Keeping Exotic Pets

photo credit: Genista

One common theme when keeping exotic pets is that you’re going to need some specialist exotic pet supplies like heaters, lights, pet-safe cleaning materials and so on in order to keep your exotics fit and healthy.

In this section we’re going to take a basic look at some of the more important exotic pet supplies that you may need to consider depending on what species of exotic you’re planning to keep. You’ll also find links to a range of other articles on this site that provide more detailed guidance on selecting the most suitable exotic pet supplies for your needs and how to use them for best effectiveness.

Types Of Exotic Pet Supplies

Heaters

There are a limited number of exotic pets that don’t need heating but in general – and particularly during the winter months – most exotic pets will require some additional heating if they are to keep feeding and remain healthy.

There are a range of exotic pet heaters available ranging from reptile heat mats that provide a gentle, background warmth ideal for pets such as corn snakes, rat snakes and tarantulas right up to powerful ceramic bulbs that can raise the temperature within a vivarium to 35′c or more and are more suited to lizards that like to bask in the sun’s warmth.

Thermostats

Due to the potential output of some of these heating devices, and the very specific requirements of many exotic pets, most reptile heating devices require a thermostat to prevent them from over-heating and to keep the temperature within the vivarium not just cool enough but also warm enough.

Again a range of different reptile heaing thermostats are available depending on what type of heater you’re using, how precise the temperature within the exotic pet cage needs to be and how much you want the temperature to fluctuate. As an example there are day and night thermostats which will automatically reduce the temperature during darkness to more accuratel mimic night-time temperatures and then the following day will increase the internal temperature back up to “daylight” levels.

Lights

Lights within an exotic pet vivarium serve a number of purposes. For one they can make your pets easier to see and can make your displays more attractive. Secondly they can be helpful in more accurately recreating the wild environment which is particularly useful when trying to breed many exotic pets. By reducing the “daylight” during the winter and then increasing the daylength in the spring many species will use this as a que to start breeding.

Lastly, and most importantly of all, many reptiles such as tortoises and most lizards, require artificial UV light in order to remain healthy where they use the suns rays to properly metabolize vitamine D and calcium making their bones strong and healthy. Without the proper lighting these species can suffer from metabolic diseases such as the wll-known Metabolic Bone Disease (or MBD for short)

Misters

For species of exotic pet that require a very humid environment – most often amphibians – a small number of artificial misters and foggers exist which spray a fine mist of water droplets into the air on a regular basis and thus help to accurately mimic the high relative humidity levels of the humid rainforest where levels can reach 90% saturation or even greater.

Thermometers And Hygrometers

Keeping tabs on environmental conditions are essential if you want your exotic pet to remain healthy and even those exotic pet keepers using a thermostat to control the temperature within their exotic pet cages should still use a separate thermometer to accurately measure the temperature that their pets are exposed to. A hygrometer also allows one to measure the humidity within a cage and it is possible to buy units which measure both temperature and humidity at the same time.

Vivarium Decor

Within the category of vivarium décor we can include items such as the substrate on the floor of the cage, rocks, wood, plants and so on that all work together to create a more natural, stimulating environment for your exotic pets.

Deciding On The Best Exotic Pet Supplies

The most important aspect when buying exotic pet supplies are to ensure that they allow you to create the perfect environment for your pet while making maintenance as simple as possible for you.

That means that the single most important element to consider when looking for exotic pet supplies is exactly what your pet will need from it’s housing. Does it want t basking spot or gentle background heat? What sort of temperature will suit it ideally? Does it require a high humidity or a dry environment and so on?

Once you have an informed impression of the requirements of your exotic pet next it’s time to find the best solutions to these environmental requirements and that’s where our reviews of exotic pet suppliew can come in handy. You can browse through the user-submitted reviews for an ever-growing range of exotic pet supplies to see exactly what other exotic pet keepers think of them. Doing so will help to ensure you get the best value and most reliable equipment available.

Lastly of course if you can’t find the answer to your questions feel free to visit our free question and answer section where you can pose questions for other members to answer – just remember to bookmark the page so you can come back later to check for responses.

Add Your Own Exotic Pet Supplies Review

Do you own any kind of exotic pet supplies from vivariums to heaters, lights to thermostats, bedding to misters? If so we want to hear from you…

The number of visitors arriving at this site grows almost daily and one key feature of exotic pet keepers is that when you invest in your first reptile, amphibian or invertebrate you’re not just buying a pet; you’re joining an active, positive and enthusiastic group of likeminded individuals. A community for want of a better word, which really was the whole idea behind the concept of this site. We wanted to create a single resource where passionate exotic pet keepers could meet, learn and exchange ideas which means that your input and feedback is essential.

If you own any kind of exotic pet care equipment then please take a few moments to help out the community by writing a genuine review of whatever supplies you’ve personally tried. Let other exotic pet keepers know whether you feel you got value for money, how well it lasted, details of what it does and – most importantly of all – whether you’d recommend it to others. It’s quick, free and simple to do so please submit your exotic pet supplies review today by clicking here.

Latest Exotic Pet Supplies Articles

• Exotic Pets That Don’t Need Heating reddit_url = "http://www.keepingexoticpets.com/exotic-pet-supplies/";reddit_title = "Exotic Pet Supplies";reddit_newwindow="1"; photo credit: Paul Stainthorp One of the concerns when it comes to keeping exotic pets is all the specialist equipment that they require. Not only does the massive selection of exotic pet supplies currently available make selecting the ideal set-up complicated, ...
• How To Heat A Large Number Of Small Vivariums reddit_url = "http://www.keepingexoticpets.com/exotic-pet-supplies/";reddit_title = "Exotic Pet Supplies";reddit_newwindow="1"; photo credit: MaplessInSeattle Heating a single vivarium such as for a corn snake or an iguana isn’t difficult and there are lots of effective and reasonably-priced solutions out there from heat mats to ceramic bulbs. But what if you have a large ...
• Common Reptile Heat Mat Questions reddit_url = "http://www.keepingexoticpets.com/exotic-pet-supplies/";reddit_title = "Exotic Pet Supplies";reddit_newwindow="1"; photo credit: holidayhanson When it comes to heating an exotic pet enclosure one of the most popular methods for gentle background heat is the heat mat. They are cheap to buy and to run and easy to fit but based on ...
• An Introduction To Reptile Electrics reddit_url = "http://www.keepingexoticpets.com/exotic-pet-supplies/";reddit_title = "Exotic Pet Supplies";reddit_newwindow="1";   photo credit: SubZeroConsciousness Like keeping fish, the key to success when it comes to reptiles is creating them the right sort of environment that will mimic what they are used to in the wild and have evolved to thrive in. And ...
• Reptile Heat Mats reddit_url = "http://www.keepingexoticpets.com/exotic-pet-supplies/";reddit_title = "Exotic Pet Supplies";reddit_newwindow="1";   photo credit: R.P. Piper Reptile heat mats (or heat pads as they are sometimes known) are one of the cheapest and most reliable ways of providing gentle background heat to exotic pets such as tarantulas, hatchling snakes and scorpions. The heat mat ...

Written by Richard Adams

I've been keeping and breeding exotic pets for over 20 years. Come and join our reptile-keeping community and prepare for some exciting discoveries! You can join us on Facebook here or follow me on Twitter for the latest reptile news.