Two of the basic requirements in creating a home for your reptilian pal are heat and a reptile-friendly container. Aquariums, custom cages, and boxes of the home-built type are all good places for your green friend to call home. The easiest (and cheapest) lining for the cages of many reptiles is newspaper-it's easy to change and easy to tell when it's wet. Turtles need a more humid lining, such as soil mixed with peat moss. Geckos will like smooth aquarium stones in the bottom of the cage. Snakes will appreciate rocks to facilitate shedding, and iguanas and snakes both will like a hardwood driftwood branch for climbing. All linings should be changed regularly, with feces removed often.

"Hide boxes" (which function exactly as their name implies) provide a secure, out-of-sight place for rest and relaxation in your reptile's home. A hide box should be a shallow plastic container with a hole cut in the side and filled with one to two inches (depending on your friend's size) of damp vermiculite or moss. Hide boxes can double as nesting areas for some species-your veterinarian can tell you whether you'll need one for yours.

The second component of building your pet's personal universe is to create a sun-of sorts. Reptiles depend on the air temperature to maintain their body heat. Room temperature is too cold for most reptiles, so you'll need to warm the cage environment as well as provide hot spots for basking.

But regulating the temperature of your reptilian companion's environment means walking a fine line in determining their needs. If given the chance, reptiles will actually burn themselves when on, under, or around a direct heat source. Keep heat sources out of the cage if possible, and never place a cage or aquarium in direct sunlight without shade.

Denizens of desert, tropic, and temperate environments alike need water, and plenty of it, to survive. In addition to drinking it, some need to periodically soak to keep their scaly bodies sufficiently moist. Ensure that your reptile's personal swimming area is shallow enough that he won't drown and that it is kept clean from food residue. The cage itself should have a relative humidity of 50 percent for desert species, 60-75 percent for temperate species, and 80-90 percent for tropical species.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!