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Reptile Myths

Myths and Facts

Myth

Example
Fact
A reptile will only grow as big as it's enclosure.
Keeping an iguana in a 10 gallon cage will keep it small.

Keeping an iguana in a 10 gallon aquarium will cause the following:

  • Fragile Bones
  • Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD)
  • Death
Semi aquatic turtle don't need a lot of water to be happy.
Keeping an aquatic turtle in a few inches of water will keep it happy.
Most aquatic turtles are found in rivers, streams, and ponds.  These habitats are naturally deep ranging from a few feet on up.  Keeping a 6inch turtle in 3 inches of water doesn't give it room to do what it naturally does.  Swim.  The guideline is 10 gallons per 1 inch of shell.  That means if you have a turtle with a shell lenght of 6 inches it would need 60 gallons of water minium.
My lizard does perfectly fine without special lighting.

Having no UV lighting for certain species of reptiles.

The vast majority of reptiles need UV lighting.  UV lighting helps with mood, bone growth, digestion (so does heat), appitate, and coloring.

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