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Did you know that the best way to keep your reptiles happy, healthy and go with you for so long is frequently clean their cage? If you are keeping a leopard gecko, it is the good news that they do not require the daily cage maintenance like some other reptiles.

You should create the cleaning schedule and spend your time cleaning out the leopard gecko cage. The most difficult part of this work is the cleaning of substrate for leopard gecko.

The frequency of cleaning and replacing substrate will depend on the material of the substrate that you are using. In this post, we will discuss how to clean a leopard gecko substrate and cage.

How often do you need to clean the substrate?

In order to prevent the growth of bacterial, mold or any viral infections, it is better to do the cage maintenance daily if you have time.

Cleaning dirty spot where your geckos go for the toilet every day and remove any waste of food and poop that you can see.  The frequency of changing or cleaning substrate will depend on the material of substrate:

Paper towels

You need to replace paper towels for once or twice times per week, replacing the wet or dirty spots as it is get soiled. Should only placing about 1 or 2 layers of paper towels. Do not put too much or if the paper towels get pretty wet, it will become paper pulp

Paper towels are the best leopard gecko substrate for those who have a limited budget.

Newspapers

Similar to paper towels, newspapers also should be replaced once or twice per week. It is recommended to put 5-6 layers of newspapers in the cage for the substrate sturdy and good at absorbent.

Reptile Carpet

Beside daily remove wastes and poop, reptile carpet should be clean for 2-3 times per month. You also should replace it after 3-4 times washes or when the carpet fibers is loose. Washing the carpet with antibacterial soap and then hang it until it is dry.

Reptile carpet is thebedding for leopard geckos since it does not harm your pet.

Ceramic Tiles

Tiles floor needs to be cleaned once per month and removed the waste every day. Tiles should be washed with hot soapy water and steam cleaner.

Loose Substrate

If you are using a loose substrate, it is extremely easy to clean. Using a scoop to find and remove any poop or excess food and feeder. It is just a little amount of loose need to be replaced in each time of cleaning. However, you should replace the entire loose substrate for every 3-4 months.

Crested geckos are popular and ideal pets for people who do not have any experience of keeping a pet before. They have a lot of personalities and characteristics that will make you surprise. In this post, we synthesis some fun facts about crested gecko and maybe you will have more reason to keep your own crested gecko.

Do crested geckos have eyelids? Crested geckos look like they have eyelids but they are not. The fact that these things seem to their eyelids are simply small scales or ridges.  Therefore, they keep their eyes moist and clean by licking their eyeballs.

Do crested geckos have teeth? Yes, they are. But these teeth are very small and not sharp at all. Although crested gecko is quite docile and well behaved but in some cases, when crested geckos want to self-defense, they will bite. However, they cannot cause any real threat.

Crested geckos can jump very well. They are arboreal that meant they prefer to climbing and jumping on the tress. They spend most of their life to live between leaves. They are using their back and front legs when jumping. This is the reason why you should provide them a taller cage and some trees in their enclosure.

Do crested geckos shed? It is absolutely yes. Like other lizards, crested geckos shed their skin regularly. This process is essential for them to continue growing their cycle life. Crested geckos will shed their skin about once per month and it takes 15-20 minutes for doing this process. You should prepare the best reptile humidifiers to support them shed easier.

Crested geckos have small claws, which helps them stick to some surfaces when jumping and climbing. But these claws are not sharp at all. You should add some accessories to help them wear down their nails.

Crested geckos are crepuscular, which meant they tend to active at dawn and dusk. Crested geckos do all the activities such as eating, bathing, matching, playing when it is dawn and dusk. In contract, they would like to hide and rest in the trees during the daytime.

Hay always plays an important role in your chinchillas’ diet, and it is imperative that it is included. However, there is the problem that many chinchilla owners occasionally notice the quality of the hay differ between packs even when you get them from the same brand.

In order to avoid this, you should go with the reliable hay manufacturer. If you’re searching for the best chinchilla hay and you don’t know what is the brand you should believe in, we’re here to help. These following are some indicators of the good brands’ hay.

#1 The color of hay

The first thing you should know is that good brands’ hay is typically green in color. The color of hay will point out the quality and how nutritious the hay is. The hay that being cut and stored in the good condition is usually retains its greenness. If the hay is left in the rain after it is bled, it tent to lose the nutrients contents such as vitamins A, vitamin E, protein and carbohydrates.

