Ball Python Care

Housing
Ball pythons are not terribly active snakes, so a smaller enclosure is fine (10-20 gallon tank for younger snakes, 30 gallon tank for an adult). However, they are adept escape artists, so a securely fitted top is an absolutely necessary.

•Substrate: shredded bark, newsprint, Astroturf. Astroturf is probably the easiest - cut a few pieces to fit the cage, and simply replace the dirty pieces as necessary (the soiled pieces can be soaked in a solution of one gallon of water with 2 tablespoons of bleach, rinsed well, dried and then used again).
•Furnishings: provide sturdy branches and a dark hiding place (they like to feel securely enclosed, so it should be just large enough to accommodate the snake).
•Temperature: 80 - 85 F (27 - 29 C) during the day, with a basking spot of around 90 F (32 C). Night time temperatures can fall to around 75 F (23 -24 C) as long as an area of 80 F is maintained. An under the tank heating pad designed for reptiles works well for providing the cage heat, with an incandescent bulb or ceramic heating element used to provide the basking temperatures. Never use hot rocks, and the bulb or heat element should be placed or screened off to prevent contact with the snake or burns may result. Use multiple thermometers to monitor the temperatures in the cage (one at the bottom of the cage and one at the basking spot).
•Lighting: Ball Pythons are nocturnal, so have no special lighting requirements. However, they are nocturnal, so incandescent bulbs should not be used at night (to preserve the light/dark cycle the snake needs) - instead use red, blue or black bulbs.
•Water and Humidity: provide a dish large enough for the snake to soak in. Soaking is especially important during sheds. Some owners like to provide a covered dish (e.g. plastic storage container) with a hole in the lid, to provide security for the snake so it will soak longer if necessary. Another alternative is to provide a humidity retreat, which similarly uses a covered container with an access hole lined with damp sphagnum moss to provide the moisture (a water dish is still provided outside the retreat).
Feeding
Ball pythons can be fed exclusively mice or small to medium sized rats (as appropriate for the size of the snake), and only need to be fed every week or two. Young snakes should be fed fuzzy mice every 5-7 days, older snakes should be fed increasingly larger prey and can go a little longer (i.e. 10 - 14 days). Use pre-killed prey as live mice can injure a snake - dangling the prey in front of the snake with forceps usually gets the snake interested.

Moving the snake out of its cage into a separate enclosure for feeding is a good idea and will help in the taming process. The snake will associate eating with the other enclosure, and is less likely to confuse your hand for prey when you put your hand into the cage. This will make it easier to reach into the cage to get the ball python out for handling.

Even captive bred ball pythons sometimes refuse to eat, fasting for a couple of months. As long as body weight and condition are maintained, this is not problematic. If your snake stops eating, carefully examine the husbandry, handling, health, and environment of the snake to make sure stress isn't the culprit. Consult a knowledgeable vet or experienced keeper for help if the fast is prolonged or causing weight loss. If necessary, some tricks to entice a python to eat include dipping the prey in chicken broth, trying different colors of mice, exposing the brain of the prey before feeding it, feeding at night, covering the cage with towels after offering a mouse. You may even want to try feeding a hamster or gerbil, although this may make your snake more likely to refuse mice if it develops a preference for hamsters and gerbils.

Hey everyone, just me hre Cisko wishing you all a Happy New Year. Please remember, re-home your reptiles with care, and if you can, check out the place your going to leave them at. We are here for the love of these reptiles, and call us with any questions or concerns, or if you need to re-home your reptile.

pretty little leopard gecko.

Check out the close-up, of the leopard gecko that is up for adoption at ireptile rescue.

leopard gecko from ireptile rescue up for adoption.

This little leopard gecko, is up for adoption at ireptile rescue, if interested, in adopting this leopard gecko, write to ireptilerescue@gmail.com, and you can also visit my other site at http://mclovinscreaturesandrescue.blogspot.com

leopard gecko

This leopard gecko is up for adoption, anyone interested, e-mail me back here, this is a beautiful gecko, here at ireptile rescue.

leopard gecko

iReptile Rescue presents "Cindo", my leopard gecko.
He is a fun loving creature, one of my favorite from my collection, next post will be some info on leopard gecko's. Write comments if you have them, tell me what you would like iReptile Rescue to talk about next. I'm Cisko, the founder of iReptile Rescue, and I'm here to personally thank everyone, and to invite you to this new Reptile community, so join me, and us here at iReptile Rescue. Thank you.

