Zookeeper Gabe’s Animal Thread Vol 9.0

[JBSchroeds]

The deep ocean may be terrifying, but the shallow ocean is cute.

 

[jefferz]

Yes and no, totally depends on the species and what you are trying to achieve with them. For instance we have black rat snakes at the zoo, the one on exhibit with rattlesnakes gets brumated from Nov-March and the one in education is up year round. The female (was a failed Ed animal because she kept biting ppl) had never laid eggs before But once we move her to the exhibit and started brumation she has laid eggs the past two years in a row. So it’s definitely necessary for the reproduction in some animals,

If you intend to put your animals into brumation, do you have to do anything special for them? For example, load them up on vitamin D and calcium?

 

[Zookeeper Gabe]

If you intend to put your animals into brumation, do you have to do anything special for them? For example, load them up on vitamin D and calcium?

That really depends on the species, but really
All we do is make sure they are in good body condition and don’t feed them for a few weeks to make sure they have cleared any food left in their system. You have to slowly drop temps also but that all depends on the individual species.

 

[the ambush]

 

[Mark McMichael]

That is no game Pit letting the coyote make him tuck tail and run like that!

Must have been the shame of wearing costumes like that.

 

[the ambush]

 

[The Clinch]

So far the technology isn’t quite there when it comes to UvB and LeDs, all of the testing I’ve seen is all over the place. Some of them lost all uvb within days and others degraded writhing a few months. It it’s getting closer though, zoomeds product is significantly better and I’m still not sure if I would use it.

Whenever I buy Zoomed bulbs for my Uro they blow out within a week for the most part. Every now and then I'd get a bulb that'd last longer than a month.

After finally switching over to ExoTerra I have significantly less early blow outs.

Do you have any recommendations on desert lighting/heating bulbs?

 

[Zookeeper Gabe]

Whenever I buy Zoomed bulbs for my Uro they blow out within a week for the most part. Every now and then I'd get a bulb that'd last longer than a month.

After finally switching over to ExoTerra I have significantly less early blow outs.

Do you have any recommendations on desert lighting/heating bulbs?

That’s incredibly quick to have blowouts, which type of bulbs are you taking specifically? How big is your enclosure, that way I can give you the best advice. All of the recent research that has come out is really pointing to a quality T5 tube light for uvb and a good spot halogen for visible light and heat. Arcadia has some of the best products out there, definitely pricey but great lights.
Edit: I love Uros, which species do you have?

 

[jefferz]

Whenever I buy Zoomed bulbs for my Uro they blow out within a week for the most part. Every now and then I'd get a bulb that'd last longer than a month.

After finally switching over to ExoTerra I have significantly less early blow outs.

Do you have any recommendations on desert lighting/heating bulbs?

How old is your fixture?

 

[The Clinch]

That’s incredibly quick to have blowouts, which type of bulbs are you taking specifically? How big is your enclosure, that way I can give you the best advice. All of the recent research that has come out is really pointing to a quality T5 tube light for uvb and a good spot halogen for visible light and heat. Arcadia has some of the best products out there, definitely pricey but great lights.
Edit: I love Uros, which species do you have?

Was ZooMed 100w/150w basking bulbs. 40 gallon terrarium.

Will look into Arcadia.

I've had this Saharan/geyri for a good 7-8 years. Walked into Petsmart for cat food and saw a lizard I'd never seen before. Almost wound up with a couple more as Petsmart employees obviously don't know what the hell they're doing and were feeding the Uros crickets and whatnot despite having caresheets nearby.. basically poisoning the lizards. One other (bright red) was adopted and another (big yellow one) was being discussed as being given to me as it was looking like shit. Dunno what happened to the yellow guy but that was the last Uro I saw there.

My gal is brown with random orange and yellow scales. Not the friendliest, but that's okay. Probably wild caught, which is unfortunate.

How old is your fixture?

Maybe 2 years now, as I replaced it trying to combat the bulb issue. Still had the bulb issue until I changed bulb brands.

 

[JBSchroeds]

 

[the ambush]

 

[jefferz]

 

[jefferz]

Ecotech Marine is getting into the reptile enclosure game with the brand Leap. Ecotech in the salt water world makes the best of the best equipment, it's usually more expensive but well worth the extra cost. They make all their equipment in Bethlehem, PA and from the way it sounds they will be making all the Leap products in the same building.

It looks like they're offering enclosures, misters & foggers, Daylight & UVB lighting, and bioactive substrate.

"There’s a lot of crossover in the broader world of animal husbandry so it should come as no surprise that the company which has been pushing the envelope of aquarium keeping is dipping its toes into the more terrestrial side of enclosures. Leap Habitats is a new company focusing on the care and husbandry of what we in the aquarium world like to call ‘dry tanks’ with a special focus on reptiles, amphibians, and other terrestrial critters which will greatly benefit from the Ecotech Marine approach to building life support systems.
We’ve born witness to a growing reptile research center at Ecotech Marine HQ which has been the testing ground for new products under the Leap Habitats banner which include automatic misters, foggers, LED lights, UV lamps, and their first big innovation being flat-packed small to medium sized terrestrial enclosures. We know we’re not the only reefers who keep houseplants and freshwater aquariums and very much enjoy the art and science of reptile keeping.
We might be even more inclined to entertain some herpetology when we see what kind of cross pollination reefers might enjoy (at least to see) between the aquarium and terrestrial world as there’s a lot we can learn from a wide cross section of disciplines regarding animal husbandry. The livestream launch for Leap Habitats is just warming as we write this but we expect to see some fresh ideas regarding reptile keeping and perhaps through that lens, down the road some spillover into how we look at our own reef tanks."
Reefbuilders

Their lighting fixtures are linkable

 

[Zookeeper Gabe]

Yeah, I’ve been following the development of these enclosures and I really hope they are as good as they seem. There have been a few attempts at products like this and most have fallen flat. So far, Insitu ecosystems has created the nicest products and I wish I had gotten in on the kickstarter.

 

[jefferz]

Yeah, I’ve been following the development of these enclosures and I really hope they are as good as they seem. There have been a few attempts at products like this and most have fallen flat. So far, Insitu ecosystems has created the nicest products and I wish I had gotten in on the kickstarter.

Is it the plastic side panels instead of glass/acrylic that usually doesn't work out or is there something else?

 

[Zookeeper Gabe]

Is it the plastic side panels instead of glass/acrylic that usually doesn't work out or is there something else?

Shitty electronics, some tried to be too smart with an app and nothing synced correctly

 

[jefferz]

Shitty electronics, some tried to be too smart with an app and nothing synced correctly

I'm assuming they'll eventually get to the "smart" products down the line. Leap has a leg up on the competition though, Ecotech has years of development on smart integration and app developement.

 

[hohner]

She came back, but didn't seem so confident this time.

 

[Zookeeper Gabe]

She’s gorgeous