4,660 answers about reptiles & amphibians
Keeping reptiles and amphibians well comes down to environment — heat, light, humidity and the right enclosure — plus feeding and health basics that differ by species. This page gathers the reptile and amphibian library of KinsLe Answers in one place, organized by topic. Every answer is original, written by KinsLe, and tied to a real KinsLe feature.
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652 answers in Home & Lifestyle — page 10 of 28
Place the blue-tongued skink into a ready enclosure with deep substrate for burrowing, a warm basking area, and a humid hide, then let it disappear underground without digging it up to check on it. Blue-tongued skinks are ground dwellers that cope with a move by hiding, so a skink you barely see in week one is…
Set the bearded dragon's enclosure up and running before adoption day, with its basking spot hot, ultraviolet light on a daytime schedule, and food and water ready, then place the dragon in and let it bask undisturbed. Unlike shy snakes, a bearded dragon may explore and eat a little on day one, but keep handling brief…
Bring the ball python straight home in its secure travel container, place it gently into a fully set-up enclosure, and then leave it alone apart from water checks for the first several days. Ball pythons are shy and easily stressed, so skip handling and feeding attempts until the snake has hidden, explored at night,…
Like other chameleons, a veiled chameleon is built to drink droplets from leaves, so misting and a dripper are the real water system and a floor bowl will almost always be ignored. Veiled chameleons are somewhat more likely than panthers to investigate a small cup, so if you offer one, fix it high among the branches…
Choose a wide, low, heavy dish a Russian tortoise can walk into and soak in, with a rough, easy-grip entry — a large plant saucer style suits this small tortoise well. The water should reach only partway up the shell when the tortoise sits in it, keeping the head comfortably above the surface, and the sides must be…
A red-eared slider does not need a separate drinking dish at all: this aquatic turtle drinks, swims, and eats in its tank or pond water, and it actually needs to be in the water to swallow food properly. What owners sometimes add is a shallow soaking or feeding tub outside the tank for messy meals or supervised soaks,…
For a panther chameleon, the honest answer is that a dish is the backup, not the main water source: this arboreal lizard drinks droplets from leaves after misting or from a dripper, and many never learn to use standing water. If you offer a dish, make it a small, shallow cup fixed securely among the upper branches…
A pacman frog needs a wide, very shallow dish it can sit in with its head and nostrils well above the waterline — this heavy-bodied frog soaks through its skin but swims badly, so depth is a genuine hazard. Choose a broad ceramic or glass dish with a gently sloped or stepped entry, sunk level with the substrate so the…
Pick a small, shallow, heavy dish a leopard gecko can lap from without climbing or stretching — roughly wide enough to drink comfortably, with water only a short depth so a clumsy step in cannot become a struggle. Ceramic or stoneware stays put when a gecko leans on the rim, while tall or deep bowls suit this…
Choose a heavy, low, tip-resistant dish wide enough for your king snake to curl into and soak, not just sip from, because soaking helps before a shed. Ceramic, thick glass, or sturdy stoneware works best; avoid tall, lightweight plastic that an active, muscular king snake will shove, tip, or wedge underneath. Place it…
A Hermann's tortoise needs a shallow, wide dish or plant saucer it can walk into and sit in, with water no deeper than the bottom of its chin. Unglazed terracotta or heavy ceramic saucers work well: the low rim suits short legs, the rough edge gives grip, and the weight resists a tortoise that pushes everything. Sink…
A green tree frog needs a wide, shallow dish of dechlorinated water, deep enough to soak in but never deeper than the frog's chin when it sits in it. Choose smooth ceramic or glass with low, easy edges and no sharp rim, set on the enclosure floor where the frog hops down to it at night. Because this frog absorbs water…
A green iguana needs a very large, heavy soaking basin rather than a drinking bowl: wide enough for the iguana to sit its whole body in, with low, sturdy sides it can climb over. A big ceramic, concrete, or heavy resin basin that cannot be tipped or dragged is the right class of dish, filled shallowly enough for the…
A golden gecko needs a small, shallow dish mounted up on the enclosure wall or on a feeding ledge, not a bowl on the floor. This fast, nocturnal climber drinks where it lives, among the branches and glass, and takes much of its water from droplets after misting. Pick a shallow cup it can lean into from a perch, keep…
A crested gecko needs only a small, shallow water dish, best set into an elevated feeding ledge rather than placed on the floor. These geckos live up in the branches, drink mostly from misted droplets, and visit a dish at perch height during the night. Choose a small cup or dish with very shallow water so this…
A corn snake needs a heavy, wide-based bowl large enough for it to coil into for a soak, though an adult's dish can be more modest than a thick-bodied python's. Glazed ceramic or weighted resin stays put when this active, curious snake pushes against it at night, and the rim should be smooth and low enough for easy…
A blue tongue skink needs a wide, low-sided, heavy dish it can climb into for a full soak and haul itself out of again, sized to its long, stout body. Ceramic or heavy resin with a broad base survives a strong skink that bulldozes furniture and digs along edges. Keep the water shallow enough for the skink to rest with…
A bearded dragon needs a shallow, wide, heavy dish with a low rim it can walk into and out of without climbing, rather than a deep drinking bowl. Many dragons rarely drink standing water and take moisture from baths and food, but a small stable dish on the cooler side still gives the option without soaking the dry…
Choose a wide, heavy bowl a ball python can coil its whole body into for soaking, made of glazed ceramic or sturdy stone-effect resin with a broad, flat base it cannot tip. The water only needs to reach partway up the snake's body when it sits in the bowl, and the rim should be low and smooth enough for easy entry.…
One adult White's tree frog needs a tall enclosure of at least 20 gallons, with an 18 by 18 by 24 inch vertical tank a good fit for its climbing life. This is a large, heavy-bodied frog that perches on broad branches and glass, so give it thick horizontal perches, big leaves, and a wide water bowl it can sit in fully.…
An adult tokay gecko needs a tall, roomy enclosure, with 24 inches long, 18 inches deep, and 36 inches high a strong target rather than a bare minimum. Tokays are big, powerful climbing geckos that live on vertical surfaces, so height, thick branches, and large cork rounds matter more than floor area. Fit sturdy…
A single adult tiger salamander does well in a 20-gallon long tank, because floor space matters far more to this burrowing land salamander than height. Give it several inches of moist, chemical-free soil or coconut fiber deep enough to dig into, a shallow water dish it can climb out of, and a tight-fitting lid, since…
An adult Sulcata tortoise does not belong in a tank at all: it needs a secure outdoor yard of at least 10 by 15 feet, and substantially more grazing ground is better for an animal that can pass 30 inches and grow very heavy. Walls must be solid, sight-proof, and strong enough to resist determined pushing. A juvenile…
A single adult spotted turtle does well in a 30- to 40-gallon long tank or equivalent shallow setup, with 20 gallons long as a tight minimum for one small male. Spotted turtles stay around four inches but are semi-aquatic marsh turtles: they want shallow water they can wade and climb out of easily, broken up by plants…
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