Reptiles and Amphibians!

Firefly Toxicosis: Beautiful, Easy to Catch, but Deadly to your Reptiles
During the summer months, when the temperatures approach the upper 80’s to 90’s; many people with exotic reptiles enjoy the idea of bringing their pets out for a good bask in the sun or catching them a live tasty insect treat. Basking is a great activity to share with your reptile and catching your own food seems like a cheap alternative, but there is a serious danger that all reptile owners need to be aware of.

While fireflies are abundant and fairly easy to catch they should not be given to your exotic reptile, as they are toxic and ingesting just one firefly can prove fatal to your pet. Fireflies contain a poisonous lucibufagin chemical which is used as a defense mechanism; this chemical is related to a cardio-toxin and affects the heart. Reptiles and some amphibians which are not indigenous to North America do not have the inherent avoidance of fireflies, and will try to eat them.

According to the press release from Cornell News, symptoms of firefly toxicosis will occur within thirty minutes of ingestion and include; darkening of the skin, shaking of the head, gaping (opening the mouth wide), difficulty breathing, and attempting to regurgitate. If left untreated by a qualified exotics veterinarian, firefly toxicosis will cause death within an hour.

To prevent your reptile from eating firefly’s the following precautions should be taken; never leave a reptile outdoors unattended, never feed a firefly to you reptile, and do not keep reptiles in open-top cages where firefly’s can get in.

Firefly toxicosis has been known to affect Bearded Dragons, Chameleons, tree frogs, and even bird species. If your exotic pet ingests a firefly, you should take it to a qualified exotics veterinarian as emergency supportive care must be given as soon as possible.

Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Epicrates cenchria)

These snakes are indigenous to the lush forests of Brazil and bordering countries
Although mostly terrestrial, they have been found in trees, and in captivity some will climb if given the opportunity
They typically have a red to maroon background color with black-bordered “crescents” which are often a bright orange
Rainbow boas get their common name as a result of the spectacular iridescence they display when viewed in good light
In addition to the Brazilian form, rainbow boas from Colombia, Argentina, and Guyana are sometimes offered for sale
Adult size can range from just over 4 feet to monstrous specimens measuring nearly 7 feet
As with all boas, rainbows are long lived, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live in excess of 25 years. Brazilian rainbow boas have been reported to live nearly half a century in captivity, although this would certainly be an exception rather than the norm
In the wild this snake feeds on a variety of warm-blooded vertebrates

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Brazillian Rainbow Boas, please. Another person put it in reply to your asking for suggestion post, but I didn't know if you saw that.

Anonymous

sure thing, I’ll put it up in a second. I did just happen to see it from them, but thank you. Thanks for the suggestion from the both of you.

Literally so glad I found your blog! I stumbled upon it completely by accident but I will definitely be following! I also am working hard to become a herpetologist! Good luck and I hope you make your dreams come true :D

open-the-cages

I’m glad you stumbled upon it too! Best of luck to you as well, I appreciate it greatly. Please let me know if their are any species or topics you would like me to post.

African Spur-Thigh or Sulcata Tortoise (Geochelone sulcata)

The African Spur-Thigh Tortoise, often called the Sulcata Tortoise is native to the Southern Sahara desert region
They can reach up to 3-4 feet in length and 240 pounds
Reptile experts claim that these tortoises will live up to 70 years but many cases have been reported of these tortoises living up to 150 years
This tortoise is uniformally brown to golden yellow color
They have well-defined spurs on their legs, which is where they get their name from
Growth rings will appear on each scute (shell section) on the carapace
A sulcata’s shell is thick, which may help it to retain fluid during dry periods
In the wild sulcata’s are grazers and need high fiber, low-protein foods
They make burrows in the ground where they can rest in safe comfort during the day, these burrows will have only one entry/exit (unless there is a cave-in inside the tunnel system)

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Could you post some spur-thighed or Russian tortoises, or another tortoise species of your preference?

cosmictuesdays

Sure thing, I will post it soon. Thanks for the suggestion

Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)

The tuatara is famous because it is the only survivor of an ancient group of reptiles that roamed the earth at the same time as dinosaurs
It hasn’t changed much in over 225 million years. The relatives of the tuatara died out about 60 million years ago which is why the tuatara is called a ‘living fossil’
This species survived in New Zealand for over 100 million years but rats and people drove them to extinction there
Today they live in well defended burrows on only 37 off-shore islands and mainland islands like the Karori Sanctuary
The total tuatara population on all these islands is estimated to be between 50,000 and 100,000
There are two species. (Sphenodon punctatus) is the Cook Strait tuatara which live on Stephen’s Island in the Marlborough Sounds and the Brother’s Island tuatara (Sphenodon guntheri). There are much fewer of the second species. They are slightly smaller than the other tuatara and lived ONLY in a patch of scrub on the top of tiny North Brother Island in the Marlborough Sounds.
The Northern tuatara, (Sphenodon punctatus punctatus), is a sub-species which live on offshore islands around the north of the North Island
Tuataras can live to be over 100 years old and grow very slowly (they only stop growing at 35 years old)
The color of tuatara ranges from olive green to brown to orange-red, and they can change color over their lifetime
They can hold their breath for an hour
They shed their skin once a year
This species is not actually defined as a lizard
Male tuataras are bigger than the female and have a more prominent crest of spines along its back. They both become sexually mature when they are 15 to 20 years old
A female will be ready to mate only once every two to five years
The male will sit outside her burrow and wait. If she is interested they will mate and 8 or 9 months later she will lay and bury 6 to10 eggs in a sunny place. 11 to16 months later the baby tuatara will hatch.
Like many reptiles which lay eggs in a nest; temperature decides which sex the eggs will become. The warmer the soil, the greater chance for males.
Scientists at Victoria University found that at 22° C, 80% of tuatara incubated would hatch into males, at 20° C, 80% were likely to be females and at 18° C, all the tuatara hatched were female.
If global warming continues all Tuatara eggs will be males and the entire beautiful species will go extinct

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