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So my elderly Egyptian uromastix died 6 years ago and since then my local bulb place shut down so UK goons where are we buying them now and what brand? Setting up a table for a tortoise, taken me 6 years to find a actual honest to god breeder in this country who will let me go check out his set up in home then come home with my pick.
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Feb 3, 2022 23:03
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 16:35 |
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Thanks  but I don’t think I could have another as it would always be “the replacement”What happened there is 15 years ago I was bemoaning the lack of herbivores in the pub and a week later a friend who worked at Manchester airport showed up with the uromastix in a box with the paperwork and went here take this. He was already elderly and had accidentally snuck himself in on a flight from Egypt. Basically a cat, would sit sunning himself and fall asleep then topple sideways off his wood. He’s lay there still on his side like “this was a plan” and then the moment you left the room scuttle back on his wood.
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Feb 4, 2022 09:50
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I get different breeds and types when my animals die, it's more that there is such a wide range of birds/dogs/herp out there, and I've never been a breeder or specialist in one single type, so you get the fun of learning all over again. Like my uro liked a dry vivarium, the tortoise will have a table and likes the damp which is a whole new thing for me.
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Feb 4, 2022 10:28
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This is what I'm going to be talking to old man breeder about, he's got a couple of different kinds and we'll go through pros and cons - setting up a table for "tortoise" and then we'll adapt from there. e; getting solid information out of northern old men breeders of any animal is fairly pointless till they see you have the cash in your hands, and then if by magic the infomation flows. learnincurve fucked around with this message at 11:07 on Feb 4, 2022 |
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Feb 4, 2022 11:05
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solid advice thank you I will never not make an involuntary scream at the mention of heat rocks and the first enclosure will be plywood with a separated bedding area and I got enough tortoise soil so it can bury and hide. I'm going to get a custom table built so how high would you suggest the sides be?
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Feb 4, 2022 21:04
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This tortoise is 100% going to end up being given my (adult) son's room when he leaves home, I can see it now. Even the place where the sand pit would fit.
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Feb 4, 2022 21:37
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so what you are saying is that I need to construct some sort of metal escape room?
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Feb 4, 2022 23:14
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Well I'm not getting chickens. Spoke to original breeder about types and my potential set up, he then went to speak to a friend and it has been decided that I can be trusted with a leopard and they are going to give me a young one. I had the space cleared and permission for this big chicken run with greenhouse, so that's now going to be an outside tortoise enclosure with electrics layed on for the summer day time while it over winters in the house (I know they don't hibernate). Be on a small table while young but what I'm going to do is get a whelping pen and convert it into a tortoise enclosure right in the middle of the living room because I'm 42 years old and this is my house and I can. I know it's not a beginners pet by any means, it's that the stuff I was prepared to do, anyway is suited to a leopard.
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Feb 5, 2022 18:12
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Update: been running the baby room for two days and I got the temps and humidity under control (and adjustable at night time), got some slate coming tomorrow for that food area and I got fresh grass to put in a pot in the corner. Picture taken just before lights out so humidity higher than day.
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Feb 9, 2022 22:05
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Skiffy is home! He had a sleep on his basking spot then went down the mound and is having another sleep
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Feb 17, 2022 21:16
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Update! He had a bit to eat and then went and sat in his water
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Feb 17, 2022 21:59
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He did indeed need his water changing. Don’t be worried if your tortoise hides from you for the first few days they said, he will need time to get used to his surroundings… Meanwhile skiffy
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Feb 17, 2022 22:08
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He explored every inch of his nursery last night, and then decided to go sleep on top of his watercress.
