FAQs

FAQ's

Reptiles
How old should my (child) be to keep a reptile?
What's the best pet reptile?
Do reptiles smell?
Ponds
Why is my pond green, & what can I do about it?

Reptiles

How old should my (child) be to keep a reptile?
Reptiles are pretty easy to keep, once you have the correct set-up to keep them in. Snakes are probably the easiest as they
generally only need feeding once a week, so a sensible 9yr old should be able to manage a snake.

What's the best pet reptile?
This is a question we are asked all the time, & it is impossible to answer because it's all a matter of opinion, but as a rule of
thumb, Snakes such as CORNSNAKES, or Lizards such as BEARDED DRAGONS are great choices for first-time reptile owners, because they have both been sucessfully kept & bred as pets for many years, so there are plenty of books and care-products available for both, and lots of proven advise can be offered by your specialist reptile centre.

Do reptiles smell?
Another favourite, and again not a straightforward answer. NO, REPTILES DONT SMELL, But their FOOD, or their DROPPINGS,
or BEDDING CAN SMELL!! Basically, reptiles are pretty clean creatures. They dont sweat, & are covered in a scaley skin whichthey 'shed' regularly, so they dont really have an odour. BUT, their droppings and their (uneaten) food, combined with the heated enviroment they need to be kept in, CAN STINK!! -so, for your own good, as well as the good of your pet, KEEP THEM CLEAN!!

Ponds

Why is my pond green, & what can I do about it?
If we had a pound for each time we,re asked this, we,d all be sitting on a beach somewhere hot...!! Basically, sunlight causes
green water by making the millions of algae-cells in your pond bloom, giving the apperance that the pond has turned green!
This is a totally natural and healthy process, and causes no real harm- except making it difficult to see your prized fish!! There
are two ways to deal with this: no.1 -purchase a pump & uv/filter of the correct size for your pond. These should come with a 'clear-water' guarantee, so you know you will get results for your money! Or, no.2 -plant your pond with a good selection of marginal & submerged plants, such as waterlillies & oxygenators, and also a selection of floating plants which spread quickly in the sunshine. This is often prefered as a more natural approach, and works by the more dominant marginal plants & lillies out-competing the algae for the available nutrients in the pond.

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