Your leopard gecko should have a 10 gallon aquarium at the smallest, but 20 or 30 gallons would also work. It’s better to have a flat aquarium with lots of space for running around than a taller one.

Make sure there is a good place for your gecko to hide, with some humidity. Peat moss works well, as does vermiculite. Also, put pieces of wood, rocks, overturned saucers and other stuff for your gecko’s amusement.

If you’d prefer not to use an aquarium, you can use any kind of box, as long as it has ventilation, temperature control, and can be kept clean.

Heat And Light

You’ll need a hot and cold area of the cage. A spotlight works well for this, although many people prefer to use a standard undertank heater.

The hot part of the cage should be about 90 degrees, and the cool part should be as close to 70 as possible. Do not overheat your gecko or it can be fatal.

Keep a thermometer in there at all times so you can see how it is. Make sure there is some way to control the temperature.

The Best Substrate

Leos live in a rocky desert, so tiles and flat rocks are good. Newspapers and paper towels are also good, and easy to clean. If you’re going to use sand, get “play sand” that is free from industrial pollutants.

Sometimes, sand causes problems for leopard geckos. They can eat it and it will get impacted in their intestines. Keep an eye on them and change substrate if this is happening.

Your Leo’s Diet

Feed your leopard gecko live crickets and mealworms. On special occasions, you can give them small roaches, waxworms and other fatty worms, or baby mice.

Also feed them nutrient supplements. They will need calcium and reptile multivitamins. You can also provide these nutrients by gut-loading their crickets and mealworms first.

When Your Leo Sheds

Leos shed a lot. Make sure there is plenty of humidity to help the skin come off. If it doesn’t come off completely, help it along by placing them in a small container with wet paper towels for a half hour.

Take proper care of your leopard gecko, and you’ll have a fun and cuddly lizard companion for many years to come.

Leopard geckos are unique in the reptile world for several reasons. First off, they are small and easy to take care of. They come in a wide variety of different breeds called “morphs,” which offer different colorings and patterns. They are more docile and “cuddlier” than other lizards, and they sometimes live to be 20 years old.

The leopard gecko is a fun and original pet, and once you get into raising “leos,” you’ll become a hardcore leo fanatic quickly.

Introducing The Leopard Gecko

The scientific name of the leopard gecko is “eublepharis macularius.” This name comes from the fact that, unlike other geckos, leos have eyelids. They live in the rocky deserts of Iran, northern India and Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

These little lizards are nocturnal. During the daytime, they sleep beneath whatever cover they can find. This usually means rock outcroppings or natural burrows in the ground. At night, they come alive, scurrying all over the desert floor in search of bugs and worms to eat.

In the 1980’s, these creatures were brought over by rare reptile collectors. Since that time, they have become a common pet. Breeders have been working on creating new and originals leopard gecko strains with interesting and unique patterns.

What makes leopard geckos really special is their “morphs.” These are special patterns created by specifically bred genetic traits. You can choose between different colors and patterns, and some leos’ patterns change over time.

A few more things about leopard geckos…
As mentioned before, they have eyelids. Unlike other geckos, they can close their eyes. But they still clean their eyes with their tongues like others do.
They make a little barking noise when excited or when fighting. You won’t hear it often, but occasionally they’ll do it.
Like other lizards, their tails can detach and grow back. This is a survival trait, and you should never pull off their tails since it’s painful and the tail never quite grows back right. But still, how many of your friends’ pets can do that?
Leopard geckos are easy and fun to raise, and they make lovable and interesting reptile pets.

While most iguanas are herbivores, there are a few in the wild who are omnivorous. These are usually terrestrial dwellers who eat wax worms, meal worms, and other insects from their surroundings. Their forest and tropical cousins, however, are strictly herbivorous, eating flower buds, leaves, fruits, and in some cases seawater algae.

When owning a pet iguana, it is imperative that feeding is done correctly. Too much feeding can lead to obesity or bloating whereas lack of nutrients and a proper diet can cause diseases. This can happen quite easily and an owner must always be aware of any signs of illness in his pet.

If you notice that your iguana is sick, bony, fat, or has swollen jaws it most probably has contracted Nutritional Secondary Hyperparathyroidism or Metabolic Bone Disease, both of which can be caused by improper diets and lack of sufficient nutrients. Lack of sunlight can also contribute to the contraction of these diseases.

These diseases if left untreated can lead to deformities and fractures in the bones as well as make them very brittle. In some cases they can even cause death. Therefore, you must ensure that your iguana is receiving a well balanced diet with a good amount of calcium and phosphorous and adequate exercise in order to keep it healthy and disease free.

Follow these simple guidelines when feeding your iguana and you are guaranteed to have a happy and healthy pet for years to come.

If you don’t know where to get it at low prices then you need to do price comparisons. Rather than continue to pay the high prices that many stores charge take a look at some less well known stores and compare the prices. You will often be pleasantly surprised at just how low many of the prices are.

