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Post by mark68 on Jun 17, 2008 5:48:50 GMT
It depends on what you are keeping and how you are keeping them, but personally I find it easier just to feed them conventional livefood. I breed all of my own that I need and there are several species that are productive without too much work.
Failing that if the viv is a open air type rather than a enclosed type like a greenhouse, then I would consider using fruit and veg peelings to encourage worms, slugs, woodlice, flies etc. I used to keep many salamanders and newts in this way. I never needed to provide food for them, it just bred in the enclosure with the addition of the organic matter.
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Post by mark68 on May 16, 2008 20:15:17 GMT
Very, very impressed ! WE have just finished some 2x2m enclosures also. I will post some pics soon as well. Really nice design of the finished ones. I hope we can see some pics also of the other type once they are done.
In what part of the world are you Soe ?
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Post by mark68 on Feb 8, 2008 6:17:12 GMT
Nice idea Miqe. Could be very useful
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Post by mark68 on Oct 14, 2006 15:13:06 GMT
If your interested particularly in keeping Lizards outdoors Then you really ought to be checking out his website and trying to get hold of anything he has written. I can personally say I have got alot of inspiration from what he has done.
He particularly likes to challenge the notion that you can't keep outdoors species that are traditionally thought of as "tropical". I think we as a group in Europe seem obssessed by keeping temperate european species without looking further afield
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Post by mark68 on Oct 16, 2007 17:25:56 GMT
This IS a very important thread and we should all be concerned. From what I have heard keepers will be safe if they can provide some sort of document from the original breeder that supplied you with the animals that the parents they have used (to produce the young they sold you) were themselves captive bred. One problem I face is that some animals I have go back many generations and the original stock were bought when I didn't know I would need breeders certificates 8 years or more later ! All I can suggest is that other keepers that you know and trust maybe able to help provide certs for you. Do I need to spell this out ? I have no idea if DEFRA will ever try to "police" any legislation, i doubt it, but we should at least all make sure we get breeders certificates with any new animals we obtain.
Alex thanks for raising this, and I will be in touch soon with an apology !
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Post by mark68 on Jun 2, 2007 15:50:54 GMT
I will do. Very Nice web site design may I say, but not sure about the dodgy looking bloke on the homepage !
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Post by mark68 on Jun 1, 2007 15:43:53 GMT
I Can't help you, but can I take this opertunity to ask how the plan for the Zoo is going ?
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Post by mark68 on May 31, 2007 9:25:12 GMT
Can anybody recommend a courrier for Reptiles in the UK ? Any contact no's/ ideas of price I would be gratefull for.
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Post by mark68 on Nov 25, 2006 16:11:46 GMT
If animals are kept in densities above normal/natural, then it seems to me, likely, parasites could be a problem. One reptile I "worm" at least once a year are the tortoises we keep. They must frequently be eating worm eggs, as they eat there greens. I have read that pinworms are common in tortoises and are easily transmitted via the fecal-oral route. Luckily it is easily treated with panacur which is easy to get hold of and very safe.
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Post by mark68 on Jan 28, 2007 15:24:33 GMT
Although many European herps can be quite common in the wild, given there reproductive potential should we need wild caught ?? This is especially true of course for amphibian species. As a breeder it is frustrating when your captive bred young that you have spent time and money rearing, fail to sell because they seem expensive to other people, compared to wild caught adults.
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Post by mark68 on Jun 6, 2007 19:39:51 GMT
Your welcome !!
What I should have said also is that the container for the daphnia should be as large as possible with a large surface area to allow lots of oxygen to get to them. You might want to keep them out of the full sun in the hotter part of the year to avoid overheating. warm water of course also hold less oxygen than cold. A small air pump might even help productivity. But as they say there is more than one way to peel a banana. There are plenty of others out there with more newt rearing experience than me. Hopefully somebody will suggest better/different ideas......
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Post by mark68 on Jun 5, 2007 19:01:59 GMT
This is something I have read about and found worked for me, but daphnia cultures can just crash for no apparent reason.
Get two large plastic containers and put them outside in a sunny location. Fill both with water and let the chlorine evaporate over a couple of days. One container is for the daphnia, one for their food. In one container put in the starter culture of daphnia. In the other add small amounts of herbivore manure (Rabbit, horse etc) or and banana skins. Over the next week in this container will grow minute plant and animal life that the daphnia eat. Simply ladel in a small amount for the daphnia in their tank until is is SLIGHTY cloudy. When it clears again add more. The daphnia should multiply rapidly. Do not let any daphnia get into their food tank !!
The contents of this food tank can be food also for the newly hatched newt/salamander larvae.
It may be worth carrying small water changes to the daphnia tank every couple of weeks to keep it all ticking along nicely.
I hope this helps.
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Post by mark68 on Jan 4, 2007 8:02:03 GMT
Thanks Killian for your help. he used to be a neighbour of mine, but we both moved house. At one time we had both had tree frogs that called to each other ! Mark
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Post by mark68 on Dec 31, 2006 12:54:46 GMT
Hi everybody could anybody supply me with Charles Snell's e-mail address, or could somebody let him know I am trying to get hold of him. I don't know if he is a member of the forum but there are some nice pics of his enclosures here supplied by somebody else.
I got a christmas card from him but i have lost his contact details !!
Thanks Mark Harris. (email address lacerta@sapo.pt)
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Post by mark68 on Oct 19, 2006 19:06:10 GMT
A slight change in direction maybe. The introduction of non native (european species) can be very dangerous. It seems to be forgotten that our rarest species (now extinct in UK) of amphibian was the Pool frog. There was a population in london that was 50%/50% native/mainland european. This is now a mixed population including esculenta probably from an escaped esculenta or ridibunda. The original group could have formed the basis for introductions instead of the proposed Swedish stock. At the same site at one time there was breeding population of Hyla arborea, Bombina variegata, as well as Podarcis muralis and Triturus alpestris (both still there). Apart from the alpines I cant see them doing any native species any harm. Has anybody seen the introduced (dorset) population of Lacerta bilineata/viridis
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