Published by M'sitting on : 14/01/2020
How to keep your reptile
1) Have your snake guarded
If you have one or more snakes, it's pretty complicated to keep them.
It is indeed more difficult than if you had a dog or a cat, because many people have a huge apprehension towards snakes and reptiles in general.
Specialized professionals are rare but we must not despair, there are solutions that exist.
Snakes require less human presence and intervention than other pets.
Snakes don't need to be fed every day, they can go for a week without you giving them prey.
All you have to do is provide them with enough water, set the thermostat on the heating system, and ensure good humidity and lighting.
So you'll be able to take the week off without a problem.
However, if you leave for a longer period of time, a solution will have to be found.
- Ask a relative, family, friend, or neighbor, someone who is not afraid of snakes. Explain to the person who will accept that they will not have much to do. She will just have to give her something to drink and place thawed prey in her terrarium.
- Find a pet-sitter who specializes in snakes. This person will have to have all your confidence because he or she will have access to your home. One or two visits per week will be sufficient.
- Find another enthusiast thanks to forums who will come to your home regularly. He must scrupulously respect the rules of hygiene before coming into contact with your snake because there is a risk of transmission of parasites or viruses from his animals.
For this reason it is strongly discouraged to leave your snake with another reptile owner.
- Find a house sitter as passionate about snakes as you are. This person will come to your home for the duration of your absence.
While guarding your home and maintaining it, he will competently care for your snake as if it were his own.
2) Have your Iguana guarded
You have an iguana and you want to go away. Even if your iguana has an exemplary behaviour towards you, it is not necessarily that your iguana will be docile with a stranger. So it's not easy to find someone to guard him.
- Calling on a relative is a good solution. This person has probably approached it several times and the reptile can tolerate its presence better. It will be necessary to explain to him what to do and what not to do, and to explain all the details about feeding your iguana (frequency of meals, quantities, etc.).
He also needs to check the temperature, change his water, clean his terrarium.
Leave him the vet's number for emergencies.
- Call a pet-sitter. This is someone qualified with a certificate of competency and experience with the animal. This person knows the specific needs of the iguana and the actions to be taken. He will have to be very careful because in the eyes of the iguana, he is a stranger.
The pet-sitter will come and visit during the day to care for your iguana.
- Boarding is a rather complicated solution because few structures are specialized in reptiles. It must be able to put the animals separately in order to avoid conflicts, especially between males, and the transmission of diseases.
The boarding house should be located not far from your home so that your iguana does not have to travel long distances.
- Find a house sitter who knows how to take care of reptiles and more particularly iguanas.
The house sitter arrives the day before you leave, so you'll have plenty of time to explain feeding and care for your iguana.
3) Have your turtle guarded
Having a turtle is not something to be taken lightly. The turtle lives on average 60 years, it engages you a good part of your life.
If you are away for less than 3 days, your land turtle can do without you. Just leave him water and food accordingly.
Water turtles can fast for a few days after a large meal. So you can go away quietly for the weekend.
The hibernation season, which runs from November to March, will leave you more free to be away.
Longer holidays are much more problematic. Going away and leaving a turtle alone in its terrarium is a significant risk. It can turn over on itself and in the impossibility to get back on its legs it is the assured death.
Here are some solutions:
- Being part of an association can be very useful to you. A cheloniophile will be able to come and visit your turtle regularly to take care of it.
He will also be able to accommodate him at home during your absence. In this case don't forget to give him the turtle's papers because in case of control he could be in trouble.
- Have recourse to a pet-sitter. The pet-sitter should have all the knowledge and skills to take good care of your turtle. As before, the person can come regularly to your home or welcome your turtle at his home.
- There are certain pensions to which you will be able to entrust your turtle. It will be placed in a specific enclosure without mixing species. The care which it will receive will be carried out by competent and qualified people.
- In counterpart of a free lodging, for the duration of its holidays, a house sitter will settle down at your place. He will take care of your turtle as if it were his own and will also take care of the surveillance and maintenance of your house.
Having your reptiles guarded through house sitting is a preferred solution.
Not only will you not have to pay any custody fees, but since you will have chosen a house sitter who knows reptiles inside out, your animals will be in good hands and well cared for.
This care system will prevent your animals from the stress of transport and change of environment.
Your home will be secured and maintained. You will thus leave with a much more peaceful mind and you will enjoy your holidays to the fullest.
Like you, house sitters are passionate about reptiles, these affinities can lead to a friendship.
We have chosen these 3 examples, but of course there are many other kinds of reptiles.
The means at your disposal to have them kept are always more or less the same.