Category: Care Sheets

Red Eyed Crocodile skinks are an amazing species that occurs in Papua New Guinea, Admiralty Islands. They have become a very popular species since being imported into the country since the mid-1990’s. Their mini-dragon appearance and their bright red “eye-liner” are no doubt very appealing – add to this their slow movement making them a “tame” species too.   We have bred this species at Coast to Coast Exotics, it is a very easy species to keep and breed. In the wild they have lived on forest floors, in leaf litter and other debris, for tens of thousands of years. Unfortunately this is changing. As coconut plantations have spread into the Red Eyed Crocodile Skinks natural habitat, they are remarkably adaptable and are surviving now under the coconut husks. This…

The Smooth Sided toad (Rhaebo guttatus) is a large species of toad found Amazonian Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, as well as the Guyanas. Females are the biggest quoted as growing to around 25cm. It’s natural habit is tropical lowland forests, living in the leaf litter and debris on the forest floor. They have a relatively potent toxin that they release from the paratoid glands behind their eyes. Generally speaking this poses no threat to humans, but if ingested can cause health complications.   In captivity this species needs a large vivarium as they are relatively active and have been known to inflict wounds by bouncing against the side of enclosures. We suggest a vivarium of around a metre in length, and again to avoid injury a minimum…

Bearded dragons are now one of the most popular lizard pets in the world. They have a great character, relatively easy to manage and a great addition to many families – I say this due to the fact that they often become part of the family very much like a dog. This species really is that characterful, they could even be described as cheeky.   They originated from Australian deserts, and have been in the hobby for a couple of decades. In that time they have been selectively bred to produce many different colour morphs – some are startlingly different to the lizard seen in the wild. The topic of colour morphs is far outside the purpose of this small article, it’s fair to say this is now a hobby…

Painted Dragons are an Agama species occurring throughout many areas of the Eastern side of the Mediterranean. They are a fast moving, heat loving species of lizard which spends most of the daylight hours in the summer months basking in very temperatures. They are commonly found living around the vertical walls of old castles and similar buildings, drystone walls and cliff faces. They move so fast they are difficult to get close to, especially with the type of terrain they live.   In captivity the above factors must be taken into account and catered for. The will require a relatively large, tall vivarium of around (minimum) two to three feet tall and around four to six feet long. The high basking temperatures of around 34-36C can only be safely achieved in…

A large Colubrid snake, the False Water Cobra is not related to true Cobras. It does however exhibit a small hood when threatened, but does not rear up. It has been recorded as growing to around three metres in length, and although regarded as only mildly venomous caution should be exhibited, especially with a full-grown adult snake. The fangs are at the rear of the mouth, they need to bite and chew – a larger specimen has more chance of envenomation.   They originate from tropical rainforest areas of South America, and are found in wet humid areas such as marshes. For this reason, and the venom, this species is best suited to those with a little more experience. Providing a humid area in captive conditions can be tricky, get…

Red footed tortoises are a tropical species originating from northern regions of South America. For this reason they are very different in many ways to their cousins such as Spur-Thighed and Hermanns tortoises. In the wild they live in areas of high humidity, receive more dappled sunlight and UVB and feed on more fallen fruit (and even carrion) than Spur-Thighed or Hermanns. While all species of tortoises are not generally ideally kept outdoors permanently in the UK (especially without supplementary heating) this species is completely unsuitable – it has very specific requirements. As it is a larger species of tortoise it is for this reason we suggest a lot of thought is put into whether a potential keeper can provide what they need. Keeping a larger sized tortoise indoors can…