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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301 answers in Young Pets — page 13 of 13
Offer fresh powdered diet every evening and replace it daily, because a tiny crested gecko eats small amounts often and an old dish quickly loses its appeal and its nutrition. Add tiny live insects a few times a week once it is taking the diet, sized small enough for a fingertip-sized hunter to overpower safely,…
Growth varies too much by monitor species for one universal rate to be honest, so judge your baby by its own monthly length-and-weight chart instead of a number meant for another species. Steady growth on that chart looks like visible length gains month to month, supported by daily whole-prey and insect feeding and a…
Use a scale that reads to 0.1 g: set a lidded tub on it and tare the tub away, then settle the gecko inside, close the lid, and read the weight with the gecko safely contained. Photograph its length beside a ruler rather than holding it straight, and judge growth by the weekly trend across readings instead of any…
Give a baby tortoise an open-topped table or large enclosure with a proper gradient: a basking spot around 95 degrees Fahrenheit, a cool end in the 70s, UVB over the basking and feeding area, and substrate it can dig into without eating mouthfuls of it. Add a shallow water dish it can climb in and out of safely, a…
Raise the tadpole in shallow, clean water with plants to graze, and as its front legs appear, add a sloped land exit it can climb easily, because a metamorphosing froglet can drown in deep water it can no longer swim well in. Keep the water shallow at the transition, and offer no food while the tail is being…
Count the feeders in and then search for the evidence: tiny droppings, the feeders remaining in the dish, and any insects found hiding in the enclosure in the morning. Offer a counted number of small feeders in a shallow dish the hatchling can climb into but the insects cannot climb out of, and count back what…
Leave the baby alone to settle first, with no handling beyond essentials until it is eating, because a shy youngster that feels watched and lifted rarely feels like hunting. Offer food at dusk in a quiet room, presenting warmed prey near the hide so the snake can strike without crossing open ground or leaving cover.…
Think in small, frequent sessions rather than a few big ones: mist lightly several times through the day so droplets bead on the leaves for drinking, and keep a dripper running between sessions so water is available whenever the baby wants it. Babies drink droplets and dehydrate fast, far faster than an adult, so a…
Hatchlings of herbivorous tortoise species such as Russians, Hermann's, and sulcatas start eating greens within their first days of life, once the yolk sac is absorbed. There is no weaning stage to wait for: offer finely chopped dark leafy greens from the start, in small fresh piles each morning. A hatchling may…
Most hatchling snakes start best in a small, secure enclosure — a ventilated tub of roughly 6 to 15 quarts, or a 10 to 20 gallon tank, depending on species. A hatchling corn snake or ball python does well at that scale, with two tight hides, a water bowl and a warm end and a cool end. Starting small is not economy: a…
A baby bearded dragon needs feeding two to three times a day. Offer small live insects at each session for about ten minutes, as many as the baby will hunt in that time, and put a fresh dish of finely chopped greens in every morning even if most of it is ignored at first. As the dragon grows past six months, drop to…
There is no exact test, so work toward a sensible age range rather than a birthday. Compare your reptile's length and weight with typical growth for the species: an animal at full adult size with mature colouring and breeding behaviour is adult even if the years are unknown, while steady growth marks a juvenile. Shell…
Give a new baby gecko at least a week or two of no handling at all, so it settles, hides confidently and eats reliably first. Then build trust inside the enclosure: rest a flat hand in front of it, tong-feed near your hand, and let the gecko choose to walk onto your palm rather than being grabbed. Start with two to…
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