the particular type of turtle you are getting.
Turtles are omnivores, but they should not be fed random scraps or spicy human foods. Many pet turtle owners will feed their turtles a combination of vegetables and live fish. In fact, it is possible to feed a turtle mostly raw vegetables and have the turtle thrive. However, the best care for your turtle is a well balanced diet, and that includes more than just vegetables. Many pet stores now carry special turtle food sticks. While the food stick provides all the balanced nutrition that the turtle needs, feeding the turtle live fish periodically will give the turtle some exercise.
Turtles need to be kept between 70F and 85F, so make sure the room you are placing the turtle in has the adequate temperature control. Turtles are used to natural light with a combination of shade and sun. If your are placing your turtle's aquarium in direct sunlight, make sure the turtle has adequate water to drink and plenty of water to swim and submerge in as well as secluded shaded hiding places.
The effect of bright summer sunlight coming through the aquarium's glass can make the entire aquarium too hot for the turtle without shade and water. Many pet turtle owners place a sunlamp above the aquarium to regulate the temperature and light if the aquarium is in a room that does not receive much sunlight or in the winter months when it is difficult to keep the aquarium in the appropriate temperature range. Some owners will place a heating pad underneath the turtle's aquarium in the cold months to provide extra heat.

Pacman Frog Care Guide

It may have been your favorite video game back in the 1980's, but this iconic video game inspired a unique nickname for the South American horned frog, Argentine horned frog or Ornate Horned Frog. While its real names may be a mouthful, the name Pacman Frog, is certainly easier to remember and actually helps to describe the frog. The Pacman Frog has an unusually large mouth and abdomen which make it look similar to the Pac-Man character in this popular video game.
The Pacman Frog's natural habitat is in the rain forests of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina where it spends it time eating and hiding under leaves. This frog is certainly known for it's appetite as it will try to eat anything that crosses its path. In the wild the Pacman Frog will eat large spiders, insects, small snakes, lizards and mice. It has sharp front teeth that allow it to devour it's prey, or provide a painful bite to a human. Sometimes said to be an aggressive frog, it may actually bite if it feels threatened, but it may bite simply because it thinks that a finger is actually it's next meal.
Unlike many frogs, the Pacman frog is not exactly the best swimmer and may enjoy just hanging around in shallow water, rather than swimming in deep water. The Pacman Frog has an incredible growth rate; From the time that it is born to the time that it is a fully formed adult is just 2 or 3 weeks and it will grow to 6 or 7 inches long within a few months!
If you choose to keep one as a pet, you will want to create a natural habitat for it. Keep only one Pacman frog in the enclosure, otherwise a larger frog may end up eating a smaller one. Try to setup a very damp, warm area, similar to its natural habitat. Avoid putting deep water anywhere in the enclosure as they may drown. They need to have water, but keep it shallow. Pacman Frogs love to hide under leaves in the wild and in captivity, you must provide a similar hiding spot for them. As for food, live crickets and small mice are best, but remember to purchase them at a pet store. Handle the Pacman Frog as little as possible as they do no enjoy being handled and it causes them to become stressed when handled.
Whether in the wild, or kept as a pet, a Pacman Frog is a beautiful and unique creature. With its large mouth and colorful skin, it is certainly a unique frog.

