Figure 1. A vivarium enclosure for a royal python (Python regius) showing heat bulb, ultraviolet light, water bowl and ample hides provided by artificial foliage.

Reptile husbandry: the basics

Often, when people think about reptiles, they imagine a vivarium (commonly referred to as ‘viv’ for short). This has historically been a wooden enclosure, varying in size, with a glass front and vents...

Figure 4. Elizabethan collar to assist in preventing trauma to the operation site. This is rarely needed with appropriate analgesia. Sugar gliders can often reach most body parts even with an Elizabethan collar fitted.

Neutering sugar gliders

It has been documented that a sugar glider should be fasted for approximately 4 hours before anaesthesia for castration (Pye and Carpenter, 1999). However, in the authors' experience, because of the...