New or less well known pet medicine stores are looking for business and they are willing to give very low prices in order to secure new custom. A repeat customer can mean a lot of money for a shop so the newer sites can be extremely competitive. Take advantage of this and do price comparisons for a few less well known sites and you may find that you can save a substantial amount of your money.

The popular sites are often the most expensive because they know that they will get the business because they are simply so well known. Don’t just settle for buying from these type of sites. They do not offer good prices and they know it. They rely on the number of visitors that they get to provide them with sales. Start looking elsewhere and you can get some very good prices for frontline medicine.

If you think about it how often do horses get washed in the wild in a natural setting?

Horse usually get washed in the rain if the is not protection or when forced to swim across a river or lake. Otherwise they get along pretty well with out it. I don’t think any harm is done for the lack of a bath. I believe this to be true for the domesticated horse as well. A lot of times after working a horse hard and he is wet and full of sweat, most people like to hose them down with cold water. Washing a horse with cold water when he is hot or when the whether is cold is a major temperature shock to a horse. How would you like it if someone just all of a sudden hosed you down with cold water especially in the winter? Though when my horse is hot after a work out I sometimes will hose his legs down but that’s it. Also when washing your horse its not necessary to use soap or detergents every time you wash him. This will remove natural oils from the skin and hair.

Instead after a hard ride, walk your horse around a bit until he dries off then brush him. A lot of times I unsaddle my horse and turn him out and let him roll in the arena or pasture while I go clean his stall. By the time I come back to halter him up he is cool. Then I brush him really good making sure I brush away all the sweat marks.

The only time I think its really necessary to wash your horse often is if you are showing your horse. You don’t want to be competing or showing with a dusty looking horse. When you do wash your horse make sure you scrape all the excess water and let him dry in a place where its not very cold or use a good light weight blanket.

The best way to groom your horse clean is with a brush & curry comb and use plenty of elbow grease. This is another good way to bond with your horse & your horse will love every minute of it. Give him all the attention he wants. Brushing usually takes no time at all. Keep in mind your horse should always be brushed well before saddling. He may have hay or stickers on his back or girth area from rolling around. And if you saddle him, you may come flying off when you get on to ride. Lastly always brush your horse after you ride to clean up any sweat marks that appear from being saddled. It’s also a good idea to run your fingers down your horse’s spine to make sure your horse isn’t experiencing any soreness.

Early Antarctic explorers actually thought penguins were fish and classified them accordingly. In fact, as birds, they are superbly designed for their job, flying underwater with great skill. Their compact bodies have a breastbone that makes an excellent keel and they have massive paddle muscles to propel them at speeds up to 25 miles per hour. Their heads retract to create a perfect hydrodynamic shape. When traveling quickly, penguins will leap clear of the water every few feet — an action called ‘porpoising.’ This enables them to breathe, and decreases their chances of being taken by a predator. Antarctic penguins have also developed the ability to leap out of the water to a substantial height on land, enabling them to quickly reach the safety of raised ice edges or rock ledges. Penguin legs are set far down on their bodies, so they walk with a very erect posture. Ashore they are often awkward, waddling and hopping over rocks; on snow they sometimes push themselves along on their stomachs.

Of the 17 species of penguins, only four breed on the Antarctic continent itself: the Adelie, the Emperor, the Chinstrap and the Gentoo penguins. Most other species are found within the subantarctic regions which includes many coastal islands. Penguins are also found as far north as the Galapagos Islands, straddling the Equator.

Penguins are true flightless birds. Some species spend as much as 75% of their lives at sea, yet they all breed on land or sea-ice attached to land. To withstand the harsh conditions of the Antarctic, their bodies are insulated by a thick layer of blubber and a dense network of waterproof plumage. Penguins’ bones are solid and heavy, which help them to remain submerged and reduce the energy needed for pursuit diving. Some species can reach depths of 1000 feet or more and stay submerged for up to 25 minutes, though most prefer shorter, shallower dives.

Penguins are now enjoying a population boom. Their increasing numbers can be partly attributed to the over-fishing of baleen whales in the past which has resulted in a super-abundance of krill, a key species in the Antarctic ecosystem. In addition to krill, penguins feed heavily on fish, squid, and other small crustaceans.
Penguins generally breed in large, dense colonies called ‘rookeries’, some with 180,000 or more birds. The sights, smells, and noise of one of these huge colonies are unforgettable. Most penguins build nests of stone and there they incubate one or two eggs. Adult pairs take turns incubating their eggs and feeding the chicks once they have hatched. Communication at these crowded rookeries can be very important not only in locating mates or offspring, but also in courting rituals or signalling danger. In addition to vocal signals, penguins also communicate by head and flipper waving, bowing, gesturing and preening.

