Pet Reptiles

Pet Reptile Information, Reptile Facts

Exotic reptiles are a special kind of pet that attracts a special kind of owner.

Unlike most other pets, people won't be flocking to your side to pet your beautiful snake, however, you don't need to take them on daily walks either, and many snakes only need to be fed once or twice a month, making them an ultra low maintenance pet.

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What is a Reptile?

There are probably more creatures which are reptiles than you think. A reptile is any of various cold-blooded, usually egg-laying vertebrates of the class Reptilia (such as a snake, lizard, crocodile, turtle, or dinosaur), having an external covering of scales or horny plates and breathing by means of lungs.

Scientifically speaking, there are four main groups of reptiles:

• Crocodiles and Alligators
• Tuatara (The only species left from an ancient group of reptiles that goes back to the dinosaurs.)
• Tortoises and Turtles
• Lizards and Snakes

Some reptiles spend most of their time in water, like crocodiles, alligators, turtles, some species of snakes and some species of lizards. Many spend their time on land. Reptile species can be found in all types of habitats except polar ice and tundra.

Crocodile Tears

A baby pet crocodile may be cute, but that bite can get pretty mean after the crocodile is a couple of years old, making some croc owners rethink their decision to keep a snapper. Many crocodile can then find themselves dumped in a nearby lake with unsuspecting swimmers (by the way, don't ever do that) or stuck in a small cement pond in someone's back yard.

This then creates the age-old myth that crocodiles live in the sewer systems of large cities. Although we have not looked into the subject, we think that the myth is largely untrue, although a crocodile or two may have been sighted in the sewers from exactly this type of situation.

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Tuatara

The tuatara is only found in New Zealand and is in danger of becoming extinct! "Tuatara" is a Maori word meaning "peaks on the back". The tuatara is famous because it is ancient. It is the only survivor of a large group of reptiles that roamed the earth at the same time as dinosaurs. It hasn't changed its form much in over 225 million years. The relatives of tuatara died out about 60 million years ago which is why the tuatara is sometimes called a "living fossil." Adults continue to grow to at least 60 years of age and probably live longer than 100 years.

Tortoises and Turtles

What is the difference?

In the U.S., the common usage of the word turtle refers to all species of water turtle, sea turtle, box turtle, terrapin and tortoise. The word tortoise refers to a particular type of turtle that is well adapted to life on land.

Scientists group all turtles together in the "order" known as Testudines. This order includes about a dozen living "families" of turtle. Tortoises are a specialized subgroup of the order Testudines that are known as the Testudinidae.

According to Dr. Kristin Berry, the following distinction is made between the terms turtle and tortoise in the U.S.:

• A tortoise is a land dwelling turtle with high domed shell and columnar, elephant-shaped hind legs. Tortoises go to water only to drink or bathe.
• In contrast, the word turtle is used for other turtles: pond turtles, river turtles, box turtles, musk turtles, sea turtles, etc.

So, tortoises form a subgroup that can be distinguished from other groups of turtle but they are "turtles" nonetheless.

Reptiles suitable as Apartment Pets

Now that we have all that out of the way, for the purposes of Apartment-Pets, we'll keep our discussion to those reptiles that are good for homes or apartments. Click one of the links below to read more.

Pet Lizards Lizards are another great pet of the Reptile Variety.	Pet Snakes Snakes are astonishingly common as pets.
Pet Turtles Turtles are one of the slower pets you might consider.