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Feb 18, 2022 08:44
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Skiffy update: he sleeps A Lot, as babies of all species are wont to do just to freak you out, while I play the “fun with humidity” game. I’ve another layer of a forest substrate coming tomorrow and some moss, and I’ll dig him up a dandelion or two and pot them up aand this is my life now
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Feb 22, 2022 14:35
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agh, that super awkward thing when you come to post and you were the last person to have posted Skiffy has been renamed "grump" Goons elsewhere talked my 18 year old daughter out of getting rats and into getting a snake. She's just started working and saved up for a vivarium and the light fixtures which was set up with pictures of the snakes she was going to save for (along with a budget for the interior) taped to it and I have showed mercy so she's coming home to....  Somewhere in there there is a Blue Eyed Leucistic male Columbian Rainbow Boa born in 2019 'cos I ain't dealing with another baby. Edit: from exotic pets in Dronfield if anyone knows the guy Edit 2: the taxi driver had no idea what was in the boxes, especially the polystyrene one learnincurve fucked around with this message at 15:11 on Mar 7, 2022 |
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Mar 7, 2022 15:02
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He's still hiding but this is his glamour shot from the website edit: it's his undercarriage which is white learnincurve fucked around with this message at 16:31 on Mar 7, 2022 |
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Mar 7, 2022 16:19
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He'd got stuck 
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Mar 7, 2022 17:29
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my cat is norris posted:dummy There were no words, just a long high pitched stream of noise :haw He's gone back in the part of the cork hide he's supposed to be in and seems happy enough, I did get another much bigger cork tunnel to put on one side for the inevitable future larger vivarium though - we can fit an 8ft vivarium on the stand, and I'll guide her towards getting one custom made so we can go higher if he turns out to be a climber - the reason for the Columbian rainbow over any other snake was because he only needs 85f at the basking end.
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Mar 7, 2022 22:53
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He had his mouse like a good boy and now anything white must be investigated
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Mar 10, 2022 19:58
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Yeh me again. Got a decent picture of Gunter being a crabby boy and refusing to eat his mouse till I put his hide back over him  
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Mar 17, 2022 10:42
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Video of an apex predator at work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XWlT-UrspI
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Mar 17, 2022 17:49
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This is amazing https://imgur.com/user/Goldfisj Currently on "Day 147 of posting stuff about my morphed axolotls" "Recap for new viewers: The salamanders featured in this series are morphed axolotls. Axolotls are paedomorphic salamanders, which means that they retain all of their juvenile, tadpole characteristics for life. When they near the end of their larval growth, their thyroid stops sending out signals for them to "grow up." In the case of a morphing axolotl, the thyroid never stops sending these signals and they hit metamorphosis and turn into terrestrial salamanders. Their gills and fins are lost and they grow a tongue, eyelids, and strong bones made for walking. It is a pretty rare occurrence. Gollum is 4. He has been with us since he was a 7 month old aquatic axolotl. He morphed when he was 10 months old. Nyx is about a year old. She morphed when she was about 6 months old. Her owner felt like she couldn't give her the care that she needed, so she came here. The Four Cheese Special, Halloumi, Grated Cheez, Bocconcini, and Taleggio, are around 10 months old. They are rescues from a bizarre, shady breeder situation. The Cheeses' two siblings (Melted Cheez and Charcoal Cheez) arrived a few weeks ago. They were in bad shape, suffering from bacterial infections and parasite infestation, among other things. They are currently in recovery and doing better all the time. Morphed axolotls are difficult to care for because there are virtually no guides on the matter. All information found is contradictory and sometimes even harmful. Most metamorphs die due to improper care and misinformation. I am aiming to change that one day at a time by sharing what I learn about these amazing, rare creatures. Learn more about our metamorphs here! https://www.instagram.com/salamanderwithasign/ "
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Mar 27, 2022 12:24
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You want to stick a heat mat on the side of the tank to get the ambient heat up to 75c - frogs don’t mind a daylight bulb but they are less evolutionary dumb than tortoises and the like so don’t need UVB Edit: get a 100w bulb and a dimmer switch, you will use 25w but the bulb will last 4 times as long.
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Mar 27, 2022 21:27
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yes but carefully, they say don't because you can cause heat spots but as your frog won't be making direct contact it's less of a concern
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Mar 28, 2022 21:34
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In the UK we tend to do wooden vivariums and go wide and tall for bearded dragons. Obviously not the right country but these guys are the absolute kings in the UK, and this is their recommended set up page. https://snakesnaddersonline.co.uk/setups-%26-kits Must watch video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZDlMJEgwJQ
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Apr 15, 2022 23:25
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you need UV lights running along one end, and a 100w/150w heat lamp. The single best purchase you can make is a day and night pulse thermostat - I have this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MMIJSDS you plug the UV in one socket and your heat source in another. Then set it for your day and night temps (obv), it then feeds though only the wattage you need, which massively extends the life of your bulbs which ultimately means it pays for itself. For example, my day temps in Gunther's viv are 30c and the 100w ceramic lamp is only feeding in 1% power to maintain it, so that ceramic lamp will last 100 years which is nice because it was £40. Don't skimp on the lamp holders, you are going to need a ceramic lamp holder and a guard for it as well. It's often *a lot* cheaper to find a reptile place doing a full kit, it's not the vivarium that'll get you, it's all the stuff you have to put in it - wood, I once spent £120 on wood.