Pet Green Iguanas

The green iguana has over the last decade become a extremely popular pet in the United States. It may be the most popular reptile pet in the United States today. You see people with pet green iguanas on leashes and carrying them on their shoulder like a parrot. There is no doubt that people love owning such a unique and interesting pet like a pet green iguana!
But before you go out and get a iguana as a pet you should do your research to make sure you truly want it and that you are able to house and care for your pet lizard properly. There is much to consider and understand before owning a green iguana as a pet. You need to understand the proper diet and feeding of a iguana,its environment ,habitat and housing need. The temperature of the housing and humidity is of great importance. Learning how handle and hold your lizard,and all the different health aspects to owning a pet green iguana. Here is something a lot of people fail to consider before owning a green iguana,they can reach over six feet in length. So you have to consider do you have the space needed to house your new pet. I know you may have seen movies where a persons pet iguana is just roaming around the house or apartment this is not being realistic.
Do you really want your pet lizard going to the bathroom where it feels in your home?Also lizards are escape artist,they love to go roaming about and they may end up in your neighbors flower patch(they like eating flowers) or in their garden,or worse yet escape when it is cold out side and die. Green iguanas sometimes can be difficult to tame and at times aggressive. So knowing how to train your pet lizard and teaching it to get use to be handle is something you will also have to deal with when owning one. I am not trying to get not to own one ,in fact they can be great pets,but you do have to realize like any pet there is many care,health,and hosing concerns and training involved in owning a pet lizard.
Iguanas will grow very rapidly and reach adult hood in about two to three years. Healthy young iguanas can be feisty, they run and dart around quickly and often whip their tails when anyone attempts pick them up. Proper temperatures and humidity are extremely important for the health and well being of your pet Green Iguana. Iguanas require a basking temperature of about 95 degrees and the housing temperature of 80 to 85 degrees. this is just an outline and you will need to know and only covers the basics that you will nee to know when owning a green iguana pet,but if you are willing to learn and do what is needed to maintain your pet lizards health,they can be a really cool pet to own!

Common Iguana Diseases Revealed

As an owner, you can prevent most iguana diseases by providing a proper diet and environment. There are numerous health problems that can result if you fail to do so. Some of these include metabolic bone disease, blister disease, and mouth rot. This article will discuss some of these health conditions.
Metabolic Bone Disease
Metabolic bone disease is one of the most common diseases of captive iguanas. The owner is commonly to blame since it's usually caused by gross malnutrition. The most noticeable sign is when the lower jaw becomes swollen which may cause trouble eating. Other common signs include general lethargy and swollen tail and limbs. The condition needs to be reversed by feeding a proper diet.
Mouth Rot
Another condition caused by malnutrition is mouth rot. Malnutrition leaves iguanas in a weakened condition which makes them susceptible to a bacterial infection of the mouth. Symptoms of mouth rot include increased salivation, mouth swelling, and accumulation of pus within the mouth. Your lizard will need to take antibiotics, fluids, and vitamins to treat this problem.
Paralysis
One of the next common iguana diseases is paralysis of the rear legs or tail. This problem usually occurs because of vitamin B1 deficiency. However, some cases are caused by mineral deficiencies such as calcium. Your lizard will have to receive injections of B vitamins to remedy the situation.
Blister Disease
Blister disease is also relatively common. This condition occurs as the result of poor hygiene and sanitation. This leaves your iguana exposed to bacteria for prolonged periods of time. This causes blisters to develop on the body. If left untreated, the blisters will become severely infected. Blister disease needs to be treated with an aggressive course of antibiotics.

These are some of the most common iguana diseases. If you're a new owner, there are many things you need to learn about green iguana care. So, come on over to green-iguana-care.com to learn everything you need to know such as recognizing the signs of a sick iguana

Common Iguana Health Problems Revealed

Besides diseases, there are a number of health problems that can affect your iguana. They include egg binding, burns, and abrasions. This article will take a look at some of these common iguana health problems.
Egg Binding
Since only females produce eggs, egg binding only affects them. This life-threatening condition occurs when the female is unable to pass at least one of her eggs from her reproductive tract. Egg binding is usually the result of malformed eggs, malnutrition, or various diseases. An x-ray will have to be done in order to make a definitive diagnosis. A medical or surgical approached can be used to treat egg binding.
Bladder Stones
Bladder stones are also common iguana health problems. They occur when mineral in the urine aren't broken down and allowed to accumulate. This usually causes the iguana to strain while trying to urinate. If one of the stones gets too big, the abdomen may start to swell. Bladder stones can only be diagnosed with an x-ray. Your lizard will have to undergo surgery to have them removed.
Abrasions
Iguanas in captivity will continuously try to escape their enclosure. This means that they will frequently rub and bump their noses against the walls. After a while, this damage can lead to nose abrasions. Sometimes, this can cause permanent damage.
Burns
You must provide a source of lighting and heating for your iguana to remain healthy. However, heat lamps and light bulbs will readily burn your lizard if he's not too careful. Therefore, you will need to make sure you install a protective device on all light bulbs and heat lamps that you use in your iguana's enclosure.

These are some of the most common iguana health problems. If this is your first time owning one, there are many things you need to learn about iguana care
So, click here now to start learning all about things such as feeding iguanas