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Species

Species

A care guide and a breeding guide for each species, checked against veterinary references, published studies and experienced keepers, with sources for every chapter. The ball python guides are also how we keep our own snakes, and the ASF guide is our plan for our own feeder colony; anything there that is our own practice or plan rather than a sourced rule is marked as ours.

Disclaimer: I'm not a veterinarian and I don't hold a degree in animal science or animal care. These guides are compiled from the sources cited in every chapter. For a sick animal, a reptile vet is the authority.

A wild Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis), brown with large round ears and a long thin tail, standing in a metal bucket. A reference photo of the species, not our colony.

African soft-furred rat

Photo: Marius Burger, CC0 via iNaturalist, cropped.

Monty, our Pinstripe VPI Axanthic Clown ball python, coiled on coconut-husk bedding with his tongue out.

Ball python

Care guide Breeding guide

Photo: Amnesia Oddities.

An adult central bearded dragon resting on a rock, with its orange beard and spiny sides in view.

Bearded dragon

Care guide Breeding guide

Photo: Cliff (Carl Clifford), CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

An adult captive-bred Northern blue-tongued skink lying on gravel, with orange and black bands down its back.

Blue-tongued skink

Care guide Breeding guide

Photo: Stefan3345, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

An adult orange-brown crested gecko clinging to leaves, showing the fringed crest over its eye.

Crested gecko

Care guide Breeding guide

Photo: Lennart Hudel, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

An adult gargoyle gecko on a branch, with mottled brown and cream skin and the bumps above its eyes.

Gargoyle gecko

Care guide Breeding guide

Photo: Eveha, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

An adult leopard gecko with a spotted grey-and-pink body and a thick banded tail, walking on sand.

Leopard gecko

Care guide Breeding guide

Photo: George Chernilevsky, public domain via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

An adult red-footed tortoise walking through shallow water, with a dark domed shell and red scales on its legs.

Red-footed tortoise

Care guide Breeding guide

Photo: Jstuby, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

A Russian tortoise held in a hand above grass, facing the camera, with four claws on each front foot.

Russian tortoise

Care guide Breeding guide

Photo: HTO, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

Two uromastyx on sand: a green-and-yellow Ornate uromastyx and a paler animal with a thick spiny tail.

Uromastyx

Care guide Breeding guide

Photo: NasserHalaweh, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

Species photos are credited under each card; cropped from the originals. The ball python is one of ours.