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Apr 19, 2022 08:11
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So rather than do 47 posts in a row I decided to do one big herp update First of all if my kids ask this is skiffy and not the magically aged skiffy 2 now known as Grump - few days after we got skiffy 1 I noticed that there was a big gouge running along his carapace, vet said it was formed in shell and if I had the option to swap with the breeder then to do so asap. As far as I'm aware, OG skiffy is fine and the breeder is still grumbling about it. Grump This is a lie:     (he's stuck on top of the block inside the den)  Guenther Columbian rainbow snake, nothing really to report he had his first shed with me and it was perfect, he's a greedy sod and an A plus snek. He's not my Snek though, I got given a new Snek and I'd like to formally introduce the thread to… Megatron Now Megatron was a very sick boy when I got him, he had got into a pickle with his regurgitation. I followed the 14 day plan and he's kept 3 meals down now, plus he he absolutely snatched his mouse like a good boy for the first time last feed. Only minor thing is that he's on pinkies which are a mite too small for him so I'm going to talk to An Expert before the next feed. I have glamour shot   The only other pictures I have need explaining, there is a chickcam which he started watching so I leave it on for him at night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amepMAGiZgo we call this once "ambition"  I took these for scale and yes he did exactly what you think he was going to do but missed.   /snek! learnincurve fucked around with this message at 15:55 on Apr 30, 2022 |
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Apr 30, 2022 15:52
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The guide I read about corn snakes had on the cons list; "can be nippy when they are young, you may need to get a friend to help you out"
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Apr 30, 2022 17:50
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So my local place does these amazing videos, this one is how to handle a grumpy snake, the forum won't link time so fast forward to 3:38 for the most amazing ominous hissing ever caught on camera. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xC5ANNNwA4
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May 7, 2022 18:29
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First of all you *need* ceramic light fittings (because of fire) and what you want is separate UVB light strips (attached to L shape wood hung above the table) and UVA bulbs (clip on ceramic holder). UVB means they can can absorb food properly and UVA is your heat source, the problem with combined bulbs is that for efficancy you want the highest wattage UVA bulb you can find and then to use a manual dimmer switch or ideally a pulse thermostat to turn it down, which will massively extend the life of the bulb, *but* if you have your UVB combined you will never be able to turn the heat down at all without making it useless. I use tortoise soil 2/3 of the table and then a mix of edible bedding and hay inside his hide and at the entrance to it and that's where he's fed so there won't be risk of eating soil when he throws his food around. They won't climb or try to escape is the biggest myth.
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May 7, 2022 19:23
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fawning deference posted:Do you have any particular go-tos for lighting in terms of actual products? Knowing just what to buy for my setup has always been the trickiest part for me. First of all tortoises hate glass, if they can see out the sides they will go mad trying to get out, a fix for that if you have a vivarium is to get duck tape and black out the sides to just above head height so they can't see out These are short and very light so great for hanging above tables - the new Arcadia pro range: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arcadia-Pro-UVB-Kit-ShadeDweller/dp/B07R54KX6C My bulbs are Exo Terra but the Arcadia and Komodo bulbs are also fine, the key is that you just massively extend the life by running less wattage though high watt bulbs This is my thermostat: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MMIJSDS/ It's a pulse day and night, two plugs, one for your UVB strip that just turns it on and off at set times and the other feeds though power to your bulb/ceramic heater as it needs it, one set of temps for day and then one for night - my snake is tropical nocturnal so I have a ceramic heater instead of a bulb.
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May 7, 2022 21:55
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For humidity with herps in open top or wooden vivarium you give them a moss box (hide filled with wet spagnum moss) at the basking end and put wet moss in the sleeping area.
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May 7, 2022 22:01
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I just handled Megatron for the first time because he ate two pinkies on thursday without regurgitating and he was good as gold, lots of tasting the air but not even the slightest sign of aggression or mistaking my finger for a pinkie, just "oh hey outside the glass!". Guenther (brown rainbow boa) is getting better as well, at the start he's still doing the thing all rainbow boas do when they are nervous which is to constrict really hard round your arm with the back end and then go loooong with the front end, like ok mr pointy calm down lad.
