Within the wide world of exotic animals, reptiles are the most fascinating because of their colors, forked tongues, vertical pupils and scales in some cases, and because they are cold-blooded animals. For all these reasons, in some cultures they have been related to evil and witchcraft and in others they are considered symbols of health and good luck.
Reptiles evolved from amphibians more than 200 million years ago and occupy all continents except Antarctica.
Most species are caudruped, but there are some that have lost their limbs, as is the case of snakes, and others have developed a shell for protection, such as turtles.
Nowadays, reptiles are more and more common pets and it is easy to find snakes, turtles, chameleons, iguanas, pogons, … so we strive to know their biology, handling, feeding and most frequent pathologies.
When keeping a reptile in captivity, it is up to the owner to make the animal as close to its natural habitat as possible, and to do so, he has to reproduce a little piece of jungle or desert in his house. In this way the reptile in captivity will be able to express its normal behavior without stress and for this we must pay special attention to several factors such as:
– The type of terrarium (vertical or longitudinal and its dimensions)
– The temperature: they are poikilotherms so their temperature depends on the environment and it is necessary to provide them with an optimal temperature which is usually between 28 – 30ºC
– Light: important to regulate the circadian rhythm (UVA and UVB)
– Water and humidity: favors molting, hydration, defecation and lowering the temperature.
– The substrate: very important in burrowing species such as the pogona.
– Feeding: there is a great variety with which we have omnivorous, carnivorous, insectivorous and herbivorous reptiles.
Some curiosities of these animals is that their dentition is renewed throughout their lives (although turtles do not have teeth but they do have a horny beak).
The sense of hearing is very important, being able to detect a wide range of frequencies and ground vibrations. Contrary to some beliefs, snakes are not deaf, as they are able to pick up vibrations from the ground and air through their body and inner ear.
Some reptiles are able to vocalize as is the case of turtles that emit loud groans during courtship or when copulating, geckos are able to emit barking-like sounds when stressed and as an alarm signal and baby crocodiles emit high-pitched sounds to call the mother.
There are many reptiles that have tail autonomy such as iguana-like lizards and some snakes that as a defensive strategy are able to detach the distal part of the tail in a way that allows them to escape from their predator, the owner or the veterinarian.