leopard gecko

The leopard gecko, (Eublepharis macularius), has been captive-bred in the United States for more than 30 years and is one of the most commonly kept lizards today. These hardy saurians come in a variety of colors, patterns and sizes. This is a great species for the home. Imagine a lizard that can vocalize and wash an eye with its tongue with ease. There is a friendly dinosaur in this small package.
Availability
Captive-bred leopard geckos can be found in pet stores, at reptile shows and on the Internet. Many breeders have websites where you can learn about, select and purchase healthy leopards, which range in price from $20 to $3,000. There is a huge collector market worldwide for the rarer variations of leopard geckos.
Size
Hatchlings measure 3 to 4 inches long. Adult females are typically 7 to 8 inches, and males are 8 to 10 inches. Some males of the giant bloodlines reach nearly a foot.
Life Span
Leopard geckos are long-lived compared to some reptiles. On average you can expect your gecko to live six to 10 years, but many males live 10 to 20 years. At least one male is still breeding at 28 years of age in my colony.
Caging
A 10- to 20-gallon aquarium houses one or two leopard geckos from hatchling to adult size. Larger tanks tend to cause the geckos to stray away from their proper heat and hide box. Although visibility is reduced, many people use plastic storage boxes as housing. Any cage you choose should be at least 1 foot tall. Be sure to have a secure screen top on your gecko cage that will support a light fixture, provide good ventilation and keep out bothersome cats.A hide box filled with moist moss or vermiculite is needed, so your leopard gecko can shed its skin properly. This secure setting also is needed for egg laying if you plan on breeding geckos.Live or artificial plants can be added for a nice decorative touch.
Lighting and Temperature
The best way to heat your leopard gecko is by using an undertank heating pad or tape. These are available at any pet store or online. Heating one end of the cage is best. This allows for a temperature variation that your lizard needs. Heat rocks tend to become too hot for leopard geckos and should be avoided due to the risk of burns.For viewing, a simple low-wattage light can be placed overhead on the screen-cage top and left on 12 hours a day.Because leopard geckos are active at night (notice their vertical pupils), they do not need to bask under a special UVB light.Albino leopard geckos are light-sensitive for the first few months of their lives, but they do fine as a pet.The ideal temperature in the hide box is 86 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. The ambient air temperature of the room they are housed in should be above 73 degrees.
Substrate
Newspaper, pea gravel, artificial turf, flat stones or no floor covering are OK. A young or debilitated leopard gecko might consume sand or fine-particle products on the cage floor, and this could lead to intestinal impaction.Leopard geckos actually have a "bathroom" in one corner of their cages, and that area can be spot-cleaned without disrupting the entire system.Do not expose your gecko to commercial plant soils or sands that may contain fertilizer or pesticides.
Food
Live insects are a must for your gecko; they do not eat plants or veggies. The best items to use are mealworms or crickets, but you can treat your pet to waxworms or superworms once a week if you wish. We have used regular mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) without health issues for since 1978. Avoid feeding leopard geckos pinky mice.All insects must be first given a nutritious powdered diet for at least 12 hours before being fed to your leopard gecko. This process is called “gut loading,” and it is very important to the health of your pet. Chick or hog mash is available at all feed stores, and several good commercial diets are available for this purpose, as well. Simply place the insects in a tub of gut-load diet with a piece of potato to serve as a source of water.Dusting your insects is one way to deliver important vitamins and minerals to your leopard gecko. Insects and the dusting powder can be placed in a plastic bag or deep tin can, and shook gently to coat the insects’ bodies. When adding the dusted insects to the cage, be sure not to let the powder get into a gecko’s eyes.Another way to give the extra powdered supplements to your gecko is to keep a small jar lid filled with vitamin-mineral powder at all times. The gecko knows how much its body needs, and it will lick up the powder accordingly.Keepers can offer two appropriately sized insects for every inch of a leopard gecko’s total length. A meal every other day is fine. Therefore, a 4-inch-long gecko would receive eight mealworms three to four times a week
It is normal for leopard geckos to eat their shed skin.
Water
A shallow water dish with fresh water must be available at all times. It should also be stable, so it cannot be spilled. Cage substrate should be kept dry, so be careful about spillage. Make sure that young and adult leopard geckos can climb easily out of the dish you use. Vitamin drops should not be added to the water.
Handling and Temperament
In general, do not handle leopard geckos on a regular basis until they settle in and are more than 6 inches in total length. Once your gecko is large enough, it is best to sit on the floor, and let your gecko crawl through loose fingers and hand-over-hand for 10 to 15 minutes per day until they are accustomed to your touch. This taming process takes only five to seven days. Never grab or hold the gecko’s tail, or it might be dropped. Often the tail regenerates in less than 40 days.