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May 8, 2022 10:47
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The latest in UVB are Arcadia T5 pro which come in extremely compact sizes and although this isn’t the exact one you want they do do them in desert https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arcadia-Pr...ps%2C107&sr=8-3 I’ll be honest, they are so light I just glued the entire unit to where I wanted it rather than use the tiny screws.
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May 11, 2022 08:38
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Okay, I'll see if I can find that or the Reptisun from the OP at the local store. Actually, reading it again, do I want the UVB bulb to go the full length of the terrarium? Is it UVB bulb and light bulb full length of the terrarium, heat lamp only in one section? I have Strong Opinions on how long UVB should be from my uromastics days, half length of the housing maximum. Basically you want a dark shady end and a light end for several reasons. Firstly it's just more comfortable to have the lights turned down when you are trying to have a nap, secondly one long strip simulates the midday sun, and they don't make tiny baseball caps and shades so you want them to have a dark area they can settle their eyes on while they soak heat and uvb
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May 11, 2022 12:14
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Ordered guenthers 48x 24 x24 and was all like "well this is it set ups for both snakes at all ages  ", told friend I have baby corn to "oh but you can have my old corn snake set ups" to about 30 seconds of "oh no but I shouldn't" so here I am +3 vivariums and +1 snekglencora Hunting the prey  Trial  Error  Sucesssss  e: I should point out that this is a rescue snake if anyone is wondering about her weight, house policy is and always has been if you buy two animals then the third must be a rescue learnincurve fucked around with this message at 13:49 on May 11, 2022 |
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May 11, 2022 12:48
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What he's in right now won't murder him to death right away but it's most definitely emergency housing. Chicken wire would be a short term anti-cat solution. He needs elevation and things to climb over for sure, you need to be able to tell what the temps are on his basking spot as well. Plus, you want a pulse thermostat to adust the lights for you, doesn't have to be fancy pants with a digital readout - habistat do a decent cheap one and petsmart should have that brand. Honestly the best thing you can do is get him out of the fish tank and into a vivarium/terrarium with side opening doors - check your local second hand places like facebook, craigslist and ebay, people tend to keep the expensive bits like the heat and lights when they go up a size and sell the box bit for a fraction of what they paid for it. Reptile housing is generally interchangeable it's just the size of the box which determines everything else. You are going to have to take a trip out to petsmart for live feed which is a first concern, and they may have full set ups at a discount so that's worth checking out, but yeh, it needs upgrading for sure but not getting enough UVB tends to cause long term damage and so long as he's getting enough heat and eating you don't need to check on him every 5 in a panic
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May 11, 2022 17:55
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22 Eargesplitten posted:
This is my actual local store he talks a lot about temps, habitat, food and shows you how to sex your dragon - also that dragon is even bigger now and will run over to people in his enclosure to greet them like a little puppy dog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZDlMJEgwJQ
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May 11, 2022 20:52
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I have an update and oh my god I've never cried over a snake before but Glencora just ate for me and I'm bawling. Two days after I put her in juvenile vivarium she eats, all day I've had a warm mouse and rat chub by the vents wafting the smell into her viv, then I left a fresh warm small mouse on a paper towel in her viv, blocked all light and buggered off, checked back half an hour later and she's eaten it. We know she eats mouse so I'm going to increase the size of mouse from the small mice she's used to and then see how we go from there, hopefully I can convince her that African soft fur rats are superior to mice. Guenther was also a good boy and ate two very hefty chubs so I'm bumping him to weaner rats soon. The mother loving star of the day. 
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May 12, 2022 21:18
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 16:35 |
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When they go they go. Although I had a egyption uromastix for 15 years and I swear he held it in just for me. you want the largest enclosure you can get, once you start decorating you run out of room real fast, 36″ x 18″ x 18″ which is 40 gall, is the smallest an adult that size will fit in but you could stand to go proportionally shorter and wider. For lizards it's a simple rule; the correct size of housing is your [lizard lizard lizard] you tend to find longer is not much more money, where the expense kicks in is when you need to go up and deep with the special arboreal enclosures. Basically you need a hot end and a cool end and if your lizard is spread out over both ends then they can't thermoregulate. You are running a dry viv so as long as the material isn't toxic to your animal or flammable it's fine. One thing they do like is different heights and wood, you really can massively increase the usable space with bits of wood. Treated wood is expensive and you can save a lot of money treating your own using a pressure cooker https://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/wood.shtml is a great guide that factors in wood that should be safe but humans keep treating them with pesticides making them useless for viv.
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May 14, 2022 19:12
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