Natural enemies of the penguin include seals, Killer whales, and, in the case of young chicks and eggs, several species of seabirds. Healthy adult penguins have no predators on land, so they have no natural fear of humans. While they don’t like to be approached directly, these naturally curious birds will sometimes come quite close to a quiet observer to get a better look.

An elephant’s trunk is actually a long nose used for smelling, breathing, trumpeting, drinking, and also for grabbing things—especially a potential meal. The trunk alone contains about 100,000 different muscles. African elephants have two fingerlike features on the end of their trunk that they can use to grab small items. (Asian elephants have one.)

Both male and female African elephants have tusks they use to dig for food and water and strip bark from trees. Males use the tusks to battle one another, but the ivory has also attracted violence of a far more dangerous sort.

Because ivory is so valuable to some humans, many elephants have been killed for their tusks. This trade is illegal today, but it has not been completely eliminated, and some African elephant populations remain endangered.

Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark, and they eat a lot of these things. An adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds (136 kilograms) of food in a single day.

These hungry animals do not sleep much, and they roam over great distances while foraging for the large quantities of food that they require to sustain their massive bodies.

Female elephants (cows) live in family herds with their young, but adult males (bulls) tend to roam on their own.

Having a baby elephant is a serious commitment. Elephants have a longer pregnancy than any other mammal—almost 22 months. Cows usually give birth to one calf every two to four years. At birth, elephants already weigh some 200 pounds (91 kilograms) and stand about 3 feet (1 meter) tall.

African elephants, unlike their Asian relatives, are not easily domesticated.

Atlantic puffins have penguin-like coloring but they sport a colorful beak that has led some to dub them the “sea parrot.” The beak fades to a drab gray during the winter and blooms with color again in the spring—suggesting that it may be attractive to potential mates.

These birds live most of their lives at sea, resting on the waves when not swimming. They are excellent swimmers that use their wings to stroke underwater with a flying motion. They steer with rudderlike webbed feet and can dive to depths of 200 feet (61 meters), though they usually stay underwater for only 20 or 30 seconds. Puffins typically hunt small fish like herring or sand eels.

In the air, puffins are surprisingly fleet flyers. By flapping their wings up to 400 times per minute they can reach speeds of 55 miles (88 kilometers) an hour.

Atlantic puffins land on North Atlantic seacoasts and islands to form breeding colonies each spring and summer. Iceland is the breeding home of perhaps 60 percent of the world’s Atlantic puffins. The birds often select precipitous, rocky cliff tops to build their nests, which they line with feathers or grass. Females lay a single egg, and both parents take turns incubating it. When a chick hatches, its parents take turns feeding it by carrying small fish back to the nest in their relatively spacious bills. Puffin couples often reunite at the same burrow site each year. It is unclear how these birds navigate back to their home grounds. They may use visual reference points, smells, sounds, the Earth’s magnetic fields—or perhaps even the stars.

Oriental fire-bellied toads secrete toxins from their skin, and they want potential predators to know it. When threatened, they rise up on their front legs and arch their back, sometimes even flipping themselves over completely, to reveal the bright red-and-black coloration of their underside. This behavior, known as the unken reflex, warns predators, “Eat me, and you might croak.”

One of the most common amphibians in its primary range, oriental fire-bellied toads thrive in northeastern China, Korea, southern Japan, and southern parts of Russia. They are highly aquatic and usually found in slow-moving streams and ponds. When out of water, they stick to the region’s coniferous and broadleaved forests. They hibernate from late September to May, sheltering in rotting logs, leaf piles, and occasionally at the bottom of streams.

Oriental fire-bellied toads are medium-sized, growing to a length of about 2 inches (5.5 centimeters). Their backs, covered in spiky-looking warts, can be bright green to brownish gray, and their bellies are smooth.

Tadpoles survive on algae, fungi, and plants, while the adults eat a variety of invertebrates, including worms, insects, and mollusks.

Oriental fire-bellies are popular in the pet trade, but they are common throughout their range and have no special conservation status.

The ferocious side of big cats—embodied by the mighty roar of a lion—is offset by their natural grace and swift pace. The cheetah can run at the breakneck speed of 70 miles an hour (113 kilometers an hour), with just one foot touching the ground per stride. Snow leopards have the ability to jump well over 50 feet (15 meters) in a single leap, and other leopards can easily scale trees.

Unlike their indoor relatives, who purr when happy or sad, members of the Panthera genus can roar, thanks to thick vocal cords and a flexible larynx that produces a roaring sound when the cats exhale. Cheetahs are the exception to the rule, whining or growling when afraid. Adult lions, whose roar can be heard up to five miles (eight kilometers) away, are known by their tails, which end in a distinctive tuft of hair.

Big cats are currently threatened due to poaching and habitat destruction. The lion, now confined to Africa and selected parts of India, has been classified as vulnerable because of a loss of habitat and inbreeding, which leads to decreased genetic diversity. Also in danger are tigers, snow leopards, and Amur leopards, although cheetahs and jaguars are not out of harm’s way.