Reptile Impaction
June 6th 2008 15:04
One of the most serious reptile health concern is probably the easiest one to prevent. There are so many people that have pet reptiles and think that they're doing the best they can to care for them, but they're housing the reptile on sand or some other loose substrate. I mean, yes, there are some reptiles that need to be housed on sand, such as the U. milli, but the majority of the reptile population isn't caring for knob tail geckos. They're caring for leopard geckos, bearded dragons, and other simple to care for and docile pet reptiles.
So, here's how it happens... Mom and child go to the pet store to purcahse a pet reptile. They have no clue what they want, much less how to care for it. They get there and the pet store employee says, you should get a leopard gecko because they're small and easy to care for. They agree. The trio starts shopping....
The worse product that is more than likely going to be purchased on that trip is calcium based sand or even playsand, but more than likely calci-sand. The employee is going to state, it's the best product to house reptiles on because it supplies them with calcium, and look there's even a cute leopard gecko on the bag. The child picks out his favorite color; they go home and set up the cage...
Well, about 4 to 6 months down the line, the gecko that was probably a near hatchling at 3-4 inches, is not skinny, not eating, and not pooping...
What's wrong with this gecko?
Simple. This leopard gecko has been housed on a sand that sounds seemingly great, but when wet, calci-sand clumps and well in a reptile's body, it does the same.
This gecko is suffering from impaction, which is basically severe and fatal constipation.
Now, this is correctable if the signs are notices early and soon enough, but if you do not catch the symptoms of impaction at it's earliest moment, you may lose the pet reptile that you've been caring for and loving all this time.
The simplist measure is prevention, so avoid any and all lose substrates. Now, again, there are a few reptile species that should be housed on sand, but at this day and time, you're not going to find those reptiles at a pet store.
Remember that even though the pet store has the reptiles housed on loose substrates and in semi-fancy enclosures, the reptiles are only there for a short period of time, in which the employees will more than likely not see any signs of impaction. If they do, they either 1) won't notice or 2) won't tell you... Unless of course there is an employee that really knows his/her stuff when it comes to caring for reptiles, which is actually seldom. IE the majority of the time, the employee isn't going to know any more about the reptile than what he read from a 30 year old caresheet that has never been updated.
General substrates that you want to avoid putting in your reptile's enclosure include:
* Calcium based sand
* Vita sand
* Play sand
* Dirt
* Bark
* Woodchips
* Walnut shells
* Corn cob
Remember that the majority of reptiles that are sold as dessert species are not dessert in the terms of naturally housed on sand in the wild.
If you absolutely refuse to listen to an experiences keeper of reptiles and you really want to house your reptile on sand or another loose substrate, wait until the reptile is at least 1 year old and more accurate at catching its food. And, even still you want to avoid calcium based sands, as they truly do entice the reptile to lick it, and it will clump in your reptiles intestines.
You still want to avoid bark, woodchips, and other similar substrates, as feeder insects, like crickets, can hide under the chips, making it hard for the reptile to find his dinner.
So, here's how it happens... Mom and child go to the pet store to purcahse a pet reptile. They have no clue what they want, much less how to care for it. They get there and the pet store employee says, you should get a leopard gecko because they're small and easy to care for. They agree. The trio starts shopping....
The worse product that is more than likely going to be purchased on that trip is calcium based sand or even playsand, but more than likely calci-sand. The employee is going to state, it's the best product to house reptiles on because it supplies them with calcium, and look there's even a cute leopard gecko on the bag. The child picks out his favorite color; they go home and set up the cage...
Well, about 4 to 6 months down the line, the gecko that was probably a near hatchling at 3-4 inches, is not skinny, not eating, and not pooping...
What's wrong with this gecko?
Simple. This leopard gecko has been housed on a sand that sounds seemingly great, but when wet, calci-sand clumps and well in a reptile's body, it does the same.
This gecko is suffering from impaction, which is basically severe and fatal constipation.
Leopard Gecko Impaction
Now, this is correctable if the signs are notices early and soon enough, but if you do not catch the symptoms of impaction at it's earliest moment, you may lose the pet reptile that you've been caring for and loving all this time.
The simplist measure is prevention, so avoid any and all lose substrates. Now, again, there are a few reptile species that should be housed on sand, but at this day and time, you're not going to find those reptiles at a pet store.
Remember that even though the pet store has the reptiles housed on loose substrates and in semi-fancy enclosures, the reptiles are only there for a short period of time, in which the employees will more than likely not see any signs of impaction. If they do, they either 1) won't notice or 2) won't tell you... Unless of course there is an employee that really knows his/her stuff when it comes to caring for reptiles, which is actually seldom. IE the majority of the time, the employee isn't going to know any more about the reptile than what he read from a 30 year old caresheet that has never been updated.
General substrates that you want to avoid putting in your reptile's enclosure include:
* Calcium based sand
* Vita sand
* Play sand
* Dirt
* Bark
* Woodchips
* Walnut shells
* Corn cob
Bearded Dragon Impaction
Remember that the majority of reptiles that are sold as dessert species are not dessert in the terms of naturally housed on sand in the wild.
If you absolutely refuse to listen to an experiences keeper of reptiles and you really want to house your reptile on sand or another loose substrate, wait until the reptile is at least 1 year old and more accurate at catching its food. And, even still you want to avoid calcium based sands, as they truly do entice the reptile to lick it, and it will clump in your reptiles intestines.
You still want to avoid bark, woodchips, and other similar substrates, as feeder insects, like crickets, can hide under the chips, making it hard for the reptile to find his dinner.
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