Mexican Flame Knee Tarantula

Home / Other Pests / Spiders
Flame Knee Tarantula
Apart from characteristic red flame markings, it can be difficult to distinguish the Brachypelma auratum, or Mexican flame knee tarantula, from the Brachypelma smithi, or Mexican redknee tarantula. Commonly mistaken for one another, these arachnids have long been thought to be the same species. Both are black in color with accentuated, lighter edges and markings on the leg joints. Both also share a docile nature and a long lifespan.
However, while the redknee tarantula bears orange or yellow markings, the flame knee tarantula exhibits only red markings. These red markings take the shape of flames and are located at the right of the patella. Flame knee tarantulas also bear a white, horizontal stripe near these markings. Adult flame knee tarantulas may reach a leg span of six inches.
The flame knee tarantula is famous for its longevity, living up to 20 years. However, growth for the young is slow and maturation may take as long as five years to complete. As is true of a number of arachnid species, females are larger than males.
Flame knee tarantulas are rarely aggressive but will attack when provoked. They possess a painful bite, as well as urticating hairs. These arachnids consume cockroaches, grasshoppers and crickets. They may also prey upon small mice and other flame knee tarantulas.

Brazillian Rainbow Boa

When researching snakes, I have often read that the Brazilian rainbow boa makes a poor choice for a pet snake, due to their unruly temperament. Allow me to contradict that notion. I believe that the “BRB” can make a wonderful pet snake, as long as you know how to care for it properly.
Granted, the Brazilian rainbow boa is not as easy to care for as a corn snake, kingsnake or some of the other popular species found in the pet trade. But with a bit of research and preparation, you can provide a great home for a Brazilian rainbow boa. And with regular handling (like two or three times a month), they can become as “tame” as most other snake species common in the pet trade.

These snakes are not as hard to care for as some books and articles would lead you to believe. Humidity is more of a concern with the Brazilian rainbow boa than it is for other popular pet snake species, but even that’s manageable. I already explained how I keep a moisture box in my rainbow’s cage. That and the constant presence of a water bowl is generally all you need to meet the humidity needs of this species.
Here is some more information on Brazilian rainbow boa care and keeping:
Recommended cage size: At least four feet of cage length for adults. The 4′ x 2′ Vision cages are perfect for this species.
Temperature: I give my rainbow a temperature gradient of about 88 degrees on the warm side and upper 70s on the cool side. I run the heat constantly and let the natural cooling of my house provide nighttime cycle.
Feeding: I feed my Brazilian rainbow boa a medium to large rat every 10 days or so. He is a healthy size, but not overweight (yes, snakes can become obese just like humans can). He is always ready for his next meal when it comes, which is the way I like it. I offer rats that are about the same size as his mid-section, or slightly larger.
Humidity: Everything I have read suggests that Brazilian rainbow boas are susceptible to dehydration when maintained in the U.S. and other non-native areas. It only makes sense, these snakes are native to Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname — countries with fairly high humidity most of the year. Try to maintain one in a dry area like Arizona without adding humidity in some way, and the snake will eventually suffer. It’s an easy fix, though. Just keep a moisture box in the cage, a humidifier in the room, or a combination of the two.
Lighting: Not needed. These snakes are nocturnal and will hide for the better part of the day. My snake room has a window that allows for a natural light cycle. That’s all the light I need for the Brazilian rainbow boa. I do not have a light on his cage like I do with my diurnal snakes.
Water: Keep a bowl of clean, fresh water in your snake’s cage at all times. Clean the bowl thoroughly about once a week to prevent bacteria from building up. This is a good rule of thumb for any pet snake, actually.
Handling: I handle my Brazilian rainbow boa about every 10 days or so, whenever I clean his cage. In my opinion, anything more than that is excessive. These snakes become pretty docile with this kind of regular handling, but I still would not let a child hold my rainbow boa as I would a corn snake or gopher snake. In my experience, these snakes do best when they are handled by a calm individual. They can be jumpy when there’s a lot of movement, as when a child is handling them.

This is from iReptile Rescue, please be responsible with your reptile.

