Reptile care basics: heat, light and patience

Build a heat gradient

Every reptile enclosure needs a warm end and a cool end, so the animal can move between them. Place the heat source at one end and leave the other cooler. Use two thermometers, or a temperature gun, to check both ends and the basking surface. Correct temperatures differ by species, so look them up from a reliable care sheet and confirm them with your reptile vet.

Put every heat source on a thermostat. Heat mats, lamps and ceramic heaters can overheat and burn an animal, or start a fire, when left unregulated.

UVB lighting

Bearded dragons need strong UVB light to make vitamin D3 and use calcium. Without it, they can develop metabolic bone disease. Use a UVB tube made for reptiles across much of the enclosure, follow the maker's distance guidance, and replace bulbs on the schedule they recommend, since output fades before the light looks dim. Many keepers now give leopard geckos and corn snakes low-level UVB too; ask your vet what suits your animal.

Enclosure basics

• An adult bearded dragon needs an enclosure at least about 4 feet long, 2 feet deep and 2 feet tall, and bigger is better.
• Leopard geckos need a long terrarium with a warm hide, a cool hide and a humid hide for shedding.
• Corn snakes are escape artists. Use a secure, locking lid and at least two hides.
• Avoid loose substrates that the animal may swallow with food, unless your vet says otherwise.

Feeding

Leopard geckos eat live insects. Bearded dragons eat insects and, as adults, mostly leafy greens and vegetables. Feed insects a nutritious diet before offering them (often called gut-loading) and dust them with a reptile calcium supplement as your vet advises. Corn snakes eat whole prey. Most keepers use frozen and fully thawed rodents sized to the widest part of the snake's body, which is safer than live prey.

Hygiene and Salmonella

Reptiles commonly carry Salmonella bacteria even when healthy. Wash your hands after handling them or touching the enclosure, keep them out of the kitchen, and don't bathe them in a sink used for food. The CDC advises that children under 5 should not handle reptiles, and the same caution applies to older adults and people with weak immune systems.

Check the law first

Rules on keeping reptiles vary by state, county and city, and some species need a permit or are banned. Check before you buy, and never release a pet reptile outdoors.

Finding a reptile vet

Many clinics do not treat reptiles. Find a vet with reptile experience before you bring one home. Reasons to call include not eating for longer than is normal for the species, weight loss, swollen limbs or jaw, trouble shedding, and runny eyes or nose. See when to see a vet.

Reptile care: questions