Husbandry Guides on Herpeton Academy

Brumation

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

📌 What brumation is

Brumation is a seasonal slowing of metabolism, appetite, activity, digestion, and reproductive physiology in many temperate reptiles. It is often compared with mammalian hibernation, but it is not exactly the same thing. Brumating reptiles are cold-dependent animals whose body temperature and metabolic rate follow the environment; they may remain inactive for long periods, but they can also shift position, drink, or respond weakly when conditions change.

Tortoise Feeding

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

📌 What tortoise feeding should achieve

Good tortoise feeding is not about finding one perfect salad. It is about building a repeatable system that gives the animal fiber, calcium, water, trace nutrients, exercise, and normal browsing behavior without excess sugar, excess protein, or fast growth.

Most commonly kept tortoises are herbivores, but they are not all the same kind of herbivore. A Hermann’s tortoise browsing Mediterranean weeds, a sulcata grazing coarse grasses, and a red-footed tortoise eating fallen fruit, fungi, leaves, and occasional animal matter in humid forest-edge habitats have different feeding priorities. The first rule is always species identity.

UVB Lighting for Reptiles

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

📌 Why UVB matters

UVB is part of natural sunlight. In many reptiles, UVB exposure allows the skin to produce vitamin D3, which then helps the animal absorb and use calcium. Without enough usable UVB, and without enough dietary calcium, reptiles can develop metabolic bone disease, weak bones, soft or deformed shells, poor muscle function, egg-laying problems, and long-term growth issues.

UVB is not the whole story. A reptile also needs correct heat, visible light, diet, hydration, and space. An animal cannot use calcium properly if it is too cold to digest. A strong lamp over a barren enclosure is also not good care. The goal is not “as much UVB as possible”; the goal is a safe light gradient that lets the reptile choose exposure.