Having a 5 foot monitor hanging on my shoulder at the shows leads to my being asked this, at minimum, 20 times a day. After dealing with various lizards (small and large) and snakes, we have found that the key to keeping them tame is by avoiding feeding live food. Feeding your reptile a live, moving target triggers [...]
Continue reading about How do I keep my monitor lizard tame?
With Summer upon us, we feel there are some very important precautions our customers should be taking with their animals that they may or may not be aware of. We hope the following is helpful to you and if you have any further questions that you will take the time to e-mail us or comment.
When traveling [...]
There are many plants that could prove lethal to your turtle or tortoise so the following list consists of just a *few* of the more common ones:
Chrysanthemums (“mums”)
Daffodils
Euphorbia
Privet
Crocus
Cyclamen
Delphinium
Foxglove
Hydrangea
Jasmine
Lilly of the valley
Lobelia
Lupine
Mistletoe
Potato leaves
Rhubarb leaves
Rhododendron
Wisteria
Yew
It is imperative that you do not use any toxic garden chemicals such as weed killers, pesticides, mouse/rat/slug poison, etc.
Continue reading about What plants in my garden are poisonous to my box turtle or tortoise?
We always recommend Redfoot tortoises for beginners. They are very hardy and easy to take care of. Some other tortoises you might consider are Russian and Hermanns tortoises as they stay small (4-6″ and 8″ respectively).
During egg-laying season it is very important to be sure that your female tortoise/turtle is receiving adequate amounts of calcium to ensure proper egg formation. We do this by placing multiple cuttlebones in their feeding area. We do this every 2 weeks during egg-laying season and once a month in the off season. It is [...]
Continue reading about How can I be sure my female tortoise/box turtle is getting enough calcium?
People have long been told not to feed their reptiles iceberg lettuce because it does not contain enough of the essential nutrients necessary to keep your animal healthy and because it is “mostly water”. Both varieties of lettuce contain the same nutrients however romaine lettuce contains almost 3 times the amount found in iceberg. Iceberg can be fed to [...]
Continue reading about Why is iceberg lettuce not recommended for reptiles?
Turtles and tortoises shed their scutes as they grow. As long as what you are seeing underneath the shed is not discolored, this is perfectly normal. When the scutes are shedding, you should not peel the scute but rather let it fall off on its own as you could cause permanent damage to the shell.
Continue reading about Why is my turtle’s/tortoise’s shell peeling?
We welcome all types of questions regarding your reptiles and amphibians. If you have questions, please email us at info@martinsworldexotics.com and we can answer them via email and respond on our blog. Or, you could leave a comment on one of our blogs and we will get back to you as soon as possible!
When turtles and tortoises get ear infections, you will most commonly see a swelling on the side of their head. This is more commonly known as an abscess. Unlike infections in humans, when turtles and tortoises develop pus, it solidifies into a ball. This occurs because, although turtles/tortoises can absorb moisture through their skin, they cannot [...]
Continue reading about What does an ear infection in turtles or tortoises look like?
Baby tortoises are highly susceptible to dehydration. It is important to soak them at least 3x a week. Also, you may want to make sure that the water dish you have provided him/her with is in the corner of the cage. Tortoises have a tendency to walk around their dish constantly and never even know [...]
Continue reading about Why are my baby tortoises eyes closed?