There are some brand of hay provide the yellow hay packs. It may show that this hay was harvested too late or the rains made it lost its nutritional content. Moreover, the yellowness of hay could be the result of exploring to direct sunlight, what make it decreases carotene content and palatability.

The brown hay is also not the prime quality and does not contain lots of nutritious contents. The brownness of hay can be the indicator show that it may be baled when it wet. So that brown hay can contain fungus and bacteria.

#2 Preference

Some chinchilla owners prefer certain brands and stick with these brands their whole lives since they high quality and contains full of necessary nutrients that their chinchillas need. But sometimes, these brands are not what their chinchilla pets prefer to eat.

So that the best brand of hay should be what both you and your chinchilla like. Something that chinchilla enjoy eating and also contain all the nutrients it needs.

Also, remember that you should not frequently change and offer different brands of hay for your chinchilla in a short period of time. Changing new hay should be occurred gradually.

 #3 The most popular brands

There are some most popular brands today that you will easy find at any pet stores such as Oxbow, Kaytee, Small Pet, American Pet Diner, Kleenmama’s, Feldman’s Hay.

Many owners prefer to use Oxbow and we also recommend you to go with Oxbow grass hay. Oxbow is one of the most reputable manufacturers of foods and treat for chinchilla, as well as other types of rodents. They always deliver good products. They produce the hay options that do not contain any bad ingredients or contaminants.

Oxbow is seems to be higher quality than Kaytee hay since it contains less protein and is high in fiber, which is good to stimulate the digestive health of chinchillas.

If the Oxbow hay is no longer available, you can also go with the hay of Small Pet as the alternative option

In order to provide your ball pythons with the optimal environment and proper care, an enclosure is absolutely essential things. In this post, we are going to talk about the basic things that you need to consider when choosing and preparing your ball python’s home and you will look over our top 2 picks for best ball python enclosure: Carolina Custom Cages Terrarium Extra-Long vs REPTI ZOO Reptile Glass Terrarium.

We highly appreciate Carolina Cage since we do not find any dislike point about this cage. However, it is much more expensive than other ball python cages available out there.

#1 Cage sizing

At first, you have to choose the enclosure has a suitable size for your ball python. Generally speaking, an adult ball python (over 3 years old) needs an enclosure at least 36 x 18 x 18 inches, equivalent to a 30-40 gallons tank.

If you want your ball python to have large space for growing, then consider Caroline Extra-Long Terrarium since it is generously sized to accommodate adult pythons and even some decorations. It measures 48L x 18D x 18H inches. This size makes it perfect for a ground-dwelling ball python.

Repti Zoo glass terrarium measures 24L x 18D x 18H inches. It is slightly smaller at length than Caroline Extra-Long cage. This dimension is large enough to house an adult ball python.

#2 Design and Secure

The best enclosure for ball python should be convenient design and secure since snakes will always prefer to escape from the cage and explore the world outside. It should not contain any large holes, unsecured mesh lid, or easy to open sliding door.

Caroline is a sleek design and durably constructed from all glass with sliding front doors. The door features with the key lock security, which prevents your ball python from escaping.

Not only that, but this cage also allows modifications with holes for wiring. Caroline comes with 6,3 inches waterproof base that prevents the leaking and excessive humidity.

Repti zoo cage also features an all-glass construction with hinged doors. It is designed with a raised bottom glass panel, which allows you easy to place a heat pat or substrate heater.

The front door can open separately, allow you easy to feed and access inside. It features the waterproof bottom. Moreover, Repti zoo cage includes a reliable specially designed lock that will prevent unwanted opening from children or in case if your ball python trying to escape. This is an extra security method to keep the animals in the terrarium.

However, there is the drawback is that some users complained about the durability of Repti Zoo cage. The cracks can be appeared after a period of time using.

#3 Lid and ventilation

The lid of the terrarium should be solid, stable and also good ventilation. Ball Python needs some fresh air in its enclosure and the ventilation lid is a great solution for circulating the air and also good for regulated temperature and humidity inside the tank. It also needs fresh air to reduce the unpleasant smell from ball python bedding.

Carolina terrarium features the metal screen top, which will ensure the security and good air circulation.

Repti Zoo cage has a tough screen top to provide ventilation and allows for infrared and UVB penetration. It is also designed with window ventilation on left and right. But it does not have the ventilation on the front so the humidity levels will not be reduced.