Chrysemys Picta

Painted Turtle

Gurley, R. 2005. Turtles in Captivity. ECO Herpetological Publishing and Distribution. Lansing, Michigan

Painted turtles come in many colors, and they are the most beautiful turtles out there, with their striking features. I did some research on the painted turtle, and I found interesting articles that I had read over the past couple days. Somethings that I have found their interesting about the articles that I have read is painted turtles are found throughout United States and Mexico. The articles I read gave a vague summary about these animals so I had to do some heavy research to achieve the things I have found. What I liked about the articles is The articles I have read gives a brief general description of what a painted turtle eats, what there natural environment is like, and where they are usually found in the world. There's not much questions that I have, that I would like to know more about, turtles are common knowledge and you can easily look up questions online. I would love to have a pet painted turtle, but turtles are a lot of work, mostly because painted turtles needs multiple habitats to ensure their survival. The price ranges from 14 to 40 dollars, depending where you purchase them from. Two websites where you can look at painted turtles if you're interested in buying them are www.petsmart.com and they sell painted turtles in store for $29.99 also, another website is www.undergroundreptiles.com and that website is an online website and painted turtles on there are sold for $14.99 with shipping, and handling. There are 10 different types of morphs for painted turtles, and 4 different sub species. People aren't concerned about painted turtles, only because they're a large number of turtles throughout US, and Mexico. There hasn't been any controversy about painted turtles being kept in captivity. No, you do not need a permit to take care of a painted turtle. You can go to your local pet store and purchase one without a hassle of bringing permits.

Albino Eastern painted turtle

Western painted turtle

Midland painted turtle hatchling

Care Requirements:

• Size: typically a grown female will be from 6-7 inches, while makes are smaller (5-6 inches)

• Housing: Young painted turtles thrive in a warm environment with clean water, and live plants, both floating, and underwater. Their enclosure should be similar to how they would live in the wild. Having places where they can hide can help them out to feel more secure.

• Food: Romaine lettuce, Duckweed, crickets would be fine for your turtle, but also keep in mind they do sell turtle food at your local pet store.

Eublepharis Macularius

Leopard Gecko Care

September 2014

I chose this article because I have a love for Leopard Gecko's, and also they are beautiful reptiles. What I liked from the article I read was it gave me information about the gecko in depth. The article that I read, gave me information about taking care of the animal and there diet. What I liked about the article is, its's very descriptive and very informative. The article tells you the pros and cons of taking care of a gecko which is very helpful to beginner gecko owners. Questions I have regarding to this animal is, how many eggs does a female typically have and how long does it take for the eggs to hatch? I already own my own gecko but if I never had one I would definitely buy one, they're beautiful reptiles and they're very photogenic! The price range for these geckos vary from 14 to 200$ depending where you get them from. some websites are www.petsmart.com/ which leopard geckos are $14.99 another website is http://www.reptmart.com/ which is $19.99 plus shipping and handling. There is 23 different types of color morphs for this particular reptile. The cost for each morphs vary depending where you get them from. Leopard gecko aren't endangered at all, Leopard geckos are usually found in Afghanistan, Northwestern India, Pakistan, Iran, and lastly Iraq. Leopard gecko's aren't endangered, and there isn't any recent debate about leopard geckos being kept in captivity. You don't need a permit to take care of these creatures. The care requirements I will list down below.

Diablo Blanco Leopard Gecko

Nova Leopard Gecko

High Yellow Leopard Gecko

Red Striped Leopard Gecko

Care Requirements:

• Housing: one or two adults will be comfortable in a 10-gallon aquarium, but 20 or 30 gallon is perfectly fine for your pets.
• Substrate: Sand is the best bedding for your pet, using fine-grained sand (0.5mm or less) will be the best for them because anything couarse will harm your pet because the coarser sand can scratch their under bellies.
• Heating: reptiles require a temperature gradient that will allow them to select the temperature that best suits their needs at that moment. Sometimes your leopard geckos will want to heat up, other times they will want to be cooler. The best way to heat your gecko enclosure is with an under-the-tank heater. It all depends.
• Shelter: Leopard geckos are nocturnal, and in the wild they hide under rocks or other places during the day. Your pet would love it if you gave them something to hide during the day.
• Food: I recommend crickets or meal worms, only feed them wax worms if they're under weight or sick. For water change the water every couple of days. Also, once in awhile you should consider dipping your pets food in calcium powder so they get there vitamins. 
• Level of experience: Leopard geckos are intermediate level animal to keep, they aren't really hard, but they are not easy to take care of either. 
• One thing that I personally love about this animal is how colorful they are and there eyes are just beautiful.

Lampropeltis triangulum

Lampropeltis triangulum

June 2014

I chose this reptile article because I am very fascinated by the Milk snake.

   What I liked about this article is how informative this article is. The article gave me information about their diet, what they eat, how they hunt and where they live at in the wild. I also like the fact that they gave the physical description of the snake I was researching on. Reading this article gave me more information about this type of snake because I do love this breed of snakes. What I learned from this article is Milk snakes breed once yearly, breeding occurs in spring and early summer, from April through June. The Milk snakes are native to both United States and Canada, Typically Milk snakes can be from 35 to 175 cm long. Also some other things that I learned is Milk snakes have 19 to 23 rows of smooth scales and a single anal plate. Lastly, Milk snakes typically live in either a savanna, forest or grassland type of place. The only question I really have about this snake is, how can you tell the difference between male and female? I would like to purchase one because they are very smart animals that are loving and very friendly. The average price for a milk snake is $59.00 and up. You can purchase these snakes at pet stores like Petco, Pet Smart and VIP Pets. You can purchase animals from "http://www.petco.com/" and also "http://www.petsmart.com/" prices may vary with these types of snakes and your experience on them. There are multiple colors that comes to this type of snake, ranging from the brightest reds, to the darkest blacks and to the coldest whites. they're over 18 different morphs of this snake. The albinos and less common Milk snakes will be $79.00 and up the common Milk snake like the nelson Milk snake will be $54.00 and up. Even though Milksnakes are often killed by humans who mistake them as venomous snakes, they are widespread and considered abundant. No, you do not need a permit to buy a Milk snake because they are harmless and they do not have any venom. There isn't any controversy surrounding the milk snake being kept in capitvity. 

Anerythristic Honduran Milksnake

Patternless Extreme Hypomelanistic Honduran Milksnake

Vanishing Pattern Ghost Honduran Milksnake

Care requirements: 

• Heating lamp
•  Bedding
•  Bowl of water for the snake to soak in. 
• This animal is considered an intermediate animal to take care of. The most interesting thing about this animal to me is how diverse they are and how abundant they are through out the country.