Reptile Care: An Owner's Overview
"Reptile" spans a huge range — lizards, snakes, turtles, and tortoises — but a handful of principles protect almost all of them, and a few mistakes cause most of the trouble.
Heat, Light, and the POTZ
Reptiles are ectothermic: they rely on their environment to hit their preferred optimal temperature zone (POTZ). Get the temperature gradient wrong and digestion, immunity, and appetite all suffer. Most diurnal lizards and turtles need UVB light (290–300 nm) for vitamin D3 synthesis and calcium regulation; unfiltered sunlight is best, and artificial bulbs are a distant second. Nocturnal species (many snakes, geckos) tolerate lower light but still benefit from a proper day cycle.
The Big One: Metabolic Bone Disease
Secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism — soft, folded, or fractured bones — is the most common reptile bone disease, and it is a disease of mismanagement: a diet low in calcium relative to phosphorus, vitamin D3 deficiency, and no UVB. It is preventable. Aquatic turtles and insect-eating lizards are also prone to hypovitaminosis A when fed diets lacking preformed vitamin A (and beta-carotene does not substitute for many reptiles).
Shedding and Skin
Incomplete sheds (dysecdysis) trace back to low humidity or poor health. Many arid species (leopard geckos, tortoises) still need a humid microclimate to shed cleanly. Snakes normally shed in one piece, spectacles included.
Hazards
- Impaction — radiolucent foreign bodies plus overheating cause gut obstruction; avoid loose substrates that get ingested and never bake a sick reptile.
- Scale rot — unsanitary, wet substrate leads to skin infection.
- Trauma — carapace fractures in turtles (repairable with external fixation) and cage-mate injuries in grouped animals. Quarantine new arrivals for 3–6 months.
Species Notes
- Iguanas are arboreal, UVB-dependent, and best kept one species per enclosure.
- Corn snakes and ball pythons are generally solitary and docile; house non-breeders singly.
- Box turtles may need a license where they are endemic and need calcium-fortified food; African spurred tortoises need a calcium-fortified fibrous plant diet and large (often outdoor) enclosures.
- Chameleons are so territorial they must be isolated to survive long term.
Note: many reptiles are restricted under wildlife laws (e.g., the US Lacey Act lists injurious reptile species), so check local rules before acquiring.