hothouse

It is part of my job to be a "responsible pet seller", and it is the pet owner to be a "responsible pet owner". If only it was all this easy! Every Turtle we sell goes with one of my books, 'Keeping Freshwater Turtles Successfully in NZ (2014 revised edition), so the Turtle Owner gets the correct information for their care (I can't enforce pet owners to read this unfortunately). We only sell Turtles to the Pet Stores, this way it is up to the store seller to determine if the customer is going to be a responsible pet owner, as it is with all pets they sell. This doesn't always work as many 'want to be owners' lie about equipment they don't have, their huge tanks that are only 2 ft long, etc. and this will always happen. But at least our Turtles aren't sold on an online site where we have no idea what the future will be for the Turtle. We field many emails daily on Turtle care, problems etc, and have re-homed plenty over the years, including flying Turtles from other Turtle re-homing facilities to be re-homed. The National Aquarium of NZ (also here in Napier) take in and re-home Turtles if the owner has no other option. It was only two weeks ago I uplifted some Turtles from there to be re-homed. The biggest problem with Turtle owners is the change in life style where the Turtle no longer fits. This happens with all animals unfortunately. But please don't assume we just breed and it stops there with us. I have had people around the country collect and forward Turtles to me and I have also driven long distances to collect and re-home unwanted Turtles and will continue to do so. It's just what I do. So yes there is a Turtle Re-homing service provided here in Hawkes Bay, but as we are well known in this part of the country, I don't need to shout it from the roof tops. Chris Burne Hot House Turtles Limited

The most trusted researcher in the world Frances Baines (in my opinion & many others. see attached), there is no problems at all with red infrared bulbs that cause problems with eyes. The eye 'burning' is caused from poorly manufactured UVB lamps/tubes. http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile ... formation/

I have kept this species, they are perfectly legal in private hands and have been so for many years. Unfortunately not many keepers have pairs, or their animals are very old. They make for a very interesting species to observe, and seem reasonably easy to look after once past the baby stage.

Please do not PM or email us requests or orders for Emydura subglobosa, (Jardine River Turtles, Australian Painted Turtles, Red bellies). We are wholesale only and sell all hatchling Turtles (except for the odd morph) to the Pet Stores. I appreciate those that are wanting to get in first, but we are dedicated to the Pet Industry of NZ. Order through your Pet Stores and we will liaise with them when we know availability and estimated time of dispatch. Thanks for your understanding. Cheers Chris

Cheers

Just hatched:

I will endevour to remember how to upload some pic's of my E. subglobosa: Old gnarly female! Male that's shed algae covered shell. Males exhibit more color than the females, and are half the size, (apart from the tail!). Some of the past seasons successful hatching's.

Nothing to explain. We have other species of Turtles that we are working with, but I don't want to get keepers hopes too high, only to find we have losses in our stock. Dealing with livestock has it's highs and lows, and often more lows than highs especially when keeping very old individuals. It's not just a matter of throwing two animals together and getting the right result. They need to be housed in the right environment, receive the correct diet and be compatible. Breeding and growing Turtles doesn't happen quickly.

We have had this species for many years in our care, and has been one part of our many breeding programs to keep different species here in New Zealand and breeding. After so many trials and errors we finally managed to get a successful mating of a very old pair of E. subglobosa. Then after many mishaps with incubating and raising of extremely fragile offspring have developed over the years our breeding colony. This year saw a handful of hatchlings born, of which we have sold to retailers. These are perfectly legal, and haven't been seen in the Pet Shops since the 70's of which my original very old breeders stemmed from. I hope to have more species available in the future. Chris Burne, Hot House Turtles Limited.

If you are referring to mercury vapor bulbs, I'm not sure if there are 100w ones available in NZ at the moment. If there are, I haven't seen any for sale.

My biggest concern with the Exo Terra & ZooMed's mercury vapor bulbs is the high wattage of these bulbs (160watt), and the small enclosures that most pet keepers house their Beardies in. These mercury vapor bulbs need a large enclosure in order to not to overheat ones pet. Most Reptile terrariums sold in the pet shops or made by DIY keepers are a standard 4ft long x max 2ft high x 2ft wide. These bulbs will either overheat ones enclosure or blow prematurely from lack of ventilation (most enclosures I've seen are simply hot boxes with very little ventilation). For those wanting to use these mercury vapor bulbs need to do their homework as they can't be used with thermostats or dimmers. Trial temps carefully, without introducing your Bearded dragon till you are certain you won't overheat your pet. However, if you have a very large enclosure I would certainly recommend using mercury vapor bulbs.

Buy them online direct from reptileuv.com. You can buy them for the same price or cheaper than what they would retail here in NZ.

To stand you corrected Hatchlings purchased over a three year period proved a 50/50 ratio of sexes. More females in the first year, more males in the last year, 50/50 in the middle.

Thank Goodness for previous threads. Pity one doesn't check these first. :roll: All Reeve's eggs incubated in summer months would be more likely to be Female. I got most eggs during the cooler months. I have had feedback from purchasers of Female Reeve's that I have hatched in the past and these are producing fertile eggs.

Where have I ever claimed "they're not". The only species of Turtle that I've bred that's known not to be TSD is Chelodina longicollis (Australian Eastern Snake-neck Turtle). Incubation temps for Male Reeve's Turtles seems to be around 27oC - 28oC and females around 30 - 32oC. The Incubator that I incubated all Turtles in was set between 27oC and 30oC. This gave a great mix of Red-eared Sliders sexes. You can't please everyone. Had I turned it up a bit everyone would have been bitchin that there were no Male RES around.