Sumatran Blood Python

Common name(s): Blood Pythons, Red blood python, Malaysian blood pythonLatin name: Python brongersmaiNative to: Peninsular (Western) Malaysia, Sumatra east of the central dividing range of mountains, Bangka Island and other islands in the Strait of Malacca, including the Lingga islands, Riau islands, and Pinang. Most blood pythons in US collection are from central Sumatra.Adult size: 5/7 feet
Life Span: Over 20 Years But Much More In Captivity
Eggs or young: average clutch 18-30 eggs.
Appearance: The Sumatra Blood Python gets its name from the blood red color that washes over its skin. They are also dusted in light yellows and oranges and have thick bodies, perfect for constricting.
A snake of medium length with huge girth relative to its length. The head is long and broad and distinctly wider than the neck. The anterior half of the body appears to us as pale with dark pattern, while the posterior appears as dark with pale pattern. There is a black postocular stripe and in some populations there are black lateral blotches on the sides. There is much variation of color in individuals and in populations. The dark elements of the pattern may be red, orange-red, oxblood, brown, tan or yellow. Blood pythons are without red coloration at hatching and appear as predominantly tan with black markings. Blood pythons attain their adult colors usually between to and three years of age. At three and four years of age the coloration of blood pythons is at its zenith.In the wild: The Sumatra Blood Python, in the wild, can be found in the vast rice fields and plains of Sumatra, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. They aren't rare animals and can be found frequently in the wild if you look in the right places. They are good hunters, feeding on mice and rats and rabbits and all number of small mammals in the rice fields and grasslands of Sumatra. However, the Pythons themselves are also hunted by people for their skin and meat.
What does it eat? Most pythons and boas are fed once a week. Be warned that they might be picky eaters; some of them will only eat with the lights out and some of them have to "hunt" their prey first, although it is best to feed them killed, frozen prey to avoid injury or parasite infection to your snake.
Ease of care: Average
Temperament:Sumatra Blood Pythons do have variable temperaments however; while some can be quite calm and docile, others are high-strung, nervous, and quick to bite. Cage set up: At all ages, blood pythons require a secure well-ventilated cage. A glass aquarium with a secure ventilated top (screen wire or perforated metal) can make a satisfactory cage for a young specimen. Plastic storage boxes, with numerous perforations for ventilation, also can be used to maintain blood pythons. Some of the commercially available PVC, polyethylene, ABS plastic or fiberglass cages probably best accommodate the large size and bulk of adult blood pythons. We initially place hatchlings in a small enclosure with about 40 square inches of floor space; we have found that often, if placed in too large an enclosure, a hatchling may be insecure and fail to feed. Once regular feeding begins, this species will quickly require a larger space, and should then be moved to cages with 180 - 300 square inches of floor space. By two years of age, most blood pythons will require a cage with 6 -12 square feet of floor space. One of the most common mistakes made in keeping this python is to not provide a suitably large cage for the adults.
Substrate: I keep mine on newspaper substrate
Personal Comments: An exciting and stunning snake, the Sumatra Blood Python is a breathtaking animal and a fascinating pet!
Sumatran Blood Pythons are large snakes – growing to an average of six feet long and topping off at around nine feet. Although they are not usually seen growing larger than seven feet, it is possible to obtain a larger size in captivity, so be warned. The Sumatra Blood Python is an awe-inspiring snake, one that will certainly capture the imaginations of you and your guests. If you aren't an experienced snake keeper, you may want to try an easier, more predictable species at first; the Sumatra Blood Python is a very large, and often aggressive snake that should only be kept by experienced hobbyists. You will want to raise this one from childhood. Capturing one or purchasing one that has lived in the wild is a bad idea, as the snakes may be excessively unhealthy or aggressive. If you get a baby, and raise it from birth, it'll be more likely to become handleable and get used to you than one taken from the wild.

African Fat Tail Gecko

This African Fat Tail Gecko, is the latest addition to iReptile Rescue, and thanks to all who support iReptile Rescue.

Tokay geckos are attractive physically and draw hobbyists to them based on sight alone. That’s unfortunate because the Tokay gecko’s attitude doesn’t match its good looks. If you think a nocturnal lizard that’s definitely not a hands-on pet is suitable, this is an otherwise hardy gecko to consider.
A very tall heavily-planted cage is in order for a tokay gecko because they walk walls easily and will fully utilize the vertical space. They like to cling to tree trunks, but also frequent the walls of human structures. They do this to catch insects that proliferate in the vicinity of man; cockroaches are among the prey items they are particularly fond of. For that reason, some people in southern Florida have released them on their homes to control pests. In captivity, they’ll also gobble up other large bugs, and many can be trained to accept pinkie mice.
Tokay geckos come from forests where rainfall is abundant. Spraying the entire cage with a fine jet of water several times per week is necessary to keep them from drying out and as a source of drinking water as it runs down leaves and branches. They like it warm too, so 65 degrees Fahrenheit is about as low as they should experience in a cage, and only overnight until it once again warms back up into at least the 70s.

Pinktoe tarantula

Interested in adopting this pinktoe tarantuls, call me at 619-971-6672. ireptile rescue has other reptiles to be re-homed, perfect for the holidays. I have leopard geckos, an african fat tail gecko, an iguana, a pastel red tail, and a baby mexican red knee tarantula.

African Fat Tail Gecko

This beautiful African Fat Tail Gecko is up for adoption. I can be reached at 619-971-6672

Pinktoe tarantula

This is the pinktoe tarantula that needs to be re-homed, if interested, call me at 619-971-6672.