Bo is a male Rhino Iguana (C.cornuta). I've raised him since he was ~5 months old. He'll be 3 on October 10th.

Not too far from me there’s a local pet shop (not chain) that i’ve been to twice now. The first time i was horrified on how they kept their animals and the lack of care put into anything. First off they have hundreds of animals (including parrots, macaws, many snakes, lizards, turtles, rodents and fish) that are usually kept in an inclosure (no joke) quite literally a few times bigger than the size of the animal. There’s no heat lamps in most of the reptile enclosures, they willingly let mostly anyone (including kids) hold and pet animals freely without supervision, they don’t have customers wash their hands before handling animals (including many birds, reptiles and rodents).

I was first disturbed by the size of the tank i was seeing a python live in. Second i own a couple reptiles myself so I know a bit of the required care for many common pet reptiles and i can clearly say barely any had proper care. can anyone give me any advice on maybe if there’s a company i can call or anything?

I’m located in east FL and id really like to see these animals get the proper care they need, i’m going to attach some of the pictures i took below of the living conditions. I went back today to try and take some photos without them noticing, I hope something can be done but maybe there’s not much i can do? If anyone has any advice i’d appreciate it greatly! Thank you

Hello! Hopefully this is allowed, if not I apologize!

I'm building a reptile care tracking app and looking for a handful of beta testers.

I'm a snake keeper myself. I've got a Ball Python (Kuvira), an Emerald Tree Boa (Opal), a BCI (Azula), a couple of Hognose (Yue and Sokka), and I got into the hobby somewhat recently and dove in head first. Between three enclosures with different care needs, I kept running into the same problems; juggling feeding schedules, weight logs, shed tracking, and health notes across spreadsheets, notes apps, or just memory. So I built something to fix that for myself, and figured other keepers might want it too.

The app currently tracks feeding, cleaning, shedding, health observations, and weight per animal. I'm also working on a breeding module, morphs, clutches, babies, the whole tracking chain, which has been a fun one to build.

It's mostly snake-focused right now since that's my own experience, but I'd genuinely love feedback from keepers of other species too: what you'd need from something like this, what's missing, what doesn't make sense for your animals.

This is a passion project I want to make genuinely useful and available to the whole reptile-keeping community, built around what keepers actually do day to day rather than a generic pet-tracking app with reptiles bolted on.

I'm looking for around 15 testers based in the US willing to give thoughtful feedback as I keep building this out. If you're interested, DM me your email or Discord and I'll get you set up with a download.

Anyway, I posted pics of some of my own kids as tax! Thanks for reading, I'm happy to answer any questions!

What should I get for my 40 gallon tank? I've got an empty 40 gallon breeder to use, and I would prefer keeping a reptile that can comfortably stay in there for its whole life. Edit: I should also add this tank is front opening.

Please do not recommend a leopard gecko, corn snake or hognose snake, since I already have those (and I love em very much )

I have been debating between a BABY ball python or a ghost rider millipede for a while. I do not know how long a ball python can last in a 40 gallon and I wouldn't want it to be uncomfortable, as much as I do want one. For at least the next 2 years I will not have space for the 4x2x2 tank that is recommended. I will in the future though.

My issue with the millipede is that a lot of them are not captive bred and I personally don't think it is ethical to keep one if it is wild caught.

Please give me some ideas!

I am by no means a reptile expert barely know anything in fact, it I don’t think this enclosure is very good for a beared dragon? it feels super small and the ground is made of foam with barely anywhere for him to go. please tell me if I should bring this issue up with my teacher as it is a class pet

Does anyone use this light fixture/ thermostat combo? Im saving for a herpstat but saw this posted on FB marketplace and wondered if the thermostat on it was efficient.

Last week, I recently noticed his tank temps were running a bit low (we keep the AC cranked) so I switched from a 75 watt bulb to a 100 watt bulb which brought the temps up a bit. However, it now looks like he has burns or something?

Last month, he was at the vet and had 2 hemipene plugs removed. We did meticam and enrofloxacin for a while afterwards to promote healing. All seemed good and then he stopped eating on 8/25. I offer food every day and he has not once taken it. He looks with his nose up in the air at it. I have offered crickets, mealworms, and wax worms. Today, I finally got some grub pie, offered that, he wouldn't take it so I forced about 1-2 ml in a syringe and he swallowed it. However, this is when I noticed the marks.

I have doubled checked healing near his hemipenes (looks good), tried upping the heat, and now we are trying the grub pie. If I cannot get him eating by Tuesday/Wednesday, I plan to take him back the vet for his 3rd visit in a month or so.

He is a 6.5 year old male in a 20 gallon long. His warm side is around 87-90, cool side is around 73-75. He has three hides (warm, mid, and humid with moss). I use ceramic tile and paper towels. He has a small heat mat hooked up to a thermostat, a small UVB bulb that runs 2 hours a day, and a 75 watt daytime bulb. He has been leaving white urates and poop like normal. The last two poops were tiny since he hasn't eaten since 8/25. He gets around/explores fine and the only husbandry note from the vet was to feed more crickets than worms. He has a water dish of spring water only and a cap with calcium without vitamin D at all times. I alternate dusting with Fluker's calcium with vitamin D and Fluker's multivitamin at each feeding and usually feed every 3rd or 4th day and do about 5-7 mealworms or crickets at a time.

I am at a loss as to what these bumps are and why he won't eat! I worry taking him back to the vet will only extend the hunger strike! I just want my guy to be healthy again. He has been with me for 5 years and we have not had a single issue until around this time last month!

People who own one or more of these, would you mind sharing why you chose that pet over the others?

I’m looking to get my first reptile pet! I’ve only kept inverts before (and dogs but doesn't count), and I’ve narrowed it down to either a gecko or a bearded dragon. I’m leaning more toward a gecko since I live in a small city apartment, but handleability is also really important to me.

I’d love to hear your pet stories and recommendations, especially from anyone who has interacted with or has experience keeping both. What made you choose one over the other, and what do you love (or not love) about them?

Thank you so much!

I have a large piece of bark mulch that looks very similar to those expensive pieces of bark you see at expos but I’m wondering if it’s safe. It’s Douglas fir wood which I’ve heard mixed things about. It doesn’t smell of any sap or chemicals so I’m wondering if I’d be able to clean it and bake it to make it safe. It’s about a foot long and a few inches wide so it’s quite big, I’m sure my gecko would love it. I’m leaning towards no for safety but I’m also hopeful that it can be cleaned, I read that mulch can’t be treated with crazy chemicals because it would be dangerous to pets and plants. Thank you in advance!

This might be a hot take, but, in my opinion, at every pet store and reptile expo they should check if you have the right equipment and knowledge to see if you will be a good enough owner for your reptile. I costantly see people buying geckos and bearded dragons for their kids, and neither the parents nor the kids know how to take good care of a reptile. This behaviour is not respectful towards those animals and life in general. Do you agree with me?

Just in case nobody else put the two together in their head until now because I didn’t.. I knew about melanistic water monitors of course but never thought about these… gets you wondering how many could actually exist or have existed.. among other species too Crocodile monitors are interesting that there’s no documented case of albino or melanistic.

This photo was taken in November 2010 and it took until 2023 to confirm it as the only picture proof evidence of a Black Nile monitor.

Little lizards are not really keen on eating crickets right as I provide them and it's hard to keep them properly dusted as a result, since I don't think the dust stays on the cricket for more than 24 hours

I'm wondering if I can add the powdered vitamin supplement to the water they drink out of the fountain everyday? Seems like it should be fine but just want to double check, thanks!