Yes these are indeed Red-eared Sliders, just ones classed as 'melanistic'. Had quite a few over the years, nothing to do with diet, lighting etc. Just a male thing that occurs with age in some of them.

I have never taken temps outside. At the end of the day they are Reptiles and require the warmth of the sun to function at full speed, so common sense has a lot to do with where you position your enclosure. By having your enclosure trap as much sun, with shelter from cold southerlies then you will see them thrive. On cloudy, cool and wet days you won't see them out much, if at all. It's exactly what they would experience in their natural habitat. No need to run out with a hot water bottle for them or rush them inside to keep them warm. Once we're not using any heating in our house on a regular basis, and getting nice hot days, then it's time to move my Beardies out.

I totally agree, and house all my adult Reptiles outside year round with the exception of my Bearded Dragons. These I house outdoors from October to early April, as I feel it's just too cold and damp for them to survive and thrive in the winters we have here. The unfortunate thing is that it's just not possible for every Reptile owner to house their pet outdoors, even for the warmer months. As a distributor of Reptile accessories it's my job to ensure that the products we sell are safe for all Reptiles we keep in NZ to thrive indoors as well.

It all depends on the size of your enclosure, and what amount of light you are after. If you have a large enclosure then you might go with two UVB compacts or one UVB compact and one white light too keep the lighting levels high. It is now known that Reptiles don't just thermo-regulate (move to and fro from hot to cool areas to regulate their body temperature at optimum levels), they also photo-regulate. What this means is that they can see, or sense UVB. Reptiles will move away from UVB light when they have absorbed a sufficient amount, and will then bask under non UVB lights. When they require more UVB they will then move back to the UVB source.

I totally agree with the concerns over UVB lighting What's great, acceptable, and what's lethal? How do we know, and what brands can we trust? As we all know UVB is one of the three main lifelines of reptiles well being. The other two being heating and diet. If any one of these three vital lifelines is incorrect or missing all together then our pet is going to suffer and most probably die. As a distributor of reputable Reptile diets, heating and UVB lighting it's my job to make sure I get it right. UVB lighting is one we can't take lightly as there are so many cheap bulbs out there (I should know, I imported some in the past that were bad, was oblivious to it, but rest assured these have well and truly been removed from the market and knowing what I know now I won't be so naive in the future). As new batches of bulbs are imported I randomly test UVB output, and any new brands of UVB bulbs we import for the possibility of marketing are trialed with my own Reptiles for 12 months, as well as being independently tested in the UK. Having believed suppliers in the past I no longer take anyone's word for it when it comes to the well being of everyone's pet Reptiles, not to mention my own Reptiles. Of the three compact UVB bulbs on the market in New Zealand at the moment I can tell you that these three have been independently tested in the UK and are safe if the manufacturers recommendations are adhered to. These brands are: Lucky Reptile, Arcadia, and ReptaPet. I have also used these three brands and have never experienced any problems what so ever. I have found Lucky Reptile have an added advantage of an effective range of up to 50cm!

Sorry to hear about Calypso. I hope all goes well. Symptoms with bad UV lighting are: Reptiles hiding a lot as the UV is too strong, eyes (both) closed a lot and swollen, going off their diet, excessive shedding which looks like the new skin underneath is burnt - as in sun burnt. We take a lot for granted with specific lighting and believe what is stated on the packaging. The UV lighting was the only product ever that we rushed on to the market without extensive testing believing that since it was a brand already selling in Australia that it would be all good. The new Lucky Reptile UVB/UVA Compact bulbs that we distribute have been professionally tested for us in the UK as well as by myself for the last 12 months. If anyone is using a REPTAPET UVB/UVA TUBE please replace it immediately. They have the potential to harm your Reptile. Please note that RETAPET UVB/UVA COMPACTS are fine to use. We also had these tested in the UK. After seeing the results of many UVB/UVA lights from around world tested, I personally would never use anything made in China as the inconsistencies between batches and the poor glass / phosphor ratios lead to lethal levels UVB being emitted.

Hi chilli Sorry to hear of the burn to your Dragon. This is perhaps not the right place etc, but we sell to the Pet retailers a wire cage that has a ceramic fitting E27 (screw fitting) for ceramic heat emitters and heat bulbs. To me they are an essential part of Lizard safety as I have experienced and seen too many injuries from bulbs. As pointed out Water Dragons can jump and Beardies can climb. Scars are for life and for the sake of approx $60.00, to me a small price to pay for safety of your reptile and your skin as well!! I'm not pushing a product, just pointing out that there is, and has been for some time, a product on the market to protect your pet Reptiles from serious burns. Trust me they work, I've been using them for a couple of years with no injury to my Dragons, kids or myself. Cheers Chris

Are the Leopards legal?? After the Whites Frog thing that went horribly wrong for you, just wondering?? Last thing anyone wants is a swap and then losing their new pets.

If water is maintained at a temp of around 26 - 28oC then the water can be quite deep, 300mm - 320mm. If the water is cooler then they must be able to easily reach the surface by standing on the bottom. Their feet aren't as webbed as other Aquatic Turtles ie Sliders, Cooters and Snake-necks, therefore the Reeve's find it more difficult to push themselves through the water. This size tank will house two for life easily.

Count me in. Will be able to help where needed. Just ask.